Here is a summary of my experience in Maine November 2019. I had fisher traps out for about 25 days. At times more than 100 traps never fewer than 50. Most traps were in Lynx Exclusion Boxes. Had snow cover most of the days and at least 50% of the traps were set on fresh tracks. Maine had a high mast crop this year and fishers did not respond very well to baits. Ten fisher were killed in the about 25 days. Estimating about 75 traps for 25 days is a total of 1875 trap nights for 10 fishers or one fisher for every 187.5 trap nights. I did not keep records of fisher coming to the set and not going into the box. When snow conditions permitted I observed 5-10 visits (with no catch) per check day. 2016 was a year of low mast production and I was able to catch 10 fisher in less than 500 trap nights. Conclusion, if I want to catch fisher I need to set lots of traps in good locations.

No fisher but it was still an eventful day. Had a snowshoe hare get tangled up in one of my MB 550 fisher/cat sets. I suspect that crying hare made for one heck of a predator call. Fox found it and took everything but a back leg. So much for pan tension on an MB. I reset it and moved on.

The area exploded with cat activity last night. Everywhere I went I was seeing cat sign. One walked past a set at six paces. The cat ignored it and carried on. I cut one fresh fisher track a long ways removed from where I had any sets. I saw fresh cat tracks there yesterday and went in with the intention of putting in a set for it. Found another fresh cat track made last night in the same area. The place is loaded with hare and the cat is on the hunt in there. The fisher track was a couple hundred yards further along. I'll take whichever one that wants to step on the pan.

The stream bottom pic is good fisher and cat cover from year to year but it has been slow for cats lately. Cedar swamp.This is the area I've been missing most of the fisher. I put in another set there today to help plug a hole.

Maybe tomorrow.

A lot times you hear someone say how easy fisher trapping is. While they may not be as spooky as a coyote or old red fox, it is called trapping, not catching for a reason.
Some times things go your way, and sometimes you can't catch much of a break. Been there and I know from experience, this game can be frustrating as the dickens.





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hey nessmuck,you have to be 10ft from house be 5ft from dam 4ft from another trap no non residents cant trap beaver,no suitcase type traps because of lynx.no connibare for bobcat fisher,we need to have 3 swivels per trap make sure there is no sticks ect in catch circle.cost to trap in maine $318.00

Do you bring a tape measure with you....when trapping beaver...lol.....That’s awful !

Isn't that the Truth

That puts things in perspective.

Or those boxes are not very inviting

FWIW; The no non resident Beaver law was dropped quite a few years back. Maine is wide open to non residents, if you want to deal with all the rest of the bs laws we have seen established over the last ten years or so.

But you can still come ovah the bridge and buy Fireworks.....lol

I love Maine, especially the sparsely populated northern part of the state where I live. We have some monster deer if you can find them. Moose and bear out the wazoo and the trapping ain't bad. Zero trapping pressure where I'm at.

I mentioned the stupid cage law in another thread. We're limited to an opening height of thirteen inches. Biologists can use whatever they want. Why? Because it's so easy to release a cat unharmed. I can use a foothold for cats with the possibility of catching a lynx but not a cage trap that a cat will enter. It makes zero sense.

I did see where a cat ducked under a log on one of the flowages I was beaver trapping. I don't think it was more than thirteen inches high. The canines jumped on and over it. I should have taken a pic before I trampled the area with footprints. No fisher sign today.