Am I wrong or is that one big cat?

Congrats!

Moosetrot

The bobcat was caught in a MB 550 2 coil offset jaw. It was in a dirt hole baited with bait I made this spring with aged beaver chunks in Locklear mix. I had just re-baited that set yesterday. Last year I caught and released 5 cats, 3 of them in beaver/Dobbins mix so I wanted to give them something different this year. I also made some more beaver/Dobbins bait this year because it worked so well last year.

Thanks Steve for the story. I bet it is really a rush to have your planning from that far in advance to work out for you when the tag arrived.

Bryce

Cool catching one with your own bait and a tag in your pocket!!!

Nonpcfed yeah sleep is nice Haha I dont have to have any GPS or anything all the sets are in 1 marsh and I use very long stakes so I dont losse to much

I must have missed November and December with all the single digit temps. No open water, 3rd coyote in pipe dream set(first time I tried it), forecast has wintery mix so I thought I’d see how it would perform. Picking up coons by the barns and machine sheds... I usually target these areas when temps dip. Caught a big skunk in a yote set so now I have Fisher lure and plan to set some cubbies today. Tight chains and stay warm.

Like everyone else the weather has been tough this year. I also have a fresh new trapping partner that has been helping me this year. We went 4 for 4 on a few coon sets the other night. Maybe with a slight warm up this weekend for a day we can pick up a few more.

Looks like the catch of a lifetime in your hands!

Chris

No fisher tag!

Went for a walk with my wife and daughters yesterday, looking for more muskrat area and just to be out in general. We found a few beaver spots and more good muskrat area. I set a few 330s as the other 3 were not going to wait around for me to chip a couple dozen holes for rats. We found some bobcat sign as well. My daughters and wife enjoyed being out as we dont usually get to go as a family. The few sets we set yielded a few catches today! Ice really firmed up over night. Cant wait to get back at it soon!
Nice catches to all!

great pic. thanks for sharing

That fisher is dug in.

Told the wife I was going to set a couple of bridges around the subdivision, and yes it is road trapping, but since I own land next to one of them and have permission next to the other two it is legit. When I was a youngster a mink trapper from town had them all set the first day, and if the season opened too early for prime mink, he placed a half inch nut under the pans to keep them from springing. His biggest complaint to me always was fluctuating water levels, a pile of rocks, flat thinner ones on top to change his depths as needed. So I have a colony trap at one, still using his rocks at the other two, I learned how to trap mink looking at his sets, but do not know if like the idea of trapping $5 mink. But I do know you can't stockpile game, and I have to get out a little, even if it is 5 degrees this morning. A little more history, Beav would remember Roland Schmeling, on the Furbearer Committee, back in the 70's, he was on 94 by Johnson Creek with a sign saying he was a trapper and proud of it. Never had to compete with him, even when living in Watertown, because back then the limit was 75 traps at a time. I remember him telling me once a Warden asked him about all the two trap sets he ran at pocket sets, and he went out and turned them into single trap sets to get back to legal limit. He also told me every year we had weather like this he would get calls from a northern WI mink trapper telling him open water trapping lasted less than a week. Back then Mink opened second week in November down here, two weeks sooner in northern zone, and he liked that because he was a trap prime mink guy in Jefferson county, the north guys wanted open water. I don't know if the big time cable restraint trapper from Lodi is his son or not. In either case the season dates were a debate longer than the last couple years, and back then it was all over Dec.31, was that because mink lost prime after that, or started into breeding season, it sure was not because of rats.

Rolly Schmeling was indeed a very unique trapper. He had passion for the game and was not afraid to let his opinions be known. Wish I had taken a picture of his sign years ago.

Blasted in a few beaver/otter and muskrat sets yesterday afternoon. Felt great to be out and back ontop good ice. Seems many think its alot of work for little return but the adventure and time out pays the way for me. Picked up the first mink of the year in bottom edge sets. A double as the traps were 4' apart. Had help skinning too.

Pulled the colony trap line yesterday. Did very poorly in my learning process. This year I had 14 colonies for 2 checks and got 3 rats. Last year I set 7 in similar bottom edge places and got 7 in 4 checks. I am thinking the rat numbers due to flooding are down. There was a lot of ice on the moving water yesterday so I was glad to be pulling. I found 3 houses in a pond created by high water. There was enough ice for me to walk out, but all there was is 6 inches of water there. Those rats will be froze out by this morning Wednesday if they are even there yet.
I went to one of my smaller sloughs before the snow. I can walk most of it but not where most of the rat sign was. Lot of structures so the rats are there but need to wait. I saw water coming up behind me as I walked so I got off and will wait. We got about 3 inches or more of snow which will push the thin ice down on the water and that will soften up some more and insulate and that will mean ice making will slow down. All this is easier to take at lower prices and still working on getting my hip up to speed. I sure notice a lot when bending, twisting and getting up and down. It takes some time but it will go.

Bryce

Still waters have been froze up here since Nov 2. There were guys ice fishing by the 6th of November. We didn't have a week of open water this year.

We had 3 days of open water, a week would have been great.

A few pics from thursday and this morning. Lots of cat sign everywhere too. Looking forward to trying to catch one some year soon.

One trap in one feeder and one rat today. Ice is softening a lot the last two days. I break through about an additional 1-3 feet each check as I go to that one trap. I have 4 others marked and am glad I did not set them as I would not get to them. Warmer tomorrow, with slush and then rain on next Thursday!! I actually hope it rains enough to melt the ice or the snow off the ice so one can see again. It is a crap shoot finding set sites now.
Took a break yesterday and helped a youth group that makes 120 dozen packages of lefse to raise money. I rolled out 8 dozen myself and my legs and shoulders feel that today.
Bryce