Every year I can't wait until the trapping season opens been this way for 62 years for me.
I get excited every time I pull up on a coyote or bobcat a coon or beaver even a possum and when that excitement is gone I hang the traps up. I am not a big numbers trapper ,best year I can member was 25 coyotes another year 20 beaver another 50 coons.
As I get ready to start cleaning equipment up and put away i get to thinking about next season.
Looking back over the season how blessed I have been even with nothing in the traps. I have got to see the sunrise in the woods or across a lake. Seen the flocks of turkey or hear and look and look for the geese overhead or the sandhill cranes seen the small buck or the massive one. Even the release of a bobcat and seeing them run away and thinking maybe next year I get to keep ya.

So you see my friend its not about the catch that excites me about trapping season its knowing I am going to be out in this grand thing we call the outdoors.

So as I write this i hope you all take the time to look back over your season and realize how blessed you have been to see what a lot of other never take the time to look or care about.

Now this 71 year old trapper is looking forward to season 63 and I will be back in the swamps and the fields if the good lord is willing.

Thank you for this. So often I turn this into a mission and miss the blessings of the process. I will keep this in mind as I continue to check traps.

I’m 35, been 22 years since I set my first trap. I’ve missed a couple seasons for one reason or another but I hope to never miss one again.

I have 5 young children and a wife and full time job so when I’m checking traps I’m often rushing to get it done and get back to my other responsibilities, and I often forget to just stop for a minute and take it all in. I really need to make it a point to take 5 or ten minutes and just breathe the mountain air and take in all the sights and sounds that come with solitude in nature. If I regret one thing about this season, it’s that I didn’t take the time to fully enjoy it

WAMP, you get it man, I love it outside, we see some beautiful country, makes me feel small .

Good post.
I always carry a thermos of coffee with me and something to munch on and always stop along the line for 10 minutes and take in the silence and solitude of the bush and just think about the line.
I find it kind of re charges you to run some more of the line,or put in a few more sets,which is always a plus.

Good post wamp thanks

I’m 37, wife and 3 kids, and I felt this comment down deep. I started about 4 or 5 years ago, but it’s a balancing act and many days I’m rushing so fast to keep the wife and kids happy that I can forget to just enjoy.

I’m planning to change stuff up next year from exclusively canines to a more weekend water line so I can take my kids and family. Fur probably won’t be worth much, so I figure it’s a great time to do some learning. Now, just got to buy a bunch more traps for it.

Very nice write up Wamp.

Thanks guys lot more wanted to be said but thought that's enough.

This helped a lot honestly. This is my second year, and I guess my first season I had completely unrealistic expectations of what I would catch, how I would catch it, how many I would catch and what it would be worth. After going to my first auction it really hit me that I was in it for the wrong reasons and I was able to finish up the season with a rejuvenated sense of what I really enjoyed about it and was a way to be outside every day for a couple of hours.

Keeping this in my, I went into this season a lot more laid back. Switched from mainly dps last season and went with pretty much only footholds mixed with some body grippers. I spent more time before this season preparing, spent more time looking and watching and observing, spent more time just taking everything in. We get lost in the numbers, whether it’s catches or money, and it’s nice to just take a moment and just enjoy it each day. It’s helped me keep myself waking up at 3:30 am every morning to go check.

I’ll probably only trap another month until otter closes, and even then I think I just want a reason to be in the marsh in the morning, watching the geese swim around, or seeing paired mallards each morning as if they waited for me to get there just to put on a show for me as they’re flying away. It’s almost as if nature has this grand ballet of beauty all around us, and if we stop and look you can see all the minute details that get washed out in our daily lives.

Thank you for this!

WAMP, today I went into my trap line with a much slower and intentional mindset. On one part of my line someone found my path in the snow and followed it back to my traps and stole two out of three and my flags. Even with this turn of events I was thankful to study tracks, see wildlife, and watch the world wake up from under the brim of my stocking cap. What a great day and I had some great catches. Thanks for the post!!!

Very nice outlook! That’s what life is about. And the antis don’t see this side. This is why we do it…it’s a way of life.
Thank you

Man I hate it when that happens. Good on you for not letting it ruin an otherwise good day being with nature

great post ,this is way i trap because i love the outdoors

Good perspective Wamp. Every season there are moments or days that I will cherish for life. This year was this last week of our season, pulling traps today.

Several years ago I started keeping a journal during trapping season I log temp,weather conditions, how many and type of sets at each farm.
Also included in this my catches and what set it was at!.
Also i write down that flock of turkeys in Joe's corn field or the convey of Quail that caused me to soil my shorts.
Or the deer that crossed the road in front of me while my son is setting in a tree stand seeing nothing.
When one of my sons or grandson ride along for the daily check.or something that's different happens in our family's life.
Every season I flip the pages to past years just to remember something I had forgotten.

Thank you for passing that along. And all the best to you

Yes sir I even get excited checking mouse traps there is nothing like the thrill of the catch and numbers don't reflect how good of a trapper you are because there are to many restraints such as how much acreage you have to trap , job etc . .. Jon