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.