remembering back to a simpilar time when i was a boy i couldnt quite get my hand around a 110 yet so i would ask my uncle harold to set one or two at a time and away i would go carrying them back about 1/4 mile from my house where a little swamp caught all the rain run-off from the yards and it would always have one hut the year before i was able to catch 3 dandy rats so i found 2 holes at the bank where under the ice bubbles dead-ended and set my 2 conibears headn back home i cut across that little swamp and noticed a unfrozen hole in the ice as i took a closer look i could see 3 or 4 black spaghettos laying on the ice i quickly took my gloves off and with frozen fingers picked one up they seemed pretty rubbery and couldnt understand what they could be well the next morning came and i headed back to that little swamp to find one fired conibear at the first set pulling the trap cuz i couldnt quite set it yet and headed to my second set where a dandy chocolate back was floating frozen in the ice i grabbed that rat and hurried to get home to catch the bus i had missed the bus too many times before cutting across that swamp i noticed the open unfrozen hole and son of a gun there had to be 15 or 20 black spaghettos all around that hole so after school was out i couldnt wait to show my uncle the morning catch and ask if he could set 2 more conibears for me so he saw me coming and yelled thats a dandy mush rat he had asked what kind of set i had caught him in just then i remembered that open hole in the ice and all the spaghettos around it i asked him what that could be he looked at me and tilted his train conductors hat and said SPAGHETTOS ive never seen anything like that before you sure thats what your seeing i replied yes sir so after setting the 2 traps for me off i went when he yelled good luck with your spaghetto monster i remade the 2 sets from earlier and scooted out on the ice to study that open hole but this time i had noticed a track in the lite dusting of snow whatever it was it was coming out of the water and going right back in i couldnt quite understand what i was looking at the next morning came and both traps were empty late that nite we were hit with some weather the next morning i headed back to check though the fresh snow my uncle was leaving for work and seeing me yelled HEY SPAGHETTO KID good luck the next couple days went by and each morning both traps were empty i still couldnt get those little black rings that layed on the ice out of my head what could they be a duck? but that hole was only about 10 inches around with no other open water the next day i headed back to my 2 trap trapline and when i aproached the first set i couldnt help but catch a whiff of a sweet smell in the air so after busting through the ice that smell smacked me in the face and as i pulled on my wire through the busted up ice water it felt heavy just then a big male mink emerged tangled up in that conibear i couldnt belive my eyes checking the next set it was empty so pullng both traps i took off running for my uncles house i was king of the world and as i ran up showing him that mink he looked it up and down and thats a beaute did you catch him on spaghettos he asked no sir i answered after supper i asked my older brother if he could skin the mink for me back then they wanted the feet left on as he started skinning i studied every cut until it came out perfect as he snapped the pelt to fluff the fur i asked him what do mink like to eat? he replied fish for sure and if you really want to know just cut open his stomach so taking a knife i made a cut and opened up his stomach i couldnt belive my eyes there were 3 giant polywogs and the 3rd one was chewed up to the head and there on the face of that polywog was a black spaghetto his lips were the rings i was finding by that open hole in the ice i looked at my brother and said see SPAGHETTOS he just looked at me and said your nuts well my uncle and brother are both gone now and for more then 20 years of my life each time i would see either one they refered to me as the spaghetto kid those were incredible years of learning for me and at least i found out i wasnt crazy after all

This is a fun and relatable trapper's slice of life story! You had me on the hook wondering what the spaghettos were actually going to be, and which critter had left them there.
Thanks for sharing.

ubet