I might get that way this next week, I'll give a call before I head over the hill. Happy Easter to ya!

Jack, just curious if you have done much work with Carter Niemeyer. I knew him a bit when he lived in Helena. I know he was worked with the reintroducion aspect of the wolf. I had heard he is somewhat anti now? Is that correct or just a rumor.

Let me put to rest the rumor that Jack walks on water (other than seasonally...)

A "few" years ago (I retired in 04 and it was WAY before that,) he came into my office at DNR with some questions regarding Personal Use Wood Cutting permits. It was September and he mentioned that he had seen a young bull moose just west of Rosie Creek while he was in the woods a day prior. But, he said, since it was in the "Rosie Creek drainage," unfortunately it was within the Fairbanks Management Area and thus off limits for a rifle hunter (bow only in FMA.)

I (helpfully) reminded Jack that the western boundary of the FMA was Rosie Creek itself, NOT the western extent of the Rosie Creek drainage!

He had passed up a sure-thing opportunity to shoot a perfectly legal, "just the right size" eater moose that you could drive to with a pickup because the regs were complicated and he did not have the reg book with him and couldn't check the mgt area boundaries!

Without invoking Jack's name, I told this story at a couple of Board of Game meetings as an example of when the regulations are not clear to ADFG employees, maybe they are not clear enough for hunters and the general public.

And Jack probably thought I had forgotten!

Pete

Jeez, Pete. A memory like an MB-750. But I've got to tell the rest of the story. If you'll remember, I already had a moose that year. It was my lovely bride that wanted to tip over that little mulligan. However, you are certainly correct that I was forever confused about certain regulations. Too bad we can't go back to the days when the regulations made sense: 1) you had to have a license; and 2) no more than 2 moose per year.

Simply put, YES. In my opinion, because of some recent dealings with Carter, he's over on the dark side. I've actually never met him face-to-face, and would probably walk the other way if I had the chance. On the other hand, I've heard from others that he was, in his former life, a pretty good hand at wolfing.

Jack
Thanks for the info on trap selection , what do you consider the best sets for October when our season has started before?
Our quota is usually filled in 2 weeks .

Rivers...
First off, in October/November, lots of fairly small, naive pups running around. With a quota system in place, I'd certainly try for the yearlings or adults rather than pups. On all my sets that early, I'd first bump up the pan pressure to at least 12-14 pounds, trying to avoid pups.
At all times of year, not just early season, I think it prudent to mix up the sets I give to wolves. That is, don't make dirt-hole after dirt-hole after dirt-hole. Mix up dirt-holes (or snow-holes), flat sets, and pee-posts. Too, important to give them a variety along a line in terms of lure. I never put more than one lure at any set. Give 'em a variety, including food-based lure, sex-based lure (gland, including urine), and curiosity lure. I've seen clear evidence (many times) where wolves will walk right by a food-based lure, never even giving it a sideways glance. Down the trail a half mile, however, the big dog will fall for a gland-based lure. Mix it up. My personal favorite in the early season? Simple dirt-hole with a subtle food-based lure. Remember to bump up that pan pressure, however.

Jack, your thoughts on pre-baiting sets without a trap prior to season ??

Well, I remembered enough to make it interesting BS.....!

The whole time I was on the BOG, I featured a bumper sticker on my brief case that stated: "Simplify Game Regulations."

I tried to remember that every time we deliberated and voted. Other people, I guess, not so much!

Pete

Do mainly holes and pee posts here.
Uping the pan pressure sounds great for us that can only that 1 wolf a season also .

Ever though of writing a book on the subject ?

Thanks again

White17.
I'm a believer in pre-baiting for wolves. However, I don't use lure only, as there needs to be a reward involved (food) to encourage them to come back. I've got a system that I call "Advanced Lupus Procurement Operation" that works wonders. Now I know a lot of you purists are going to cringe at this one, but I'll stick my neck out there on the chopping block anyway. Go ahead, laugh. When I'm scouting a new area for wolves, I might drive 100 miles of back roads in a day, and I might do that 4-5 days in a row. I can't possibly run that much line, so I'll often stop and make dirt-hole sets (quick and easy; no need to take time to blend-in the set). I sift the dirt at the trap site, but only so I can read the tracks. I'm not putting in a trap at all. In the dirt-hole itself is a (cringe) half can of the cheapest, greasiest dogfood I can buy. However, it might be a week or more before I get back around, and it's easy to see which locations have had wolf activity, or activity from only coyotes, red foxes, mtn. lions, bobcats, etc. The wolves have hit a few of the pre-bait sites, and obviously, there was no down-side. They've been rewarded with a treat, and next time they're in the vicinity, they'll come by. Hopefully, you've got a factory-bent-up piece of steel waiting for them on their next pass.

"Advanced Lupus Procurement Operation" I get it !!


Thanks !!

"Advanced Lupus Procurement Operation"

Not sure if Jack was in the military,but I know you were.military guys are always coming up with a acronym for everything,maybe you can shorten that for us.

Appreciate the response Mr. Whitman. Any chance you're going to publish a biography in the future? I'd love to hear/read about some of your adventures/stories from a lifetime on the trapline.

Couple things still stand out in my mind at the class was you mentioned just bringing the trap up through a layer of wax while dyeing them and someone in the crowd said BS. Do you still think that is okay and also when you were making a dirt hole set you mentioned using mink lure.
Gosh it's nice having you back on site!

Advanced Lupus Procurement Operation

I thought ALPO was a brand of dog food................:)

Decoy,

Thanks for welcoming me back into the fray. It's good being back.

I've always been of the opinion that, if you're a waxer, the best is to use a vat that's 100% wax (I prefer 1/4 beeswax and 3/4 paraffin) rather than a layer of wax melted on top of water, and all that AFTER the dyeing process is complete. However, that can be quite a lot of wax, and its expensive. Thus, I know quite a few trappers that go the water/wax mixture simply to save on money. That said, it doesn't do quite as good a job as pure wax. For me, the dyeing process is totally separate from the waxing, and if I said that I do them concurrently, I mis-spoke. If you're trying to save money and floating the melted wax on top of boiling water, be careful to make certain that you leave the traps in the water for a period to get them very hot, because if you bring them up through the wax layer and they're relatively cool, you get globbed wax, pinto-covered traps, and thin/thick spots; all no good. Personally, I don't use wax on my wolf gear, unless I'm going to be trapping the shoulder seasons (spring or fall) where I'll be encountering freeze/thaw cycles. If you are a waxer, be super-careful about foreign odors. Wax (even the beeswax/paraffin combination) attracts, absorbs, and holds foreign odors, and, in my opinion, is extremely counterproductive for wolf traps.

I typically put out a wolf line using 3 different classes of lure. Food-based, sex-based (gland), and curiosity. For a curiosity lure, the best I've found is either mink or river otter gland lure. That being said, however, I'm always looking for new ideas. Educate me, man!

lol, nancy