I will trap again this year and still turn a profit. It's just harder.

Last year I was out for health reasons now this year I’ve got to play catch up on beaver in dredge ditch’s that our farm ground drains though and a few others for friends.

Got calls 2 days in a row, one from the District, one from a large local resort which owns multiple golf courses and an airstrip, got offered the contracts for their beaver work. Great, profitable way to stay in the game.

I'll curb my enthusiasm some, but I'm not going to quit.

Torn meniscus has kept me out the last 2 years,this year my knee feels good.Not knowing when my time will end,I am going to hit the water as hard as possible this fall.
I just hope we don't have an early freeze,and my health holds up. One never knows when your last trap has been set.
Tom

As you should Tom, good luck.

One thing we never get back is time. I'll trap in some capacity every year until I'm in the ground. Might be selective with it, but the idea of completely taking a season off doesn't sit well for me. Granted I'm 34 and have two young sons, one already likes going at two. And the other one being a few days old. Only future trapping has in this cityiot vegan trend is teaching kids. Sad to see older guys hanging it up. But I get it, market's in the crapper. But with the way this year is melting down the country, fur prices may spike domestically as the yuppies can't get manufactured clothing and their pretend morals go away in the cold. Stranger things have happened.

Still plan on trapping here, I enjoy it to much. I also take my young kids along and they enjoy it. And my father is my trapping partner and he ain’t getting no younger

Our furs aren’t worth anything anyways, lol. I’ve got more properties to trap than I’ve got traps and time. Going to try and squeeze in as many properties as I can...sleep is overrated! Glad I don’t have to depend on the market to make money. I don’t charge what the professionals do, but enough to make it worth my time and keep managers/landowners calling back every year. Made some great friends and access to some of the most beautiful properties in our county. Heck I go to the gym everyday just to make sure my health allows me to keep trapping. This is the first year out of the last three I didn’t trap during the Summer and I can’t wait to get back complaining of cracked hands and stupid critters not playing fair! Can’t imagine not trapping.

Got a young fella here that is all fired up to go. So that’s my plan.

Had a ba fire in the trap shed this spring. Lost most everything. I'll do adc on the farm but not much more just to much money to get back were I was.

Just got a bunch of new land. I'll need it with a goal of 40 coyotes this season. I'll be working hard for my first bobcat and otter as well. Been selling some hides at the flea market and my nieces and nephews (second one on the way) need more species on their walls. They will be wearing fur this winter. I hope I can get at least one to carry on the tradition. I'm working 2 jobs a day to bank extra trapping money. Planning a long line from home to camp. Skin and sleep up there then check backwards and skin and sleep here for as long as I can.

I retired at age 54 in 2013 from a great job that paid extremely well. I wanted to spend my time with my family, visit my camp often, and be able to pursue my hobbies more. ( hunting, trapping, gardening, beekeeping, and fishing ). I never made a dime hunting, fishing, or gardening. To the contrary, they cost me money every year.

Most of the things folks do in their leisure time don’t make them a dime. Some people’s hobbies cost them ALOT of money. I have a brother who racks up $30,000 a year in golf club memberships every summer. Some folks spend $1000s of dollars on season’s tickets for football, hockey, baseball etc. I used to spend a boat load of dollars chasing elk and moose every fall.

Very few, if any, trappers in my neck of the woods ( western Pa. ) have made any real money trapping the last few years. Some may say they did, but when you totaled all their expenses they are operating in the red. All my gear is paid for, so If it costs me a couple hundred dollars a year for lure and gas, I’m fine with that. If I wanted to make money, I never would have quit my job. Most of the trappers in my area have already hung it up, and that’s unfortunate for the sport.....but that equates into more opportunities for those who still like to trap. I won’t trap some species, but I’ll still be trapping in November.

I feel bad for supply dealers, fur buyers, trapping associations and the few true remaining long liners who were making a significant part of their annual income from trapping. Extremely low prices and no markets for fur will greatly impact them and their families.

Got a few ADC muskrat private properties so I will target them. Gotta catch some ermine for a local taxidermist plus my granddaughters love hanging out on the trapline during xmas vacation.At my age it's mostly for fun. How many more years can I physically do this?

The two young guys that I have been trapping with for the last two years are coming up again this winter, so I will trap, have a blast, and see some relatively new Trappers smile. Will I make money? Certainly not, that is why I do damage control beaver. The money I make doing that pays for the trapping that I do for pure enjoyment! We can laugh about our hares, and I can see them smile over a cat!

I’ve trapped every year since 1975. My wife, who supports my trapping very much, doesn’t understand why I still do it. I can only say that it’s just who I am. BigBrownie said about verbatim what I do a lot. I know guys here that “ lose” much more money on bass every year than I do trapping. I also have thought about what Bogmaster said. I wonder which mink or cat could be my last. That day will come. I retired less than a month ago. Planned all my life to have this time to trap until I couldn’t health wise. I believe we older guys trap for much different reasons than some younger ones do. You can still fully enjoy trapping without huge attempted catches. Experimenting with sets, bait and lure is one way. I have an out of state trip planned this fall. Really looking forward to that as I’ll be after animals I’ve never caught or even seen before. Heck, I even like running rabbit boxes. I had one young guy I really enjoyed teaching. Most turned out to be a bust as they were in it for either the money a few years back or just interested in being on Facebook every day. Bottom line is that I’m old and stubborn enough to refuse to let the market rob me of such a part of who I am. I will trap differently but I’ll still be trapping in some manner until I can’t anymore.

My wife is getting her trapping liscense for the first time this year, were trapping to spend time together and plan on using the fur for crafts. Would be nice if there was some money in it but we just like being outdoors

X2

All red foxes get a pass from me. I would really like to see a gray again someday. They used to be 40% of my fox catch. In my area they have all been eaten by the coyotes.

Last year was my 1st year trapping. 1 coon, opossum, fox and coyote. But learned alot from my mistakes. My wife just asked the other day if i was going to trap this year. Before i could say anything we heard a big YEP!!! out of my 8 year old son. So I guess ill be doing it again. He normally comes back covered in mud, water or ice and loves it. Its better than tv or video games.