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!