Don't know if this will work but here is one trappers take on the Wisconsin wolf season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFjBQUBCY2M

Wolves usually run in packs thus running them with hounds appears to be a good way to get your hounds killed.

Doesn't seem like It's a problem In WI.

The bear hunters in Wisconsin get plenty killed by wolves. From what I understand talking to houndmen back there, the hunters with coyote dogs try to turn on single wolves. Since most of the country is roaded up real well they look for a single wolf inside a loop of roads and turn on it and then try and get in front of them and shoot the wolf before it leaves the loop to possibly get with a pack. Apparently seems to work.

Wolf/dog incidents happen much more frequently during bear season for a couple of reasons. First, the mere number of dogs in the field. Bear training season and actual bear seasons bring out virtualy every houndsman in the state during a three month period.

And probably the main reason is the fact that the training and actual bear seasons happen at a time of year that wolves are most protective of their territory. Wolves are very territorial during their denning season and when their pups are younger. They are teaching their pups to hunt and do not tolerate dogs or other K9’s in their core areas. Some packs are worse than others.

The data shows that trappers accounted for 5% of the harvest or about 10-11 wolves with hound hunters getting 86%. During the fall seasons the trappers did far better then the hunters did. We will see how the powers that be plan out the future seasons, quotas and other issues.

Bryce

Bryce, I know you stated the facts...but I just want to point out that this season was an anomaly with regard to the exaggerated harvest to hound hunting. With the current season structure, most seasons don’t work that way. There are a lot of trappers up in arms over this unusual season and it’s likely to bite us if we plan to push the issue.

100%. But maybe they want to split into two seasons and then watch both user groups vote against each other like they did for bobcat. That was awesome.

They need to split the tags and split the season so everyone has a fair shot at taking a wolf.

Maybe you should be happy you're getting some of them killed and quit trying to backstab your allies. You do realize that the people drawing this stuff up don't want any wolf season, right? They love it when you fight amongst yourselves and will jump at any chance to take any opportunity away from you.

I know out west the wolf was one of the greatest menders of fences between houndmen and trappers. It has been a long time tactic of antis to pit one group of outdoorsmen against another and traditionally houndmen and trappers have been both the smallest and easiest to target groups but also two that don't generally care for each other and were easy to pit against each other. People like me that both hound hunted and trapped were a very distinct minority. The wolf out here changed all that and drew the two groups together into a unified front. The antis would love a chance to divide the two, don't let them do that in Wisconsin.

So your saying the trapper should just bend over and take In the shorts. What's wrong with splitting the season and the tags It's not like we are asking for all the tags. And If your going to call that backstabbing then your way off base.

I am not opposed to working with hound hunters if they push the issue but there is no reason for trappers to push.

It would be like having deer hunting shut for years and then getting ok to allow deer huntung again the saturday before Thanksgiving. Sure gun hunters would have a record season, but bow hunters wouldnt want to throw out past season framework just because of one odd season. I can see why gun hunters might though. Lol

I stated the facts that came about with the situation and time frame we were given. What attempts will there be to harvest the stated quotas with some what equal opportunities for different harvest method spokesperson getting a voice. These results to me show that wolves can be efficiently and effectively harvested. Now we will see where the lobbying efforts and groups go with this. Diving up limited resources is frequently a messy process.

Bryce

Yes I would call actively advocating for taking tags and season away from other users is backstabbing.

I'm not in Wisconsin but of the one group I know of (simply because a friend of mine who lives in Wisconsin was sending me updates and pictures each time his friends got a wolf) they were both trapping and running hounds, and managed to catch 3 with traps and 3 with hounds. However from what I am hearing this season the weather played a factor and favored the houndmen. Good fresh snow for the houndmen to find traps and hunt in, while a large majority of the trappers are not real experienced at wolf trapping in the snow and keeping sets working while not spooking wolves. Also the very short season did not allow time for the wolves to return to where there was fresh sign if you set on fresh sign. And short notice of having a season did not give trappers a lot of time to scout areas in order to note sign of where wolves should be in a couple weeks. From what I understand in the past most seasons have been early fall, with limited snow and better trapping conditions. . . with the opposite results for who harvested the majority of the wolves.

What you should be up in arms over and complaining about are ridiculously low quotas. When the quotas in the entire state are almost doubled in two days it is extremely obvious that you have plenty of wolves and the quotas are ridiculously low.

Aargh! find tracks! not "find traps"

I really should learn to reread before hitting post

2014-15 HARVEST

2013-14 HARVEST

https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Wildlifehabitat/wolf/documents/Seasonreport1213.pdf

Take a look at the previous 3 years. Trappers accounted for a low of 50% up to 80% for the previous three seasons. Sure we gave up two + weeks by moving the season back to the first Saturday in November, but it won't have a measurable difference in my opinion of shifting harvest. Harvest will shift when conditions shift as season goes on or when we increase quota or pressure zones.

So again there are no reasons for trappers to push for changing anything at this point IMO.

I am sincerely proud that so many WI hunters and trappers participated in such a short notice season in February. To the West of WI we would be happy to have any type of season at all no matter if it was a combined trapping/hunting season or a split season. I think the three day harvest proves that their are far more wolves around than the estimated totals claim their are. Hopefully the state uses the funds from all of the wolf tag sales appropriately. I wonder how many people in MN have hounds that are capable of running wolves if it was miraculously possible in the future.

If nothing changes, in 2021 our season will start on Nov 6. Not many dog hunters will be running that early. They need snow to run canines. Another factor is that this year was the perfect storm. A fresh layer of snow blanketed northern Wisconsin the night before season. They couldn't have had better conditions and mopped up because of it. Unless the DNR sets a season structure like we have for bobcat, the trappers will have better representation moving forward.

So If you can run dogs on bear during times of no snow what's stopping you from running wolves?
Trail cams on bait piles and the road system that you can read from your truck seat or living room will let you know when and where to drop your dogs.
When you can charge $1000.00 of dollars to kill a wolf It will happen.

I will turn off all the media outlets as the screaming will be loud if we have a hound season for wolves during the week or two of the major rut for whitetails. Could get noisy and ugly for sure. If the landscape is laden with large footholds that will make things even loader in my opinion. Let us hope we can develop a season and keep all of our outdoor users at least tolerating each other.

Bryce