The bobcat season has finally started in Nevada. We went out with high expectations, and were feeling really good after finding this gem of a toilet in the first area we checked. It was 1 of 3 toilets found on this ridge. We were quickly humbled with very little sign the rest of the day. In fact very little sign of any predator. We didn't get as many sets out as we were hoping but at least know where we aren't trapping haha. Feels good getting out in the mounatins with my best buddy.

Good luck this season! Keep this thread updated if you can. I always enjoyed your YouTube videos!

Looking good!

Thanks. Decided to stop the YouTube and instagram stuff. To much time from the family editing videos and scrolling Instagram. I decided trapperman is the only social media I need.

Good to see you posting. Nice to see you and your son on the line again. Looking forward to your catch photos.

Looks like an older Badger catch site.

i was thinking the same thing (old badger catch).I cant remember his name at the moment,but the gentleman who sold J Grahm part of his lure business told me once if you ever catch a badger always reset it.He said it was one of his favorite cat sets and had really good luck doing so.
Ive only caught a couple of badgers and guess what? the gentleman from Montanna was correct.

Only had 8 set out so I started my afternoon with setting. Still not finding a ton of sign but found a few sets of cat sets in one canyon. Got another 15 sets out then went to checking the few traps we had out. First check, first cat. Nice big Tom.

Thank's for sharing our cat season here opens Dec 9th.You guys have really nice cats down there,will a big tom down there go 25lbs?

I've caught 48" cats that hit about 22lbs. Ours don't get tons of fat.

Awesome cat thanks for taking us along!

A little casty, but a cats a cat. Stretched to 41" to the base of tail and 8.5" wide.

great way to start out. nice put up. keep em coming

Beautiful cat! Thanks for sharing!

Shocker of a check today. Had both boys we with me and we 3 bobcats and a couple Grey fox. My youngest was more excited for the fox than the bobcats haha.

Awesome check!! Great to see the next generation out!

Great memories with your boys.

32", 36", 38"

Had a lot to do at work trying to get clients kitchens done before Thanksgiving so I got out later than I like to check. My boys made their own fox sets on Saturday and my youngest connected. His big brother was a little jealous. We also connected on a big Tom. He ended up stretching 44" and as wide as I could get the stretcher. He had a ton of fat on him and had a full belly if deer hair. Next Tuesday I'll be setting up a new area and pulling traps in one of the areas I'm in now.

No picture today. Just one fox. Time to start moving things around. On my next check I'll set up a new area and pull a section of our line that has been slow. Even with just one fox, it was fun to be out with my boys.

Them boys are sure growing since the first video I saw.
You and them seem to have a fantastic time together on the line
Have fun and take care I'll be following your progress

I'm a little late on this update. I did my mid week check and it was very interesting. I left work early and got some sets up in a new area and pulled a slow part of our line. Then I went to checking the rest of the sets. First spot had a kit fox. A couple spots later I notice torn up brush on my way to my set, then notice a coyote. Caught in an exposed walk-through set. The coyote had dragged the log down the wash and tangled up on a bush. Then some how the coyote got the cable wrapped around its neck. It was very bloated and I could smell the green belly while getting the cable off of him. The next spot, I get to one if my sets and it's very torn up. I get looking around for my cable and notice the 20+ pound log I cabled off too was gone as well. It's dark so it's tough to see, but I notice broken sticks so I followed them. Then I see fox hair under a tree but still no log. I look around a little more and see the log with my cable. Then I notice the end of the cable is buried so I pull on it and the trap comes out with part of the fox. After some investigating, it looks like a lion got to my set before me. I pulled that trap because I've learned in the past that once a lion finds a meal in a trap, it comes back. I don't want to lose a fox or bobcat, and don't want to deal with releasing a lion.

Fun ride, thanks

I pulled some traps and moved them to a different area and it paid off. Connected with this beauty.

Does building up your blocking on your trail sets help to avoid deer? Nice cat!

Nope. Sometimes they do set off a trap. The high blocking keeps the cat from going around the set and tends to keep most of the coyotes away as well. But every year one or two coyotes get caught in my cat sets.

Another late night checking traps. Pulled a bunch today and started setting up another area. Had two more fox in the sets I pulled, one of them being caught in a set my 8 year old made. Last check I was only able to get a few sets in a new area and one of them connected with a cat today. Just eating some dinner right now, then in the garage I go to do some skinning.

Didn't get a picture yesterday, but we did get a little kit fox in a set in a wash. Last check I pulled most of our traps with just a hand full of traps in a new area we set. We were able to get in a few good sets in today, but didn't have much time because of family things going on in the afternoon. I'll get the new area set up better on the next check.

Another check with just a kit fox. Caught this little guy in the same trap I caught my last cat. I should pull everything and move to a different range, but I normally do that right after Christmas so I decided to put a few more sets in some canyons that should hold a cat or two and hope I get lucky sometime over the next two weeks.

Big skunk today. And not with stripes or spots. Just no fur. We did only have a skelaton line out so we put in some filler sets with hopes that we can get one more cat before Christmas when we will move our entire line to a completely new range. My youngest boy was really wanting to help put in cat sets and his little 35lbs frame worked its hardest. It was a ton of fun until my radiator decided to leak. We got it to temporarily stop but looks like my truck will need a quick visit to the mechanic shop.

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the pictures.

Wish I had some pictures, but that means I would have to catch something. Got the radiator replaced on my truck yesterday and it got done later than I was hoping so I got a late start checking. Decided on my way out to pull all my traps and I'm glad I did. Not even a fox last night. Saturday we will go set up a new range and hopefully can get back on the cats.

I fun time setting a new mountain range. There's lots of hope setting a new line and it adds excitement when things have been slow. It was also nice to see that no one had trapped most of the spots we normally trap.

We did get flagged down by a bird hunter and that isn't a pleasant experience most times. He just asked if we were trapping and what kind of traps we use. He had a bad experience with a snares and conibars in the past in Idaho and was wondering if anyone used them down here. I let him know that I don't know why someone would in our warm climate. He said he's not worried about leghold traps since his dog has learned through experience to avoid them. He told me he has seen bobcats in the past and always finds sign, i let him know that i see quail all the time so we exchanged numbers. By far the best experience I've had with a bird hunter who has a dog.

you will find a decent bird hunter from time to time

Thanks for taking the time to post. You have a very unique topography that is far different from my ground in SW Kentucky. I spent a week or so around the area of Socorro, New Mexico a few years back, it kind of looks like that. Your critters have some beautiful fur!

Got the new range setup and it paid off today. Had a kit fox in the first set, giant Tom in the next, empty 3rd trap, smaller cat in the next, and a decent sized cat in the next. Followed by a bunch of empty traps. It was fun being out there with my boys and getting back on the cats.

Awesome job!!!!

Nice,glad you had a great day out on the line with your kids.

Great day.
Looks like nice weather for trapping season.

Haha yeah, it's rough trapping in southern Nevada. There are some days I need a light jacket, but I normally have to take it off by the time I get to my set.

But for reals, it's nice. I delt with trapping in cold weather and deep snow a couple years in Idaho while going to school and that was enough for me. We do get a couple weeks where it barely gets above freezing but normally I'm in a t-shirt at some point during the day. And when it does snow, it seldomly stays on the ground for more than a couple days. The mountains near us get it worse but thats why i trap the valleys this time of the season. It would be nice to use snares, but that's not practical down here.

I do trap nuisance in tee shirt weather,only problem the bugs will eat you alive here,lol,cold weather trapping is much more pleasant in the swamp.
Looks like nice country up your way.

Crazy and frustrating check last night. I started the late afternoon with expanding our line and did find a toilet that had a fresh turd on it. So my night started off great until I checked the first spot. 2 of 3 traps were stolen. Then while headed to the next spot a notice a truck parked in the dark were I pull off. Not sure if they were waiting for me or not, so I drove past them till they couldn't see me then walked around from behind to check my set (in the dark). When I got there it had a big rock in it. So I pulled that one.

Then for checking traps, I did have one of those coyotes that really wants to be caught. I had a flat set in the main wash and up a side wash I had a very flashy exposed walk through set. Well the coyote never made it to my flat set because it got caught in my heavly blocked and very flashy exposed trap set. Some coyotes just aren't the smartest. I also had a kit fox in my last set.

I did get a cool picture of the Vegas lights. Just the way I like it, when you can't see the city haha. It was a clear night but today was raining all day. Hopefully that gets the cats moving.

Sorry to hear about your stolen traps. It’s happened to me quite a bit too. Always sucks.

A better check than last check. Got another dozen sets in a new area then got to checking. Ended up with a kit fox, Grey fox, and young bobcat that was released. I'm having a ton of fun with my kids. My youngest loves to carry stuff to the truck so a kit fox is his favorite.

No fleas on your fox down there?

The kit fox do, but I hardly find any on the greys. Some parts of the state get fleas on the greys really bad but I find more on the bobcats than the grey fox down here

It was a long and cold check tonight. We had a big northern wind come thru for a few days. 20 degrees up high, and 15 degrees on the desert valley. Thats beyond cold for someone who is used to it being warm enough to trap in a t-shirt for most of the season. It did get things moving, but also messed up about half my sets. So tonight had a lot of set remaking. The grey fox were on the move. I picked up 4 tonight with one of them in a cage trap. I also caught two big Tom's, both of them having really good bellies. One might even be my best cat ever! It nice to see some good color and bigger sized cats after having a spell of either small cats with good bellies or big cats with casty bellies.

Very nice,look forward to seeing those cats put up and seeing the wide bellies,thanks for sharing.

Great pics !!!

Are you running bait in the cages (for cats ) or just lure and attractor?
Thanks

Just lure and attractors. I never have much luck with bait and bobcats. I believe most cats caught with bait are caught because of the curiosity of the smell over the desire to eat. There's not shortage for food out here and cats are pretty efficient hunters. If they are hungry, they just go catch something.

Great catches. Isn't it something how the right weather front can not only make them move but put their mood for checking out a set in overdrive.
You and the boys are certainly adding them up and making memories

My guess is the wind kept everything hunkered down, then the 30 degree temperature shift made them a little more errgent in hunting, plus more eager to check out the female situation.

Thanks for sharing! A couple beautiful cats!!

Thanks for continuing to post the updates! Fun to see everything about trapping in different areas of the country.

I forgot to weld one of your expanded pans on the one trap. I ended up switching it out so I can weld it on.

Great fur handling!

I’ve always ran bait but we also have to use cages but I’m going to set 2 cages by each other one with a chunk of beaver which is my go to and the other with lure and a attractor.

Nice work,those bellys are so bright I had to put my sunglasses on.

Some beautiful cats. Do you sell at Fallon?

Yep.

As usual great pics and great layout of your trap line,not mention the little ones.
Reminds me of me enjoy em as they grow up fast.

Felt pretty good about today since we got a couple inches of snow but no cats. I had one set where I didn't weigh down my blocking enough and the wind blew it. Well there was cat tracks in the snow that walked up to one side of the trap, smelled the lure, then around the trap to the other side of the set and smelled that lure, paced around a bit then left. Then another spot where a cat walked up a wash, but left the wash before it got to a spot where it could see the flag. We did get a grey fox up high and a coyote in the low country that really wanted to get caught because it got caught in a very flashy, high blocking, exposed trap, walk-through set.

It's getting time to move my line again so I left work a little earlier than normal to check out the new area. Found a couple good spots so I put a few sets at each area.


After that I went to pull half my line. Caught my 6th kit fox in this same set. All males. I've never had that happen before.


Caught my first badger of the season. Forgot how bad they stink. Plus got a few grey fox, but a mountain lion beat me to one of them. Lion tracks normally look small in dirt but not this one. It must be well fed on deer because it left the fox there.





I also missed a bocat because of laziness. I'll make a separate post on that. I'm kicking myself for this one.

Had a friend come to town this weekend and he wanted to bring his son to check traps. No cats but we still were able to catch a few critters. First one was a coyote who must identify as a bobcat or grey fox. Caught in a flashy exposed walk through and climbed a tree


My youngest boy has an obsession with grey fox and has been wanting one in a cage so he helped me set this one. He was one happy kid.


Then we caught another grey fox at this cat set


We have a storm coming through tonight then again tomorrow night- Monday night so hopefully it gets the cats moving. I'll pull the rest of my older line and get more of the new line set on the next check

Last night was a bust with only 1 fox, but it was expected. It started raining while checking Saturday, and stopped yesterday on my way out. I did pull the remaining traps in my old area and got a few new spots sets in the new one. Hopefully there is some post storm movement in this fresh area, plus the full moon should help.

It's been a slow week. Finally got everything moved to a new area but I'm not finding much for fresh sign but there is tons of white turds. Did the first check with the line mostly set and there is no shortage of kit fox. Had 4 last night plus a couple I got on one of my trail cameras that didn't get caught. If anyone has any ideas on how to keep kit fox away from at cat set, let me know. We also got this grey fox.



Also had a trap set off with hair. My guess is a grey fox rolled near the trap and hit it.

I finally ended my drought. I ran out of areas to trap so I went into a new area blind. It's tough going when you trap an area you haven't scouted. Thought for sure it was another kit fox when I heard the chain rattle but was pleasantly surprised.



A mature, pretty bellied Tom


Made checking in the rain worth it!

It will be tough for me to beat this cat!

Looks like a nice one.

Not sure of i can post pictures since its a nontarget, but had a cool amd painful experience checkong traps tonight. Caught a desert bighorn ram. Figured I could use a catch pole, but he had other plans. Luckily it released it self......while charging me haha. I took everything out of my backpack and stuffed my coats in it as a safety and I'm glad I did. I tried getting the catch pole on it but it dropped its head so I turned my back to it. It hit my bag, knocked me into the sand and kept running, and pulled out. I think he thought there would be more resistance when he hit me. So yeah, now my back hurts and I got sand in my hair, but it was cool to see. He walked off like nothing happened. Other than that, only a handful of kit fox. One more trap check then the season is over.

Wow that’s cool. Only ever had to release a deer. Big horn would be something else. He was held in a 1.75?

Bridger 1.65.

Amazing that it held him.

The Bridger 1.65 with a small modification makes a really good exposed cat trap.

Looks like you guys had a pretty good season! I’ve always enjoyed following this post every year. Hopefully you get the opportunity to get a picture with your boys and the total catch for the season before selling.

A week from today and we will be setting steel. The wait for the season seems so long, till it's here. They it seems like a mad scramble trying to get everything ready. I picked up a new toy for trapping. I decided to stop beating up my truck and got an 07 sportman 500 HO. I got lucky and a friend's father in law was looking to sell his. Still has original tires, serviced yearly (it didn't get used most years), and looks brand new. Plus I got a killer deal on it. I got it all rigged up with storage and ready to go.

Ti's the season. The smell of skunk and glands is in the air. We were able to get some of our typical areas set today, and Tuesday I'll get some new areas set that I haven't been able to access because of the road being washed out. Having the ATV is a game changer. It's a lot quicker and can get places I didn't want to take my truck. Found some tracks and even newer turds on a toilet we caught cats on last season.

Our first set of the season (same toilet we caught the first cat on last season)


A typical cat set for me, it a very catty area.

good luck. I enjoy your journal

Nice catches.Those bobcats are beautiful.

Looking forward to following along this year!

Always a great ride along....

Love this thread. Good luck

I'm a little late with my update. Checked on Tuesday and had a couple grey fox. Still have a few spots that I need to get set on Saturday.

Caught in the first set we made this season.

Another catless trap check but the fox keep us busy. Got out some more sets on some sign, and 3 fox to take home. Even had a double. Sure is fun being out there with my boy. I can only put one on the ATV so they've been switching off each Saturday.


You can barely see the second fox. He wasn't very photogenic with both back feet caught

Wow both hind feet. I caught a red with both front feet twice but never both back ones.
Love the carry out pic with your son

I'm a few days late on my update, but here it is. Still pretty slow on the line. The last check I had one kit fox and one grey. The kit fox was a shock since I have never caught one this high up. Then after checking my last set, the display on my ATV started acting funny, then about 2 miles from my truck, the thing shut off and wouldn't start. The lights would still turn on, but nothing on the display would work, and the starter wouldn't engage. I tried pull starting it and it would turn over, but wouldn't start. I'm guessing it's something electrical. The guy I got it from put power stearing on it and seat warmers so my guess is something shorted out with his DIY wiring job.

My friends going out with me tomorrow with his RZR to pull my traps and tow my ATV. Then I'll be taking it to the Polaris Machanic so they can go over everything to make sure I don't have any other issues. I'll be out of town the week of Thanksgiving so I was planning on pulling my traps next week anyways. Hopefully they can get everything working right on the ATV so I can set after I get back.

Hope you get the bike fixed and get back out on the line.

Got the few sets we had out pulled. Still no spots in the traps, but we did have another grey/kit combo. My friend came out with his RZR to help pull traps, and tow my ATV. He brought 2 of his kids along and they had a blast. I'll tell you what, those RZRs sure are nice. I could only go about 10mph on these roads in my truck and about 20 on my ATV, but with the RZR we were easily hitting 35mph and could hardly feel the bumps. It wasn't much fun being towed behind that thing for 2 miles in the moon dust while retrieving thevATV but we were able to get it to the truck. I'll be taking it to the polaris mechanic next week and hopefully they can have everything sorted out and fixed by the time we get back from visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. We will at least be able to go after some muskrats and possibly coyotes while at my parents.

sux about the wheeler. stay in good graces with your Polaris mechanic . keep after em

Nice catches

The mechanic cant get my ATV in for another month and a half so I had to take care of the issue myself. I know the ECM is a common issue so I unhooked the battery and pulled the ECM and could instantly smell the issue. I got a new one and installed it yesterday with a fresh battery and it fired right up.

I took it for a ride and still had the same bogging issue when I hit hit rough sections, and high idle sometimes in netural. So I did some research and startered looking for issues. When I checked the MAP sensor I noticed some cracks in the wire insulation. So I started it up and when I would move the wire it would bog down when I throttled and would idle high. So now I'm just waiting for the new wire harness kit. I'm not sure if that's what shorted out my ECM or if it's just a defect (polaris did have a recall on the part). Anyways, the blogging down is the only issue I've had before the ECM fried so I should be good to go after this fix.

Since I'm out of town next week, I've got sometime to get the part delivered and installed before we set again.

Its good to have backup equipment when running a trapline.
Way back in the day after I had depreciated equipment to the point it is no longer a benefit as a tax offset I bought a replacement new,and keep the old one for backup,This is a big benefit to the bottom line when filing your buisness tax and you will have back up so no downtime.
I have two(at least) of everything that is trapping related,bikes skidoos chainsaws boats etc.
been many years since I had to quit trapping mid run because of an untimely breakdown of any equipment.
Another bonus is if you do have a breakdown out in the boonies you have the means to recover the equpment without having to depend on someone else or pay someone or rent to recover. it.

Got the new MAP sensor wiring harness hooked up and the ATV started. It struggled a little on the idle and sound like an air issue so i checked the Idle Air Control harness. And yep, the IAC also has some cracks in the insulation and wire itself so I got a new one ordered and it should be here in a couple days. I still gave it a test drive with the new MAP harness wiring and there is a world of difference. I got looking into it and polaris is know for making their wiring harnesses as short as possible which causes sharp bends near the sensors and eventually causes breakage. Then they have that sharp plastic wire cover that cuts into the wire. With the added wire length and the new wire cover that won't cut the wires, I will HOPEFULLY be done playing mechanic.

I knew I should have gone with a Honda.

at least you admit it...Polaris may be faster an ride a lot better but Honda's are hard to beat.

The only thing polaris has going for it is the suspension. I hate the belts, and all the electrical issues polaris has. I had a honda CRF 150 growing up and my dad had a Honda foreman and I'm not sure if we ever even changed the oil in either of them for the first 5 or 6 years and maybe only a few times in their life and they still fire up every time I visit my parents. My dad has a new Rubicon so the foreman just sits most of the year. But the autoshift in the new ones are amazing. My cousin just got a new Talon that I rode in last week, and that thing is crazy fast and you can barely feel it when it shifts.