Hope this finds everyone doing well Health wise I am doing pretty good, still have issues but am grateful for what I got and have been taking advantage of every moment of being alive Had a pretty busy spring, summer, and fall harvesting critters and fish Spent a lot of time with a few Tman members, Ted aktrpr up in TOK, Tim wolverine hunter down in Homer, and Matt here in Wasilla.

I had never gone hooligan dip netting. Matt gave me a call and said they were in on 20 Mile down by Girdwood so we made run down there. We ended up filling a cooler I tried smoking them, a little salty but good. Got a few gallons for trapping bait but the best use I found was for the halibut! Those jokers loved them! A herring tipped with a hooligan worked very well for me.





Matt also went out and helped me blaze a trail to a new bear bait location and get set up. Not much action this year, a few blackies on camera and a brown sow with cubs, It always amazes me how those dang brownies can wipe out a barrel so quick! I did harvest a nice blackie.



Did a little King fishing with the daughter and a bunch of friends. This year it was about them connecting not so much me. The quite times out on the river the company, the conversations all created some pretty good memories





Went up to TOK a few times and spent time with Ted and we did a few adventures

He has a pretty nice boat and we went down to Valdez twice to do a little shrimping and halibut fishing, I had never been down there and it is a very pretty different place to fixh compared to Homer or Seward. We caught a bunch of fish but only a few shrimp. The coolest thing happen one morning, Sitting there in the bay in the early morning drinking my Mountain Dew, watching the sun come up, I heard a buzzing sound coming at me. It took me a second to realize that what I was hearing and then seeing was a humming bird! Stopped three feet in front of me, turned around and buzzed back to the shore line.







He took me to his fish wheel, that was pretty cool to see. Sitting there watching and waiting for it to scoop up a fish you turn your attention away for 5 seconds and there would be a fish Never did see it scoop one up but when we left we had 25 reds Helped him put in a platform for his bug tent at the site.



He ran me out to Mansfield lake one day and we did a little pike fishing, I caught a bunch of dinks and he ended up getting two nice ones, One thing is for sure that man knows how to fish

I went up there the first week of moose season Different terrain and a different style of moose hunting. We saw a bunch of cows but it was just to dang hot and the bugs were something fierce! He ended up getting on the second season and is hoping to get his grandson on one this week.

I spent a lot of time talking to him in his trap shed Picking his brain on the kitties, his style and methods of trapping up there, He has quit the store with a lot of quality products and lures Our next adventure is suppose to be chasing ducks together after moose season

So after leaving Ted's I came home and had a friend that really wanted to go out and get a moose, They were coming up on Friday so I went out and set camp up on Thursday. So I got camp set about 3, took a nap, got up at 5 and figured I better go poke around and find were the moose were, As I was sitting there putting my waders on I looked down river and sure enough there was a moose! I closed the gap to about 250 yards and was sanding there looking at it trying to see if it was a bull or a cow, When it dropped its head to get a drink of water I could see that it was a young spike For a moment I thought about the trip I had planned with Ted the following week and the opportunity to get a toad or filling the freezer, well I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and the freezer is full



I have always loved chasing cranes, rib eye of the sky



Then I got a call from Tim down in Homer. He had drawn a goat tag for a unit down there and asked if I would come down and if the opportunity presented itself help him go after his goat, if not the we would chase bears and ducks. Well the first evening we cruised out to glass the side of the mountain we didn't see anything, but I did pick up a little dink of a blackie The next morning we cruised out there again and saw nothing, I ended up getting two more blackies! I have never seen so many freaking bears in one area in all my life, In he alpine, in the tidal flats, right on the freaking shore line! It was pretty amazing, Then add in all the wildlife we saw, sea otters, walrus, seals, star fish, He took me up into one drainage and I have never seen so many humpies in my life!





The next morning we got up and planned on chasing ducks if there were no goats, sure enough no goats but plenty of ducks
We ended up getting a bunch of mergansers and I got my very first Harlequin!





The following day we stayed in and I helped him on the honey do list. As we finished up for the day he puled out his spotting scope and from his deck we were able to glass the basin that we have been looking at we didn't see anything and you could see that he was getting bummed. I mean after 20 days of looking and three trips up that mountain I would be bummed to that a opportunity didn't present itself.
Well he went in to grab a shower and I started looking again, sure enough I picked out two small white dots! Not knowing if they were those famous goat rocks or not I waited about ten minutes and looked again, sure enough they had moved!
I was planning on leaving the next day but I told Tim that fortune favors the bold and lets go get his goat!
I will never ever go goat hunting again in my life! That mountain totally kicked my butt!
Was very proud of myself for making it to the top, that mental and physical challenge after all I have been through was a pretty dang good feeling We ended up getting on a goat and he connected The climb down took a little longer then what we expected but at the end of the day he accomplished a dream Happy to be part of it.

Have one more hunt planned, taking Tim, the daughter and her boyfriend out to moose camp this week to chase the moose and brownies. Then it is on to beavers!

Be safe out there!

Nice adventures John with friends, family and full freezers. What else can a man ask for. Remember, you are only as strong as you think you are and only you can carry yourself up that mountain. Nice work..... Stay healthy and outdoors...

Love it! Keep us in the loop we like to hear about your adventures! Stay healthy!

Glad it's going good for you.

Way to go! I love your never quit attitude. Way to keep going!

Great adventures HFT-You're a busy man.

Life is good! Looks like you are living the dream.

I enjoy reading these kind of posts.

Wow you have had an amazing summer and start to the fall! Glad you are doing well and taking advantage of all the opportunities.

Good job on the bears! That duck is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Got wolverine hunter out there last week along with my daughter and her boyfriend. We seen a few moose 8 bulls total and a bunch of cows. My daughter saw one over 50 but it was on the other side of the lake, way outta range, She named it Melvin and promises to be back out there to get him next year,

Her boyfriend and Tim named this one Hank, he came in hot and bothered twice, once for the boyfriend and once for Tim. Pretty exciting way to get people that never hunted moose fired up We estimated him at 47 inches hopefully next year he will be legal.



Looks like my saga is going to continue of only finding one side of a shed



The third day out there it warmed up pretty good and everything holed up and went quite, a few grunts here and there but hardly any movement. Pretty awesome time though, good company, awesome conversation, and memories.

I had a owl try and land on my head, that was pretty dang cool.

Gotta take care of a few things here at the house before I chase the beaver but I am looking forward to it!

Be safe out there!

Thanks for the pictures and the stories to go with them I'll bet the moose and bear are darn good eating !
I hope you have continued success this fall and winter !
Allan

Very clever of you to train Hank to come in over and over....... until he grows a 50+ inch rack or some more brow tines!

Pete

Well finally got out yesterday and got a little over a dozen beaver sets in. Talked to the landing manager and he said that with them opening up beaver for shooting and the harsh winter and low water levels the beaver sign was pretty scarce. I have not seen that river as low as it is right now in the years that I have trapped it.

As for the sign, I am used to seeing big cottonwoods knawed through, fresh cuttings along the bank and feed beds and lodges. Well none of that sign was there this year, looks like everything is in the bank. Took a little to find the right places but I managed



Always alot of talk about using Duke #4 and how they won't do a back foot catch...........



I tried a few DBL springs, not a fan. Out of three set 2 held live beaver that were suppose to go down the drowning cable. Have no issues with coils but it seems like I might be doing something wrong?



I found a section of river with a few runs and put in 4 sets. As I started the second set this joker showed up and watched me do that set and the following two. This morning all three of those sets had sprung traps, the first one that he didn't see me set held him



Ended up with 7 nice ones and one little dink, not a bad run Checking and pulling gear tomorrow and hope to get at least 4 more.

Nice job! I have the desire to trap beaver in open water as it is a lot easier/less work in my opinion than under ice. There is just too many other fall activities I am already doing. Looks like fun though!

Looks like you got some good sized ones in there too. Wide tails.

I = 5 or 6 good sized beaver. What would you have done if you had caught that many more? Die on the river? See, you had room for me haha

Bet it's fun to be trapping again. I miss the beaver trapping. I always go after them with the #330. Different style.

Fall trapping on that river 330's have to be fully submerged, kinda limits their use, for me anyway, spring trapping no holds barred and I have a dozen and a half I employ

that is awsome keep up the good work. never quit you are a legend...

Is it just from looking at enough moose that you can judge 50 inch versus 47 inch moose, I would need a bit of help to do that. Glad I looked in on these posts to see some trapping going on, hope you make some money on them, they all turn into work once you catch them.

Nice job on the beaver!

Fishdog One, yeah it aint easy on judging the smaller moose, this one gave us plenty of time to look at many different angles.

Well pulled everything today. Pretty grateful for the beautiful weather, sunny and a little chill in the air

The water dropped pretty good, never a good thing when running a prop! A little grinding and filing and it will be good for next season when I make that run again.



Of course there always has to be that one thing that happens that puts a damper on the day. I stopped at the mouth of the river to the launch and downloaded all my gear, humped it up to the truck. Walked down the river looking and hoping I could make that 500 yds run to the launch. Hopped into the boat pulled and snap! It started but the dang pull cord broke Made it about a hundred yds before I started hitting rock and called it, Ended up walking the boat up to the trailer.



Picked up 5 more today



Got what I needed to get the marten boxes and bait stations up and running when trapping season opens next month.

Be safe out there!

Thats a great haul of beaver HFT out of 12 sets in a couple checks.

The longsprings nbr 44 Blake and Lambs ???

Thanks for the compliments guys!

RdFx they were Bridgers #4.

Spent the weekend up in TOK with Ted, akntrpr, went over gear and boiled and waxed traps. Mine were a mess, ended up putting them in a concrete mixer and getting all the full metal jacket stuff off before dying and waxing them. I think I am done trying new stuff for a spell and will just stick to the tried and true
His shop is getting pretty dang full with lure and has a pretty good selection of gear!

Been going over the sleds, got the Polaris up and running, Ted came down and did a little welding on the Bravo, just waiting on front suspension springs and she will be ready to roll! All the gear is ready to go and I am going to spend this last week before season to knock out a bunch of snares.

Hoping this storm front brings us some snow that sticks around for a while.

Be safe!

Sounds like it is getting real! Have a little snow here, but hope it gets nice and cold for a week first and then a foot would be good. Would be pretty rough to go very far right now.

Loving the journal again, I hope you have a safe and successful season!

Looks like you live a busy but enjoyable life. Like all the pictures, keep them coming.

I know the guys in the interior got hammered with some fresh powder, we on the other hand got a good rain followed by a little snow. With the opening of the season tomorrow I went out today to break my main trail and see what the conditions were like.

Still waiting on springs for the bravo so I took the polaris out, she is a beater with hand warmers Was doing pretty good until I hear a crunch under the hood, then the belt started smoking, then it just stopped.

Looked under the cowling and I had hit something that opened a nice hole in the belly which in turn allowed a bunch of slush and snow up in there. Hoping it was just the belt being wet I switched it out with a new one, No go

At least it was only a 5 mile walk out to the HWY were I had the wife come to my rescue



The conditions are good and with the freeze up we had prior it is easy and good running right now!



Cut some yote tracks that was moving during the storm.



Cut a bunch of fox track,



And a whole bunch of ermine track!


Got home and got the bravo and gear loaded for the first run tomorrow!

Be safe out there!

Glad you made it out OK! Five miles is far enough to walk. From the looks of it you have a skiff of snow more than us. We are supposed to get some more tonight and tomorrow. I hope so because we have an each of ice cover by two inches of snow. Pretty rough going through portages. Have fun tomorrow!

good luck be safe

Are you going to tow the broke down snowmachine back on your next run HFT?

Boco I will probably just spin it around and through a tarp on it for now. I have 2 buddies that we help each other out, one is laid up for foot surgery the other is in the lower 48 until towards the end of the month. Always seems that I am the one asking for a pull but when he gets back up here we will recover it. The sled ain't going anywhere, ain't nothing to steal off of it, and getting gear out will be the priority for the rest of the week

Sounds like the typical start of a season for me

You sure took that breakdown in stride. Hopefully things go smoother with your Bravo on the line.

Well things didn't go to smooth with the bravo today. Didnt have to walk out Started backfiring and I raw smelled fuel, looks like either a line is cracked or something is wrong with the carb. Got a few good sets in today before I turned backed. Tear into to it tomorrow and see what the deal is.

Man! Hope you don't have to do too much work on it. What kind of sets?

A few marten, 1 kitty, 3 bait stations, a jackpot, a otter and mink set, and a few blind snare sets. Pretty surprised at the lack of yote and fox sign, but it is a deep snow and normally don't see much sign till it sets, about three days.

Got the bravo up and running, sure enough the fuel line had cracked right were it connects to the carb. Easy fix. Broke the rest of my trail in and got some more gear out. Not alot of sign but I think things are hunkered down, deep wet snow aint to good for the yotes and fox to travel in.
I did find I had visitors at two of my bait stations from last year, one was a marten the other a fox. Both had dug up pieces of old moose hide. I also found were a marten had nabbed a bunny.
Pretty much done putting out marten and mink gear, time to change gears and get the kitty and k9 gear up and running

First catch of the year I always love the orange color on these things

Nicely done!

Way to go HFT.

Thanks guys

Little on the warm side today getting gear out. Accomplished what I wanted to and should have it pretty much done and set come tomorrow.

There is a perch that the eagles always sit in. Love seeing them when I cruise by, it means they are hitting the bait station nearby



Always exciting to find sign like this



I finished the last segment of my line that I wanted to get done today and was heading back to the truck when I cut fresh kitty track cutting across my trail heading straight for snare line I had just put in yesterday............ sure enough



Not the prettiest but I will take it

Way to be productive! Do the eagles hang around all winter?

Yeah we have a butt load of them hanging around. They wipe a bait station out pretty quick in this mild weather but they help spread the smell and bringing in the yote and fox. Part of my trail runs along the RR, when a moose gets smacked it isn't nothing to see 10 or 15 on it.

Nice cat HFT.

Nice start to your season.

Nice kitty. We don’t get many down this way.
Hopefully you have your sno-go issues figured out and your snares will be straightened out.

Pretty day out on the line today, chilly and clear Not seeing much sign this year except for at one bait station, 2 beavers and 6 chicken carcasses, poof gone! Lots of fox track but only in that area.

Just told the wife last night that I wasn't seeing much yote sign and sure enough caught this one running a bunny trail

Nice! I love seeing your pics of fox and coyotes wrapped tight to a tree!

Good start HFT,,,alway's like your pictures!

Great to see you out there getting after it John. Bummer about the machine issues, I hope those are an easy fix for you! Keep those pics coming!

Thanks guys

waterrat, I hope to see some of the wolves you hang up this year

Pretty good run today a lot of variety Ran the creek for the first time this year and it is froze solid, which means I can get further back Put in a bunch more gear.

Started the day off hitting the first bait station and had this pretty guy waiting for me



Last time out I had alot of ermine track at a jack pot so I dropped a box for it.



I follow a trail from my sled down to a little stream, every year right after a fresh snow a dang yote would walk it, This year there was a snare waiting for him



And to finish the day off, picked up marten number 2



Got everything relured, the temps are coming back up to the mid 20's during the day so hopefully critters will move more

Be safe out there!

Nice! And that marten looks like a dandy dark!
Glad you are back at it.

That is a nice variety!

Way to go John!

Thanks guys!

The weather is crazy! Went from in the low single digits to freaking 34 today. Did manage to make it all the way out to the lakes today, that I am happy about, Dropped a bunch more gear and cut a little sign, we will see how it all pans out,

Picked up the first mink of the year



Also picked up a yote in a MB 750, not picture worthy.

Be safe out there!

Looks like a great mink!

Warm ups are no fun. Looking forward to hearing how it pans out!

Well the Bravo is going into retirement, will keep it for the back up sled, I splurged a little and picked me up a Artic Cat Panther It has all the bells and whistles I took it out today and ran the line, pretty happy with it, the only down fail is it sucks up some gas. But I feel great didn't get beat up like I do on the Bravo



Rolled up on the first bait station and had this guy, Got lucky he was working the cable pretty good. I think if it had bee 7x7 he wouldn't have been there.





Picked up a little ermine in a flower pot set. The blood is from the beaver thawing out and dripping on it.



There is this one point that out of my whole line I enjoy the most. It always produces for me, kinda like a catch all, mink marten yote fox and kitty, Don't know what it is but everything seems to go through there. Picked this little girl up coming off of the river.



One got lucky at this snow hole, just stepped to the right of the pan, he will be back



Some years I will not cut any marten sign, other years I will see a ton, last year I seen 1 track al season. The most I have caught in one year was 7, maybe this year I will beat that The first one is a toad! The second pretty nice





Last year Ted gave me some of this lure to try, I connected with 2 kitties towards the end of the season last year and we are off to a good start with it this year



It is pretty amazing to me how this one set just seems to always produce kitty's, it is along a creek and I have take probably 10 kitty's at the same tree.



Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and be safe out there!

Nice run HFT,Looks like you'll be busy skinning.

I'd take a check like that any day! Well done!

What a great day out on the line. Loving the new Cadillac!.

My buddy in Ontario had two Panthers for years and years. They were real good sleds for him.

I hope everyone had a good holiday and got full bellies

Only ran part of the line today to dig it out and re lure. Tomorrow I am pushing out and will catch the rest of the line.
This freaking weather is killing me! Mid 30's today and the snow conditions aren't to hot. Had a pretty decent run though, caught a few critters and cut some fresh track.

First bait station held this little dink of a red. More focused on yotes right now as the fox ain't in their prime yet.



Really digging Teds cat lures this year, got this one on Catnap and a chunk of beaver



He was exactly like this when I rolled up.



I run a lot of 220's bucket sets along the creeks for mink and otter, I rolled up on this set and saw the trap fired with a salmon head laying by the jaws, I was cussing the little joker out when I saw a little dark spot out in front of the set, sure enough it was a mink. That 220 knocked him stone dead.



I have been running this line for a few years now, Every once in a while I will find a old wolf or yote snare, kinda makes me wonder what it was like back in the day. Today while walking in to check a set, same trail I have always walked over the years, something caught my eye, Sure enough there were about 10 snares that were hanging in a tree, they were attached to the top of it and as the tree grew they got lifted up. I had to go back to the sled and get the cable cutters to get them down. Pretty cool find



Be safe out there!

Well I ran the rest of the line and pushed further out today.

The day started off with checking a mink set along a creek, saw the moose track walking down the middle of the creek so knew it was froze, got to the edge and ended up in over my knees Good deal it was in the 30's and those mickey mouse boots keep your feet warm even when wet.

Ran the first lake that I have gear on and sure enough a kitty had walked right down my snogo trail. I followed along and sure enough he cut in right were I had a marten set. The 120 was fired and the bait out of the flower pot that was wired to the tree, gone. Looking at the track it didnt look like the cat had fired it, it milled around a little and went right back onto my trail, I had a cat set and a marten set about 400 yds down the trail, I was hoping he would hit the cat set.....nope walked right by it and on to the marten set.......

I was talking to a buddy last night and he said he had a few 330's out for the kitties, I told him I had never caught one in a coni.........



Sure enough there was a cat What I cant figure out is how he fired that trap, that trap has a pan on it and it was a perfect head catch. But I will take it

Broke a few miles of trail and got a bunch more gear put in to test the waters,

Until next check, be safe out there!

Way to go on the critters! I enjoy your posts!

You are having a great start! I went through the ice as well Sunday but thankfully had my bunny boots on as well, still spent all day with a wet foot but it was warm.

Yep it was a great start This weather though dude, 41 today.................the only thing moving out there was a few kitties.

Well the weather changed fast and hard. Went from a foot and a half of snow to little less then 6inches then we picked up about 2 inches, Some of my yote snares were a foot high! But with the changing weather and fresh snow I figured I better get out there and clean gear off and re lure before the cold sat in.

Pretty day out there, was glad in dropped back into the teens.



Walking up to a marten set I saw red/orange, thought I had a fox at first glace. Turned out to be a dandy! Funny the joker was still warm



Never got one this orange before.



Picked up another one at a flower pot set, my little run up the lakes is paying off



Picked up a nice mink, same set I caught the kitty in.



When I ran on Tuesday I had a kitty fire a trap, duck a snare, and push the side of the pen in to get to the bait. So I knew he was in the AO. Today walking back there sure enough there was fresh track right on top of my track, it came to y in the trail left went to a snare and a marten set, the right went to a snare under a fallen spruce that the bunnies love to run. Well he went right



Pretty good day for me out there, looking forward to the cold returning and the critters really moving!



Be safe out there!

Good day! Keep after it John.

Nice variety HFT,that lynx looks to be a nice clear one.

The marten tail reminds me of neapolitan ice cream. Nice catches!

Nice catches! That is one lightly colored marten, never caught one that orange either.

This has been a blast to read through, thanks for taking the time to post all the quick stories and awesome pictures. Looks like a nice season for you so far.

Well a bitter sweet day, cut plenty of fresh track. Had a kitty come up to the cubby, mill around about a foot away from it and went on his way. With all the bunnies around I really cant blame him for passing up a big hunk of frozen beaver. Then had another one enter the cubby, kinda weird spot he has to go up to get to the bait, well I misjudged and he stepped over the trap.

On the positive side I got some more gear out, managed to pick this little guy up...



Just the other day I was telling a friend that I have yet to get a dang otter in a bucket set, well today that happened



Be safe out there!

Nice otter Hft.
One thing about the cats,they likely wont go too far if the rabbits are around and you'll get another crack at them.
I find the cats show more interest in a frozen beaver when its cold if you feather it with an axe.

Thanks Boco, the kitties are thick this year and so are the bunnies Not every cubbie has the same bait, I have presented them with a mixed menu, beaver, duck, and lynx alternated between cubbies for this very reason I remembered that from last year when you mentioned it about cutting it up

How do you make your otter bucket sets?

I like using the square buckets, cut slots on the side just like a marten box and your in business With the otters I think fresh bait is the key. I have had plenty swing by to look in it and see a salmon head and roll on, but with sardines (the kind from Sportsmans for fishing, or Hooligan they have alot more interest. Some of my 220's have pans on them and it creates a nice big opening for them, a mink will never pass this set up

This set always produces with the mink, it is sitting on a narrow creek.



This is the remake of the one were I caught that otter.

Man that otter looks like a toad !!

Thanks for the info. The fresh fish for bait is great insight.

Thanks for sharing how you do your bucket set. I was also wondering.

Well this weather really did a number out on my line, the freezing rain locked up a good portion of my snares. Missed a fox, a kitty and 2 yotes Got things back up and running for the most part though.

Picked up there 2 pretty marten, the color variations always amaze me.





On the way out I found this guy laying along he tracks, made a few phone calls and the troopers said I could salvage it for trapping. Had to call a buddy and we got it moved. Be topping off the bait stations the next few days



Be safe out there!

Nice marten. Regardless off market, I love catching them.
Was the moose hit by a train?

That moose sure has been plucked good,lol.
Nice prime marten HFT.

AV, yep, I get one or two from that area every year. The RR is pretty good about getting them to junctions to be salvaged on the roadkill list, but when they are smacked real bad or down in the bar ditch there aint nothing they can really do with them.

Boco, yep the birds tore that joker up pretty good. Hoping for a few more marten before our season close the end of the month.

A couple marten isn't a bad check. Good luck on those other critters next check!

Seeing your pictures and following along makes me anxious to get out. Today or tomorrow I plan to.

Nice marten. Fills that 120 up pretty good. Good luck on your next trip

Thanks guys

I got that moose cut up. Was really hoping it had froze over night but it didn't A chainsaw and partially frozen moose equals a mess But I got the bait stations topped off and that is what is important.

Pretty warm day out there today, didn't see much for track and it gets kinda frustarting checking empty set after empty set. Then to find were one gets on your trail and walks right up to not 1 but 2 cubby's and just not take that final step I know what the problem is, the chunks of beaver are dried out and pretty chewed up by the voles, I will fix that next run out there. Then to add insult to injury had one totally duck a snare

So cruising along my spirits finally got up lifted when I rounded a bend and saw this guy Teds Meowch is killing them for me



A little further down the line I stopped and started walking my trail up to a spruce thicket, looked under the spruce and had number 2 for the waiting for me



Picked up a little mink today as well, Kinda funny that spot either produces mink or marten, one or the other every year



Till next check be safe out there!

Always a good day when you dont get skunked,2 cats is a great day.

You've already caught as many cats as I catch in a whole season and I finally started getting my line out yesterday!

Boco, yep

bfisch, Glad you got it out! Hope you connect with the critters I normally only get a few kitties a year, like 3 or 4, This is a bumper crop of kitties this year and I am taking advantage of it

Congrats John! So exciting to come around a corner and see something in a set waiting on you. Having good luck with Teds products as well this season.

Nice looking Marten John! Does Teds fur shed have a website?

broncoformudv, Looking forward to it

Nunamiut, His store web page is at the top of the page in the blue box

Well I spent this past week on a little adventure down in Prince William Sound chasing deer and ducks. Only got a day and a half in for the ducks due to the season closing but they were HOT Still missing the Old Sqaw that is on my bucket list. Not from the lack of seeing them but from my lack of being able to hit the little speed demons Picked up a bunch of drake Goldeneye, a few Buffleheads and Harlequin. Was hunting with wolverine hunter and he managed to drop 2 Old Sqaw.















I have seen some pretty knurly weather in my day but this trip was the icing on the cake, Rain, rain, and more rain, then 1 sunny day followed by a white out and almost two feet of snow!

I managed to connect with 2 deer and Crucible6 connected with one as well.



It snowed a little




The highlite of this trip was stumbling across a baby sea otter, When I hit the shore yesterday morning I looked over on a little knob and saw fur under the snow, I walked over and moved the snow away and to my surprise it was a sea otter! I went hunting dragged a deer back and it was still sitting there, Went back hunting, got soaked from the snow and decided to call it a day as the tide rolled in, I sat there and watched the water come up to the otter and it swim away to it's momma, It was pretty cool to see



Ducks and deer are what is on the menu this weekend

That was a great hunt,HFT,lots of goodies for the meat freezer.

It looks like you had some fun on the coast. Sitka black tail is some of the finest game meat IMO. too bad the snow came at the end.

Thanks Boco

mad-mike, agree on the meat Yeah I dont know how you SE guys can trap in those conditions, between the weather and the seas makes me have alot of respect for those that do it. One island we hit was all ice, rain and ice in my world equals slipping and busting your butt, which I did a few times And to top it off, at another island we encountered a hunting party of 6, who nicely informed us that there was a sow and cubs out on the prowl! We vacated that area and moved on. We were suppose to head in on Thursday but woke up to white out conditions, stayed put and the snow piles up, probably got close to 2 foot of that wet heavy stuff, but I assume that is a norm for you guys.

Ain’t nothing to it, you just do it.

Awesome trip! Looks like you had a real good time! Those harlequins are beautiful! Never seen one up close in person. How are they for eating? I have only ever shot one long-tailed duck. I remember it being super fat and good eating.

What is the duck on the far right in the top picture?

Nice mixed bag of colorful ducks and deer!

Drake goldeneye.

Good post HFT - can relate.

Yes, trapping here is challenging, as is hunting. A plan B, and C is always prudent.
Glad you could experience, and enjoy it.

Are those not Barrow's goldeneye ?

Northof50 I will look later and confirm which one they are.

bfisch, they are all good eating up here I was stationed down in Texas for a spell back in the day, those ducks down there tasted like raw sewage, Didn't matter what species, how you cooked it, it tasted like crap. Blessed to be up here with clean water and chow for them

Well it was snowing when I headed out this am, there was already 2 inches on the ground and it snowed all day. The downfall of having fresh snow was I couldn't see any track, I had 1 120 popped, I think a vole set it off with a piece of beaver, and I had 2 duck carcasses that were wired in the back of 2 different cubbies totally disappear!

Seeing this never gets old



Picked up 1 marten, 1 ermine that decided to nose dive a #3, a mink, and 2 fox The bait stations are being hit and I figure after this fresh snow they will show me were to hang my snares

Good run! Birds and deer last week and predators this week! You are on a roll!

Nice run HFT, your season has been productive, so far.

Two drake goldeneye in lower photos. Left one looks like it has the white crescent and forehead bump of a Barrow's and the right one looks like it has the round white spot and rounded head of a Common. Really need a better pic. to tell for sure.

After looking at them all, the one on the left is a Barrow the one on the right a Common.

The phrase we used for Bufflehead, was bigger than a sparrow but smaller than a robin on the dinner plate.
I enjoy your thread.

The past few days have been kicking my butt weather wise! After my last run on Saturday I got about 8 inches of nice powder. Monday broncoformudv did a ride along with me, we remade sets and put in a few snowholes on half my line, Monday night a chinook blew in with high winds and then freaking rain! Tuesday was nothing but rain and then last night it changed over to snow, the wet sticky kind that likes to freeze your traps down, plus it was a whopping 38 degrees!
But on the brighter side of things it cleared up today and the temps are suppose to drop back down, snares and sets are all in working condition and I am hoping for a good run later this week,



bfisch, this is what I look for out on my line when it comes to finding the antlers. I have 5 or 6 trees like that that they are rubbing on right now. Seems like when it gets really cold -10 -20 they drop them, Normally I have 20-60 moose that winter along my line. We had a big winter kill off last winter due to deep snow so this year they are far and few,



I hope everyone has a Merry Xmas Till next check be safe!

Merry Christmas HFT-May your traps be full.

Gotcha, I know of one tree like that in the area where I saw the bulls and once they start dropping I will drive around more. Hope the weather holds for you!

Good luck with the weather and animals this week! Hope you have some great checks.