Hello everyone, I am a young man interested in learning to trap. I come from an old pioneer family from southern Hells canyon country(Baker county Oregon, Adams and Washington counties Idaho), and was curious if anyone knew people from those counties that trap so I could get in contact with them and if possible learn from them. Unfortunately due to circumstances outside of our control I did not get the chance to grow up in that region and so there would be much for me to learn. Thank you all very much for the help, take care and God bless.

You came to the right place! These old codgers can help ya

Best advice is to join the WTA,,,,,Washington trappers Association…..
Hells canyon is a cool area,.the boat wash ,,,,,hech of a river to run in a boat……
Make friends in Idaho…..

Go to your state trappers convention. watch demos. if you get a chance to tag along with a trapper then do. Go trapping alone, try not to get frustrated. Many many who are just started get frustrated and quit. a few love being outside and keep improving.

Welcome to Tman

No one has said it yet and I have been waiting for it. Read the archives!!! Tons of info to learn from and become successful even if you can't find a local mentor. Also check out basic sets. I didn't know about Trapper man when I started and the only info I got was a basic description of sets from a local fur buyer and what I got off of a vhs I bought about trapping coyotes. It's some basic techniques then a ton of trying different things tell you find the best system that works for you. Just when you think you got it figured out some critter will throw you for a loop. Those are the most frustrating BUT THE ABSOLUTE best because you have to look read the sign and THINK about a solution on how to catch it. Those are the best learning experiences.


Any ideas on target species you are interested in catching?

Welcome to T-man. And yes there is plenty to read and learn in the archives here. Go to the top of this page and click on "Hop to" then scroll down and pick from any category you want. Land and water archives are packed full of information alphabetically. Enjoy

welcome

Is there a fur buyer in your area? Most of them will be willing to help a new guy and during season a good place to meet other trappers.

I am a trapper and fisherman. I still fish below Oxbow dam quite a bit. I spent over a year living at Homestead (Oxbow Village) in Oregon in 1973 and 1974. There are good numbers of 'coon. There's a few mink, muskrats, striped skunks, and beaver (and river otter) that I see almost every trip over there.Good Luck. Always a few bobcats and coyotes. Too, the wolves run that Windy Creek pretty hard, I've caught a few in there helicopter darting for IDF&G.

Great to always see youth interested in our past time. I don't run big lines like I did a few years ago with the drop in fur prices..but I still trap a fair amount. If you have any questions or would like to tag along for a day. Give me a shout. Im in baker city

Welcome buckle up for the ride!

I'm new to trapping, don't have a mentor. I'm putting the pieces together little at a time. From a basic prospective, critters navigate the easiest path most the time, much the same we do when out hunting. I've set traps all over a hill with no success only to stumble across the critter highway while I'm trying to cover a lot of ground. A few tracks here and there is alright, but those trails that are matted with tracks will produce over and over, year after year. Fence lines are always worth a look

Welcome

Welcome to T man , my suggestion is call up you're local game warden and ask about any local trappers who may like a young helper / partner ? Of course join your state trappers association .

welcome to t-man

Idaho has a very active trapping association. They have fur sales twice a year in Glenn’s Ferry. Between Boise and Twin Falls. A great place to meet other trappers.

Have fun.

Welcome here Didy!
One thing new trappers are told by some, is to start with coons or rats or something easy. That’s fine, but the one new trapper here wanted coyotes and locals in his area told him to start with coon. I told him that if he wants coyotes, trap coyotes. Study them, read, watch some vids and go get em.
I started with beaver, fairly easy, but the put up was a looong learning curve…lol
Sounds like you got some nice land out there!

Check in on Trapperman as often as you can and you will learn a lot. Lots of excellent trappers on here willing to share their knowledge. Welcome!

As was mentioned on up this thread, there is a wealth of knowledge to be had in the archives.