The season is about too begin in Wisconsin for raccoons and other land critters should I start on the week of opener to better teach myself how too skin better or wait till November for December?
I need your thoughts because I hope too have a productive second season.

Wait a couple weeks until things prime up. Everything that is opening up is blue and near worthless.

Would hold off a few weeks and let them prime up a bit more. Nice to have the numbers but personally would rather have quality vs quantity.

In the words of someone famous, maybe Napoleon, quantity has a quality all it’s own!
It is entirely possible to make good money catching lots of sub prime fur. However, depressed markets are not likely to make that scenario possible!

A question only you can answer yourself.

Early fur won't be prime yet > near worthless $$. That said, caresses to practice on are invaluable for learning new skills. If you make a mistake > no financial loss. If you're trapping early, you are removing those early animals out of the overall pool of prime animals available to you later this season.

Fur is way down in price. Even prime land fur is not looking good for prices this year. So waiting until fur is prime and learning to prepare fur for market while making mistakes won't cost you much either. Putting up great prime fur will give you a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Beyond that, there is the itch to set steel and time management concerns. If you wait til later in the season, will you have the available time to learn those skills and trap both? Proficiency may be important depending of number of animals to be handled and the amount of area you are trapping.

YMMV, good luck on the season.

Start trapping in Wisconsin this coming weekend and you’ll find out first hand.

No need to put inferior quality skins on the market…it just makes the situation worse.

You're not going to get rich trapping in today's age on Eastern fur with the price of gas and equipment factored in coupled with a depressed market. So I don't really see the point in sitting out several weeks waiting on fur to prime up. It sounds like you're after experience, so I'd start as soon as able to help hone in skills and build confidence to have the most productive season possible.

On the other hand, if you only have a handful of places you plan on trapping then maybe wait the several weeks for fur to gain a better quality.

That's just both sides of my coin.

Another way to think about it is that you can’t loose money and expect to make it up on volume. If you’re willing to pay a price above and beyond your free time and labor, trap until you can’t afford it.

That’s the other side of my coin.

Prime is an over used excuse. If only taking true prime you're only trapping for two weeks.
I've done way better on early sold than late sold.
As you gain experience, you'll learn how to avoid young coon early.
Only way to get real experience is to go.

It is a little early yet here.
Come late Nov. and Dec. you could get snowed out, or in.
As said there are variables.
The guy that will set a hundred sets in a short time views this differently from the guy that has a full time work or school schedule.

If legal and you " hope to have a productive second season".
Get after it, you do not need anyones approval.

Prime shrime is my 2 cents.
Send to tannery 3 large late Oct. coon, and 3 large Jan. coon, and see.

I would wait a few weeks , or should I say I'm waiting a few weeks

x2 Trapper D

Start trapping the barn coon for practice, help the farmer and get rid of coon that will be worthless anyway.

Wait

How about just setting a few traps and catch a half dozen over the next couple weeks. Use these coon for skinning practice and checking to see if critters are getting prime. When they do become prime go at if full speed ahead.

I used to start early here, but prices were better then. Our season opens nov 1st and only a slim % of our coon are even close to prime here on nov 1st. Same with any other species here.
Last several years I’ve waited until December 1st and am generally glad I waited. Nearly everything I put in the truck is in great shape around then, except cats and badger of course. Still way too early for both of those.
On other hand, milder weather in early stretch is easier to trap unless pouring rain.
Also, for serious coon trapping numbers you need that milder weather and open water here. Hmmm…what to do, what to do, what to do…

Also, around here, if I wait until after thanksgiving I also don’t have to deal with all of the rifle deer hunters, and the pheasant guys have a good month of fun behind them too. I generally have very little human problems if I wait. The coyote truck hunters are about my only issue and they go no matter what the market is doing.

Well, for me, given the current market prime goods are only way I can have sellable furs so that is my plan, waiting to Dec 1st again here. A full month after season opens. Cat season opens December 1st too so any I pick up in coyote or other sets are legal cats to harvest.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Yes, good luck! Take pics. Show us your progress…..or lack of, haha!

I'm hitting it the day it opens based on what I've seen doing land owner trapping this last week, coon are good enough where I'm at and for my purposes

Early coon won't be "near worthless". I it will be "Worthless" for general fur sales.

Check with whomever you are selling it to. Many won't touch coon this year....even prime coon.

Groenwald just put up a video last week.

Yes take a dozen or so early and use them to learn how to skin and flesh and also no what really not good fur lookslike. Black hide, roothairs coming through when you flesh etc. Good time to learn and when the better fur comes later you may be faster and better at handling the fur with fewer holes etc. If you catch 12 coon in say 3 days and use up 3-4 gallons of gas and toss everyone you handle you don't have more than $25 dollars invested in a good learnng experience.

Bryce

My advice to you would be to wait until some time in November before trapping any land fur animals.
You may not get as many animals,but your time will be more valuable.

I suppose it also depends to a certain extent if others will be trapping the same ground.No use waiting for fur to prime up if someone else is on the line taking it all early.

You could go out and hunt grouse and trap some beaver for bait and fur a couple weeks earlier,and scout your land fur same time.