If anyone's feeling generous, can we see some marten set pics using footholds? I'm getting a little frustrated with lack of action in my flower pot/coni sets and want to try some new tricks.

I've pored through archived posts for a couple hours now and found some good pics..but it's slow going to mine the whole backlog of posts for a few gems.

Thanks in advance!

I'd look at Familytrappers journal and consider ground set swing poles for them if they refuse your poles. They are refusing mine and it's starting to get my goat, I have some 110's going along for a ride this weekend and some stinky moose hide just for this purpose!

Ok, I'll take a look there!

Thanks..

BD,
Maybe just try some natural cubby sets like this???? You'll want to check them pretty often, to avoid fur damage though. Plus, they'll get REAL muddy, if it's warm. These are best, in protected locations, so snow doesn't put them out of commission. Under big trees, rootwads, logs, etc.

I like the leaning pole, it keeps the marten off the ground. I've found a more visual bait helps a little too

Thanks guys. I like both of those pics. Do you reckon I have to get further from the beach? I'm setting within 50ft of the high tide mark, but in a variety of locations.

set where you see the sign.....

Well, everybody's got different conditions & circumstances, so there's no one set of rules that will work everywhere, but after trying just about everything I can think of over the years on marten,... I'm one of the rare guys that uses all footholds & almost no body grippers on marten. And I agree with T4E that a ground cubby is the highest catch % of any set you can make for them,... but it has several big disadvantages too,... mainly deep snow & mice/shrew damage, among other things. Since the marten in my area climb with no hesitation at all, I have gone almost exclusively to wooden boxes, which virtually eliminate all the bad things about setting on the ground, and my catch % is somewhere over 90% of visits as far as I can tell. My boxes are simple, fast & cheap to make and at least for my area, just work really well. Here's what they look like, and over the years I have gathered a collection of the old short-spring style #1 Victors, which I really like. I also have a pile of the old Diamond double-jaw #1's too, which I also really like,.. but almost hate to use them, 'cause I don't want to lose any, as it's almost impossible to find them anymore.

I nail these boxes to the side of a tree or pole with 2 nails into the side,.. and angling slightly downhill, just to help keep the snow out & help keep the occasional bird from spotting the bait. I used to put a running pole up to the box, but it's completely unneccessary,... they hardly ever used it anyway even when I had one. I have watched marten go into a box, and they can just shoot up a tree a few feet in a single bound. You don't really need to set these any higher up on a tree than what you need to keep the marten off the ground,... I usually go for about 3 feet or so, depending on snow depth potential. I have used these on the coast in PWS in the past, and had just as good of a result as I do in my own area farther into the interior. Here's some examples,...

They work equally well on big trees or small ones,... spruce, willow, hemlock, cottonwood,... makes no difference. If your tree has no branches or anything for the marten to get tangled into, just pound a couple nails into the tree above your box, leaving them stick out as much as possible, and they'll get wrapped around one of them almost every time,...

Thanks for the awsome pics Wolverinebait....

Because the marten stay alive for a day or two in footholds, you might have a little more trouble with cannabalism, but when that starts happening, just add more sets to your area. Once frozen, other marten generally won't bother them.

Of course, once in a while you'll have one that is still alive,... which is good,... you can skin them right away when you get home, and they haul easy without damaging them like frozen ones can,...

Beautiful pics WB......

I don't know if footholds catch more mink/weasels than body grippers would or not,... but around here both mink & weasels will climb just as readily as marten do,.... anyway, if all else fails, give something like this a try if your other sets don't seem to be scoring,... good luck.

I like the simple set. WB I'm a KISS man. I won't use permanent boxes here because the bears would rip many down and they would attract the attention of bandits. I can think of one improvement. I don't like how many of your marten are laying up against a tree. The live spruce are going to get tore up and sappy. In a bad shrew year the shrews will climb and get your marten. I think I would attach maybe a 18 inch piece of 2x2 to the top at a right angle and attach my chain as far out towards the end of the 2x2 as I could. That should help keep them from tearing things up so much and also keep them from laying against the trees. JMHO.

X2

I am not a trapper, but I do want to know what Marten tracks look like. I have a good friend whom wants to trap a couple but we have not located a group yet. If I knew what a track looked like I could help him out. (Im a hound guy)

Like a mink track, only slightly larger.

Still losted, I hear they look similar to a rabbit? The photos I've found so far are somewhat inconsistent. I know tracks change in the snow somewhat depending on the snow type. We do not have a huge population from what I've been told, but figure if I spot some tracks I can relay the information to him.

Anybody try bridger 1.65 for the marten?

sounds awfully big for a marten.

WB- Some nice marten/boxes!

Very cool pictures! Thanks all. This was real helpful and I got some good sets out. More tomorrow, I hope. I learned that finding/setting cubbies was much more fun than hanging flower pots and it was nice to play with the little footholds vs the 120's. I am using Duke 1.5cs though, and they feel like they might be a bit much. I guess I'll get online tonight and order up some #1 something-or-others...

Cheers and thanks again.

BD,
Here's how I do my pole sets, when I use them, (mainly in DEEP snow sections of my line.) EVERYBODY does it different, so I'm just saying this is the method I use. I cut my pole to a wedge shape by chopping it on opposite sides. A longspring slips right over the wedge, leaving the trap jaws and pan hanging over space. This is the LAST thing for the marten to step on, when reaching out for the bait. You'll catch most of them by the left front foot, when set this way. Having the trap hanging out in space, allows snow to fall through the jaws, and not build up as badly on the trap, vs. having the trap sitting on the pole. Also, wind, or a chinook will clear traps pretty rapidly, and get them back working again, at times.

Notice my bait is hidden, this pic, it's in one of those disposable paper funnels, but usually I have it inside an old soup can. This keeps many non targets like birds or pine squirrels from working the set as much. I loop the chain back through the ring, slip that over the pole, then wire the trap chain to the pole as short as possible, usually 3 or 4 links. Longer poles keep marten out away from the tree, so as not to get pitch on the fur. Also, use dead dry poles, or non spruce, to avoid pitch seeping on the poles, and getting onto fur. I like nice sheltered, mid- sized to smallish trees, with good overhead cover to keep the snow off, and hide caught marten from the ravens and such. I can take some better pics of some of my pole sets, later in the week, if you want, but you probably get what I'm saying?? Also, I wouldn't use bigger than a #1, and good strong #0's are ideal, but don't handle my deep snow so well, so I use mostly #1's. Maybe try hiking inland a bit, up a river, or small valley, if still no marten show in your sets. In this warm, and later in the season like this, they'll move inland, uphill, and up the valleys more. Good luck, and PM me if you have any ?'s I may be of help with.

#1 are the best? Is 1.65 really overkill?

T4E,the bait looks on the small side, do you use a call lure at the set?

Brother Dave, i have a bunch of number one dbl coils. To make them work i put them into a vise and cut one spring off. Made it have much less damage on the marten. Make sure you grind them off so you can remove the whole spring. Saves money from buying more traps.

thanks T4E and yukontrapper. i'm all set and have high hopes for this week...

Can't u drop a spring in those coils? I thought I heard of someone doing this awhile back. Made do with what he had and it worked minus the loose ear.

I use all #zeroes for the same set as T4E shows above. 1.65 would be way too much IMO.

Thanks I'm makin sets n have number 1 I wanted a bigger trap but ill stay with 1. Looks like it does the trick nice pics!

I hate the loose ear, only thing it gives ya leverage when resetting it.

I tried 1 1/2 coils years ago, for one season, and I also think even those were way to much trap. I like the #1 in either longs or jumps.
Here is a picture of marten tracks and poop....

Viking that is helpful! Does anyone have more track photos?

You will know them when you see them. It's the bigger critters that may throw you. When you see tracks that even might be marten, make sets.

I believe these are marten tracks?! See em around but 20 miles up the Yukon from me. Hope it's worth it. Snowed the night before little covered.

Marten tracks,....

Thanks alot that helps a bunch. Like a squirrel jump with bobcat sized tracks kinda(smaller cat) I will pass this along its been very helpful. Any tips of locating a population other than tracks?

In your area, look to the Cascades.

I am located in the middle of the blue mountains. We know a few general areas where trappers have harvested them before supposedly. Just trying to narrow it down, elevation a big factor or habitat?

Unreal, what part of the blues? I always thought up around tollgate looked promising.

Castor I live in the town at the base of tollgate on the east side. Elgin, OR. That is one area where a trapper had got one years ago. I also hear up by the La Grande watershed has some.

Never been there in winter, just fall/summer. But that general area round ya looks good.

Boco,
I use pretty small baits. With all my freeze/ thaw weather and warm spells, I change bait every week or so. I go through a LOT of bait for marten in a season. Hundreds of pounds, even using small baits. Once bears are in bed, I use call lure. Also, many other home made lures, that aren't as strong as a typical skunk type call lure. Using the right lure, bait isn't even necessary.

As a subordinate, I agree. Location is everything for marten,. Bait and/or lure will do it. Just one or the other, in my opinion.

Got my bridger #1 long springs burley looking little traps. Can't wait to set them.

This has been a great thread. :-)

That Tollgate/Elgin area should have #'s of Marten. If not the scenery around there is just beautiful.