Hello, to the trapperman crowd. I've been plenty busy this year and haven't had a whole lot of time to post. School full-time and working full time. Graduate in May of this year with my graduate degree. I have managed to get out some traps here and there testing the waters. Man everything is looking amazing this year here in Nebraska. Work shipped me out of town for five days and deer season starts this weekend so I'm running a modest line at best. I do have 10 days off in December and trapperman's Cathryn's Jerry is hopefully going to join me on the line for some fun. Anyways I have shot a few pics on the animals I've caught in the daylight not so much when I have to run at 2-3 A.M. before clinical. I'll try to jump on here and update as the season progresses. The goal is to have at least six traps in the ground for the next 60 days. I'll see how long I can keep the grind up.

I started out the year with a call from a guy with a coyote problem and his dogs getting chased. I did end up with four coyotes pretty close to his place. There's definitely more there and I intend to be back there in December.






This pasture had some of the prettiest boars I've seen in my part of the country. They were all big. Black and silver. Sure was good to get away from the typical school bus town coon. That's a railroad tie below him full size.

I had a sheep farmer call in regards to lost sheep. I set the place up heavy. He reported his two dogs (Great Pyrenees) usually kept the coyotes at bay, but something had been killing sheep alive which was new to them. Interestingly, I have only caught a number of fox on the farm I believe I am up to four, there have been no coyote tracks in the snow, and there's been no dead sheep since the "guard dogs" have been locked up. I'm pulling tomorrow as I finally told him today that I didn't think he had a coyote problem. I don't think he was interested in my answer but I don't plan to waste anymore resources trying to catch something that isn't the problem... We don't have a lot of fox in our area due to the coyotes so when I started catching them daily I should have known the gig was up.



It was a balmy five degrees when I got to this one. I was ready for the snow/rain/cold this year. Everything is popping perfectly.

I've been plugging away at the coyotes. I don't have much set up. 2-4 sets at four locations. Just enough to keep me satisfied until I get done with this semester which should be within the next two weeks. Just in time for the end of deer season.

I've already ran into a couple of the greatest dirt movers known to man. These guys sure are fun to watch work. They just are way too early here. The farmers like to see them disappear however.

Man what a post! Congrats for so many things!! Sounds like you can balance life and trapping quite well. Hope you have an awesome productive December!

I've settled on Marty Smith's (Keg Creek Products) baits/lures this season to give it a run. So far they have not disappointed. 90% of everything I have caught has been on simple dirthole with Showtime down the hole. I have made the occasional flat set with Magnum Force which has also produced. I'm boring and like to just keep things simple. Here's a typical remake.

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Good job man!

Good to see you post again this year wade. Good country, good game, and good hard work on display. Stay safe.

Osky

Nice! Always enjoy your posts wade

Thanks guys. The nice thing about working nights is for the last two seasons I've got to check traps in the daylight which has made me want to take more pictures on the every day line. Sure is different then when I ran mainly in the middle of the night or very early mornings for the years before that.

Yotes out west are haired up pretty nice for this time of year, I have had a great start and fur quality.

The last pup I caught two days ago was the first pup I've caught that wasn't blue/slate. The coons are ahead as well. I've taken some very nice coon this week.

Nice work wade!
Jim

Been running traps pretty early in the morning during our deer season here. It's amazing the amount of people just driving fields daily. I've had pickups coming in from another direction into fields following me through and then speeding off. Got out to check one set and had them fly across an entire field to make sure I wasn't shooting one of "their" deer you know that kind of guy. Ask them if I can help them and they just drive off. So far I haven't had any traps disappear. No one's taken off with the skunks I've caught this week? Who would have thought.

These pictures aren't near as fun but sometimes you have to check them before the crowd finds them.




Unfortunately I do still have to work which means I am working 7p7a. So sometimes the checks have to wait till right at first light.

It's been a fun start to the season here with my short line. We are getting rain this afternoon so I will likely pull the traps at first light this morning. I don't have time to walk into these places and the majority are a 1/4 to a 1/2 off the road. Even only a few farms that would take too much time for me to walk. I'm looking at a week break. Then if the roads don't get too bad I am going to start laying down the longer line. At least try to get half of them out and working.

Jerry will be here on the 2nd of December and I'll have four more 12's working before he arrives. I should be able to run a pretty descent line with minimal sleep for four days before he gets here. I'm down to two days of clinical and one exam to finish out this semester. I'll have around 60 predator sets, a few dozen coon traps, and about two dozen conibears going for 10 days then rain or shine. As far as I know Jerry plans to run 60 predator traps and some coon traps. Should make for some fun.

Here's the difference between a fur trapper and an ADC trapper in my mind. I've got one farm I've caught two coyotes on a hill (the last coyote pictured was one of them). I think a problem coyote I have there now is probably the older female of the pair. I have three traps there now total. Two remakes and one fresh. This coyote's worked both remakes from the back of the dirthole. The fresh dirthole she took one step in the pattern and called it a day. I could sure spend some time blending in the perfect flat set, urine post, or add a second trap behind one of the dirtholes. I think I'll just give this farm a rest and move on. Kill the easy ones. That is unless she got brave last night. Either way I'm not too worried about whether she lives or dies. I've got the first deep freeze near full of fur and still plenty of time to fill the other three.

The fresh set that she took one step into


One of the remakes you can see the scratch marks there to the back of the hole. I didn't blend either of these in they were just wide open but the wind has been blowing the duff around and I've just left it.

Good job wade. That scratcher might be back...obviously it didn't get hurt by first visit there so should be back if back through same area.
I'm waiting until after Thanksgiving to start my line here. I gave up fighting things during rifle deer season. Crazy where they will drive and I had a few coyotes shot to (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) with high powers and decided that was enough for me. Even sets on supposedly only permission spots and set well back off the road and out of sight...still found some nut job driving back there and messing it all up. Had coyotes shot and taken, coyotes shot and left, traps taken, traps ran over repeatedly (I guess they couldn't pull the earth anchor so they kept driving back and forth over the trap to destroy it??) Some folks never had their daddy teach them.good swordsmanship and respect for others enjoyment of the outdoors I guess.
Good luck wade and keep us posted.
Jim

Looks like your having fun and making some good catches thanks for sharing

There is a lot of hard work behind those catches. Nice pics

Some good looking male coyote there, mine are mixed some white skin some grey yet

It's that time of year. I got off of work at 7 a.m. today and went out to get started. I got about 20 coyote sets in and a handful of cat/coon sets. Our cats opened up today. I had to drive about 30 miles to get started and began to work back this direction or I'd probably got more in. I stopped at noon because I work all night tonight. Took a little nap. I get off again at 7 a.m. and vacation begins. I plan to set from 8-3 tomorrow as many as I can. I'd go till dark but Jerry should be here from West Virginia about three o'clock and I'll probably be spent anyways. Keep telling myself sleep is for the birds but every year it gets a little harder to go with minimal. I don't want to jynx myself but from years past I am not complaining one bit about the weather I've got coming. So far so good and no blizzards this year. I'll try to remember to take some pictures and hope to pile up some fur. 18 degrees tonight and no moon I wish I could have set traps all day....those coyotes are going to run. Good news is I finished my graduate schooling a week ahead of time and still have my 4.0. Now it's time to do nothing but trap for 10 days.