Table of contents for Summer 2024 in The Trapper

I’m standing knee deep in the water staring at a pile of concrete rubble that had been dumped against the bank in the summer to prevent erosion. That was a good use for the rubble. But not good for me. Usually I would dig a pocket in that bank to make a mink set. Not today. But that kind of rip-rap shoreline makes very good habitat for mink. Now I just have to figure out how to make a set here. I learned years before that when you’re looking for mink sets, get your eye balls close to the water. Sure enough, there was a small tunnel where two slabs were not butted together They rested on top of a third slab. Unfortunately, that is where I have to make…

The animals you trap are the best teachers. Just when I get one system figured out, along comes some bobcats or coyotes that show me I need to change some things. This is especially true when trapping an area that has been trapped before. I remember at one time I had to cover six different counties for depredation issues. While I felt confident trapping just about anywhere, there was one particular county that I dreaded to set foot in. The previous trapper there was hired by the cattlemen’s association and funded a little by the county. He was paid a bounty on each coyote tail that he brought in. While competent enough shooting coyotes over bait or calling, he was not proficient setting footholds. He sure was a nice enough…

These three varmints traditionally have never had any fur value for trappers, although recently there have been some unusual items at the fur sales. Taxidermy and craft markets are showing up more and more. Anyway, when I started doing animal damage control trapping I found these to be high-value targets to homeowners, golf courses, cemeteries and really anyone who is trying to keep an impeccable lawn. They eat roots, dig tunnels and pile up dirt, and make a general mess of someone’s hard work. I found that some investigation has to be done so the trapper and the customer are on the same page. Lots of folks call ground squirrels gophers and confuse voles with moles. They are all very different critters and trapping them usually involves different techniques. VOLES…

Without a doubt, there’s nothing with quite the same excitement level as checking traps for the first time each season. I’ve long believed that if one could somehow capture, bottle and sell it, that right there would be the most popular drug ever! With that being said, there’s a time that I look forward to nearly as much as that first trap check, and it’s now. Nope, that sure isn’t because it’s the “off-season” with nothing to do but lay around. Nothing could be further from the truth. What follows is how and why this time of the year is so exciting, and how I use it to make next season even better. SETTING THE TABLE If you’ve ever been involved with the meal prep for some big deal, such…

A proposed ballot initiative calling for a ban on “trophy hunting” in Colorado threatens the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in the Centennial State and across the nation. If passed, Colorado Initiative 2023-2024 #91 would prohibit the harvest of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx in the state. But, it also opens the door for further legislation — and this attack on hunting and trapping isn’t anything new. CHASING THEIR OWN TAILS Dan Gates, President of the Colorado Trappers & Predator Hunters Association and Executive Director of Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management (CRWM), has been spearheading efforts to shut down anti-hunting legislation for decades. “We have fought multiple levels on the furbearer/trapping/predator side of things with a ton of other things thrown in on top of it,” Gates said. “We haven’t…

Trapping is one of the oldest professions known to humankind, but is it becoming a thing of the past? Low fur prices, high expenses and few buyers make it hard to justify trapping for any kind of income. The fur boom of the late '70s and early '80s is far in the rearview mirror. Today, trappers are doing what they love for two reasons. First, to carry on a tradition and to hopefully pass on what they love. And secondly, trapping is necessary from a conservation standpoint. It helps other animals thrive and reduces diseases in the furbearer population. In states like California, where trapping is banned, and in other states like Colorado where trapping is very restricted, problems are on the rise. Citizens of these states are seeing a…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY pursuitchannel.com JUNE 1: West Virginia Trappers Association Board of Directors Meeting, County Recreation Center Picnic Pavilion, Glenville, WV. JUNE 1: Trappers’ Rendezvous at the Reedsburg Outdoor Club at S2064 Luedtke Road just north of Reedsburg, WI. 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Trappers, families and kids, come and join us. Everyone is welcome! Free admission and tailgating. All-day trapping and skinning demonstrations, trapping supplies, guns and other great items for sale, raffles, activities and prizes for kids! For questions, contact Patrice Rhodes, WTA District 9 Director at (888) 601-8727 ext. 209, or email district9@wistrap.org. JUNE 20-22: Pennsylvania Trappers Association Rendezvous, Lycoming Co. Fairgrounds, Hughesville, PA 17737. JULY 7: Pennsylvania Trappers Association District 2 Summer Picnic and Meeting. Sugarcreek Community Park, Rt. 268, Cowansville, PA 16218. Bring a…

Everywhere you look there seems to be geese. They are common in parks, golf courses, backyards, the drainage ponds at Walmart, and even in large cities. If there is a water source nearby, you’re likely to have encounters with these large waterfowl. I will be one of the first to admit that I enjoy watching geese as they swim in our ponds and walk around our lawns. My enjoyment of geese ends there, though. These birds might be nice to observe, but the damage left behind is not a welcome sight. Geese are well known for leaving behind messes that are unattractive to the eye and nose, they can destroy a lawn and landscaping almost overnight, they are noisy, and are known to harass and even attack people and pets.…

Probably the most important wild fur sale of 2024 happened just a few months ago in North Bay, Canada, on March 22 to 24. Considered “extremely successful” in the press release of the company (www.furharvesters.com), the major points were increases in prices for most wild fur species except coyote and red fox. “THERE IS ALSO A LESSON for trappers – catch the fur when it is hot, and when it is hot – do not sit on it but catch and sell fast. Trappers interested in paying expenses or making a profit have to learn to take advantage of fashion trends, and catch what the markets want to buy.” Major highlights were major increases in the price paid for marten (overall average of $58.71) and fisher (males at $63.18, females…

By now, seasoned trappers and new steel setters alike ought to be familiar with trapping best management practices (BMPs). Initiated in the early 1990s in response to Europe’s ban on importing North American fur, the BMP program was created out of an agreement with Europe to develop safer, more humane, and more effective trapping methods. Led by the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), BMPs have been developed and continue through an extensive study with efforts targeted at improving regulated trapping. Designed to scientifically evaluate various traps and trapping methods, the primary goal of the program is to educate and inform trappers, researchers, wildlife managers, and the general public about the most humane, safe, selective, efficient, and practical traps and trapping methods to use when taking furbearers. To arrive…

In the history of trapping there’s never been a more time-honored standard than the tradition of dyeing traps. When I began trapping back in the 1950s the old-timers insisted that all traps should be dyed annually, giving all of the common-sense reasons that prevailed at the time: Dyed traps lasted longer, snapped faster, and provided additional camouflage meant to fool inquisitive, curious, sharp-eyed furbearers. For decades I followed the rules and dutifully dyed my traps every summer, letting them “set” for several weeks before the trapping season began. I caught my share of animals and attributed much of my success to diligent trap maintenance, dyeing in particular. A TRAPLINE REVELATION Somewhere back in the 1970s, during the glory days of modern trapping when fur prices were sky high and target…

Back in the day, I ran my traps on foot. Granted, that’s a slow way to run traps. But I tried to make it as efficient as possible. I mostly trapped along the banks of the local creeks. There I could target water animals at the shoreline, then set canine (in those days that meant fox) traps along the high bank. That necessitated crawling up and down the bank quite a bit. I liked to avoid that when I could. Rarely could I see my high-bank sets from the creek bottom, but sometimes I could look over the bank and check my water sets from the high bank. I had a set for which I was very hopeful. It was on the outside bend of a creek where there was…