What’s everyone’s top 3 trappers that you look up to or made a profound impact on you life. Pick 3 in descending order. Best to last.

Jack Whitman X 3

Dick Hobelsperger-Wisconsin.

About 30 years ago my son and I were out on the Mississippi/Black River backwaters floundering around trying to put together some beaver sets. Dick came motoring up and asked what we were doing. Of course I said "Beaver trapping." He took a long look at us and what we had done and said "Well, as long as you're going to be out here you may as well learn to do it right." He then spent a couple hours with us showing how to do sets. He was trapping off the landing very close to our house so when we would get something we'd show it to him and he was always full of praise and encouragement as well as other tips and tricks. He would be parked at the landing on Christmas morning so we'd always take over some Christmas Cookies for him to enjoy when he got in, and out them on the hood of his truck.

As far as I know he is not a nationally-known trapper but he sure made a big difference for my family.

Moosetrot

Matt Jones

Hal Sullivan

Tom Krause

My grandfather - he didn't know a whole lot about trapping, having only water trapped a bit as a kid, but he taught me everything he did know.... but mostly he taught me how to be a woodsman... how to hunt, read sign, etc.

Charlie Dobbins - He took the time to write me a letter when I was about to give up on the quest to ever catch a K9, which gave me the gumption to keep trying... catching my first foxes (red and gray) shortly afterwards. Plus, his books are some of the very best books on the market, IMO.

I can't pick a third... there are just too many...... Danny Clifton, Slim Pedersen, Matt Jones, Jackie Malone, Stanley Hawbaker (whose book I completely wore out), and on and on... I could list 100.....

My top guy isn't even a trapper.

My father raised us in the woods. He would point to a tree and ask what kind, what animals use it, what is it used for, where would you expect to find it?

Tracks in the road, what kind, walking or running, why, where is it going, coming from, why is it here.

Which way is the wind, yesterday, tomorrow.

When was the last rain, next.

Which way is north, how do you know.

Daddy taught me how to ask the right questions to pick apart the details.

He would say that everything tells a story if only you know how to read it.

My Grandfather, he wasn't known outside of the hills an hollers surrounding Pyro. He taught me how to trap, along with always learning while observing animals habits, tracking them an their life spans.
He was an all around trapper but Mink were his passion.

A trapper that took the time to teach me about beaver and how to trap them during a convention. Can't remember his name and never seen him again after that evening many yrs ago.

Every trapper that has put on a demo at a convention or trappers meet along with every trapper that graced this forum. Never failed to learn something from everyone even on animals i'll never trap..

So Thank You to all