Fox preditated by winged preditor? If those are fox tracks and they disappear, those wing marks arent big enough to lift a fox....maybe im reading the evidence wrong?

RdFx they're ptarmigan tracks. He was running and then took off!

Sissy thanks for the ATA article

PAlltheway Thank you for reading and commenting.

drasselt I feel really honored that they asked me for a second article after my beaver trapping one. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.


My trapping partner is headed out to check traps without me today, while I'm stuck at work. Then tomorrow we're going to explore South River or head to Egavik. Impatient girl!

Does Larry Nakarak still trap?
mt

martentrapper I haven't heard about him trapping. But that doesn't mean he isn't. :-) Junie is, he's working up the main river.

My BFF had a great day on the line, while I was dealing with cancelled flights! To be fair he also had to deal with overflow and water eeeeeverywhere.

I think our plans for tomorrow are going to be switching from setting traps to skinning!

There was a marten in a no. 4 meant for a kitty. And a marten in a pole set.

There was a picture I posted a while back with fox and lynx tracks everywhere and we did two snare sets around that area. A fox had a good meal from the bait at the first set. But then his tracks went to the second set and he was there glaring away! He'd somehow got caught in the snare twice and hadn't died.



We have one set up by a beaver house, where we do it up for lynx, wolverine, and mink/marten. It's been a good spot over the years. Up until now this season, two lynx have traveled through ignoring their set up, sniffing the wolverine and mink/marten sets and then wandering off. -_- But this time a wolverine through and knocked the mink/marten box over, open it's lid, and ate the bait. Thankfully he then stomped over to his box and stuck his head in a 300 trying to get my ptarmigan carcass!




He called me when he got to town. Luckily I had just gotten off of work. So I scampered down to the shop and asked all about his day. I can't wait to ask all over again tomorrow, when we're skinning and putting up critters.

That is a real beauty there!! Way to go.

Thanks for sharing Sissy. Looks like you guys are getting some fur in shop!!! That wolverine is a beauty!!

Looks like a nice gulo, congrats!

Awesome wolverine! Just got one a couple weeks ago after letting the set sit for a month. Tried going after wolves and animals tracking them but no luck, they reach the trees before I could catch up to them. Hope to see more pics

It's a nice week when it starts and ends with a wolverine.





I was at work when my trapping partner pulled up with this guy on the back of his rig yesterday! We caught him up Rabbit Creek in a snare that he twisted something fierce.



I shot at a fox Monday when I was giving a family member a ride. I thought I missed him because I didn't see any blood, but I saw where he ran to. A culvert right by the tank farm. So I set a snare there Friday night and Saturday night, there he was! Bright red and caught around his middle. I never make my loops small enough or set them high enough.






Turns out I didn't completely miss him. I just nicked the top of his head.

I was in Unk Friday. Fixed a plane and came back. Got to see Lorena for a couple minutes and talked to Wade and Allen. Didn't have time for much more. All the snow around there sure brings back my memories of trapping there.
Someone else told me they hadn't seen sign of anyone trapping up South R. Gotta be some lynx and wolverine up there!
mt

Any day that has a gulo involved is a good one!

martentrapper, We've been trying to get up South River but there's way too much water right now.


A big storm was supposed to hit early this morning at 5 am, but it never came. The winds howled but the promised snow never came this far south. I had work today and everyone thought we wouldn't be flying, but the weather was good south of us. It shut down Nome and Koyuk today, though. We didn't get any flights from them.

On his way to town my trapping partner planned on getting a load of wood. At the last minute he decided to see if he could get up North River to check our sets because it was so warm today. He only made it so far before water and open holes turned him around.

But in the sets he was able to check, we had some fur!



The lynx was in a snare set that we had in a clump of trees surrounded by tracks when we set it. Nothing had been back in the month since it was put in, but today it produced a kitty.



The small marten was caught in a vertical set, nailed to a tree, close to where we drop down onto the North River.



The mink was caught in the same no. 4 that we caught the marten in. I still think it's a great spot for a lynx to walk by, but apparently marten and mink like it better than kitty's.

I'm covering for a coworker tomorrow and then have an awesome night of playing with fur ahead of me. Hopefully it gets colder sooner than what the forecast says, because I bet there are marten up in our traps that we can't get to! We're hoping to try and get to our traps Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for posting pics, always enjoy them and the story with them.... good luck trapping and be safe.

I noticed the water around town when we flew in. Can't you travel the ocean ice at the mouth to get to the south side of the river?
Doing good on wolverine. Keep it up.
Hey...........was that fox snared in town? Better get some more!
mt

Last pic is the best picture ever for promoting trapping

Family Trapper, Kusko, Groa, That Fool, Thank you!! He has such a bright stripe! I just love him.

smalltimetrapper, Amazing days! I adore any day that involves fur though. Even the little ones. We haven't caught an ermine yet this year. I've seen them around town though. One was popping in and out of my mama's porch the other day, while she was cutting cardboard.

RdFox Thanks for the continued reading and comments and encouragement!

martentrapper, someone sunk his rig and destroyed it at the mouth this year. I can't afford to do that. Iron doggers are due in at 1-2 this morning and are on a mandatory 8 hour hold with an update in the morning because of the water and freaking weather. I've been wanting to catch a ride with our 207 pilot at the end of the day, up north, but his plane was on mechanical and then we cancelled because of the weather. The fox was snared right outside of town. I'm going to snare the one by the airport, I've found where he's cross from the graveyard through the fence onto the runway.

PAlltheway, he's such a big beautiful wolverine! I'd never heard them called gulo before trapperman. I LOVE learning new things. And etymology. In Inupiaq we call them qavik. Thanks.

I finally got to go out on the line today! After too much covering at work and way too much warm weather and water, the temps finally dropped and the west wind switched to east wind. It also has been snowing, so all the of the trails were fluffy and perfect for driving.

Gregg and I met on the little pond where we have our first set. It takes us almost the same exact amount of time to get there when he leaves from the cabin and I leave from town. We had to rebait almost every set to where we drop down onto North River. There were definitely some happy birds and mice out there during the warm weather.

The river was creepy but good. The overflow had drained off. A few holes had opened up, one was right next to the trail. Gregg walked ahead to check the ice to get to one of our traps, it looked yucky but ended up being fine. We had decided to pull all the traps on the river and the traps that we can't get to when the creeks and rivers overflow. I was super relieved to drive up off of the ice.



We got to our first set off the river and there were fresh marten tracks running by a pole set. The trap had been set off by a freaking bird. I stepped off the trail and went thigh deep into the snow. Gregg took a step and almost tripped. I started laughing, struggled through the snow, ecstatic to be outside and ready for whatever the day brought.

It had snowed so much that our trail was gone in most places. We picked our way through by memory as best we could, at times driving in circles. The third set in we pulled up on a marten covered in snow. He was froze solid and his tummy didn't smell green!



We worked our way through our sets, pulling as we went. It was fairly quick work, but hot trudging through the snow. The next marten we picked up was on another pole set, back in the trees. One of the new ones that we put in this year.



We missed a set coming from the river to our other trails and had to try and find our trail again from the other direction. I saw the box through the burned trees with no trap in it, and got excited for another marten.



Not quite. Our first ermine of the season.

The next marten I didn't take a picture of, he was caught in a no. 4. Slight overkill. He went for the kitty cubby and not for his box. The snow started up again and the only fresh sign was the first marten track and two ermine tracks. No fox, lynx, or wolverine tracks.

There was a marten in each of our farthest out two sets, in sight of each other. The second that both sets had produced this year.




Our last sets were on the twisty turny trail running next to the river. We crossed our fingers hoping the creek we had to drive on and cross was dried up, Gregg had to turn around two weeks ago because of overflow on it, so we wouldnn't have to back track all the way out to the river. We picked up the last of our traps, finding marten in the the last three. Each one making us smile and bringing our count for the day up to eight! Not a bad day for pulling traps.





The wind picked up and it started snowing pretty good on the drive back to town. Looks like we'll have to put off caribou hunting for a day, while we take care of the marten looking all lovely in the shop.