Good luck to everyone that didn't get snowed out. Going to try and get back in the woods to make some sets this weekend.

Keep us updated buddy!!!!

Good luck all, stay warm.

I have done dumber things but not by much. They are saying -20 tonight and -40 windchill tomorrow. The truck is loaded and ready to roll at daylight.................

I have some boxes in the Truck. My bride who is usually enthusiastic for Fisher / Marten but seems less than thrilled with the cold and deep snow. I fear a lot of downed trees on trails as our first snow was wet and heavy. Since then we got plenty of accumulation.

Good luck to all/

It isn't too bad for those of us with over a 24 inch inseam.

You finding any promising sign out there?

It isn't too bad for those of us with over a 24 inch inseam. [/quote

That leaves both of you in trouble.

A guy might have to wear a jacket tomorrow

A nice Stanfields heavy weight wool union suit is about all you need….


Too poor can bring that little 450 Jonsered size firewood saw he uses for road clearing…

A few fisher tracks a week ago, but quite a few cat track but most small. That's around my place.

Waiting on the pics good luck.

I would sooner ride a Honda then own a Jonsered !

Milwaukee kicks but for trail clearing.

Here we might need a good snow plow or blower for trail clearing.

Good luck guys. I'm hoping that the boys and I can go get a couple sets in. Found one set of fisher tracks last week, and we're finding a few cat tracks here and there.

I have actually seen a fair amount of cat sign but cats will be cats and continue to frustrate us.

Yes 160, I'm planning on getting frustrated. If we set any footholds, they're going to have to be on my route to work or I won't be able to check them every day. We plan on setting some 220s, so I'm sure I'll get to see footprints leading up to the cubby, and a cat butt print where he sat and looked at it for ten minutes before he walks away.

What's the fishah limit in Minnesota??

Here in NH ...it's been reduced to just 2 for like the past 5 years .

Fisher trapping was one of my favorites...when the limit was 15.

So....now I don't even bother

It sounds like you have played this game before! I haven't chased cats seriously in 6-8 years.

That’s the case here ! Reduced to 2 either Marten or Fisher.

Good luck to everyone. We're going out on Sunday supposed to by a little warmer.

Good luck

Plant a foothold on front of it

Dustytinner, I'll be setting some footholds but can only do that on the route I travel to work. I just don't have time to go every direction, every day. If I want to have any number of sets out, I'll have to utilize the three day check and use bodygrips.

Yep Sam that's what I deal with also. I haven't had one dumb enough to stick his head in a 220 either. I do set them in areas where the fisher are at also and usually that's what I catch, not a bad thing though. With the 2 limit on fisher though if I catch a fisher that set comes out so that lessons the chance of catching to many fisher but also give you the chances of not catching any cat. Its hard to run sets that will do both.

Never liked doing that with body grips, catch too many young cats and females I’d rather release. I understand the predicament and the law however and don’t blame guys for using them.

Osky

I have 7 boxes ready for fisher, just waiting for the sun to get a little higher.

We have plenty of snow , so will be walking in with snowshoes. Going to be getting plenty of exercise this week, I like to check daily.

Down here in southern Minnesota our season doesn’t open January and we can just take one cat and one fisher. For the northern guys being limited to two fisher or marten combined is ridiculous. The DNR attitude most likely is you guys are lucky to get to trap. Good luck guys hopefully your union suits flap doesn’t freeze.

Went out this afternoon and put out 8 marten boxes and a couple of snares on 3 different ditches,fox,coyote or bobcat caught all of them on those ditches before.8" loops are pretty small for coyotes,but some find there way into them.Tomorrow I'll go north and set a few more snares in my most productive bobcat spot,we'll see if there's any tracks tomorrow.Good luck to everyone who's putting out a few sets,bring a kid if you can...Didn't see any bobcat tracks today,fair amount of marten tracks,fox and coyote tracks also.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be out there today. There were hardly any skeeters.

Everyone's situation is different but we need to choose between the inefficiency of every day checks or the inefficiency of body grip refusals. From a population standpoint, the relatively few cats being harvested, be it females or young, is having minimial effect across the primary bobcat range. I suppose that could be different in some of the fringe areas.

Mary and I got 11 boxes out today. The weather wasn't too bad. The woods road was a little sketchy but that's a part of the fun. See what happens tomorrow.

Was able to get to the back end of the property and put out a few fisher boxes. Fisher sign where they were a week ago. So hopes are up. Did find one good cat track hung a snare for him. So it's a start, good to be in the woods again.

2poor did you bring the saw and clean up a few blow downs? I'm fairly certain that I Grouse hunt down some of the 2 tracks that you trap. My last trip out the snow was too deep for the dogs (and me) so my season is done. Time to hang snares. Good luck all.

So...yinz have a Dozen boxes out to catch 2 critters..

You catch one the next day

Then you catch 3 the next day....rut row !!!

Then you call the CO and surrender them.

This or you do what I do. I don't put that many out if there is good sign. I catch one I pull that set and probably if I have a set close by.

Lol....good answer

Got to trap camp a day early due to weather forecast, didn’t want to drive on snowy roads. Set one line Saturday and set another line today. Good luck everyone

Dont know about them but we have a few cats here in SE MN. these last few years. and dont remember any in the last 50 years

Good luck K9man always enjoy the ride along,we picked up two marten out of the 8 sets out.Nothing in the snares yesterday or today,saw one nice bobcat track about a 1/2 mile from a good pinch point,he's was headed that way,he might show up in the next few days.Good luck to everyone out there checking a few sets.

Not sure what’s wrong with this site or my phone but it’s not letting me post pictures this year

Lets see them!

Snow was melting today 44 for the high and windy,caught an old timer bobcat today,by looking at his teeth I'd say 8 to 10 years old.Weighed 36.59 lbs poor casty belly,him and the martens will go to our MTA tanned fur Project.The nice bobcat track I saw yesterday heading towards the pinch point location is where the cat was caught,pretty sure it was the same cat.That pinch point is my best bobcat producer over the years I've taken 18,bobcats,330 Scott and I set it up 2 years but a female and kittens came through the first or second night so we pulled out.I hadn't set it up for about 5 years prior to that.Other than when Scott and I pulled I'm pretty sure it has never not produced a bobcat throughout the years.

Nothing has moved back through. Got a good cat track on two baits don't know if its the same cat. The baits are about a half mile apart. Was a nice evening checking today.

We caught 1 male marten yesterday. Nothing today maybe tomorrow.

Will the raccoons come out tonight with this warm weather?

Yes, I have seen them out when it gets warm especially if there is a food source close by.

I think so too, I'll have to check again tomorrow. I was checking every other day because it's about 5 miles of walking to check them.

Yes and twice I have caught Badger in Cat sets too. A December Badger is a thing of beauty.

Here I find most of them in the cattails when it warms up. I have caught them in coyote sets in Dec. and January during warm spells.

The cattails were lousy with coon last week in ND. They are hard on the dogs.

Well we checked 27 empty traps on our first check this season, 11 of them were set Saturday, 10 on Sunday and 6 yesterday. We had refusals at two of them, hopefully were females. Will check again on Friday. I always feel like less of a man when I come home empty handed. Good luck to the rest of you guys!

Almost "Daylight in the Swamp" Rick~ That was an Awesome invitation - Thanks again Im not setting for cats or fisher this year... Too much packing.

Where are you going?

Don't leave me hanging! Are you going to the Ukraine or is she coming to you?

Sounds like Chippendales finally called him back at least it’s honest work!

Thailand....to meet that special one ????

If that is the case, he may want to check out the undercarriage REALLY good before he gives her the ring. Don't fall for the Bangkok "tuck".

Pictures posted for Rick.

Thanks for posting the picture's Tim,not much for teeth,guessing 8 years or older,belly was full so he still had no problem hunting,48" to the base of tail.

Biggen nice kitty

Nice cat Rick! Older one for sure.

Nice cat. I may have to break out the 3N's next week.

Caught this male yesterday



Saw tracks near two of my other locations. I'll have to check again tomorrow

Nice fisher Born congrats.

This thing ruined a good cat trail. But at least there one less.

Daylight in The Swamp

Just checking in:

Couple of days left. I hope the fisher come back through.

I hope they stay away from my cat sets.

I hope they stay away from my cat sets.[/quote
I worry about that also. I caught my fishers last year right away during the season last year. Hate to pull cat sets after fisher season. I try to find more travel route and not use bait but know that doesn't help cat catching either

This little bit of a blizzard has things plugged here and there, and I’ll pull the 4 fisher boxes I had out close to home…today…

Dig out the Skandic.

I will be taking the Tundra out today to run the loop.

Every year I say I am not setting any BG's for cats. I walked back and got some 3N's and snares instead.

Had an interesting thing happen today. I checked this box and had a fisher approach and possibly enter the box and not get caught. Maybe I should place my pans on the bottom. I put fresh meat in there and Im expecting it to return.

I'm scratching my head as to why you would set with the pan on top???

Hit it with their forehead and keeps the set off traps and weasel/squirrel catch down.

Keeps the catch of everything down though

Not really. I run my cat cubbies with the pan on top.

Fisher and marten on the bottom.

Born I know a lot of guys who do it but personally I don't like my trap recessed that much

Very interesting. I have never seen or heard of anyone setting a box with the pan on top.

People will say I'm crazy. I am.

Had one 2 years ago, visited cubby 4 days , 5th day he stepped through.

When this one comes back through he will either find a snare or a 3N before he ever gets to the box.

Slow out there with the weather.

I pulled my couple of boxes on sign yesterday….that I had set in conjunction with coyote snare bait stations…the roads and trails are blowing in and it’s turning into a snowmobile line. I pulled the coyote stuff too.

We pulled up our traps yesterday, ended up with 3 marten 2 males 1 female so we did better than O.K.

Just bend the triggah wires back like this. It lets the red squirrels...ermine..mice ..go in and out..for the most part.

Leaving the set ready for a fisher. It's also more inviting ...and the trigger wires

Are not in its face. .

No fisher for this year. Found one fresh track in the woods today no where close to where I had sets. More for next year.

No cat for me today but I have lots of time and am confident that they will return.

Just one fisher for me, the one I thought would return didn't. That is the first time I have had a fisher look at and not enter a box. I'm pretty sure it didn't enter the box , I do know the meat in there was frozen in the back of the box.

I also had one trap sprung and thrown out of the box, I believe a weasel jumped in and hit the pan and triggering the trap, launching it out of the box.

I know most guy like pans but I am not sold on them. I prefer one wire straight down crowded as far as it can get to one side and the other bent horizontal. I believe a lot of small, non targets enter and exit without firing the trap and it makes for the biggest opening possible. That said, they still refuse to stick their head in a box as seen yesterday.

Well we got lucky and squeaked out our six marten, unfortunately two of them were females. Caught two males in ground sets and the other four were caught in tree sets.

Website still won’t let me post pictures

I also should have mentioned that we had four confirmed refusals this year and that’s the most we have ever had in a season that we know of.

It is tough to keep the female and YOY out. BG's can't tell the difference.

What sort of message does the video downloader give you that you can't post pictures?

I choose the picture then click the add file from your computer button and nothing happens

K9man, my phone won't let me post your pictures unless I screenshot them first. I'll get the rest posted for you in the morning.

Some of K9mans pictures.

Great pictures thanks for sharing Sam.

Thanks Sam, I appreciate it, I always like sharing some of our adventure but for some reason my phone or the website wasn’t playing nice this year

Nice pictures thanks for sharing.

You are welcome sir.

That is about as close to a backcountry trapline as you can get in MN anymore.

Very few places left anymore a guy can get away.

I like top pan as well, a lot less squirrel catches.