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.

Well the weather has been kicking my butt pretty good. Between warm temps, 40s, rain and that heavy wet stuff the critters just don't want to come out and play Looking at the forecast the temps are suppose to drop and stay that away for a spell.

Wolverine hunter came up from Homer Sunday night and bought himself a sled. We were going to run part of my line but things didn't pan out, what are the odds of two guys pulling into the parking lot, down loading gear and sleds, go to fire the sleds up to take off, and not 1 but both of the pullcords snapped! At Least it was in the parking lot

Went out yesterday behind the house on my short line, I have not been out there at all this season and was waiting for things to slow down. There is a lot of sign and snares got dropped, Gonna wait till after Xmas break to drop some bait back there.

Ran today and dug gear out. Got the fox and yote sets operational, popped just about all the kitty traps outta the ice.

Started my morning off with this fox He went under the yote snare last week, this week he tried to hop through it.



I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Until next check, be safe out there!

That is quite the coincidence both of the sled pull cords broke in the parking lot. Yeah that might be a sign to call the day off and do something else. Nice sneaky fox!

Sounds like you planned ride just wasn't meant to be. It's not as fun to ride double anyway.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Caught this fat girl on my short line this morning Good way to start off the new year



Shut down the rest of my marten line last run out as the season closed yesterday. This was the best year I have had for the little jokers 9 total Pushing out to the lakes panned out for me Pretty good color variation on them.



The cold temps have returned! Until next check be safe out there!

Nice marten! There is quite the variation. Did you set up behind your house yet?