Not a big haul, but....

[Weston81]

I was really surprised when reading over some of these threads the tips and tactics suggested by the guys who trap. Like you said, I am intrigued by the whole process. I like the whole element of going into the animals environment and using your knowledge to get the animal to walk into your setup of all places. I am sure it's frustrating when you have tracks all around your setup but no animal a few days in a row. But I bet it makes it that much mor satisfying when you get him as well.

[quackhead]

I learned from the intra-web

[Weston81]

Wow, so just reading and then trial and error

[assateague]

The worst for me is right now- had critters walking by for over two weeks, and nothing, and now the season is over. I do love when I have a digger, and you finally get that sonofabitch, though. With them, you have to outthink them, because they may very likely come through first and jack up all your sets in an area, leaving you with no set traps for the rest of the night, and empties the next morning. It's always a challenge, and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I will say, it stays fun, but gets tiring this time of year. Every single morning, 7 days a week, rain or shine or snow or just those days when you KNOW you won't have anything, checking the traps for two and a half months straight will wear on you.

[assateague]

Wow, so just reading and then trial and error

Trial and error is probably the best way, with a little guidance or help. Nothing more satisfying than realizing you made an animal walk or step right in the 2 square inches you needed him to walk or step, in the whole wide open outdoors, and you catch him. Heck, I really only use about 3 different sets, not counting snares. You could get a half dozen traps and keep yourself occupied for quite some time on a relatively small farm close to home, I'd bet. You should give it a try. It's much cheaper than hunting, too.

[quackhead]

It wears on you but still there is usually some anticipation. I'm fortunate because I can trap so many didn't things for so long. I will be at it until may. This makes me pay attention to all the sign I see.

[assateague]

I will say that trapping made me a better hunter than anything else.

[Weston81]

When you get a digger do you think it's because of some error on your side such as leaving scent or just that some animals are a little wiser than others?

[quackhead]

Usually scent or a poorly bedded trap

[Weston81]

I bet it really does make you look at hunting in a different perspective that is helpful. Have thought about giving it a go, just need to find someone who has land near my house to trap on

[rebelp74]

I bet it really does make you look at hunting in a different perspective that is helpful. Have thought about giving it a go, just need to find someone who has land near my house to trap on

Any wma's? Most around here allow trapping.

[Weston81]

Usually scent or a poorly bedded trap

Are you still trapping martins and things you are after right now in May?

[quackhead]

Don't be afraid to knock on doors or talk to people. I find telling people you'll trap beaver or skunk for free if you can trap other furbearers in return helps to get a yes.

[Weston81]

I bet it really does make you look at hunting in a different perspective that is helpful. Have thought about giving it a go, just need to find someone who has land near my house to trap on

Any wma's? Most around here allow trapping.

I'd have to do a little searching on the internet and check on that. Good point though. I've been fairly spoiled when it comes to hunting and have had access to private land around my hometown. Never really crossed my mind about wma's, but I will be looking into now for sure

[quackhead]

Usually scent or a poorly bedded trap

Are you still trapping martins and things you are after right now in May?

After the beginning of March it will be strictly rats and beaver.
And Jim I don't think we'll see lotting numbers until a few days before the 17th

[rebelp74]

I bet it really does make you look at hunting in a different perspective that is helpful. Have thought about giving it a go, just need to find someone who has land near my house to trap on

Any wma's? Most around here allow trapping.

I'd have to do a little searching to be check on that. Good point though. I've been fairly spoiled when it comes to hunting and have had access to private land around my hometown. Never really crossed my mind about wma's, but I will be looking into now for sure

If it would be plausible to trap, see if you could trap the land you hunt.

[Weston81]

Problem is the few pieces of property I hunt are 170 miles south of me. Would love to trap the property i deer hunt. Beaver, bobcat, fox, and coyote.

[rebelp74]

Problem is the few pieces of property I hunt are 170 miles south of me. Would love to trap the property i deer hunt. Beaver, bobcat, fox, and coyote.

If you stayed down there for a few days you could do some trapping.

[assateague]

Just my opinion, but it's always been the case that it's my fault, whether some scent on the trap, or something which just causes the set to not "look right". But they have always been old animals, who are smarter, or occasionally they will be missing a foot. When you catch one of those, you know you've done something right, to catch an old fox who's had a foot taken by a trap. I've gotten completely wrapped around the axle and had as many as a half dozen traps in a very small circle trying to get one digger, only to show up and have every one of those motherfuckers flipped. That's when you have to calm down and reassess. I caught him by pulling everything out of the ground, and putting a simple urine post set right on the edge of where I had all that mess. You never really know if it was him or not until after the fact, but you just have a "feeling". The only real way to tell is that the digging and flipping stops. Although a lot of times the flipping is a possum or coon. I hate possums.


I should clarify, too. When I said it made me a better hunter, it wasn't because it made me shoot better, or get animals better, but just because it makes you pay attention better, like quack said, to everything in an area. You start to notice travel areas, even without any sign on the ground, just from seeing them WITH sign so many times. You start to really equate the weather better, because you have a pretty accurate yardstick in the morning- full traps mean the the conditions were right for animals to move, not necessarily because you had the perfect sets, and you start to mentally file all that stuff away. You start to understand why animals move where they move, or avoid areas they avoid, and this is verified every morning by what's in your traps. And it's just a lot more time out in the woods and fields. Even if we hunted every day, we would be sitting in one place for most of that day, and would see very little. I usually covered about 2 miles through the fields and woods every morning, and it's only the same for about a week at a time, at the most, before you start changing things up. And that's actually pretty short for a trap line, but it's amazing all the stuff you see walking, looking at the ground and paying attention to what's going on around you.

[assateague]

Usually scent or a poorly bedded trap

Are you still trapping martins and things you are after right now in May?

After the beginning of March it will be strictly rats and beaver.
And Jim I don't think we'll see lotting numbers until a few days before the 17th

I just saw that too. For some reason, I thought the sale started on the 10th, not the 17th.

[assateague]

Don't be afraid to knock on doors or talk to people. I find telling people you'll trap beaver or skunk for free if you can trap other furbearers in return helps to get a yes.

Yep. Weston, you'd be amazed at how people will let you trap as opposed to hunting. Getting land to hunt is like pulling teeth, but I constantly have people asking me to trap their land, and I have to say no because I just don't have the time. I usually come back in the spring and kill groundhogs for the farmers for nothing, and that will open some doors, too.

[Weston81]

Problem is the few pieces of property I hunt are 170 miles south of me. Would love to trap the property i deer hunt. Beaver, bobcat, fox, and coyote.

If you stayed down there for a few days you could do some trapping.

Good point, i usually take a few weeks off between November and December. Gonna have to talk to the land owner I and see what he thinks.

[Weston81]

Just my opinion, but it's always been the case that it's my fault, whether some scent on the trap, or something which just causes the set to not "look right". But they have always been old animals, who are smarter, or occasionally they will be missing a foot. When you catch one of those, you know you've done something right, to catch an old fox who's had a foot taken by a trap. I've gotten completely wrapped around the axle and had as many as a half dozen traps in a very small circle trying to get one digger, only to show up and have every one of those motherfuckers flipped. That's when you have to calm down and reassess. I caught him by pulling everything out of the ground, and putting a simple urine post set right on the edge of where I had all that mess. You never really know if it was him or not until after the fact, but you just have a "feeling". The only real way to tell is that the digging and flipping stops. Although a lot of times the flipping is a possum or coon. I hate possums.


I should clarify, too. When I said it made me a better hunter, it wasn't because it made me shoot better, or get animals better, but just because it makes you pay attention better, like quack said, to everything in an area. You start to notice travel areas, even without any sign on the ground, just from seeing them WITH sign so many times. You start to really equate the weather better, because you have a pretty accurate yardstick in the morning- full traps mean the the conditions were right for animals to move, not necessarily because you had the perfect sets, and you start to mentally file all that stuff away. You start to understand why animals move where they move, or avoid areas they avoid, and this is verified every morning by what's in your traps. And it's just a lot more time out in the woods and fields. Even if we hunted every day, we would be sitting in one place for most of that day, and would see very little. I usually covered about 2 miles through the fields and woods every morning, and it's only the same for about a week at a time, at the most, before you start changing things up. And that's actually pretty short for a trap line, but it's amazing all the stuff you see walking, looking at the ground and paying attention to what's going on around you.

This post is exactly the kind of stuff that gets me thinking about giving it a try.

[rebelp74]

Just my opinion, but it's always been the case that it's my fault, whether some scent on the trap, or something which just causes the set to not "look right". But they have always been old animals, who are smarter, or occasionally they will be missing a foot. When you catch one of those, you know you've done something right, to catch an old fox who's had a foot taken by a trap. I've gotten completely wrapped around the axle and had as many as a half dozen traps in a very small circle trying to get one digger, only to show up and have every one of those motherfuckers flipped. That's when you have to calm down and reassess. I caught him by pulling everything out of the ground, and putting a simple urine post set right on the edge of where I had all that mess. You never really know if it was him or not until after the fact, but you just have a "feeling". The only real way to tell is that the digging and flipping stops. Although a lot of times the flipping is a possum or coon. I hate possums.


I should clarify, too. When I said it made me a better hunter, it wasn't because it made me shoot better, or get animals better, but just because it makes you pay attention better, like quack said, to everything in an area. You start to notice travel areas, even without any sign on the ground, just from seeing them WITH sign so many times. You start to really equate the weather better, because you have a pretty accurate yardstick in the morning- full traps mean the the conditions were right for animals to move, not necessarily because you had the perfect sets, and you start to mentally file all that stuff away. You start to understand why animals move where they move, or avoid areas they avoid, and this is verified every morning by what's in your traps. And it's just a lot more time out in the woods and fields. Even if we hunted every day, we would be sitting in one place for most of that day, and would see very little. I usually covered about 2 miles through the fields and woods every morning, and it's only the same for about a week at a time, at the most, before you start changing things up. And that's actually pretty short for a trap line, but it's amazing all the stuff you see walking, looking at the ground and paying attention to what's going on around you.

This post is exactly the kind of stuff that gets me thinking about giving it a try.

I don't trap near as much as AT or QH anymore, mostly now I give my little brother a hand when he gets behind on other stuff. But it really does help make you better.

[quackhead]

And they are selling wild fur in with ranch this year.

[Weston81]

So next question would be, how many pelts did you ruin learning how to flesh out an animal and does everyone still have all their fingers?

[rebelp74]

So next question would be, how many pelts did you ruin learning how to flesh out an animal and does everyone still have all their fingers?

About 20 or so and I still have all of mine. Can't think of the name of the fleshing tool but with it you'd really have to try to loose a finger.

[quackhead]

So next question would be, how many pelts did you ruin learning how to flesh out an animal and does everyone still have all their fingers?

I have all my fingers. Did get one in a conibear once. You will ruin some, but usually can salvage them by sewing. The key is to watch videos over and over before attempting and to get the proper handling items.

[assateague]

It's not hard to skin and flesh. You probably end up losing money by being too careful, and not fleshing and stretching enough. You'd be amazed at how much punishment most hides can take before anything bad happens to them. NAFA puts out some pretty good guidance on what they want, and they have a very good set of videos on how they recommend doing it. If you get to the point where you're interested, let me know, and I'll burn you a copy of the DVDs. It tells you all you want to know about caring for the hides. I only use up to #2 legholds, so there's not much danger there. Some pain, yeah, but not like if I was constantly setting 330s for beaver or something. Body grip traps scare me, honestly.

[Weston81]

So next question would be, how many pelts did you ruin learning how to flesh out an animal and does everyone still have all their fingers?

I have all my fingers. Did get one in a conibear once. You will ruin some, but usually can salvage them by sewing. The key is to watch videos over and over before attempting and to get the proper handling items.

Ouch!