Yup. Didn't get many specks and Canadians last spring, so kept what I got.

Will that be a statewide regulation? I haven't looked into that. Lots of folks are confused as about that change. Can you post or explain it? Thanks.

I put some Mentholadem on the wing. Sometimes I'll have a rabbit or ptarmigan carcass (bones and guts) at the base of the tree, but sometimes not. Glad that Vicks is working out for you! Good stuff.

I'm going to try the Trubond 1000B this year. I'll try it on the smallest cats first, then work my way up. Those bigger cats have thicker skin, especially around the neck and head. I'm hoping I don't have to do anything special like thin the hide or anything. Also going to try the Trubond 1000B with the wolf skin as well.

Any bits of advice you Trubond users have? I skin and salt the hides, then flesh them with fine sawdust. Wash them, pickle, neutralize, and usually put in a tanning solution like EZ 100. But not sure about the Trubond stuff.

Yeah I was trying to get lynx gland lure for a while but could not get the kind I wanted. But the Vick's is working out now. Got 7 on Sunday but way more than 8 traps.

Really nice pictures and write-up Inupiaq. Would love to try sheefish I've heard they are good eating and great fighters.

I use Trubond 1000B all the time, you will like it. The process is very similar to what you are doing with EZ-100. Heres what I do. After they are skinned fleshed and salted I re-hydrate them in plain old water. A taxidermist told me to only leave the salt on for 24-hours if Im going to tan them so thats what I do now. It just makes rehydrating them easier. Once they are rehydrated they go in the pickle for a few days. Then pull them out and neutralize for 30-minutes, rinse hang to dry for an hour, then paint on the Trubond. After the Trubond is on I fold them up and let them sit overnight. Then I pull and stretch them the next day. They turn out nice and soft. I do thin them a bit during the pickle stage. Like you said they are thick in the neck area, so I thin that down some. I've got a round knife so it goes pretty quick.

Another thing you can do is tan them with the EZ-100 just like you normally would, then use Trubond 1000B as you would an oil. I know a taxidermist that tans everything this way. I like to do it that way on large animals like bears because there is no chance of missing spots with a submergible tan. Hope this helps!

Here is the webpage to the proposal from the November Board of Game meeting:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/regprocess/gameboard/pdfs/2017-2018/proposals/4.pdf

Here was the outcome....
Definition, Proposal 4......vote Carried 6-1
Change the definition of edible meat for large game birds. The board amended the proposal to remove heart and gizzards from the definition of edible meat, and clarified the definition includes the meat of the wings excluding the metacarpus (the tip section of the wing).

So that will be statewide for the state season for geese, cranes, and swans.

Thanks Yukon. I'll give both options a try. A few questions: 1. Do you ever wash and dry your skins? When I use EZ 100, after the tan, I'll wash them with some Pantene 2&1 shampoo and conditioner. Then I'll put them in a dryer fur side out on no heat until the fur is pretty fluffy. Then I'll put them on a wire stretcher, rub some hot oil on the hide, and work them at the right time.

2: The round knife. Is that just a beaver skinning knife? I have one of those. I also have a mini-flesher but haven't experimented enough with it to be confident quite yet.

3. What do you use for your pickle? How many parts each?

Badger Boy, I'm glad they took out the gizzard and heart. Also glad for the tip of the wing. I'm guessing that means we can use what I'm using, right?

I use citric acid for my pickle. 3oz ( by weight) and 1pound salt per gallon of water is what I do. Sometimes I add some Lipa Solve 77 but only for greasy stuff like bears and beaver....otherwise just the acid and salt for my pickle.

Yes I do wash everything but usually before the pickle. Dont think it matters much but, it might actually be better to do it your way as it would get rid of any tanning oil in the fur.

No, my round knife is a fleshing wheel. I got the small 4 inch one and love it. I do have the mini flesher too, but could never get good results with it although a lot of guys love them.

I would love to hear a report on the new titan

You can still use from the last joint to the tip. You can also use grouse or ptarmigan wings. I suspect you would also be ok just pulling some primary feathers out of the wing and tying them in a bundle. Might check with the trooper first though

And you guys think Canada has lots of regulations. Someone tried proposing legislation like that goose wing thing over here they would be laughed out of the Assembly. Tar and feathers might also come up, if that type of thing were still done. "Ask the Troopers" All we got to do is use connibear traps for marten. No one could care less about goose wings. The migratory bird Convention says you have to recover the geese and ducks you shoot. After that ??? This must be in your trapping regs? You get a big bunch of California legislators on your management boards? Good luck trapping lynx and wolves in cage traps with 12 hour check times. Canada obviously rules!!!

Not quite true muskrat.....at least here in Yukon. Our regs say you cant use ANY edible meat or fish for bait. I know guys who have gotten tickets for wasting grouse wings. The old step on the wings, pull on the feet trick is a real no-no these days. I know another guy that got nailed for using pieces of fish for bait that was deemed "edible."

This is how our Regulations read :Allow any meat of a game bird, small or big game animal, other than a wolf, wolverine, bear, or coyote, to be wasted. Meat wastage includes using any of these animals for bait.

Yukon, Should have stayed part of the NWT. Less BC (The California light of Canada) influence that way.

Wouldnt argue with that muskrat, your Territorial Govt has more brains than the rest of the Canadian Govt combined. Just make sure your people keep it that way.

They are going to cut our wolverine season here by next year, hunting on every level is under attack, and now our biologists are asking for trappers to submit lynx carcasses. Apparently they are doing a "study" of some sort.....thats exactly how they started off with wolverines. Took a few years but they finally convinced the Fish and Wildlife Management Board to approve cutting the season back. They still dont know much about wolverines, but they are only concerned with their agenda....and that agenda isn't good for trappers. I know they wont get a lynx carcass from me thats for sure.

The father of a Trappperman member is deputy Premiere you can't get a better government than that.
Sorry Inupiak for taking your thread so far off course. I will stop now. back to lynx trapping.

Sorry one last thing our MLA for Mackenzie Delta snared two wolves this winter.

No worries, Muskrat. That's how threads are supposed to work. The regulation is very pertinent to this lynx trapping thread. Myself personally, I didn't agree with the Migratory Bird Co-Management's proposal. Just because most Native across the State take the heart, gizzard, and most of the bird doesn't mean they should impose their cultural values on everyone else. I'm an Inupiaq. I take everything home, but I'm not going to impose my beliefs on others statewide. Sure, there's an ethical amount of meat we all should take home, but I think it was beyond ethical. I'm very FOR keeping people out of legal trouble, fines, courts, and jails as much as possible! I've been on that end of the stick and it's not fun.

We have the WACH up here and I believe we went too far with regulating ourselves even. We, the AC and RAC have imposed a closed season on bulls from October 15 to Jan 31. Why? So we can say, "We're doing our part." However, lots of local hunters, experienced and non, in the heat of the moment can't tell between a cow and a young bull during that timeframe and end up with a young bull from time to time. Why give the State ammo to prosecute us? The bull:cow ratio is OK. It's not in jeopardy.

Last but not least, I really feel the State meeting system needs to change. They have all their testimony time upfront for all proposals. Then later, when the proposal comes up, testimonies are forgotten. No, state the proposal, let's hear all the testimonies on that proposal, let's deliberate, let's make educated decisions. It's almost like they're getting us out of the way early, then relying on the agency's agenda to make their decision. Does anyone else feel this?