About 2 weeks ago I told the girls I found some muskrat houses and that if they wanted to they could set some muskrat traps on opener. Sunday afternoon the whole family headed out. I haven't intentionally trapped muskrats for over 6 years, but it looks like we may have a few more around than previous years. We each set one muskrat trap except the youngest. I also made two fox sets. Thought I might as well since we were going to be checking traps anyway.

Checked the traps as a family yesterday after the girls got out of school for the day. It was sunny, all the trees and grass was frosted up, and the temperature was -10 and dropping. While my traps were empty my wife and second oldest both had success.

This was the first trap she ever set and her first ever catch! The smile is bigger under the neck warmer!



My wife got her first fox two years ago, her first marten last year, and now her first muskrat! She is a water and land trapper now!



Though I saw more fox, mink, otter, beaver, and lynx sign, I saved it for another time.



Will be checking again today, but will leave mom and youngest at home. Its a little cold today.

Awesome to get the kids out! Had a kid in town bring me a muskrat and I told him I would pay him 5$ a muskrat, and now im down 35$ basically over night haha. Glad to give him some cash and fuel the hunting passion he already has. I want to get better at trapping them myself! Hope you have a great season!

Good stuff, right there.

Good on you to encourage him! I might consider selling you a few at $5 My daughter decided to keep it and get it tanned after I told her she may only get $2-3 for it.

Last evening concluded the early winter muskrat chase. After picking my two older girls up from school, the three of us raced out to check 4 muskrat sets. Walking up to the first set I noticed the area quite disturbed and soon saw a dark head sticking out of a hole. After not getting anything yesterday, my oldest was disappointed especially since her younger sister had caught a muskrat before she did. (Being a step behind a younger sibling is always frustrating!)

As we walked closer she said, "I got a muskrat!" Then she changed it to, "It's a mink! I just caught a mink didn't I! It's better than a muskrat and maybe I can even keep the skull!" The excitement of catching a mink more than made up for the empty trap the day before.



Not many can say that the first thing they ever caught was a mink. I didn't catch my first mink until I was 17. Well. . . I was out-trapped these past two days as both days my traps were empty, but if I have to be out-trapped I can't think of anyone I would rather be outdone by than my own family!

Thank you for sharing your families adventures with us talk about making some great memories for one and all !
My first mink I caught when I was in my mind 20's in a submerged 330 set under a tree where the beaver were crossing under it sadly I never did catch a beaver in that location.

Have a great season and Stay Safe out there even if you don't want to ha ha !
Allan

Way to go! Those memories of the first catch will be with them a life time! Creating those memories with family are a blessing!

I've lived in Alaska since 1978 and I still don't know much about trapping muskrats after freeze up. Got any pics of the sets? How about a tutorial for us neophytes? Nice to see the kids having fun.

I agree!

Allan- First mink was in a pocket set on the river made to catch muskrat, mink, or coon. It was a small female, but I didn't care! Your "Stay Safe" reminds me of something I need to remind myself of every once in a while. Don't rush things especially when I am by myself. Rushing lead to mistakes and mistake lead to. . .

HFT AK- I couldn't agree with you more! To be able to have family, health, and ability are blessings I too often take for granted!

martentrapper & Thurman- I'll work on getting a few pictures put together.

Good Evening bfisch my closing remark is my attempt at a sense of humor trying to come out the one thing we have in common is there's a lot of nothing between us and town or the next person or even farm or ranch house .
So if something happens you better be resourceful and stay with the snowmobile or 4 wheeler or 4 wd pickup .

On a day fishing trip on Fort Peck with a buddy we were done for the day and were heading back to the marina we noticed two guys in a boat with the cover off the motor off in the distance , long story short the batteries died while they were running the trolling motor my friend had jumper cables and we got it to start .
We were the only two boats out that far from the marina it could've been worse for both of them .
Not meaning to hijack your thread . Thing's can happen anywhere and at anytime . Keep up the good work raising those youngun's ha ha
Allan

As requested:

Trapping Muskrats After Freeze Up:

1) Follow all state and federal laws and regulations. Our trapping regulations state, "Muskrat pushups or feeding houses may be disturbed in the course of trapping." Some states may not allow this.
2) Find a muskrat house.
3) Make a hole just large enough for your trap to fit through in the side of the muskrat house. I use an ax for this, but a hatchet or ice pick/chisel would also work. The trap I prefer is a 1 1/2 longspring for its increased weight and higher catch. I will be describing the use of this trap. Some make effective use of a 110 inside the house, but I don't have the knack for it. While making the hole try to keep the piece coming out as large as possible for later use.
4) Attach your trap securely to a drag/pole. Remember to stake for the biggest thing you might catch. I have heard of guys catching otters in these sets. I have only ever caught rats and mink.



5) Feel/look around inside the house to locate the underwater entrance as well as the platform. (If the house is full of ice and the entrance is frozen over move on.) The platform may be slightly submersed or above the water line in the house. It is where the muskrat sits to eat and rest. Place the trap on the platform. I prefer to have it partially submersed and level.



6) While keeping your pole on the outside, replace the portion of the house you removed sealing the hole back up. While doing this leave enough slack on the inside so that the catch may jump in the water with the trap in an attempt to escape. This will make for less struggle and save you from having to dispatch the catch when you arrive. For better sealing of the hole you make take a small portion of the wetted plant material and and add that to what you already had. The benefit to having it wet is that in freezing temperatures it will freeze the hole closed making in less likely for the catch to exit the house and be exposed to the weather and predators. You may also use grasses found around the area for added insulation and cover everything with snow. While it is good to have the hole you made freeze shut, it is more important that you properly reinsulate the house. If the house freezes the catch will be froze in and cause you unnecessary trouble. Also if the house freezes you are lessening the survivability of any rats you did not catch that are still wanting to use that house to rest and feed. Seal the hole well!



7) Check set regularly remembering to properly seal and insulate the hole each time including when you remove your set.
8: Remember to have fun and be careful to check ice thickness especially around the muskrat house!

Pretty neat bfich. Growing up in Juneau muskrats used to be fairly common in the Mendenhall Valley. Around the early 1990’s they flat disappeared.

Pretty good write up! I went out with frozenokie a few times on the flats before he moved to the lower 48. He always emphasized wearing thick gloves when reaching down in those holes, guess he got nipped a few times Hope you and the family catch a bunch, pretty good bait for just about everything else!

The rats have been scarce around here the past 6 plus years. I hope they are trending towards a population boom. We have had high water the last two years that filled in some dried up lakes. I think it may have helped some. Also been seeing new beaver houses and old ones revived, since the lakes have water again.



I am not a great muskrat trapper by any means. This is just the my dad showed me, but he is still a better rat trapper than me. I have always barehanded it. I don't like trying to feel around with gloves/gauntlets. Pretty cold at -10 though. I have froze my hand to the trap a number of times and just put my hand in the water until it thaws. Never been bit yet, but I don't going shoving my hand in when checking traps. Haha!

Rode around about 2/3 of the trapline today. Don't like the weather. About 32 degrees and starting sprinkling when I got back. I had made some sets the other day for fox and otter/mink. I also have one muskrat set out. The fox traps were decommissioned by the snow and thawing/freezing we've been having. The muskrat trap was set off and stuffed full of lake plants. All around the trap was muskrat fur and mink tracks all over the place. I think we were after the same thing and he beat me to it. Maybe he will be there waiting for me next time. Did connect on a mink in a set that caught a few mink and an otter last year.



Still a little rough in places with only five inches of snow most of which came last night along with strong winds. It made for not much fresh sign to see. Some lynx, weasel, mink, and marten tracks. Our hares have just about dropped off the map so not sure how that will affect things this season. Maybe the lynx that are around will be more apt to come to sets. There is a pack of wolves around somewhere too, but no sign of them this trip.

Fox/lynx trail snare



Was driving through a dry lake with knee high grass and ran over something hard. No trees around so I turned around to see if just maybe . . . Yep it sure was! Might bring a chainsaw and ice pick to get it out of the ice next time. Guessing from last winter. I wonder how many times I drove by it last spring. I'll have to see if my track has a hole in it.



Might of found the previous owner of my newfound treasure. He was with another smaller bull and two cows.

Thanks for the how too!

Thanks. Maybe only once have I ever seen a muskrat house. Only see pushups and they seem hard to get a trap in.

Have always set lynx snares higher, 10/11 in, off the ground. Fox 8 in. What loop size and height you use to catch either?

I don't measure height or loop size. I just eyeball it. I know because these snares are set in a place that may catch either (last year caught two of each at this location) I set them a little lower than I normally would for lynx. I think the stick going over the snare at an angle is important especially in this case.

Nice on the mink!! Snare looks good for kitty and fox. I normally put a jump stick over my snares like that to help keep the moose out of them, it helps a lot. Id wait till spring to get those antlers! To much work right there

Too Late! You should have warned me sooner! Haha! I cant get to this area except when these are froze up good and I guess I am a glutton for punishment. I went and got it. It is thawing out right now. Will post pictures sometime.

Look forward to seeing them!

We cut and chiseled out these antlers but managed cut off some brow tines with the chainsaw.

I found this moose about 6 or 7 tears ago following yote tracks. It took me two trips and alot of hacking to get it out. I have found 3 whole moose with horns over the years during trapping season. All of them sub legal and from the decay probably shot during moose season. Looking forward for them to start dropping their antlers this year, got 3 or 4 good rubs right beside my trail

That's neat you found those. A few years ago, I was toodling around a meadow with about a foot of snow on the ground, when I was brought to an abrupt halt, almost flying over the handle bars because I was standing up while riding, looking for shed antlers. When I got off to see what stopped me, I found it was a dead head, upside down, with one antler frozen in the water, and the other antler above ground at an angle, and the tip of one of my skis had went under the upside down paddle, bringing me to a dead stop. No trees within a hundred yards of where I was, thought I was safe standing up while driving.

The pack was close and howling when we pulled up. I walked down the trail a ways and found this 1/2 rack but couldn't find the other. GOOD DAY!

Awesome black wolf!!

Thank You Ryan, got big $ for him. The whole pack was black!

I initially thought about trying to chop it out the day I found it, but it was big enough and the ice thick enough that I came back later with a chainsaw and ice pick. Even then it was still a chore as it was connected to the bottom by all the lake plants. Got a birch pole and went around it prying as I went. I misjudged the size/shape as I shaved off the top of the paddle with the chainsaw. Not in the best shape but a nice find.



Let it sit and warm up for a few days and then pulled all the mud and weeds off.



There are some guys around here that find a lot of horns each winter/spring. I on the other hand am fortunate to find one every couple years. I just don't spend much time looking for them and the guys that do usually get there before I do. The three I have found have all been in water.

The first one I ever found was when we were out spring geese hunting. The family and I were canoeing down a slough. There was about two feet of water on top of the ice and I looked down in the water and there it was on top of the ice. The small ones are the real trophies because they are more difficult to find.



Last spring we were again heading out on snow machine to go geese hunting and I looked across a lake and saw what I thought was a muskrat push up. I headed over there curious as I had not seen any on this lake before. Turns out it was a paddle sticking out. My guess is that it was shot the previous fall and not found.

One year trapping the lower Novi, I kept seeing the fox working a spot in the ice of the river. Finally decided to check it out. There was some hair, moose hair. Kept chopping ice and finally realized it was a whole moose.” Came back the next day with the ice spit and chainsaw. Dog team also. Didn’t own a snogo those days.
Got the whole thing loose and tied the dogs to it but couldn’t get it all up over the ice. Ended up chopping off the part that I got out of the ice and left the rest in the river. Dog food and some bait. Meat was pretty sour since most of it had been in the water.

One year I was running a plowtruck opening the ice road and I felt my plow run over something. Turns out it was a moose frozen in the river ice and my one way plow skinned the exposed part.. Foxes ate down into the ice and I shot quite a few of them watching over that hole. Eventually I had to go and fill it in with water though to avoid any accidents. Another year I found a cow and calf frozen in out by my spring geese camp. Caught some foxes but the wolves and wolverines avoided it for some reason I still cant figure out.

Good deal on the find and getting it out This time of year I always look for the fresh rubs, come the end of the month or when ever it decides to get real cold -20 or so I make it a point to swing by them and look for antlers. I have had pretty good luck doing that but most I find on my trail.

Good , Thanks

Very nice finds on the moose horns ! Years ago while trapping beaver I found a bull buffalo skull in a beaver dam no caps and a long way from any buffalo pastures that I knew of . Keep the great pictures and story's coming !
Allan

Thanks for the tips and stories! Will be getting a late start on the trapline this year. The family and I are in Fairbanks and we are expecting our fourth any day now. Exciting times!

Awesome to hear and I wish you guys the best!!

Here's hoping for a smooth delivery!

Congratulations in advance I hope for nothing but the best for your growing family ! Remember this Allan is a good strong name for a boy ha ha !

Thank you! We have three girls and it looks like the one on the way is a boy. (Poor kid will have 4 moms!) We have not completely decided on a name.
Allan- I will put the idea out there, but I am not making any promises. Haha!

Ha ha well it's just a thought Leroy is a good middle name to since I'm being bold . Ha ha
If this one is a boy he will be tough with all those sisters and the hand me downs won't be very fun for him ha ha

Congrats on the new addition.

I have an uncle Leroy, it is also my grandpa's middle name, and my father-in-laws middle name. You have a better chance with that one.

Ha ha ok if you say so ! Don't forget to stock up on cigars before the new addition gets here !

Probably have to quarantine when you get back to the vill, eh? Plenty of trapping time then.

Yeah, it was one week with test and then cleared after test is negative. Now it is two weeks.

Praise God! Our fourth child has arrived without incident and everyone continues to be well! Our first boy so it is a new adventure!
Happy to be back together as a family!

Congrats you all sure look happy!

Awesome and congrats to you and your wife!

Congratulations on the new addition as I mentioned before hand me downs are going to be a bugger for the little man and heaven help whomever messes with him if his big sisters hear about it ha ha !
Allan

Good to hear Congrats

Congratulations!

Grace and Blessings be with you all .

Thank you all! We are all very happy even if a bit tired. I don't think he will be getting very many hand-me-downs.

That was me, I've got 3 older sisters. I used to tell people I had 4 moms when I was growing up, lol. Congrats on the new addition!

Congrats!

Congrats on the birth of your son, everyone sure looks happy!

Congratulations from Leslie and me in Noorvik! Hopefully we meet again at NMT one day.

Thanks!



I've been telling people he will be well mothered!




Thanks brother! Didn't know you were on here. Sure would enjoy seeing you both again! Feel free to snow machine over sometime.

Well what did you folks name the little man ? Length and weight ?

That would be fun; done it twice, but in the 80s.

Boaz Edward
7lbs 3oz
19" long

That's a good strong name for the young man !

Great name, lots of character.

Nice thread.

Made it home with the family yesterday after three weeks in Fairbanks. It was good to be in town to have my parents and my wife's parents come to see their newest grandson, but we are all glad to be home. Changed out the battery on my Skandic today and the week before I went to Fairbanks both headlights on my Polaris went out. I think it is the voltage regulator. From what I hear from other guys who have had the same issue is I have a 50/50 chance of solving the problem if I install a new regulator. Temperature has been dropping today from -4 to -30 right now. When it warms up a little I plan to go out and break some trail.

In the mean time I am going to enjoy some moose dry meat with bear fat!



This is some of the fat from the bear I got this past September.



I cut it into 1/2 inch cubes and put it into a pan on low heat.



It is important to not let it get too hot and burn.



As the fat renders I pour the accumulated grease through a strainer into glass jars. I return it to the stove and let it continue to render. I continue this process until the pieces of fat turn to cracklings about 1/4 of their original cut size.



Once complete I keep the full jars in the freezer. The one I am currently working on is usually kept in the fridge where it will easily last a month before going bad (it is always eaten long before). Sometimes I will keep it in the freezer for a different consistency.

I am going to have to give that a try. Thanks for showing how you make it!

Bear lard is supposed to be very good for making bread.

Always heard bear lard was great for baking bread products have to give it a try now that I see how rendering is accomplished. Thanks!

Any recipes for the bread? I would guess it replaces the shortening.
I know other people put the fat in a crockpot on low and ladle it out, but I haven't tried that way yet.

Geese lard makes good pie crust and bread too.

Ya back in the day been rendered out the bear fat - the original Crisco. WTG to keep up back in the day stuff.

Finally made it out on the line yesterday. It was good going and only one spot with a little overflow. I only made it about half way around the line and came back. Set up marten poles, lynx cubbies, and a mink/otter set. No wolf sign, but I suspect once they find my trail they will make use of it. Wanted to go out again today, but the wind is brutal and is supposed to be again tomorrow.

Waiting for the mink that went by the night before.



Lynx cubby. Had a trail camera on this set last year and missed a wolverine that didn't commit.



All the fur I sent to out to be tanned last spring came back. I think the wife will be stocked up on fur for sewing for a while.

Good deal! Hope you connect! What do you have in the cubby for the kitties?

^^^^^
Regarding the post about rendering bear fat:
Do you know if bear fat will render-out as easily as seal fat by putting it in hot water and skimming off the top. Or does bear fat require more heat?

It is a duck head that stinks just a little. Never tried it before, but I have heard that some who collar lynx place a duck in the back of the cage to catch them. I also have a cd hanging above the set.



Never been around seal fat rendering process. Bear fat at room temperature is basically liquid, fridge temps more solid, and when frozen it is barely soft enough to scrape/spoon some out. The only seal oil I have seen was in liquid form. I don't know at what temperature it solidifies. Not sure but I would guess it has to be even colder than bear fat to hit a solid state.

I have also never heard of anyone rendering bear fat with hot water. It would seem it would be difficult to not get some water in the jars unless you left a portion of the fat in the pot with the water. If water got in the jar it would sink to the bottom and be trapped there.
Maybe someone with seal oil experience will give some input.

After setting up the line the wind really picked up along with some fresh snow. I don't remember the drifts being this hard everywhere in years past. It is downright rough going. The first check yielded snares and cubbies drifted in. It has been hard to see what is moving with the constant wind and fresh snow. That said, it seems that the marten population is down. I haven't see much for tracks in the timber lines like I normally do. If this appears to be the case the next few checks I may just snap my pole sets and give them a chance to rebound.

Second check was much more productive.

I caught an old gnarly fox at this location last year after an extended cold stretch. Unfortunately, a lynx found him before I did and had supper leaving me with a head and scraps of fur. I set it up again this year with fox in mind. Couldn't see the snare or any disturbance when I rolled up. I figured the wind knocked it over and it drifted in. I was pleasantly surprised when I uncovered some gray fur! Kicked myself for not having a shovel to dig him out. Oh well, it didn't take to long. First lynx of the season!



The next catch was at a location that picked out last year thinking it was a good spot for marten and lynx. I only caught a lone weasel there and only saw a single set of lynx tracks go through the area. I drove by it again this year and thought to myself, "It looks like such a great location." I went another 20 yards before turning around. I just had to set it up it just looked too good. I made a nice lynx cubby at the same tree as last year, wired part of a duck carcass to the tree at lynx eye level, hung some bright red chicken feathers in a nearby tree, dabbed some gusto on a limb above the set, and set the #4 duke coil neatly covered with snow. Everything came together this year as lynx number two was waiting for me. When I took out the camera the batteries were dead. So the picture had to wait until I made it home.



I planned on breaking trail into the rest of the line that day, but it was getting dark and I don't really care to go somewhere in the dark that I haven't been to recently. What really made up my mind was getting stuck in a big drift. I didn't take it head on and glance off to the left leaving my right ski up on the drift and the left ski 2 1/2 feet lower. Yep I was sideways! I tried the reverse, go forward, and repeat trick, but that was only creating more of a problem. Time to kick myself again for not having a shovel. The drift was solid all the way down. I took my ax and started carving out chunks in front of the machine and on the right side. Before long I had my hat and coat off. At the end I was sore not so much from digging the snow machine out, but from kicking myself. With the lost time I headed towards home. The rest of the line will have to wait for another day.

Sweet deal on the kitties! I run a bunch of those Dukes for them as well Feel your pain in getting stuck! Pack a shovel Hope you connect with a bunch more! Thanks for sharing!

Nice cats.
Snowshoes and shovel always in the sleigh.

Made it out again yesterday. Still really windy. My second oldest asked to ride along. I had her dress up pretty warm because of the wind. We had a good ride and I brought my shovel along, but didn't need it to dig myself out this time. First set is a mink/otter set I threw a fish head in a hole and placed a 220 in front. Looks like a mink came by and grabbed the fish head which then got caught while the mink skedaddled.

Some friends found a moose shed the other day and so I had it on my mind. I know where a couple bulls have been hanging out and was going to search the area a bit. Ran into the group of bulls and it looks like they are keeping their headgear. . . for now.



Last trap of the day held the only critter of the day. My girl was sure excited!



On the way home we spooked a fox who was sleeping on the downwind side of a beaver house. I don't think he could hear us because the wind was whipping into our faces. Nice seeing wildlife even when they are not in traps.

Hahaha that has happened to me more times then I can count with having the bait in the jaws and no critter You need to look around were those moose are rubbing, I will get a few pics tomorrow of a few that I have my eye on, seems like were they have rubs is were I find the antlers most of the time. Good on you for taking the youngster out Dad time is always the best Good looking marten! Hope the weather gets better for you!

The wind finally slowed down. Went out today and saw a good amount of fresh sign. Lynx, fox, mink, marten, and ermine all have been on the move.

Wolves also came through for the first time. By the looks of it, there is only two that came onto the line. I followed their track long enough to put a few snares in, but they pretty much just passed through except at one place they must have spooked a bedded moose and messed around with it for a couple minutes and then went on their way.



Lotsa action, but not what I was hoping for. Mink set was drifted in so he made his own hole through the snow to get to the fish head. Lynx stepped all over the trap at a hanging bait (the trap was 6 inches under with a thin crust over it) then he skirted a snare because the blocking around it had drifted in. Two other lynx exited the trail each about 100 yards before my set. Another came closer but was interested enough. I did end up with 4 squirrels and a rabbit. A marten came to one with a squirrel and took the bait and left the squirrel, while the second ate the bait and the squirrel. The rabbit was missing its head and a front leg. Trail camera picture revealed a happy owl (same exact thing happened at this set last year). Nice to know what is around anyway. I think everything was really moving because the wind took a break.

I made my way to a particular spot on the river today where I have crossed in the past. The last 150 feet are through thick bar willows and I wasn't sure what the bank looked like this year so I parked the machine and walked. On the edge of the willows was a nearly vertical drift 10 ft tall. It was literally a wall in the trail. In years past the highest I have seen it was maybe 4 ft. I climbed up the hard drift to see the river and was standing among the tops of the trees above all the moose breaks/chewing. I thought it was interesting, because there were either ruffed grouse or ptarmigan tracks going back and forth among the willow tops. They were able to sit in the snow and pick buds rather than perch on the tree tops. Well, I haven't ruled out that particular river crossing, but if I'm going to use it I am going to need a bigger shovel.

A grass lake near one of my lynx sets.

Well you know those kitties have 9 lives Sounds like they used a few Bites about the drifts, hope the weather holds for you and you connect!

Congrats on the new little boy and the fur

Congrats.A mink was my very first catch ever in a muskrat set.

You are the only other one I have heard of that has a mink as their first catch!

Was heading out the other day and before I even made it out of town I saw something standing on the side of the road at a four way split. Kinda an odd place to just be standing there, I thought as I slowed down to get a better look. It was a big brownish gray dog. As soon as I slowed it took off and right away I could tell by the way it acted and moved it was not somebodies' dog. The big wolf was now bounding through the snow back towards town. I followed its track for about 45 minutes through the thickest small spruce around until I gave up. Apparently, a couple wolves had been in the area as they had trails going this way and that through the thick stuff. Some excitement anyway.

Been real slow on the line as far as catches. I snapped all but a few of my marten sets and will try to focus a little more on lynx and wolves. The wolves came back but to a different portion of the line than last time. I set a few snares and plan to bring some footholds next time.

The lynx were uninterested in my sets and avoided the snares. I am seeing more rabbit sign than I had originally seen and guess the cats are not too hungry. They are around though so I will keep trying. There is also a fair amount of fox sign in places. I haven't tried for them much this season so may have to add that to the list as well.

That would be exciting Wish I had a population of wolves around my line.
I know that feeling, mid season trapper time blues, full moon, clear nights, or crappy weather, All part of what we love
Don't give up on the kitty's, a friend of mine, who has put up a zillion kitty's, suggested that when the cats start losing interest in your cubbies, snare pens, baits, it is time to switch over to pee post, They have one thing on their mind, finding a mate. He collects the urine from his catch's, yote urine will work as well. He says the sets you have out will still catch their eye they will investigate but wont commit, but if there is a pee post by it they will absolutely do their thing
As for the snares, safety in numbers They do have 9 lives and I feel that frustration, under, over, around, through, and when you do connect with one, there is that feeling of accomplishment
Hope the tide turns for you and you start connecting!!!

Things continue to be slow on the line, but the cats are still around and I made a new trail out to the river. It took me a while driving around to find the best way but I finally made it. Good amount of wolf sign on the sand bar. I put in a couple pee posts on drift logs and also added a few sets in other areas as well.

This is the view out on the river


I made a new to me set this last time out. The wolves use this trail to check out my bait pile and put in a trench trail set. It was described by Oh Snap on another thread and I also used the technique described by white17 in that same thread.


You are welcome to critique it as this is the first time I have tried it. Some may not like my drag, but that's ok. This is the set before I drove over it blending it further.



I have a marten pole that has had regular activity since the beginning of the season, but has yet to connect. I put a trail camera on it to see what was happening. Here our a couple shots from the video produced.
Here the marten is straddling the trap and soon after it hops over the trap the rest of the way.


The marten then took the bait and hopped off. I have since moved the bait so it is located more directly below the trap.


He then came back and sniffed around for some more. Not finding anything he proceeded to straddle the trap again, but this time in the reverse direction. He then rubbed the pole (seen in the picture below) and set off the trap with his stomach. He was temporarily spooked by the snap and ran a few feet down the pole. He quickly did a 180 to come and investigate the snap and sniff around some more before leaving.


I assume that the marten is marking the area when they are or at least appear to do the rubbing action. I have caught this same behavior on camera in early fall as well. Are they urinating or rubbing scent glands or both?

Cool to see that with the marten. That trench set looks good! Hopefully one will hit it! I might give that a test run if the weather gets right.

That trench set looks just like I envisioned it. Cant wait to put my own in tomorrow. Those marten pics sure are fun to see, makes me wonder if I have had similar things happen at my sets in the past. I have no idea why its straddling the pole like that, but I am very curious.

I think that trench set will totally work if they come through and spend some time. I've seen quite a few youtube videos of guys doing that. The bigger the pack, the better, and then it's more a matter of time and chance and keeping the trap working. Where I come from in Minnesota, I really wanted to do this. We have a lot of wolves there. They follow the logging roads, of which there are many. HUGE networks of them. Usually at the trail intersections, they will spend a lot of time peeing and scratching - then head on off down the trail for a bit before fanning out. When I would grouse hunt the trails, I would see the wolf trans in the same exact spots time after time, and dream of putting a trap there. But alas, Minnesota only had it's wolf trapping season for one year, before the anti's got it taken away. Trump gave power back to the states recently - but you can guess what's going to happen with that. Doesn't matter so much for me anymore because a non-resident can't trap in MN, but I have pals who would sure love to. Hope you get that wolf! Cool Marten pics. I enjoy following all the journals including yours.

I do not envy the weather reports you give for your area. The wind has been my nemesis this year, but at least I haven't had any dramatic temperature swings.

Be sure to get some pictures when you make a catch in the set.

Packs around here usually are less than 10. My parents are in MN and my dad can share a few stories of running into wolves. Once the family dog got chased until the pair came right close to my dad and he waved his hatchet and yelled at them. They just trotted off nonchalantly. Hope they get their season back sometime soon, but I'm not holding my breath.

I snagged a fox my first fox of the season. Usually I am about done with fox around this time, but things are a little whacky this season. I started about a month late after being in town with the family waiting for our boy to be born and then with the transition back to home it was slow getting gear out and breaking open trails. That's alright family takes precedence over trapping.



Not much moving on the line. The wolves are playing leap frog with me. They go through, I lay down gear, they go through somewhere else, I put out more gear, and so on. Either I will run out of traps and snares or start nabbing them here and there or maybe they got me figured out and will just move somewhere else. Still fun getting out and occasionally I haul some wood home.

Good looking fox! With our wacky weather here I know it won't be long before they get those rub spots from laying in the snow and ice pulling the guard hairs out. Yep family first Keep after those wolves, like chess they will eventually make the wrong move Hope the weather turns good for you and you connect with some more critters!

Good stuff. Hope you connect with a wolf.

Might as well keep trying.

It has been really warm with skiffs of snow each day. Today we hit 20 above so my oldest daughter joined me to go check sets and grab a load a wood.

This lynx had followed my trail for several hundred yards. On my two previous trips through the foxes were all over the trail. So I made a trench set the width of my ax head in my trail with fox in mind. I set a bridger 1.65 offset and nabbed him by three toes. He made it about 30 feet on the birch drag. My girl was excited! I guess it is the first live lynx she has seen.



Had a 220 over a hole in the snow by a beaver house and it was ready when this guy came back through.



We also brought home a load of wood. I made a fire for my daughter to warm up by while I cut wood. Then we loaded it together and rode home. Good day!

That is totally awesome!!!!! Glad you had her along when you connected! Good looking kitty and otter Now that you broke the dry spell I hope things continue to pick up for you!

What are you cutting in the wood yard? Dead spruce, birch?

What a nice day to be out with your family on the line and you got some good catches!

HFT AK- I hope so too! The wolves have been gone for a couple weeks now and I expect them to come back sometime in the next week or less. I think they must have got a moose somewhere else and are fat and lazy for now.

martentrapper- I am cutting dead standing spruce. I wouldn't mind burning more birch, but dead is rotten and green is heavy.

broncoformudv- It was a good! If the warm weather continues I will continue to take them out as opportunity allows.

Green birch is the wood of choice to stoke the stove just before bedtime!

Nice pictures and catches.

I have heard others say the same thing, but with the blaze kings even a nice spruce log can make it through the night.

Ran the line yesterday. The lynx are still playing games with me. I put in another couple sets for them including pee posts with urine collected on sight from the last one I caught. The wolves seemed to have disappeared. Not sure when they will come back. The snow was sticky from how warm it is so I came home a little wet. Sure is nice having a dry pair of extra gloves for the ride home.

1st trap of the day and the only catch of the day. About half the traps had too much snow on them to be effective anyway.


It was snowing nicely when I was out and uncovered all the traps and adjusted snares that needed to be. Forecast called for 1-2 inches which would have been perfect for cover up traps and my sign. After I got home last night the blizzard began and we ended up with 4-5 inches and today it is raining. Yuck! I guess I can expect to get everything back in working order next trip out. I feel for you guys that deal with this kind of problem on a regular basis.

The weather sure likes to play games with trappers. Its hard to beat a dry pair of gloves or mittens for the ride home. I have started carrying spares of those as well a spare dry facemask.

Good looking mink! Have you seen much sign of them? My numbers here are way down, not much track. Hang in there with the kitties! The one thing have learned is the more gear you get out for them the better the odds Yeah the weather bites this year, still have time though for it to get cold and steady!

Weather sure plays a huge factor. I am glad they are calling for the temperature to drop back below 0.

This has been an average year as far as mink sign goes. I don't go after them much. I also miss some using 220s, but I am ok with that because I think it is mostly the smaller females that are getting around the trigger wires. Right now I only have three sets that are for mink/otter. A few years ago it seemed like there were mink everywhere. I don't remember how many I ended the season with, but I caught six in the first month which is more than I have catch a season.

I am hoping mink prices go up, especially with all the culling they did in Europe. Have you thought about using pans on the 220's? I run a mix half and half, they work pretty slick.

I also like mink trapping, but have not intentionally set for them for several years. Still have mink at the auction house going into sale 5-6? XXL DRK-XD, 1.
I live and trap in mink heaven, and end up with 6-8 in marten boxes every year, (climbers).
Last time I actually had a few sets out for them, I got 18 in 3 weeks.
That was the year AFTER I averaged almost $30.00 each.

HFT AK- I have never tried pans on body grips. I guess I have not been that interested in trying yet.

AV- Climbers intrigue me, but I have not heard of anyone around here catching them off the ground. I keep thinking one of these days it will happen. $30 average would convince me to make a few more mink sets. The year I caught the most I sold a couple in Fairbanks for $20 and kept the rest. Since then I just keep them for personal use or give them away.

I get a “wave” of climbing mink each season right about the second week of January. About one out of six of my elevated marten sets will get hit. The only other commonality besides the timing is that the climbing poles have a shallow slope to them. I have not had a mink in an elevated vertical set, yet.

Interesting observation AV. I know mink can climb. I once had one in my arctic entry. I closed the door behind me and tried to get him. He climbed the wall studs straight up with ease and ran around in the rafters before I finally ended his exploration.

Beautiful day on the line yesterday! Right around 5 above and sunny clear skies. I even had to hold up my hand a couple times to see the trail it was so bright!
Had a friend join me for the ride.

Snared this nice little red in a trail snare set in my snow machine trail.


A lot of the time was spent digging out snowed in and/or crusted over traps. Most of the snares were still good with the 4 inches of snow and a bit of rain that we got since the last time I was out.
Best I can figure is that this lynx was caught the night of the snow.


And then this lynx came by, killed it, and began to eat. The lynx (killer) had been on and off the trail zigzagging every which way for the last 3 miles. The set is on the far side of a bigger lake that I cross. Usually the wolves frequent the lake this time of year, but I have been seeing more lynx tracks so I put in a couple lynx sets and some snares. Driving up I noticed the lynx slowly walking away from the set to more cover and thought, "Man! I just spooked him off the set!" I quickly came to a stop and unshouldered the .22 mag. The lynx had stopped at the top of the bank to look back but all I could see was the head sticking out behind a tree. I shot and it ran further in the thick stuff. I restarted the machine, raced up to the set, jumped off, and ran up the hill gun in hand. At the top of the bank I found blood and began scanning the trees for anything. Nothing! I took one step in the direction the lynx ran and there he was just sitting there about 30 feet away facing the other direction. I quickly finished him and claimed my prize.


The lynx that was eaten on could have been a lot worse and as far as I can tell the majority of the pelt will be salvageable for sewing. We don't use the head for sewing anyway.
It was a great day to be out and the action is always a bonus!

Great day on the line.

Good deal on getting that joker before he ate the whole thing! Pretty looking fox! The temps dropped here as well and the critters are on the prowl! Hope you connect with a few more cats!

Glad you got the cannibal.