I don't believe I can use big game meat in Alaska.Would it be legal to buy meat from a grocery store to use?

Yes

Thanks

Ask a butcher for scraps they will usually give it for free

Thanks.Thats a great idea

I find that moose and deer bones after trimming the edible meat from them are about as good as it gets for dedicated Gulo cubby bait. Moose bones especially, due to size, are easy to wire together and rig so they cannot be easily moved in the set. I like them sour smelling too….

Apparently you're coming up here? Can you bring a beaver carcass? You can use bones, hide, and viscera for bait.

In the beginning stages of planning the trip.Don't know if I can drive thru Canada with beaver in the back of my truck.Trying to decide on maybe doing a caribou hunt up on the Dalton highway then trying to shoot a wolverine over bait in Sept or trapping a wolverine in December.

Why would you want to harvest a wolverine in September???

You can likely buy a beaver carcass once you are here.

Personally I wouldn't spend time trying to harvest a wolverine over bait in any month of the year. Far more efficient to use a trap.
Also, I have seen Paul's Skunky Backbreaker cause a wolverine to change directions from over a hundred yards away and beeline straight to my set........which was just a moose bone that had the meat trimmed off. It didn't really have much smell that I could detect.

Agree with isnarewolves......it would be a real waste to take a wolverine in September........IMO

So that I can also go caribou hunting as well.

Still weighing the pros and cons

Probably best wait till they prime up. And I'm no expert on gulo, I grew up on an island with almost none of them, but I've since been pretty much everywhere our state has to offer, and I've never seen one outside of a trap

So even with the colder weather In September in Alaska wolverine are not primed up yet?

Not even close. Remember temperature has little or nothing to do with it.
If you want a nice wolverine I would try to trap one in February.

Like Timber Tramp above......I have seen only one on the ground that was not in a trap. Several from the air but that;s different than sitting over a bait hoping one will appear.

LOL.....sure looks like I won't get one on my caribou hunt but later trapping on a separate trip.

You might see a wolverine on your caribou hunt but I wouldn't count on it. I agree with everyone else I would not bother wasting my time baiting one and sitting there. Spend that time glassing the mountains and valleys instead and you just might find one and be able to put a stalk on it. Seen a couple while sheep hunting and more while hiking the mountains. Come to think of it the mountains are the only place I have seen them when not in a trap.

Every once in a while you hear about a fall hunter getting one, but not very often. Earliest I’ve caught one is first week of November and it was ok, but just ok.

Temps don't have a lot to do with fur priming up, that's determined by photo period (how much/little daylight we're getting)

I have seen many September wolverine come though my shop over the last thirty years. Not one was a decent hide ( from a trappers perspective/fur buyer ). People who are harvesting wolverine in spetember are not doing so, for the value of the hide, but for the trophy. Many of those hides i dressed were for life size mounts.

Exactly.I would want it to have mounted.Not to sell it.

Cost just as much to mount a nice one as it does a crappy one

I wish there was a like button

I have never been around wolverine.I do know for example that if you trap early in the season the fur is not as prime for example fisher,marten,red fox.The pelt all still looks nice even when not fully prime.I want to harvest a wolverine before my last breath is number 1 on my bucket list.

Thanks

You do you, I'm sure you're gonna have fun no matter what, which is the most important part. I'm just saying if I were in your shoes, I'd wait until December, but I also don't know if you're already planning 2 trips up here or if you're talking about a whole different trip just for a wolverine. It's easy for me to tell you to wait, because I'm not traveling thousands of miles, so I understand you wanting to make the most of your trip in September.

Thanks AK Timber Tramp.I thinking I will probably try for a couple weeks While on my caribou hunt.I know with my luck if I don't buy the wolverine license I will probably see one.I'm weighing the pros and cons.Pros being if I get a wolverine while caribou hunting I don't have to deal with much or very little snow and I can access where there are some with my truck and then hike in.On the other hand to trap a wolverine I can't picture those winter roads as being very safe to trap from with the snow,big trucks,snow plows,etc.I would have to either hire someone as a guide(thousands of dollars} or trap with someone and I don't know anyone up in Alaska to trap with.Besides that I don't want to step on anyones toes as well.I'm picturing a hard deal to find a place to trap in the winter time around there.

The roads are not dangerous in the winter but there are a lot of trappers trapping along them. Most of us use snowmachines but a few use snowshoes or skis. If you were willing to use snowshoes or skis you most likely wouldn't step on any toes. Problem is most wolverine pass through areas so seldom it could take weeks for one to come back through an area you are trapping. If you are serious about winter trapping wolverine and want a good chance at success I can point you in a direction but the trip wont be cheap.

Thanks for the information.Much appreciated

There's a lot of places only accessible in the winter time unless you have a plane (even then you have to be able to land/take off from somewhere) ice opens up whole new travel lanes. I'm currently trapping the far side of a creek it would have been impossible to cross a month ago. It can make parking at or accessing certain spots difficult depending upon the snow removal situation and wether or not there's a big berm in front of the road/pull off you wanted to use, but there's lots of space even on the maintained road system to not step on toes. When in doubt, if you see tracks you're probably on someone's toes, if not, most of us aren't just letting feet of snow pile up and keep us out of our area. If you're on someone's line you'll know, they'll have trail broke open, brush cut back, you might even start seeing sets from the trail once you're in a little ways (marten boxes are a tell tale)

Thanks.All good information to know.Much appreciated.

Trapping along the Haul rd. is your best bet. Having a decent rental camper or RV will work. Currently wolverine seem to be very plentiful up there. Also with a trapping license you would be able to trap all the fur bearers. Very good chance you get wolves and artic fox. Would be a great 7-10 day adventure.

I believe there are guided trapping businesses up here.