Good to see ya back Tim. I bet you guys thought you had something very special when you got that black bear. Still a great bear and story. Good luck on your Lynx quest.

Awesome pictures.

Got some lynx cubbies out yesterday. A couple dozen snares too. Setting on rabbit sign for now - since little to no cat sign.
Mostly coyote sign out there. I'm waiting for a lynx to come through. It keeps snowing every other day which complicates things.
I am sure feeling it today. All the bending over. Muscling around with the sled. Trudging through deep snow. It takes it's toll.
I'm going to push ahead today, and rest tomorrow!
My guess is I will catch a yote before a cat, but we shall see. I'm pretty tenacious and spoiled - Used to getting what I want. I might get nothing, but that doesn't seem like an option right now!
Good luck and be safe out there guys...
Will probably share some photos of sets IF I can get my phone working again.
Charging port gone bad...my nemesis...

Not much new down here guys. I made my first catch yesterday - a weasel who pounced a little too hard on a Victor #3 and wound up caught between the shoulder blades with the top half sticking up. Then, something ate him from the rear moving forward. When it fed up to the trap jaws, it climbed over the top and started eating the back straps up to between the eyes. That must have been about the time I arrived. I didn't take a picture. Interesting, but not that into it .

By the looks of it, I have a pair of coyotes that frequent the area. And then a single. Right now, the single is around, and the pair isn't. He has been walking my trails and sniffing around my cubbies, but so far not hitting my snares.

I haven't seen a cat track since before our season opened on Jan 1. Not that long, but I am sure ready for one if it comes through.

The main thing I have going that is a pain - is that I'm going through bait fast! I suspend it (beaver meat) by a wire about 18 inches behind the trap and at least a foot off the ground. I wire through the meat a couple of times and cinch it up tight. Doesn't matter. It's almost always gone after two days. It's like they are jumping for it, or repelling down the wire!

Thoughts on checking daily and re-baiting?

I think it will reduce the chances of me catching a coyote, and I am ok with that. Been there, done that, a lot. But if it will help me catch a cat, I am all about it. I hate to think of the cat finally coming by, and having the majority of my cubbies cleaned out of bait when it happens. Do Lynx avoid sets because of scent the way coyotes do? I have always done better catching coyotes when I go longer in-between checks. I also have hunted them often with e-callers, and I know the second they hit your scent wash, they act like they just got electrocuted. But what about lynx? I don't have the experience to know but from what I have seen on all the predator hunting videos, bobcats are not as cunning. Same with lynx? Thoughts?

I have only messed with lynx this season but the ones in our area do not care about our scent or anything else. We had one come into a bait pile less than two hours after we reset it and added bait and added a game camera. it walked up and licked the camera! If you are using a lure and bait if you run out of bait they will still come check out the lure and get caught.

The voles are off the hook this year, hung a lynx quarter in a cubby last week and it was nothing but bone left when I checked yesterday, About all you can do is keep rebaiting, snare a few bunnies. That is one of the reasons I like using duck so much, all those feathers When I get low on bait I hang the wing in the cubby dipped with lure, Meowch, that is what got the kitty yesterday.

Don't bother with bait. Hang a wing, lure, or not, but not on the wing so you don't have it on everything if you touch it. I use my wings for years. I try to spend very little time making sets, and make sets that don't need to be fiddled with every time it snows or a catch is made. More time to make more sets or explore more country. Its hard to pick places to set in the dark.

You don't need to cover traps or keep them clean.

Pick a spot that is highly visible, wether its a point on a river,creek, swamp etc. South facing is preferred as the sun makes the wing flash. Pinch points between swamps are good. Set on sign when you have it. A big shrubby spurce you can set under is nice to as it keeps the set working. Don't build a cabin, or shelter. Just use enough blocking to force the cat to step on the pan. Don't use blocking big enough for the cat to step on. Hang the wing low enough to be seen from a cats perspective, set it back so it can't be reached over the trap. Make sure if the wind blows it won't wrap the wing up in branches. Anchor your trap to something away from your set so you don't have to spend time rebuilding it when it catches. Use a log toggle when nothing solid is close. Cats don't fight much. Make your trail go right by the set.. They will not travel for to check things out when the have full bellies, or during the mating season. Pee posts or snares work best then.

Snares. Set them around your traps. Create pinch points or trails in the snow to snare. Fence or block them, cats are not shy to that or traps. Cats like edges, swamps, rivers, or lakes. Ride 20' or so out from the edge and look for good spots to snare. Walk from your machine over to where you will snare. Don't make a trail long steps perpendicular to the cats trail. Hang the snare then block to to force the cats head into the loop. When the cats do show it easy to snare the trails they walk. Yes you may lose snared cats to canibalism, however I have never had a cat eaten, and have snared a few =)

Visual attractors are the way to go when the weasels and shrews are thick like this year, I am having the same trouble with bait being gone in days. I agree that lynx don't mind your scent on traps, I have literally wrung water out of my gloves because I was out of dry ones to make a set that caught a lynx in short order on the last cycle. I do like to cover traps to some extent, mainly because a lot of my sets have the slight chance of a wolverine coming by. Highly visible areas are the best but around here you do have to factor the human component, which is why i try to keep my sets off a bit in places where people tend to come by on sleds or skis. Its not ideal but I feel better about hiding my sets a bit, unless i am way out on my line where people don't generally go.

Well guys - my trapping season was cut short. Needless to say, I never did get my lynx. Went back to Minnesota in early January, to my regular surgeon for a repair, and it went bad... real bad. Was supposed to be a hernia mesh revision. They took out the old, and put in some new. It was supposed to be "state of the art" - with robotic arms that go in, minimally invasive, and turn upside down and stitch the mesh to the inner abdominal wall around the entire perimeter. It was supposed to be a surgery that would last me the rest of my life. Well, when it was done - I knew something wasn't right. I kept getting sick, and going back to the ER, and the surgeon kept telling me everything was ok and I just needed time. Never trust a doctor who is arrogant enough to not listen to you. Anyway, My wife was in Alaska, so I was home alone in Mn. After going back to the ER 3 times, I no longer had any faith in my surgeon. I guess I just laid there at home in bed, and slipped away to near death. I learned that, no matter how many surgeries you've done, and no matter how easily you recovered before, and no matter how invincible you think you are... it's a bad idea to try to recover alone. My daughters father-in-law, a very good man, came to visit me - and found me mostly unresponsive. He called the ambulance, and first responders took me in to a different hospital than where I had had surgery the first time. THAT new surgeon did some tests, CT scan, and came back saying that the mesh was entirely loose, had punctured my small bowel, that my body cavity below my diaphragm was mostly gone septic (full of stool, gas and infection), and that if I didn't have surgery that day, I wouldn't last till the next. He wanted me in surgery within the hour, and I really had no choice but to comply. They took out all the mesh, and did a lot of revamping with my small intestine and abdominal wall. After that, it took them 28 days to get me so I was able to go home. My wife came to MN to be with me, and my family nursed me back to health. It was weird. I got real depressed. A guy like me just doesn't lay in bed for two months. I'm too active for that. I had no idea if I was ever going to be able to hunt, fish, or trap again. But little by little, some desire started to come back. Before all this happened, I applied for my "30 chances" in the Alaska draw. Then promptly forgot about it. When I got interested enough to look at my computer, my wife brought it to me, and there was an email from ADFG telling me I had drawn 3 tags for special hunts for caribou, sheep and brown bear. Talk about giving me some incentive to get better! As soon as I could, I started working again. Fishing. Hiking. Trying to get my stamina back. It's been a long, slow process. I'm still nowhere near where I want to be, but it is coming. Lately, I have been working all day - and then have gone halibut fishing in Kachemak Bay after supper. It kicks my butt, but lets me know I'm coming back. I hope to start going on some hikes, and get some elevation soon. I have my "bullet proof vest" that I wear when I exert myself, as my abdomen is so prone to hernias now, I can't risk going without. We are going to start with the Caribou hunt in mid-August. I have four very good friends from MN who stepped up to come and help me. One is going to be my "royal gun bearer." The others will be scouts and sherpas. All I have to do is pull the trigger. That is the joke I used on them to get them coming. I fully intend to carry my weight, but just won't be carrying the heavy packs the way I used to. Two of my pals want to try to harvest a big blackie - (if) I get the caribou tag filled. We are also told that there are grayling nearby, and lots of ptarmigan - both things I have never done before. HFK is a brother to me in many ways - both in our health struggles, and in our profound desire to hunt, fish, and trap to our hearts desire . I harvested a goat in the Kenai Mountains last fall, and I couldn't have done it without him. I needed a drill sergeant to get my ars down that hill in the middle of the night with that pack. It was like Jesus carrying the cross. I kept falling. He kept getting me back up. Sometimes he was nice. Sometimes he wasn't. When he found out how heavy my pack was after getting rained on, and wading through hip deep water for over a 1/4 mile, to get back to the boat - he had a different opinion of me :-) Anyway, If John and I can both stay healthy, he will be assisting me on the brown bear hunt to Kodiak come October/November. We will try to get some blacktails too. I'm really happy to be alive, and have the opportunities I have. Maybe, Just maybe, I will get a chance to get back after that lynx come trapping season. I will keep you posted.

WOW ! Glad you're on the mend WH !!

A goal makes a big difference. One day at a time !! You'll make it

Good grief Tim you have gone through some serious health issues, sure hope this is the end of them for you! Nice draw tags, you got some real good ones this time around.

Amazing story! Glad you got some tags to inspire better health. Looking forward to those stories as well. Lord be with you and keep you safe and healthy.

Glad to hear you pulled thru and have the opportunity to fill your tags.

White - today I was driving my boat in a heavy chop for a good distance. Then was snagging salmon in the salt for the first time this year. That was a good work out!

It won't we the end... I know that, BUT I could sure use a break for awhile!

Thanks! I will take all the prayers I can get :-)

I wish you my thoughts and strength, Wolverine Hunter! Keep us posted!

Moosetrot

WH, you sir are a heck of a good story teller and are blessed to have the life you cherish with determination. Happy to see you on the mend and having a great "crew' helping with that. Praying for you to enjoy your pursuit health, friendship and and all Alaska has to offer. Keep the stories coming please.

Dang. Pulling for you, hope you fill all those tags, and share the stories!

Your dang pack would have been lighter if you didnt have all those freaking mountain house meals in there!