Set my first traps tonight.

I will be! First traps go out on the 24th. Will pull on the 27th. Then my traps go out on the 1st of December.

Gonna have to trap this winter-tanned fur is moving good,more gone tonight,last years batch wont be in til Christmas,so will need to drop off a pile for the tanner when I pick up last seasons fur at christmas.

Trapping is a rich man's, errrr rich person's game, these days. Aside from some work for the county, I haven't set a trap for 4 years, maybe 5. I've never viewed trapping as a sport or game. For me, it's always been about the business (money). The satisfaction of hard work paying off means something to me. When that ended, it turned into a lot of work for little or less than no pay. I won't kill critters "for the fun of it". My least favorite part of trapping is killing the animal. It's a means to an end and I understand that, but it is not a pleasant experience to me. If we can create a market for fur, I would load up the truck and get after it. But, until then, my traps are hung up.

I won't start till around Christmas. Not doing it for the money, but because I enjoy it and expose my little girl to it; I think that's important.

Started on Oct 25th and am hoping with the very mild November to get several miles of my small river line done before freeze up. Rats are about 20% fewer in general than last year (last year they were abundant here) and more localized. I am doing a very, very good job to date keeping the coon catch very low. Sign is high as one would expect. With a very high population it is easy to see where the coons are and are not. Streams along the corn fields that were combined the last few weeks were loaded with sign. Those sections with hay on both sides were almost bare of sign. The one thing that I have learned more about animals trapping is how much they move, at least rats, coon etc.

Bryce

Just going to run a little muskrat line on some small creeks. Hope to not catch any coon.

I just started doing some rat trapping at a local golf course. Done there now. Looking at some private property.

I have a grand amount of 14 rats.

November 15!!!!!!!!!!

I have about 8 sets right now and I’m actively trying to get more land to trap on. Pretty much getting coons and opossums so far, but did get one coyote that was killing my chickens. I saw a bobcat near one of my sets so I’m fired up and looking forward to checking every day. I’m mainly just trying not to educate them too much since it’s my first season.

My first trapping season on my own. Mostly rats and coons but I'll take some skunk if I can. I got drawn (if anyone else even put in) for a local cooling lake that I'm pretty jazzed about. Maybe I'll get some glow in the dark rats!

I Will hit the coons hard on my farm to protect the ground nesters and my cattle feed. Also try to get a few coyotes and bobcats. Planning to do a damage control job on muskrats. Son want to try tanning, I said he could have all the hides he wants.

I'll run a small coon/rat line next week. Plus any nuisance beaver paid work that comes in.

Mainly coyotes and bobcats for the spouse and I, they brought decent money last year and this year looks better for us.
Probably not get started until Thanksgiving.
Might start calling and hunting some coyotes though on the weekends, hides are looking pretty nice right now. By late Nov they lose a good bit of the guard hairs that bring the money, if we have snow.

November 10th here. Season #57

Dec, 1...Give'm time to prime.

will be next month,,coyote only.

Full bore on the coyotes!

. I view it as a way of life. Fifty years of my life I been harvesting fur. But I must at least be able to kid myself I’m making a little money. I won’t waste an animal by killing it when it has no value. So far I’ve been able to do that my whole life included this season because of muskrats. To have the best raccoons in the world in my backyard and they basically having no value gets discouraging.

This season will be number 43 years of trapping,I have two locations set for coyotes,I will set up a couple more bait stations later.Later in December I will set a couple of bobcat and marten traps.Deer season starts today our deer camp started back in 42,Willow Creek Hunt Club year 79 no original member's left but the tradition continues on.