What is your favorite thing about trapping?

I’ve never been trapping, but I’m curious to hear what you guys love about it?

Here is a story i wrote about it, I hope it sums it up -



Trapping the Lost American Heritage

I can remember as a young child running traplines with my Dad and Grandfather (Pop). I can also remember the names of other trapper who trapped in the same areas that we did. Men like Arnold Favinger the raccoon and fox trapper from up in Lenni, Bob Currey the raccoon trapper who let my Father trap foxes on his farm, and Jack Murphy, the long lining trapper who would catch three to five hundred raccoons a season.

Back then you could go into any of the numerous small grocery stores similar to, Ahearns, or the Frogtown Country Store or into any local bar like Martins, Eddie’s, or The Hilltop and ask the name of a local trapper and get three or four responses. People would not only tell you, whom you were looking for, but also what they could catch, and where to find them. Now you’d be lucky to find anyone who knew a trapper at all, let alone where to find them and what animals they specialize in.

To me it is a sin to let this great American heritage fade away like a wisp of smoke. Think of all of the great outdoorsmen and adventurers of the old west that were trappers. Men like Jim Bridger, who helped map out the Oregon Trail, as well as many overland stage routes, and Kit Carson, the famous Indian scout who knew the desert southwest like the back of his hand. These men and others to numerous to name helped map out and settle this country. Their in depth knowledge of the land and waters is what guided them through the wilderness. They had no maps or atlases, all they had to go on what their own knowledge of the land and what they could gather from other trappers and hunters. By running their trapline in the wilderness they came to know and love the land, much like trappers today.

In this day and age it is hard to find a trapper, unless you belong to a trapping organization such as the National Trapper Association. America has more outdoorsmen per capita than probably any country in the world, but only a small handful of those are trappers. Trappers not only have to defend themselves against the anti trappers, but sometimes even against other outdoorsmen, like hunters as well. Trappers have long had their back to the wall, between ever increasing cost of equipment and gas, lowering fur prices, and the ever present antis, some trappers have hung it up and quit. Traps now gather dust in old barns, outbuildings, and musty basements.

My generation was just old enough to catch the tail end of the great fur boom, when fur prices were high and everyone seemed to trap. The boom lasted till I was about twelve and then the fur prices dropped, and dropped and dropped, till by the time I graduated high school, you could hardly give wild fur away. My brothers and sister and their generation never got to experience the type of things I did. Trapping taught me so many things about life and the wild world that I don’t know what I would have done without it.

I learned planning and preparation from watching my Dad and Pop. Every year before the opening day of trapping season, we would be out checking the creeks for coon tracks and the field edges for fox sign. We would drive up and down the back roads, hopping out at every culvert, bridge, or semi wet spot. We would search on both sides of the road (because some times one side was better than the other) for tracks and other sign. Dad would take us out to walk along the edges of the fields looking for fox tracks and droppings. I was always amazed at how far and fast he walked the edge of the field without missing any sign. (I learned later, that this comes with lots of experience and practice.) I was so proud when I was turned loose to scout the area opposite them by myself, as it meant they trusted my abilities to find and decipher sign. By doing all of this before the season opened we knew where the animals were running, the best trails and the best locations to set.

I learned about truth, honesty, and fair play from two different instances I can remember. One morning while checking traps with my Dad, we came to a small creek, and I could see there had been a catch made. “Hey Dad you got a coon” I yelled to him. He walked up the creek, looked at the coon and said “Son that coon isn’t in my trap; my set is up around the bend.” He walked back downstream, and I looked longingly at the coon, knowing it was worth 35-40 dollars. Dad later explained to me that he hated when someone stole his traps or fur and how he despised thieves and would never be counted among them.

One cold November morning I was checking traps with Pop, down in the Darlington Valley. As we were walking down the train tracks we could see three people in the distance. They saw us and waved and we met about halfway down. It was Arnold Favinger, Jack Bonny, and a young kid. “Morning Charlie” Arnold said to Pop. “Morning Arnold, morning Jack” Pop replied. (All local trappers pretty much knew each other back in those days.) “Say, Charlie did you shoot one of my coons yesterday, down under the trestle?” Arnold asked. “Yes I did, it was only held by one toe and I didn’t want it to escape on you” Pop replied. “I appreciate it, but was wondering why a thief would shoot my coon, and then leave it for me?” Arnold said laughingly. Arnold later told me when he and I trapped together that he never feared losing a trap or an animal when he and Pop trapped the same area. Pop unwittingly showed me fair play, and how to establish and honest reputation for yourself.

I also learned that you have to take responsibility. I can remember one year my Dad hurt his foot at work and could barely walk, but he made sure his fox sets got checked every single morning, even if it took him twice as long. I can remember Pop driving through a blizzard to pull his traps just so they would not be operating when he would not be able to reach them.

I learned a few things about honor as well from trapping. I can remember every December 24th we would either pull or snap all of our traps. “Nothing should die on Christmas” Dad once said to me. My children I still carry on this tradition; all of our traps and sets are either sprung or pulled on Christmas Eve.

I was taught a lesson in respect every year. Although Pop and Dad had been trapping some of their farms for a decade or more, they still stopped by the farmhouse in early October to renew permissions with the farmer. It also gave them a chance to ask questions on where the farmer had seen foxes or coons, get to know the dogs again, and find out if any areas were off limits. The farmers appreciated that we stopped to ask permission and talk again and that we did not take their permission or land for granted.

The greatest thing trapping has taught me, is appreciation and knowledge of the outdoors. I can readily look at a field, creek, pond, river, or woods and know where to look to find whatever animal I am searching for. I have learned how to read just a small piece of track, or identify a single strand of hair I may find in a fence or tree and determine what left it. I now know that no matter how much I know about trapping and animals, that there is always something new to learn.

Every fall I am still amazed at the myriad of colors of the woods, the bright burning reds of the maples, the glimmering yellow of the oaks and beeches, blazing through the valleys like an arboreal forest fire. I love to listen to the slow, soft murmuring of the mink stream, which sounds like a distant conversation I can’t quite make out. I chuckle on days when hunters look outside and decide the weather is just too nasty to venture forth, and I am out tending my traps. I love to walk in the falling snow, and hear it sizzle past my ears, and marvel at how the rest of the world seems to have been silenced by the beauty of the snow covered woods. I’ve seen sunrises so beautiful that they are beyond my power to describe. And, even though I have witnessed more of them than I can remember I still on occasion stop my truck and watch the spectacle of it again.

Trappers are out in the woods and water every day of the three to four month trapping season. They spend hours in and around their location, and know it better than any hunter of fisherman ever could. Trappers know every bump, rock, pool and sandbar on the creeks they trap. They know every saddle, draw, cow/deer path, and trail on the lands they trap. They know a foxes bark from a coon, and can tell you how far away a coyote is just by hearing the howl.

Trappers are among the most observant people in the world. Because they have to be, in order to be any good at their sport they have to be. My children brought this trait to my attention. My daughter Teagan (8) walks through our neighborhood and woods like a modern day Osa Johnson (famous woman African explorer). She amazes her friends by pointing out to them rabbits and squirrels, which they cannot see. She also identifies bird songs, squirrel barks or tracks in the snow to her amazed friends. When her class goes on and ECO- trip (an outside field trip) the teacher and students call her the “resident expert” in identifying animal tracks, droppings, sign, and calls. My son Jamison (12) says on field trips he sees many different animals, but for some reason none of his friends can see them. “I keep saying it’s right there, just to the left of that tuft of switch grass” he tells me. And, his friends can’t see the tuft of grass let alone the pheasant that just strutted by it.

Trapping is one of the few sports every member of the family can enjoy and participate in. No matter how old or young everyone can be a part of trapping. My youngest daughter Charly (3) helps Teagan and Jamison collect the walnuts to dye the traps with (much like I used to). The older kids run traps with me on weekend and days they off of school. They are learning to develop the skills to pick their own location, and the ability to read the tracks and other signs. They tough it out despite the sub zero temperature, the wet feet, the snapped finger, just to catch something. The smile on their faces when they do make a catch is incredible.

Even Pop when he had long quit trapping still participated. Most days he’d have me and my partner show him the catch, then heckle us for not catching enough, and ask where we got which animals and in what kind of set. Even when he was losing his battle with dementia and Parkinson’s Disease and didn’t know me from the imaginary people he saw, when I said trapping, a light came to his eyes and they seemed to clear, and for the briefest of moments he knew me, and we talked about trapping. It was the last conversation I ever had with him, and I’m glad it was on trapping.

I hate to see this heritage die a slow death, so I try to keep it alive in my children, and hopefully my grandchildren (when I have some). Someday I’ll be just a shadow following my children on their trapline, much like I feel I am followed on mine at times. When that time comes maybe I’ll meet up with Pop and we’ll travel those back roads again.

The more time you spend outdoors the more amazing things you will see that few will ever be blessed to be a part of in their lifetime.

The silence!

The anticipation of the next days catch.

I think setting the traps and being in the ground and the dirt . Makes you feel connected to the Earth. Plus the smell of the bait and lure.

Second favorite thing is the satisfaction of home tanning pelts

Huge fur checks

Just being out in nature, the sounds, the smells, the critters in the sky and on the ground. The sound of water trickling down a crick. The wind through the trees. Fresh air in my lungs and on my face. And the feeling that I'm part of it. I never feel closer to God and loved one lost as when I'm on the line.


Starla-
Welcome to the forum.
What do you love about being an "animal shelter volunteer"?

It feels like Christmas every morning.

The sighting of a hen turkey with a brood in tow. The spotted fawns that walk by with a doe.The thought that I could have possibly made this happen when I took out a predator earlier in year by the aid of Trapping.And I do like the sound of a JC conner shock spring squeaking when I pull up to a catch.

Yep another reason to spend more time outdoors.

X2

it is learning to understand the animals' habits and very nature; to the extent that you can predict where he/she will place their foot.

(We can't MAKE them do anything. but by learning their habits and nature, we become closer to them)

The favorite part for me used to be the anticipation of my daily success ratio.
Now it is the mental challenge of figuring out why the empty sets did not connect.
That strategy improves my effectiveness over time. You can't learn if you ain't looking and thinking.

[quote=Turtledale]Just being out in nature, the sounds, the smells, the critters in the sky and on the ground. The sound of water trickling down a crick. The wind through the trees. Fresh air in my lungs and on my face. And the feeling that I'm part of it. I never feel closer to God and loved one lost as when I'm on the line.

My favorite part of volunteering at the animal shelter. When an animal that’s lost everything they knew trusts you enough to curl up on you. Also you get to see animals with all sorts of disablities and how they adapt to it.

Great work. Starla!
You ARE making a difference!!!

I love tripping ovah a beaver chew and taking a header down the slope...into the freezing water .

Started catching muskrats in the 60's would follow one of my older brothers in the 50's .
Remember the day he caught a white weasel before school one morning.
Only white weasel I ever saw in Ohio.
Anyway, muskrats the first year, and found some old traps my dad/brother had put away for years.
All no. 1 long spring.
Learned from books from the library about using them.
Caught a coon in one, and read up on trapping coon.
Did alright, and ran across Stanley Hawbakers (sp) book .
Had to try and catch fox then.
Was my favorite animal to catch in the late 60's early 70's .
Fur boom hit, and could only catch muskrats because any line on land just disappeared over night.
I miss those $ 35.00 greys, and $ 85.00 reds, what a fur check.
Bought over $ 800.00 of traps that year, from no.1 's and no.2's to 330 's and conibears .
Back then a no. 2 was the only fox trap I knew about.
Quit trapping because thieves were everywhere, couldn't keep a landline anywhere.
Late 70's tried again, still had trouble with thieves , but not as bad.
Trapping took care of all the Christmas presents, made the wife and kids happy.
Also started beaver trapping in 1972, in AEP lands , limit of two per season.
But fell in love with beaver trapping, also trapped everything but fox and coon because of thieves .
Trapping just seemed like it was getting in touch with the mountain men of the past.
Like others have said, you see things few will ever see.
Wish I had a cell phone back then, the pictures I would share!

Freedom, turn my snowmachine in any direction and just go! Exploring and figuring out how to catch! Solitude, a bit of risk.

Always liked the challenge of it all.