That is a nice cat! Cool with the trail camera setup. Looks like a great location for a set as well.

Sorry to see your trip ending. Looked forward to the updates

Great pictures, Hope your last check day is a good one. Safe trip home !

ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN'T STAY ANOTHER WEEK?

great story with a great looking cat! congrats guys

I haven't posted much about our trip. Mark does a better job at that along with posting the pics. I just wanted to chime in and say a few words. As most know there is a lot of work and long days running a trap line. But when you trap as a team, you need to work together. That's where it made it easy for us as we worked well together. We are there for two weeks. If you pick the wrong person, it can be a looonnngggg two weeks.
With us there is no competition, we are always learning from each other. We are there to trap, but it is way more than that. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular! The beauty of the land is like a Joe Goodman print. And the local people are the best. I can't wait to go again!

My experience with most all the ranchers and folks in Kansas were always mostly positive. I usually trap alone but have found a partner can be a plus if you are on the same page and share in the chores and have the same work ethic and skill.

Nice catch of bobcats.

Great pics and stories to go with them.

Was a great ride along, thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date.....j.k

Thanks for the post partner

Got busy out west with the bee's ,just caught up .Thank's for the ride along.....

thanks for taking us along, great pic,

After a safe trip home Thursday night I found myself back at work on Friday! The weekend bought some much needed family time for Big Joe and myself. 17 days is a blessing that I never thought I could manage but this brings a conclusion to my 7th long trip to Kansas in 9 years. After a trip like that I always need a few days to reflect.

Most of the trapping I have done in my life has been solo. Wading the streams and walking the fields alone. I cherish those traplines as they bring me a kind of inner peace.

Partner trapping has a whole new level of excitement that I didn’t know about before I started going to Kansas. Sharing the excitement as we find new sign or roll up on a catch is awesome. Big Joe is everything I could ask for in a trapping partner as we are aligned in so many ways. We learn from each other and enjoy each other’s successes. I do readily admit that Joe is a better trapper than me.

Trapperman has brought another aspect to the trip. It’s great having so many people on here encouraging us and sharing the excitement.


The Beginning

The drive down was smooth and we made it to camp in plenty of time to get unpacked and ready for a good night’s sleep.
We were feeling good with the progress and were starting to make catches before the storm but the blizzard set us back a bit. On day 6 we were basically starting over. First night catches happen but it usually takes a few days for the sets to marinate without our scent around. We had a ton of successes and had many target animals make us look like amateurs.

The Line:

Our trip from my house and back to my house totaled 3055 miles. Joe drove an 90 minutes to my house and 90 minutes back that wasn’t included in the 3055.
The days on the line found us driving 94 miles per day on the average.

Our sets were on approximately 4000 acres of land but most of them were not contiguous. I shared a picture below that shows the shotgun pattern of the properties we were trapping. The area our sets were on were in an area 10 miles wide by 13 miles deep.

The Gear:

I had 101 foothold traps with me and Joe had 96. Before the storm I had 36 sets in and Joe had close to that. We pilled most everything before the blizzard and then had to start again. In ended up with 62 traps set and Joe had a few less. If we had another week we could have got all of the gear in the ground.

The sets:

Joe and I both had a lot of dirt hole sets in the ground. We almost always set the same areas. If Joe wanted to set a spot I would find something close and Joe did the same thing when I wanted to set a spot. I had more walk thru and scent post sets in than Joe. I had some blind sets as well. I found myself wandering a little further from the truck in heavier cover and Joe tended to stay in the more open travel areas.

The Bait/Lure:

We don’t typically talk about what we are using or what we are catching on. We both feel that location is key and lure or bait can set the hook. We both use bait and lure from many of the lure makers you know and our successes reflect that broad range of attractors. We almost always set on target sign but there were a few times that history played a part in where we set.

The Bonus:

The scenery in our own back yards are always taken for granted. When you travel to. different part of the country you can spend a lot of time admiring the scenery. The sunrises are always amazing and the sunsets are great too! I saw more pheasants than I have seen any other year. We saw plenty of quail as always. We watched some coyotes in the fields and got some good footage of a bobcat out in the fields heading for cover.

The Catches:

Joe and I are both happy with the number of Coyotes and Bobcats we caught. We got to share many of those photos on this thread. Badger is the one critter we hoped to get and tried for but they all escaped us.

The People:

Wherever you go and whatever you are trapping, I would encourage you to immerse yourself into the community. Find where the farmers congregate for coffee in the mornings and spend a little extra time getting to know them. We have great friends because we were willing to spend an hour in the middle of the road talking with someone.

The Conclusion:

It was the best trip to Kansas yet for me. I am looking forward to the next one.

pics

That looks like an awesome trip!

Sounds like a great trip and a lot of memories made

This was my first year trapping Kansas and agree with you on everything you said. I suggest anyone who is serious about trapping should experience Kansas at least once in your life! Here's to next years adventure!

Are you going back next year?

Those bobcats are beauties