Nice mink!

Today wasn't the best day on the line, but it was still fun. I only caught 3 rats in total. I did pull the traps from the spot where I had caught that coon in the #1 Victor but I did catch 2 rats there. Catching a couple of rats wasn't worth the time and miles. I did set out more traps though, I ended up double setting a culvert between 2 sloughs full of rats and huts, I'm going to try to get permission on them. I also set another colony trap in a culvert up where I have my beaver and coyote sets. I also set another 2 pockets sets up by my coyote and beaver sets. I also did pull one of my coyote sets as deer keep setting it off. All of my coyote sets got reset and rebaited or relured in one way or another. I had no snapped off traps or anything today so not a bad day at all. I'm going to be putting up those 3 rats and skinning out my beaver from Monday, tomorrow night. My mink should be ready to come off the board within the next day or 2. Anyway, that's all I got for today. There wasn't too much excitement.

I'm enjoying your journal TYT.
You are doing good on the line.I like to see trappers running lines that target all species.
That is the way we do it here.
Your put up looks good.

I downloaded movie maker to my Samsung pad the other day that is fairly easy to work with.

Thank you
I'm glad you're enjoying it.
This is the first time I've run a line like this and I love it. The weather has been good for me this year so I've been able to use sets I usually don't get the chance to.
Anything different you would do for the put up? I'm always trying to get better at it.

I have that but mine was all messed up the other day, I need to sit down one of these days and mess around with it some more.

Today was another great day on the line! I started the day by setting 3 coon boxes at the first spot with the irrigation ditch since there are a bunch of coons there but I haven't figured out a way yet to deal with the super soft mud to anchor traps. I have sunk up to my hips multiple times in it so still thinking about what to do there. I also blind set a 1.5 in a trail that I'm assuming the coons are using to go from the cornfield to the slough. Instead of digging to leave as little trace as possible, I pounded an imprint into the dirt and covered it with some grass. I then started making my way up to the northern trapping spot where all the beavers are. I stopped and checked my stop loss traps in one of the sloughs and caught a rat. Then I continued up and stopped at the culvert with my 2 colony traps in it and had 1 rat in one of them and 3 in the other! I need to make some wings for my colony traps as I'm currently using rocks to block the culvert up more. I finally made it up to the northern spot and had nothing in the first 2 pocket sets and the beaver set. So I walked back in and checked my 330s and I had a mink in one! I also found the beaver's lodge but it's on the neighbor's land so I need to go talk to them. The beavers also cut another tree down. I had nothing in the coyote sets or dogproofs along the way to the next colony trap in the culvert. But I did have another 3 rats in said colony, I do need to bring a bigger colony trap there as I only have a 6x6, and the culvert is way bigger. I then ended off the day at the last pocket set and had a coon floating, so I rebaited it with sardines and shellfish essence and got the set remade and that was the end of the line. Thanks for reading, here's some pictures from today.



I love the coloring on the mink, I'm going to wait to see how it looks when it's not wet and I might put it in the pile for the tannery.

Good days catch. How is the new fur shed working for you?

Maybe you can rig up a log clog (drag) to anchor those coon traps? Good lookin mink.

Nice work, you can put 2 colony traps side by side too. Enjoy this open water, it has been a blessing!

I enjoy reading about your adventures.
Keep it up.

TYT this is HUGE… Boco saying your put up is good. This is huge. Keep at it… Boco is Canadian and we all know us Canadians have the best put up.

Way to go young man! Very nice catches.

It's amazing! All of the stress and everything of putting it up was worth it. It has increased my productivity a lot as well. I still need to get a heater but the weather is good, so I've been holding out. Just got the last of the insulation needed to finish the 2 gable ends.

I was thinking something like that but there are no logs around to hook up to, might be worth bringing one over and leaving it there since I also trapped it last year. I have a bunch of 15lb sash weights I could bundle together too.

I would but only the middle of the culvert is deep enough for a colony trap. I've been procrastinating making some wings for 2 years now so who knows if it'll ever happen.

Thank you!
Will do.

I know! Boco has some of the best put up I've seen.

Thank you! Waiting patiently to break out my weasel boxes and some Lenon's to start laying it down on some weasels.

Another day, Another check of the trapline. Today was an easy day. I started the day at the irrigation ditch, I had nothing in any of the traps except for my blind set 1.5 which had a rabbit foot in it and was thrown out of the trap bed. So I remade that. At one of my coon boxes, there were fresh coon tracks everywhere. I need to invest in some trail cams so I can figure out what's going on at some of these sets. I would just like to know and then I can also learn more. So I loaded back up in the truck and made my way to the slough where I caught the rat yesterday. I had nothing in the traps today so I pulled them since they're not producing. I will probably go back during early ice and see if I can find some bubble runs. I made my way up the road to the double set culvert with the colony traps. And I couldn't find a colony trap at all. At the same time as I was looking for the trap, a truck pulled up. It ended up being another trapper who had seen me pull over and we got to talking for 20-30 minutes and had a really nice chat about trapping and everything that comes with it. I did end up finding my trap stuck up in the culvert and I only had 1 rat in there. I went to the other side and caught another rat! So I loaded up in the truck again and headed north. In the first pocket set, I had a rat in a 1.5, barely even slid a foot down the cable. And then after that, I ended up not catching anything in any of the beaver sets, coon sets, or coyote sets. I did remake all but 1 coyote set since we got more rain and everything was plugged up. I then went up the road to the colony in the culvert and had 1 rat in it. I went up the road some more and had another rat in the pocket set where I caught the coon the other day. The rat was so full of freshwater shrimp, they're all over my floor now. I ended up catching 5 rats total for the day, I need to set some more traps and see if I can start getting catches to increase again. I finished the day out by spending some time in the fur shed putting up fur and taking some fur off the stretchers, I took off the first mink, the first 3 rats, and the weasel. I also hung my weasel from last year that I caught in a #2 dogless up to thaw out so I can put it up tomorrow night. Anyway, enough talking, here's the picture.