How many have ever wondered what it would be like to spend a day on the line with someone we have viewed here on Trapperman.Com ?

Perhaps a day on the beaver line in Carolin'...or a day in the Bayou country with Tony Howard? Maybe a day on the Pennsylvania fox line with Phil Brown or the windy ridges of Wyoming, with Cattrax.
Up in the great white north catching weasels with 2-poor or one of our many Alaskan or Canadian Trappers?

Out in Iowa, on the mink line with Nick C. or J.C. Conner on his Texas 'cat and coyote line?
Any who wouldn't want to run all over the country with Andy S. just once?

The point I'm trying to make is, most of us will never get that chance, so I hope for those of us that have wondered what it would be like to spend a day out on the line from start to finish, that some of you will take the time to share a typical day on your line with the many viewers of Trapperman.com.
( Photos are welcome, but not totally nessasary .)
LT

OK, from todays line:

I awoke to the sound of wind howlin' outside the window.
After a few minutes laying there in the dark, I reached over and fumbled along the window seal, until I hit the button on the weather radio.

"...and at the airport, it is 1 degree with a windchill of minus..."

I hit the button again...
It didn't matter at that point what the windchill was...
Below 0, it's all the same!
It was 6:13 am.

After a getting dressed in the two (of the three) layers I would be wearing, I downed some eggs and toast and went out to brush off the snow and start the truck.
We had had a 6" snowfall, yesterday and the temps had dropped overnight. Except for the drifting snow, things didn't seem too bad. Regardless, it makes for a slow day.
I pulled out at 7:30.

I receive many PMs from trappers wanting to know how I snare in winter conditions, so I've enclosed some pictures of the sets, both with catches and the snares set themselves.

Snare sets at ambush points!

















I had out about 119 snares, which may sound like a lot to some, but I set heavy and gang set a good many locations that I have baited over time.



This peticular line, I had taken quite a number of coyotes from it already, but still managed to take some more today and 1 raccoon in a cage trap set in a farmer's barn.

Except for the one mishap of nearly turning the truck over an embankment, in which I put it in reverse, held on tight, held my breath and gunned it backwards, I was able to run the line without much trouble.

A few shots from the line!












I did have to walk in on this peticular area because of heavy drifting snow, but the farmer and his daughter were out feeding cattle and were nice enough to give me and the 3 snared coyotes,(and a cage trap) I had back there a lift back to the pick-up. Sure bet dragging them, no doubt!

( Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!)







By the time I finished, it was about 5 PM and I had taken 8 coyotes and had traveled 91 miles round trip.
I spent $30. in fuel. The temps still made for a long day.
In a few weeks, I hope to be south chasin' stubbtails, but for now, it's cold weather and coyotes!

Now to get a few of these animals thawed out....





Thanks for comin' along!

Very cool LT, thanks!! I've wished and wondered many of times about riding along with the greats, but I know that it's just probably never going to happen.

....never know!

Thanks for the Ride LT... Excellent Post!

You're the man LT!

LT, I really wish them pictures werent blocked on my computer.

So you got to ride back there with the farmers daughter ?

Great pictures and catches.

Butch, eeeeasy there!

Great post.

LT, I wanna go with you, as long as I do the driving! lol

Cool!

Thanks,

JBR

I'm dial up challenged

lol Butch

so, at least tell us if the farmers daughter was good lookin' or not ... just plain ol' mean to tease us

good post lt very nicely done.

LT, here is our journal from this year. You can follow us every weekend.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthrea...tml#Post1725705

Great post!!

thanks, great post!

Awsome post Lt Grey. Thanks for sharing.

I would like to know youre secret when you start trapping cats. This is my 2nd year no cats yet but I have trapped two coyotes and 1 fox. AWESONE TRAPLINE AND PICS!

I will do a split story since I trap split seasons.

In Nov, I worked water trapping (since fox season isn't open til Jan. and I can't let any go from coyote sets). I need to be to work by 7:15, so I rise at 3:45 am, slug down a coffee, and am on the road by 4:00. Its a 20-mile run to where my first sets are in the next county. I swing through my first property checking 4 empty blind sets for mink. On to the next farm, and I pull up to find 2 rats, each in a #1 coil stoploss. I swat them, then head over across the levy to find a possum double in my dry-land coon sets. Below at the culvert tube, I have a coon in my blind mink set, but its is too small so I turn her loose unharmed. On to the next farm pond and discover that all my rat conibears are empty (kind of shocking), but I have a nice boar coon in a dry-land dirt hole. I return at breakneck speed to change, and go to work. Skinning done once I get home around 630.

My canine line, I wake and depart at the same time, only my first 2 farms are blanks, with one of the double-dirthole sets fired but empty. I finally get to the 3rd farm and have a small male grey fox in a deep-trench dirthole by the hind foot. I dispatch, remake, and head on to the last farm where I have a barn cat in a coon dirthole, a coon near the dairy silo, and find a dead coon on the road the farmer shot for me and left for pick up.

Get home, skin, and have my puppy sniff me for the next 2 hrs.

I would LOVE to ride and just watch some of you guys work.

Nice job LT. ZLook like some well furred critters!

Cool post and great pics

Thanks, Carolina Foxer!

Awesome pics LT, and thank you for letting us tag along.

next year me and a few others are planning on running a line togeather and then the follwing year they will be comeing here....very excited as next season cant get here fast enoughf!

Thanks LT! Thanks Carolina Foxer!

If I had a line going rigth now I would post it. Hope to get mine going soon! I am by no means one of the greats but hope to be a medicore newbie!

Already wide awake I reach over and turn off the alarm that's set for 6:30 although it's now only 5:30. Put on a pot of coffee and click on the computer for my morning dose of Trapperman. Good morning, Mole and everybody else.

Starting to see some light outside I throw on a couple of thermals and a sweatshirt and head over to my first checkpoint. Although it's not exactly Summer it does feel a bit like Spring since the coldsnap of the past two weeks has finally let up. Three fox sets on this small property, all empty but I don't mind as I take a look at the small swamp that surrounds the field I'm standing in. The sky's blue, birds are whistling and a small muskrat is swimming about in the now open water. Mental note-Bring a couple of 110s tomorrow.

Pull up to second checkpoint, only two sets here, one DH and one that's more or less a hayset with a dead chicken buried in it. DH's empty so I start walking towards set number two. DANG IT, not another stupid cat! Hmmm, maybe it's a Grey fox. Hard to tell as I'm still a couple hundred feet away and it's in some long grass and brush. Get a little closer and realize it is a cat.



YES, I love these kitties!

Pull up to my third checkpoint and right away I'm greeted by a stinker. He has to wait because my hands are full of #3s and I'm excited to be throwing in a couple of beaver sets in the thawed out pond over the hill. Set up a nice slide that sits alongside a beaver lodge and has a huge otter toilet above it. 50' away I put in a castor mound set, then head back to dispatch the skunk with a cordless catch pole. Oh how I love trapping.

Although I managed to gather a few possums during the remainder of the morning I couldn't help but feel a little let down for not getting any coons today. Sure was warm enough last night. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. I then headed home to take a picture, do some skinning and catch a quick shower before heading back out to throw in a couple more sets.


Nice thread, post and pics, LT. Thanks.

Cordless catch pole? Ah hahahahaha.....where's the picture of that?

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

most of you all wont wanna take a ride along my line, because i am still learning, and this year i dont have time to trap, we are building the house. i have a total of 4 yote sets, and 6 fox sets out. i pulled my coon line after first week of season, i trapped em all out of the barn. as for me, i wake up at 5:30 before school, grab the 4 wheeler key, and flash light, and head out checking first farm (neighbor), i check the 4 traps on that farm, and come back and get ready for school. on the way home from school, we go to our new farm and i check there. i am not getting consistent catches like alot of people on here, but im not after everyday catches(would be nice)just the experience and fun/challenge of the line.

Like every day. My trap line checking begins directly after I take the kids to school. After dropping them off at 8am I head to my first spot. It is public and is full of sign. The trails go in two directions. The trail that goes straight is heavily used by walkers and their dogs so I avoid this trail at all costs. The trail that breaks off to the left doesn't get the traffic and I make it a point to walk in my existing tracks to hopefully prevent people from venturing this direction. I have three sets down this trail. The first set is a dirt hole with a dead mole and some fox urine. The second set is another dirt hole with just lure. The third set is another dirt hole with another type of lure.

I have used urine posts and flat sets primarily this season and with my final push I wanted to try something different.

Anyways, It is about a mile and half round trip walk to check these three sets. I set them Sunday so do not expect a catch for a few more days so I don't even bother bringing the pistol on the checks.

I leave this location and head to my second spot. This is about 8 miles up the road. This second location is very hilly. Up and down, up and down. I have 5 sets in this location.

Set 1 is a flat set with urine (coyote/fox mix), set 2 is a urine post (fox), set 3 is a dirt hole (lure/urine), set 4 is dirt hole (lure), and set 5 is a flat set (urine).

I again set this location on Sunday so didn't bother bringing the pistol and it is about 2.5 miles round trip. Climb 4 hills on the checks at this location.

Once back to the truck I head off to location #3. It is about 15 miles to this location. I had 2 sets at this location. 1st set was a dirthole (lure/urine) and second set is a urine post (urine). I added a 110 to a culvert on this location today where I found some decent mink tracks. Round trip walking this location is about a mile through marshy terrain. I usually fall through the ice (up to knees in water)a few times on my checks and I am ready to be done after this location. BUT........

I put in 8 more road sets today. All 110's on culverts and of course I had to fall in the water twice while trying to NOT FALL IN THE WATER.

and I look forward to doing it all again tomorrow.

Anyone wanna tag along? LOL

They're scattered all over the woods, LT. I'm sure you've seen a few in your day.

krausen, that's a bit too much walking for me.

I had the priveledge to have someone from on here run my trapline with me earlier this season. There realy is no great story there though. I had not had time to get all my traps out so I only had 20 or so traps out. I learned a lot from him, got some tips, found new places to set that I had never though of before, and was reminded of some of things I had forgotten over the years. After that we scouted some ground I was moving to the following week. We only caught 1 coon that day so there is realy nothing much to tell.
Since then I have had the chance to join him in his fur shed and learn a lot about fur handling. I have learned a lot from this person in the last few months. Being 95% self taught, the rest being gained from 1 friend of mine a half of a season, T-man, and short conversations with other trappers over the years I have learned more than my small mind is capable of absorbing.
I am not one of the greats, probably not one of the averages, but a fair trapper but I do welcome (almost) anyone on my line to watch, share ideas, and just enjoy running traps with me.

Every year for the last 3 years I have the opportunity to share and teach at our trapping workshops,so here is this years story.

Our workshops usually start at 6pm on friday. We have mentors and instructors who volunteer their time from all over the state of Al and a few surrounding states. The workshops start with the Al Game and Fish explaining the laws and regulations for trapping in the state,then the biologists teach about the different type furbearers and their place in the enviroment.

As everyone knows,classrooms get stuffy and sometimes boring and this is not good with 20 or so kids wanting to go trapping! It is then we take breaks,have door prizes,drawings,and just walk around looking at the furs and traps on display.

Back to buisness,after a few more speakers and slideshows we adjourn till 8am the next morning.

Saturday morning starts with teachers teaching about trapping equiptment,methods,traps,lure and bait useage and techniques. We break for lunch(hamburgers and hotdogs). After lunch we team up students with teachers and go to pre-appointed areas to set traps. We usually set till dark and meet back up before adjouurning for the evening.

Sunday mornings are filled with excitement and anticipation! The students are READY to take animals out of every single trap that was set the day before. So far, each group of students that I have had the pleasure of taking out have had the opportunity to see a target animal or 2 in their traps. There is nothing like seeing the looks on these kids and adults faces at their first catch.Words just cant explain it.
After all the traps are checked and pulled,animals released or harvested, we head back to our meeting place. The students are shown the proper way to skin,flesh,and handle their prize catches. Some students wish to sell their fur(a furbuyer is at each class) others(MOST) want to take it home.

I always look forward to these classes and often they are the highlight of my season.

Mike Sievering with students from this years class.

Their first coyote!

First possum!


Happy students is what its all about.

That is awesome. Thaks for taking the time with the youngsters.

Thanks for that story swampbooger, that's what it's all about. Smiles on kids faces and keeping a part of the American heritage alive. Hope to see ya again in Calhoun.

2nd that said by Braswell and High Noon.
Having kids on the line is priceless!

Like most of the guys on here I am small time but enjoy it to the end. With family constraints I get in about 2 weeks of coon trapping. I had a buddy of mine tag along with me 7 or 8 times this year and he brought his 2 boys with him a couple of times.
Not very exciting but here was a typical day on my short line.

Up at 6:30, trying not to wake the kids as I get ready, warm up the truck and head off to the first farm. I trap small creeks and never more than 10 miles from the house.
1st stop, 3 pockets, usually good for 4 or 5 coons a year.
2nd stop, 2 pockets and 2 blind sets. This farm is good for 8-10 coons.
3rd stop, 2 pockets, 2 blind sets. This was my first place I got permission to trap when I moved here so it is a special place for me to trap every year. The landowner is 88 and treats me like one of his own. I can plan on getting 10-12 coon here every year.
4th stop, 4 pockets, 2 blind sets. This is the only creek that I trap that has enough deep water to drown my catch. This is my hot spot and gives up 12-14 coon every year.
5th stop, 3 pockets, 2 blinds and 1 PVC set. This is a new location for me this year and did pretty well there, 8 coons.
6th stop, 2 pockets, 2 blinds, 1 PVC set. I caught my biggest coon ever here this year, 34 lbs. I catch 7-9 here each year.
7th stop, 1 pocket, 1 blind. This is a small creek with just enough coon on it to warrant stopping. I only catch 2-4 here every year but it is on my way to my better spots.

I hope to expand once my family responsibilities slow down a little, but for right now it is what it is and I love it.

i have only been trapping for about 3 years so far. this being my first season with my license i feel like i am the best trapper in the world compared to what i was catching in the past 2 years. i woke at the not too too early time of 5:30, get in my newly bought (new to me not necesarily "new") 91 chevy silverado. drive about a mile up the road to a small creek where i have 3 coon sets and a hay set. the first is a bucket with some fish in the back covered with leaves and a 1.5 bedded in hay in the front ..nothin.. the next is another bucket set up in the same manner. from across the creek i can see there is a disterbance at the set, not a very prominent disterbance but it is enough for me to climb down the steep bank and up the other side to check it out.. touchdown! a nice coon taking refuge from the wind inside the 5 gallon bucket. next bucket ..nothin.. hay set ..nothin.. get back in the truck after my short walk, wiggle the lever for the lights a few times till they turn on and i'm on my way to the big river (not really) but it holds beaver and i am anxious. i just set out three castor mounds last night. #1 nothin.. #2.. nothin.. #3.. nothin. oh well head back home. last minute homework, breakfast, bus, school, football practice, home, set more traps. excited to check new sets. sleep. cool post.

Nobody would want to ride with me. But here is a regular day. Being a contractor I take every winter off and trap or hunt every day. My road lines keep me busy during coon season. I am o. The road by 2 am and go nonstop till usually 5 or 6. By then I am spent and still have to skin as much as possible by 8. Then the rest go to one of the many freezers. Then it's supper shower and off to bed around 10 . I run like that Monday through Friday and pull everything on Friday. Saturday I skin what I didn't get to during the week and Sunday is family and church day. All my lines are pretty much the same rather it coon or k-9 and I usually am done the first of December except for small local lines. Come january I start hitting the local beavers but after about 30 I pull everything and get ready for walleye fishing.

NICE!

today went out 5 30 am before school to check traps.i have about a three mile walk every morning behind my house.checked my first four traps and nothing and by the way im trapping coon and fox. i keep checking the traps quick to make sure i get to the house before i have to go to school which is 7 30. the next seven or eight traps nothing so i was like well i can check the rest when i get out of school soon as i turned around to walk back i seen movement about 100 yards away and seen two red fox walking right by my hay set man i was MAD.i decided to just check all of the traps and i found out is was a good thing i had a double on coon with my last two traps left.i was running back to the house with two coons lol and i got inside and looked down blood all over my my hunting pants which had my school clothes under them which was blood all over them lol.man it was fun and still mad it to school on time.

So, my youngest boy has really taken to trapping and has become my "trapline buddy" He's learned all the ins and outs from trap prep to putting up fur....so our day starts with coffee and juice boxes and we're off to check the line....For the most part, we're trapping coyotes which means snares and plenty of steel in the ground....but this year we targetted some coon at the request of the youngster (who apparently was tired of seeing coyotes in traps!!)...our first stop landed us 3 yotes, 2 reds and a mess of coon...and this was one stop....one day....he had a blast!!

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Well as of late It would be a story of theft and frustration!! BUT here is my usual day.

The alarm goes off at 4am, I hit the shower and shave, gotta have that neat clean Marine appearance, I don't get a chance to clean up before work so I get ready before hitting the line. Get that coffee buzz going, some eggs n toast too, then throw on the Carharts and the knee boots. The clunker is loaded with steel and has a full tank of gas. I leave the house around 445am and hit the front gate of the base around 5, pass through the gate after the Marine MP checks my ID, and I get the customary Good Morning Sergeant, OOHRAH, I return his greeting and drive on.

I hit the dirt road and drive the 3 miles to my sets. I always sit for a minute with my window down, and the car off in the dark just enjoying the silence of the woods. I check the water portion of my line. First the culver guarded on all four sides by #1LS hoping for that mink I keep hearing about. On down the line to my 2 110 bottom edges, nothing yet still waiting. Then I check the 3 pockets set on alternating sides usually a coon here but today nothing, at least the traps are still there! Cross the stream and up the high bank to the cat sets both empty so far this year but I'm patient, I'm sure they will connect. Then I have to pick my way back through the briars and brambles to the car. My headlamp doesn't quite cut it for these really dark mornings, I keep telling myself to get another flashlight, the last one broke on impact with a tree after seeing a trap was stolen, hahaha.

After making the way back to the car I grab the trap basket with the remaking tools and hit the trail on the opposite side of the road. I walk along the stream headed through the darkness and just enjoying the brisk air and time outside. The first set has had hair in it twice now, so it got moved about 4 feet closer to the intersection of the trails, we'll see what those fox do with that little surprise. Next set a scent post that produced 2 last year, none yet this year. The next set has produced 1 this year the first check two weeks ago, nothing since, not gonna move it quite yet though. Around the corner to the next set, where the aforementioned incident with a turkey and trap thief end this set. On to the food plots, first set bingo a nice grey this morning. I am pleased with myself twice its been rolled so I moved it just a couple inches from last time, and I got a perfect front paw catch just behind the pads. I take out the 22 with the low charge shorts I use and dispatch him. I check out the trap and clean it up a bit, no blood or anything so I remake it. I bed another one on the edge of the catch circle and move on. To the little knoll in the middle of the plot, I can see the other three sets from here and they are empty but I am happy I got some skinning to do! I throw him in the trunk in the bin with the kitty litter, and head to work.

I change into my Utilities in the lockerroom and go the the morning brief. I sit in the brief and switch off the morning events and turn on the Air Traffic Control side of my brain. After talking to planes all day and getting my stress level through the roof I get to go home and relax in the garage with some Hank Williams Sr and a skinnin knife. Its a great day to be alive!!

my days arent that great as some of you big time trappers but here is my day- wake up around five and eat breakfast and start my truck, i leave around 530 to go check traps first stop is a little piece of land not to promising so there are only a few traps set, about 10 minutes before i am off to the next stop it is not much either but it is quick to check so no big deal and i am off to my favorite stop, the farm is on a hill with rockfaces all around the property, i usually get at least a coon a day maybe more, sometimes a skunk and i leave it til after school, then after i reset the trap i head for home around 630 and get ready for school, then after school i go to my beaver stop and then go pull and reset traps at certain areas

not much but its good enough for me

Ha! Got ya!

I had this over on the Trapper Talk forum, but it quickly went back a few pages - lol....

I left the house shortly after sunrise and traveled 10 miles to the City's wetland area. This is part of their waste water treatment. Its the last phase the water goes through before being released back into the river. The wetland is a series of lagoons with aquatic plants in them to remove the nitrogen from the water.

The problem is the aquatic vegetation is a food supply for muskrats and nutrias. The nutrias have been eating a lot of the plants, so I've been catching them.

Here's a shot of the wetlands...



There are two nutrias here in traps. One is at the mound and one is past the mound where you see the support sticks for the bodygrip. You can see a patch of fur above the water, but that's it....



And here is the third nutria....



From the wetlands, I went about 1 mile to a ditch where there is a beaver problem. The city dug the dam out and the beavers didn't rebuild for four days. So, I began digging out a hole in the dam and got the beaver use to coming to fix it. Soon they were coming to fix the dam the first night every time I broke the dam. Because these beavers showed signs of being shy, I decided I'd go with a dam break set with a foothold. I broke the dam this morning and would return after I ran my rounds to make the set. I wanted to let the water drain down a bit so I could better judge where to place the trap.

Here's the dam before breaking it this morning...



From here I traveled northeast 82 miles to the other side of Greenvile to the next site. This is a culvert where beavers have been going through. There's one beaver left and it won't respond to anything, so I figured a snare at the culvert opening should do the trick... eventually. I had placed the snare and support there a couple of months ago so the beaver would get use to it. I just set it today....



From there I traveled 6 miles to the next site on the same tract of land. The beavers have a culvert plugged and water is flowing over the road....



I have two 330s at this site. I picked up a two year old last Thursday and picked this one up today. I had this set lured with Backbreaker on top of one of the support sticks....



Here is the same set after I remade it. I think I may have all the beavers out of this site, but I reset anyway to make sure....



From there I drove 46 miles to the next site. I thought I'd caught all the beavers from this site, but was afraid there might be one more that was avoiding the regular sets.

Here's what the place looks like upstream from the company road...



Here's the downstream side where the dam is....



Because I wasn't positive I had caught all the beavers, I made my way down to the dam yesterday and made a dam break set with a foothold. Here's the monster I had today.....



The strange thing about that small beaver is that neither of the two adult females I had caught were lactating, nor had they any time recently. I talked to a duck hunter there last week and he said when they were deer hunting in there that their dogs had gotten a beaver. The fella didn't know if the dogs killed it or not because it was up in that flooded stuff where they couldn't get to. One of the dogs had a nasty gash on its shoulder. So, I don't know if that lactating female that had that young beaver is still there or dead. Time will tell....

Here's the backside of that dam...



From there I drove 28 miles to the next site, which was just west of Ahoskie. I've been working this site for a bit and have caught 8 beavers from here so far.

Here's what it looks like with the water flowing over the road where the pipe is plugged....



The only set that has been connecting lately is at the bottom of this crossover where the beavers are crossing the company road to get to the lower impoundment. Got another beaver here today....





From here I drove 7 miles to check out an old site that was on my inspection schedule for this month. I like it when the pipe is still open and everything still looks good after a year since I worked it last....



From here I drove 106 miles back to that beaver dam in the city ditch that I opened this morning. I went ahead and made the dam set and hope to see something here tomorrow....



Drove 11 miles back to the house and my beaverin is done for the day. Here is a pic of the catch, minus the little bitty beaver that I left on the bank for the bobcats to snack on....



That's a poor catch for a fur trapper, but I'm not fur trapping. I'm paid to catch the last beaver at each of those sites. I believe I traveled right at 300 miles today and it was a 10 hour day. Now its time to go to the shed and pack orders.

That's a day on my line - not much, but I really enjoy it....

Very impressive!

If you ever wondered what it was like to ride along on The Boss' line...there you go.

And if you are observant...and you should be, you just got a few beaver trapping tips by viewing those photos on Paul's post.

Thanks Paul!

I know Paul is a hard act to follow, but I hope many of you will also share a day on the line with us!

Hey Paul, is that a "packer fan" helment in the back of your truck? Nice photos and thanks for sharing.

Great pictures and insight.

great pictures guys, keep at it.

Thanks Mr Paul! I enjoyed the day on the line!

And yes I did learn a few things from the pics!

If you have time for a question:

Where did the trap end up on the dam break?

Thanks!

Well my winter lines are short and more for learning what to do in the fall so not to exciting but here we go. Alarm goes off at 8 (I work 4 till midnight) Get the coal fire roaring good get my bibs and coat on and I'm off. I'm excited being I had a fox (I think) work my set yesterday hard just missing the pan twice. I pull in to my spot get my bino's out and look at my hay set. It looks funny so I call the land owner ( good friend) he can see the set from his kitchen table and I ask him see anything in there. He said it looks different but I don't see anything. I had caught a fox monday when everything was thawed and muddy had a fox but he said it looked like a coon or a porky. Anyhow I go and look closer that's two days in a row I had to walk up to this set. Well I cut a set of tracks on the 4 wheeler trail that I'm walking on seen where the fox looked at my set and went on it's way make a mental note bring more hay tommorrow to add more eye appeal. Well either way no other activity in that area. Back to the truck and up to the next set location. Nothing but rabbit's running there. On to the next area where I set for coons eating a corn storage. Well I've had no luck at these sets being new to the area and a bad time to try and figure it out. Well I broke though the ice (aka frozen cow waste) to get my traps back. Talked to the farmer on my way out telling me if i want to try for fox in the feilds I'm more than welcome and pointed me to where some trappers in the past years have nailed fox but he didn't think they trapped there anymore. Said he would introduce me to the farmer that owns that property for next year. Thanked him and said the coons start hitting it give me a call and went home.

December 19, 2009

I shared this day with another trapper on this forum. He goes by the name of Pasadena. He had asked me earlier in the year if he could ride along on my mink line some day. Early in the season I was too busy running my business and running my trapline to be able to make it work. He was busy as well, but after Thanksgiving he asked me if we could get together. At that time I had pulled the majority of my line. I told him that if the weather cooperated I would try and get a new short line out and I would call him and let him know. Things worked out and I was able to get 18 new locations set up to go along with 8 old locations that had been out for 3 weeks or so.

What a day to pick. The weatherman called for 3 to 4 inches of snow over night and snow it did. It was still snowing when JD ( Pasadena ) showed up at 7 AM. I like snowy nights when running mink traps. They really like to move on snowy blustery nights.

We left and headed out on the line with great anticipation because of the snow. Things started slowly though. The first 3 locations produced nothing and I was beginning to think that JD was a jinx.

At the 4th location the luck changed. We caught a nice buck mink. The 5th and 6th locations produced nothing but at the 7th location we caught another buck mink who was very much alive. We continued on and at the 9th location we caught a big raccoon. He managed to pull the stake but fortunately got tangled up in some grass close to the set. At the very next stop we caught another male mink in a bodygripper on a bank trail. We picked up 3 more raccoon over the next several stops but no more mink.

As we approached the end of the line we managed to pick up two more buck mink in back to back locations. The one location I had just set the day before. The total for the day was 5 buck mink and 4 nice boar coon. Turned out to be a pretty good day but the best part was being able to share the line with a friend.

JD has pictures and if he wants to post them he can. I am not smart enough to post pictures.

Doubt that, gtbosick!

Dec.19, 2009

I woke up at 4:00am. I had a feeling this was going to be a good day. I looked outside and seen it had snowed a good bit and was still snowing pretty hard. I was still going to do what was already planned out for the day though, no matter how hard it was snowing. I went ahead with my normal morning routine and jumped in the truck and was pulling out at 5:00am.

I had planned to run a mink line with who I and others consider one of the best mink trappers around on this day. I can catch mink, but I wanted to go along with someone who specifically and only targets mink for the most part. I wanted to pickup on the little things that a mink trapper does on his line. What does he look for when picking out a location to set. What kind of sets do they like, trap placement ect.

I pulled into Computer Haters driveway at 7:00am after slip slidin' around corners and getting behind folks that act like they have never driven in snow before for the last 2 hours. After the hello's and what not, we jump in his truck and head out. It didn't start out well as we sat on top of a hill for 10 mins. watching some guy who couldn't get up the hill try to turn around in the middle of the hill.

Finally, on our way. We both have high hopes on a good mink catch with the winter storm that was blowing through, but after checking the first few traps, nothing. I'm beginning to think this guy doesn't know what the heck he's doing Things start to pick up though and I'm starting to see the places these mink like to move through and why Randy likes setting them. I ask questions and Randy gives me straight answers. He doesn't try to hide anything(atleast I don't think he was), he explains to me why he sets in those places and how he likes to set them up.

We got out of the truck at one location and I could smell the mink before we ever saw it. The mink was still alive,which was very cool to see.(That location where that mink was caught sticks out in my mind the most and I now look for those spots on my own line.) Randy explained to me what was so unique about this spot and to not pass those spots up when you find them.



Running Randy's line was a lot of fun. We talked about alot of things, not just trapping.We didn't solve any world issues or anything but it's nice to just relax and enjoy the day with a friend. After getting back to his house at I believe around 3:30 or so. His wife had made us a late lunch which was very good and enjoyable. After another hour or two of talking it was time for me to head on home. I took away with me alot of info that you can't get from a book, video or a computer. One of the key things to mink trapping or any critter for that matter but I would say mink especially, since their numbers are not as plentiful as say a coon. If you want numbers of mink, you better have alot of places to trap with good minky locations on them.

Thank You Randy.

Some pics of the day.

Nice story there, Computer Hater!

Very Nice! Thanks Aleo

OK While I am no legend I enjoy my time on the trap line. Yesterday I took my 22 yr old son with me to set a short line close to the house. He got into town about 1300hrs and we loaded up the 4wheeler and grabbed a few extra traps. Stopped down the road at the local stop and rob and got him some lunch to go. he is about as broke as they get. Been there done that!

We opened the gate about 1400 and unloaded the wheeler and started toward my favorite otter honeyhole. Low and behold we came up on a crew surveying for a new pipeline. Talked to them for a few minutes and realized that most of my land I have been looking forward to trapping now has heavy equipment and people working it over.

Good learning experience for my son to learn to overcome and adapt.

We headed to some out of the way spots I cought a few beaves last year and ended up showing him how to set connis, snares, and grizz. He learned to set a #3 ls also without catching himself!

I took the time to really try and teach him what to look for and why I was doing what I was doing.

I wish He could have been here today to go get the 2 coons I found after work!

Mostly pics here. Nice Alaskan February day. My marten country...



A few marten from the line Feb. 11th....



Fur shed....




A check on the beach 'line...



Furs ready for shipment....



A day on my line is always different. Ocean trapping varies greatly, due to sea conditions. I run many lines around the state. This is my home line. Most days are wet and windy. Constantly fighting freeze/ thaw weather. Anyone want to see another post, of my interior animal pics, and traplines??

Keep bringing the pics trapped!! They are great!!

Here's more pics from lines past and present....






[img][IMG]http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac72/trapped4ever/trapping%202009/crossfox-1.jpg[/img]












Some of these photos are 8- 10 years old. Just a taste of a bit of Alaska trapping.

Very nice....you really have been trapping forever!

great pics look like your having fun!!!!

I agree with LT and thanks, love the pics.

wow. do you do this full time

please, no more! I cant take it!

Oh, you'll learn to take it around here...

great job

awesome pics from alaska. thanks for sharing.

WOW - well trapped4ever - I'm now officially impressed!

trapped4ever..... incredible photos!!!!!!!!! Some of the best pics I have seen on here.

OSTA members, does he not remind you of Jim Cundiff somewhat?
Two brothers from different mothers!

OK, someone else give us a story on your trapline...

Here's a guy who took the time, from Alaska non the less, even the boss, Paul Dobbins added to this thread.

trapped4ever Awesome Pics... Thanks for sharing.

Hey Lt Grey. If you get down to WV next year I'd Like for me and my son to ride along with you for a day. I have been working on permission for next season and got a few lines planned out. Maybe you could ride a day with us and give us some pointers.
Best Post i've seen on here yet. I love this.

OK, sounds like a plan!

Yep. Will do. We can start making plans about Sept if you want. Thanks. My boy is very excited.

PM me your # !

Hey Lt Grey. I was going to send you a PM but it tells me your box is full.

Sorry, cleared out now. I've had as many as 95 in one day...hard to keep up with it all.

Any one else or is this going away?

Next time let's run a line together....LOL

Death threats,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

LOL

i dont think theres any place id rather be after seeing those pics of alaska and all that fur. sure does make a guy dream...

Yep, he's got it!

Well here's one that is actually scattered over a few days with Scott Balts, AKA 330Trapper, of Minnesota.



Being in ADC full time, I often get PM’s from trappers across the country wanting to know how to “break into the biz,” so to speak. Many fur trappers have thought, at least once, they would like to do control work full time and have wondered what that would be like on a daily basis.

I confess, growing up, I wanted to be a full time coyote and/or beaver trapper like so many of the “western trappers” I had read about . . . then I learned it didn’t pay as much as I wanted to make, although an ideal life style, no doubt for many. Today I run an ADC business covering five counties for larger animals such as squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, beaver, muskrats, skunks, groundhogs, bats etc. and up to nine counties on moles.
Each year I take on a number of students to train them fully in the ADC business. Some of them have fur trapping experience, and some have never even set a trap. Many however, want to make the progression from fur trapping to ADC work.

This year I celebrated 10 years of training, by heading first, up to central Minnesota. I was met by Scott Balts of Pine City, Mn. who was of course, my student. Over the next two weeks we went over everything from mice to moles and ground squirrels to bat exclusion, snaring beaver, making lures and snares.

Scott I found out, was a fairly good beaver trapper in his own right with a 330-kill trap. He also had been working, prior to my arrival on the trap designs I had sent him and had made some six or seven dozen cage traps, some of the best ones I have ever seen.
His traps were so good, I ordered several dozen of each, despite the cost of shipping. He also makes a fine cage trap “divider” and the best 660 I have ever seen.

The weather was not on our side, as it rained more days than not.
Even one day it ended up snowing. Odd I thought for May, but then, this is Minnesota!


In Minnesota, they have lots of mosquitoes and I mean BIG mosquitoes and they’ve got lots of friends. They also have way too many ticks and they have lots of friends too . . . All in all it was an enjoyable experience. I got to meet and spend an afternoon with Merlin Ladd, who I understand is a bit of a legend in those parts and had dinner with a trapper ( who goes by Lundy on T-Man) . . . never laughed so hard in my life.
Scott passed my course with flying colors, of course and I look forward to hearing good things from him in the future.

I have long left Minnesota of course and returned back to work here in Ohio.

Below are ( but a few) pictures from my time with Scott. I will try to post more of them in the next few days.
All animals trapped by Scott . . . of course!









































I highly reccomend any of Scott's traps, as his are the best in the business. LT

If I had the $$ I'd like to go a day on the line with Slim Pedersen.

One day I'm going to shanghai Swamp Wolf into a trip to south Ga with him, but I'm gonna make HIM pay ME!! LOL


JBR

I was up at 5 this morning stopped at the local quick stop at 6 and got a cup of coffee, and some snack food for lunch. I was in the woods at 6:30. I planted 25 traps mostly dirt holes and a few flat sets and had to leave at 3:30 this afternoon. I'm trapping 2.5 miles of main road on a local hunting club. I set on sign and hit all the intersections of other roads. I'm targeting coyotes and fox for the live market. I'm expecting to catch my 1st coyote and 1st red fox on this line. Wish me luck.

I wake up at 6:30 and look at the temperature on my bed side. It read 24 degrees. Last night it had read 20 degrees. I hopped that the coons were moving last night because it usually gets in the single digits at night. So I through on my coat and hunting boots and head down to check the bucket sets I had at the base of dens trees in our pasture. I saw the first bucket and it didn't have my 220 in it so my heart starts a pumping. My 220 held a nice boar coon, still warm even. I must've made the catch just this mourning yet. The second bucket was untouched but that is okay, Because carrying one flee infested coon a half mile in 2 foot deep snow is enough for me. I went to school and on the way home I checked the traps I had in the barns to remove some nuisance raccoon that the land owner was complaining about and to not much suprise I caught another grinner. Not a raccoon but Oh Well, its better than his barn cats that keep messin' up my sets. I then go out to the creek a mile down the road to check the bobcat snares but nothing. There's good sign up on top of the hill beside the creek, and I keep seeing rabits up there, Maybe I'll put a cubbie in there tomorrow. I head home to skin my catches. Grinners are always so easy to process and this coon streched just short of 4XL. A rewarding day for me.

Teg

Love these.As soon as our season gets going I'll post a day or two on my line.Nov 6th here we come!

2.5 miles of road and you put in 25 sets????

ATL Trapper, looking forward to it!

Ohio's raccoon season opener caught me sitting home still working on snare orders and of course also working on my own snares, which I would be setting in about 30 days...right after Ohio's gun season( deer), which was the first week of December.
Besides it was hot, almost 70 degrees, which is NOT my ideal trapping weather.
When you trapped raccoons all year in town like I do, going out and catching them in the 70 degrees is not what you have in mind for fur season !

Still, Forrest London and I had a personal bet to go out and catch 20 'coons the first day.
I had told him to go on without me that as soon as it cooled off a bit, I would set some traps.
Having a good many cage traps, I desided to just go out and set a 'few' of them and after a few days it did cool off to about 50 degrees, so I headed over to Miami county and set 38 cage traps out using either my fish paste bait or one of my my fruit paste bait inside them.
Nothing too fancy, just set on location.
My first check was well over 20 raccoons but I did have some small 'coons, which would not be worth harvesting, so they were released on site.
I did keep 18 of the best ones and stopped by Forrest's house to see how his season was going... and perhaps to make good on 'our promise' of 20 on a first day check.
After that, I went back to work on my snares and my ADC jobs that I had out.
December would be here before I knew it and I was way behind on snare making.

those pictures are awsome im just starting out and i lost to snares due to a struggling animal !!!!! hope to b as good as you some day !!!!!!

Hey LT I've got a question for you. Of the coons in the top picture which ones are of the perfered colour?

Best ones here are #2 and #5...not perfect but, it's Ohio!

seems like east tn. catch 5 here and colors are all over the place no 2 the same

Right, Scott.

Ohio has a good many raccoon, just not the right color, clarity, size or fur density as a rule!

I'm impressed . I wish snaring was allowed in NY. Seems it may be easier than dirt holes . Thanks for the ride ...Tom

Certainly seems like it when it rains !

THIS WAS GREAT!!!THANKS FOR THE EXPERIENCE !!!

Man, all these trappers and no other stories ? I find that hard to believe !

yes, first let me say this. i have a few friends who trap and know i am on trapperman and they all say , "MAN THATS GAY! WHY YOU WANT TO GO ON THERE AND LISTEN TO ALL THOSE FOOLS ACT LIKE THEY ARE KNOW IT ALLS AND LIE AND START FIGHTS AND STUFF!" this post and posts like it are exactly why! to me it is like im with you on the line. not just to pick brains and ask questions but to enjoy others who enjoy what i do, awesome LT GREY good stuff!

Ill start with my last catch of the year because it was funny. i work in a prison. i have a very good friend of mine who was my SGT. at the prison, he is from BALTIMORE MD! and anybody who knows pittsburgh knows we hate BALTIMORE and the likes of it! lol, not really. Well he moved here from the city 32 years ago when he started at the prison. City boy who inherited a very nice piece of land. never hunted, never trapped and still DONT! lol BUT, he lives through my adventures on his property and enjoys it, he has retired now and we are still like brothers from another mother....now....

i trapped early season for ten days on his place and took 22 coon, 1 mink , 11 muskrat, 1 coyote and 1 red fox. Had a blast, hes got an awesome creek the runs through the place and its chalk full o critters that aint been trapped in 20 years or more. i took 2 weeks vacation and ran different properties everyday...trapline mornings are the best!

wake : 0500
coffee : 0510 lol!
dress: 0530
load up and roll 0600

routine: check, pull, reset if critter, clean tools, comb out/bag/bug spray, load up, next!

chuck wagon breakfast then get to skinning and a few yuengling beers. im anal about my pelt smells so i flee and tick bath every thing, ring it, dry it and stretch it, turn to walk out, look at my catch, wink, shut the door.

i go in the house. double fist pump my chest n say to my wife....GREAT HUNTER! YES? she lowly mumbles "ya" i then say "FINE FIGURE OF A MAN ! YES? " she then says " YOU'RE AN IDIOT! STOP SAYING THIS EVERYDAY!!" i then take a shower...by myself ....somedays:)

well my old sgt gets text pictures of everything i catch and he had missed me trapping his place and said why dont you come back and get more of these coyotes? I explained that gas is not cheap and he lives close to 20 miles from me and i cant check everyday. He then says...you set your traps and ill check for you every morning! i was like ahhhhhhh, you sure? he said YEAH MAN I LIKE CHECKING THEM! i would take him with me on checks somedays and he was like a 5 year old 54 year old haha! so i said ok, but here are some things i want you to know.
1. im only setting for canines...if i get non target critters i want you to dispatch them and hang in the barn till i get up to you once a week. cool.

2. DONT SHOOT YOURSELF OR GET HURT.....you would have to see him to understand, he gets sooooo excited over critter encounters , i mean jumping up and down look at that...LOOK AT THAT!! and its a deer and two yearlings standing on the logging road! you would swear they were BIGFOOT or JOHN LENNON strolling through the woods!

ok...im working day shift and i get an emergency call...im like "oh no" of course! thinking the worst i head for the office, pick up the phone..YEAH? voice on the phone.."BIG....HUGE.....SNAPPING AT ME!! huh? SULLY, WE GOT A WOLF!!! THIS THING IS HUGE AND BOY IS IT GOING CRAZY..I LEFT! wait.....WOLF? WHAT THE @#$% ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? ...GET UP HERE DUDE AND GET THIS THING BEFORE IT GETS LOOSE!! ....WOOOOOO im at work dude, calm down, good job, go back and get it!.......@#$% YOU! IM NOT GETTING CLOSE TO THAT THING, ITS MEAN! i was laughing so hard i was tearing up...ok, ill be there in a few hours.

i get there after work, we jump in his rhino and head through the deep snow...im totally expecting to see a domestic german shepperd so i bring a catch pole!! get there and there is a 30 # coyote ..lol! i walked up to him and all i hear is....WATCH HIM! HES CRAZY!! BE CAREFUL!! coyote is now laying flat on its chest with its rump in the air, teeth exposed and putting on a vocal show....it was awesome, not just the coyotes reaction but my SGT thought we just caught an american werewolf in GREENE COUNTY!! LOL after dispatching the yote he was all over it, looking at its canines, petting it, smelling it just loving the encounter...very funny. hes not an outdoorsman, hunter or trapper but he sure does enjoy being part of it. if only antis and haters felt this way, anyway, heres my boy!

OK, cleared it out some.

Well, i thought i done read all of your great threads, but this i've never seen. I work 6-7 days a week, doeant leave much trapping time. So here's how my day starts. ....Up at 3am, take a very hot shower, dress, grab my lunch, out the door, cold this morning 25 degrees, Few miles down the road i pull over on the side of the road splitting the distance between 2 culverts, bail out the truck. 2 dps at each one. Nothing today. Drive 1/2 mile to a bridge, 3 dps an 2 330's for beaver or otter, 1 coon. Back in the truck. Few more miles an another culvert, 1 coni box an 1 dp, nuthing, back in the truck. Around a curve an there he is again, big ol coon eating on duck carcuss's some one dumped rite where i park, check 2 more dps, a double!!! A grinner an a big field rat, lol, rat is gona be bait. Few more miles an another bridge, 4 dps an 2 330s, 1 coon. Back in the truck, stop at a country store an grab some coffee, down the road an 2 bridges 200yds apart, 5 dps, 1 coon. Make a bucket set for a cat. Walk to the other bridge, 6 dps, 1 lil coon, released it. Couple miles down the road i pull up to the job site, work time. Off work, pull up to the farmers gate in front of my house, last check of the day, 6 dps, 1 coon, 2 coni boxs nuthing, 2 cat sets, nuthing. 6:40 at the house, skin, ice down the coon meat, eat supper, shower sit with the wife awhile, 10:00 bed time. Alarm set for 3am again.

WOW, I can't believe this thread is still going!

Sullyote, I love the way you describe your sargeant, he reminds me of a couple guys I know. Was pulling down this guys driveway once so I could check a couple traps I had set in his backyard, he comes flying out his front door all excited and yelling how there's a 75 to a hundred pound giant coyote in a set. This guy's a hunter and has shot many deer and bear so I figured he must have a clue about an animals weight, boy was I wrong. Just another skanky looking 35 pounder out there. Then he's like LET ME SHOOT IT, LET ME SHOOT IT! Why not? He runs in the house and comes out with a 22, he's trembling and actually missed with the first shot. I just laughed my arse off all the way home.

very cool, good pics

very cool, good pics

lol comber! when you say deer hunters it makes me think of a friend of mine who said to me not long ago, " I CANT BELIEVE YOU CATCH THOSE COYOTES, I NEVER SEE THEM!" then when you show them one live they flip out! cool! i tell um, now get out here and trap....almost all say....NAH....TO MUCH LIKE WORK!!! LOL

Hahaha, the honest ones will tell you it's too much like work but then you got the guys who tell you year after year that they want to learn to trap but they don't have time to take the trapper ed course. Oh well, more fur for us.

Gotta keep this going with LT's thread so..Today was a pretty good day out there but could have been great. Saw where a pair of bobcats, one was no doubt a giant tom, walked within 20' of my set. Lastnight's fresh inch of snow showed they never even investigated it, hanging turkey wing and all. At another location I followed coyote tracks right up to a set. He had paw prints on every corner of my trap but somehow never hit the pan. Bummer #2 of the morning. A little while later I followed mink tracks to within a few feet of a 160 placed in a small channel of water. That trap held a muskrat. Two other locations yielded a Red fox each. Now it's time to go skin them.

HAPPY TRAPPING!!

Besides checking traps, this pretty much sums up my day... LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCVTq-UW2h4