Anyone sell fur to GFW Saturday? I sent a deer hide with my neighbor for a pair of gloves, my daughter did thanksgiving on Saturday so I was not around to sell, very little anyway.

This deep snow and cold sure shut down raccoon trapping, but it makes the otters move.
Caught this one in a deep run set, belisle 220 on a v stand.

Looks like it is eating well. Congrats K.Snow!

Nice otter K Snow. I haven't set for any yet but will soon. I have a few weasel boxes out and caught one today.

Neat weasel Lance. Sure wish I could find some of them down here.

Where I live we got 10 inches. A lot of wet and heavy stuff early. Shoveling and scraping are tedioud and hard. My December land line is now a dream only. With all the heavy wet snow on about 1/2 to an inch of ice on the ponds, and sloughs we may not get walkable ice until it rains off and we start over. With all the other factors impacting my trapping season it is probably a good thing to let this season slide by. Started boarding my rats. Where we trapped the sign or numbers seemed average or average minus according to norms. My river line was surprisingly low in population with all the sloughs dry for many months. Size is better probably due to lower repro. I am wondering if and when we get dry summers and falls if there are fewer late litters and thus fewer mediums and kits.

Bryce

Was a chilly 3 degrees when I checked the few BE sets I had out this morning. The creek never freezes at this location and I warmed up fast after seeing the buck mink and rat. It never gets old.

good job guys, thanks for sharing,

Question - I have a guy who has a fox raiding his hen house. My problem is that he lives along the Niagara escarpment which means that it is almost impossible to stake anything deeper that four inches. Are there any other options besides drags in this situation? What am I missing?

Very nice mink Walt.

I had another ermine today. It's a decent sized male. He's still frozen so doesn't look as big as he is. Haven't seen a lot of sign so the population might be down this year. I also noticed the lack of mice this year.

I have yet to see a weasel track this season in the snow Lance. Maybe whatever is causing the mink population to go down around here is affecting them also.

Could be. Maybe someone can shed some light on this.

I see a lot of weasel tracks in our cattail marshes where there are still a lot of mice. We have so much land here in corn silage and then several thousand gallons of liquid manure and that needs to be worked in so a lot of fields have little cover or food. The turkeys, deer and mice concentrate on the fields where the stalks are chopped back on the field and there is minimal tillage or none.

Bryce

This seems to be shaping up as a year where Mother Nature wants to flex. Low water all summer has imo, hindered water critters populations while reducing habitat. Early, heavy snow coupled with unseasonably cold impacts productivity on the December trap line, historically is one of my best months. We skipped over the early ice conditions and are settling into midwinter dull drums before Christmas. It is what it is but will effect harvest. Sometimes Mother Nature gives and other times not. This time she started early. Firms my belief on who really has the last word.

Good luck out there

Just when I thought there weren't many ermine this year I found out I was wrong. I had 4 today. The oncoming storn must have really made them move last night and during the day today. Was fun checking but I had to pull most of my line because the snow amount after this storm won't allow me to get back on most of the farms I trap.

wtg, nice weasel's

Last Saturday we got 10 inches of snow, day before yesterday we got 2 inches and last night another 6 inches! I know compared to the snowbelt areas that is not a lot but we are really buttoned in around here. The snow removal teams are way, way behind. More snow already in November and early December than all of last year.

Bryce

Yep, I am going to shovel off then chip out and check my otter bottom edge sets this afternoon. The cold this weekend should get them moving.

Nice catches K snow, Lance, Walt!

Pulled the handful of sets I had out. As you said Nimzy, She had other plans this year no doubt. While I love my time out there I'll redirect my efforts some, still enjoying all She has to offer. I won't rule out the addiction/enjoyment running back through me, chopping holes through inches of ice for the reward of catch.
Time will tell
Have fun out there!

Caught a single muskrat in a bottom edge otter set. Nice size. Lots of fat on the hide to flesh off.

Stay warm this weekend.