Northern Mn marten/fisher and cats

It's that time again,lets share some pictures of marten/fisher and bobcats with a few yotes and fox thrown in there,good luck to everyone.

Season open's tomorrow,a good friend is getting back into trapping,he retired from the East Grand Forks fire dept.He's never caught a marten,fisher,otter,coyote or a bobcat so we are trying to get them off his bucket list.Merl used to trap 30 to 35 fox back in the day so he's really looking forward to this week.He has a place up at Rocky Point so he'll be around for awhile,i've known him for 25 years or so,i'm really looking forward to his firsts...….He set his first two otter sets today.

Good Luck All!!!

Do otter have a home area or are they constantly on the move?

They do stay in an area for awhile,then there gone for about 2 weeks then back to a home area for a few days is what I've seen.It has to do with the amount of food that is around.Good luck.

Good luck everyone! We are going to set for Logans first cat and marten today. The 155’s, cages and 3N’s are loaded!

GOOD LUCK LOGAN,and others heading out at 7am to check the coyote traps and snares,then it's marten time.120's,155's and a few Sterling MJ 600's in the truck.

Good luck everybody. Enjoy your week after fisher/marten. Boxes are baited and I am headed out. Found 1 new fisher track 2 days ago, hopefully he will be back in the next few days. Coyotes are finally back after the firearms season and starting to check the sets out but not stepping on any pans yet. Soon I hope. A couple of Cats around but tracks look on the smaller size. Things are starting to pick up.

Tagged out in WI.

Good luck all.

Congratulations ACE, beautiful.

Yea just getting back in to the swing of things myself. Last few years I've been on hold a bit, but me and the boys are headed out soon here to set up a small cat/Fischer line.. looking forward to it.

We didn’t exactly get a ton of sets in today but hopefully enough for 1 marten.

Congrats on the cat,we put out 26 marten/fisher traps today and 2 foot holds for bobcats at one of my favorite cat crossing.No yotes today,saw a fair amount of mink sign in the big woods today,i'm going to put a couple mink sets out tomorrow and maybe a otter set as well.We'll check in tomorrow evening.

Nice cat Ace. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Keep 'em coming. Great job Ace.

We got some sets out today but no fresh sign after all the heavy wet snow last night. Hopefully they move around tonight and we can atleast find some tracks tomorrow. Got 1 otter set in with a bunch of slides coming off a lake, hoping it comes through before we head out.

3 fisher sets out and even dropped in a few weasel boxes. Our snow has just about gone so finding fresh sign is tuff. Set fisher sets in areas that have had success in the past. Set a couple of more canine sets, hopefully they will start to connect.

Set out 20 sets today. Saw a lot of good sign today also. Could use a bit of snow again, as the snow we do have is fairly crunchy..

Morning 10 above here,heading out shortly to check the line and maybe add two more sets.Will pass on the marten/fisher check tomorrow,then pull on tue a day early because of work.Have a great day everyone,i'll try to remember to take some pictures today of catches or of some of the empty sets.

Looking forward to pics and stories.
We have less Fisher and Marten this year in the bush according to all accounts from trappers,but I hear they may be up in NW Ont.

1st morning check after setting yesterday. Not a bad start for the season. No fisher but a cat and another weasel.

What a great way to start the season! Congratulations!

Looks like a nice heavy cat backroad. Nothing doing here today, we set up another dozen sets of so.. even dropped in a few otter sets.. I'm confident me and the boys will connect soon here.. tons of Fischer sign, and even seeing a bit of cat sign also..

Nice cat backroads!

Way to go Backroads.

I have a half dozen 160 boxes out and 5 120 boxes out. All the 160s are on a fisher track on a water way, and the 120s are on mink sign. I hope those fisher will run those routes again before season ends.

Nice catch Backroads.

Good job on the cat BRS,slow day here 1 dark brown male marten and a no tail c,d colored coon in a coyote snare.We set 2 more otter sets for Merl,2 mink sets,4 more marten boxes and1 dirt set coyote plus 1 more coyote snare.Will post a few pic's later,need to run into town now.

Nice cat! Pretty slow here today but we did manage to catch a nice big otter, male mink (stinking critters) and 3 rats. The cat and fisher sign has been non existent.

Here's a couple pic's from today,is that Logans 1st otter?

Well 3 of us managed to get it done in the first night. The area we run we average 1 marten per 4 or 5 traps and this year didn't disappoint at 1 per 4.5. Had 5 in 120's in boxes and 1 in a 155 on a pole set. They really don't seem to like the pole sets around there. Was debating on trying a new area to target some fisher since we have only ever caught one in this area but prior success outweighed the urge. For some reason they ran a little lighter than they usually do. Tried to get some pictures but I forgot one.

Great job itasca.. heck of a good run right there.

It always seems to work out however many Marten you can catch is what you catch no mater how many you set. When the limit was 5 we would set 50-60 traps and always limit out with the exact number of critters. Weird .

Rick, no Logan got his first otter last year but it was a small, young of the year animal. This was a nice dark adult animal. I will make a post of his season adventures when I get time. The live mink in the rat house was exciting!

How many marten and/or fisher are you guys allowed person season in MN? I know you all have a short season and a quota but can't remember the details.

2 combined.

Here are a few pictures of our big weekend adventure.





A mink taken in a rat house.



And Logan dragging in an otter out of a MB-1216


The big haul.......


I even managed to catch a little otter this morning.


And FINALLY the rats we have been looking for! # 97, 98, 99 and 100! We set 2 colony traps side by side in a small creek on Thursday. It has not produced a thing until today and each had 2 rats.

well done 160user.

Nice dark otter that big one is 160...
Great job you 2.

Osky

Your picture of him holding out the rat should be sent in for a magazine cover! Great Job!

Great photo's Rob,no check today will let them soak a couple of days then pull the line and see where we end up.Heading to work shortly,hate those 10 hours shifts in the fall/early winters.

good catches guys. Still waiting here for the fisher to return. Line was empty today except one more weasel.

We need to pull tomorrow so his first marten may need to wait until next year. The cat trapping will only get better as we get more cold and snow.

great pics and happy young trapper. I think your getting too old to carry that heavy orange ice chisel. Pretty soon the young trapper will be carrying both you and chisel on trap line....LOL.

That chisel is going in the box with me. I love that thing! The “original “ one I got around 1988 or so and have cut 1,000’s of holes with it for trapping and spear holes when we had the resort. I lost it once, found it and then had duplicates made. I saved one for each of my nephews even.

I have my orange beast here in house in corner. Alot of comments on it and once some one uses it they cant believe how the ice melts before its thrusts.

I noticed something kind of strange to me today, all of my bait stations that are typically covered with ravens and other scavenger birds, nothing.. Can't recall in years past where these bait sites have not been covered with birds. Maybe lots of gut piles yet from deer season? Idk. Another dry run. Things should pick up with these cooler temps we are having.

If I ever lost this chisel I would quit trapping through the ice and ice fishing. I can pop open rat house in seconds or lift the end of an 8x12 fish house. I love it!

Excellent thread! Congratulations to all....Great pictires!

Same thing here. When it was warm out there were eagles and ravens, and now nothing. Bait stations are just being left alone, nothing moving. I could see the full moon causing this for the animals on the ground but not the birds.

Heres todays catch.

This was a little guy. Not much bigger than a big barn cat. I hope I did the right thing and I let him go. Hopefully he makes it to grow up a little before I catch him again. Plus one more weasel.

Nice catch backroad. Another dry run here today.. still no birds to be found at any bait sites. Very strange. Still hoping things will pick up soon. Sounds like a bit of snow wed-thursday. Hung a few more snares again today. Just not a whole lot of movement in my neck of the woods..

Awsome

how much do the big northern minnesota bobcats weigh?

I have been lucky enough to catch one at 41lb and another big tom at 42lbs. They are the biggest cats I have been lucky enough to catch.

Get up in the 30 pound up range your doing well.

Osky

Those are very large.

Osky

Dad and I got our third marten this morning, lets hope our fourth is waiting for us in the morning. Put one cat trap out tonight too

Nice job on letting that kitten go! That’s why I love my cages and 3N’s.

So just went out to the shed to skin the marten we got this morning, fleas, the first two didnt have any but this one is full of them. How do you guys deal with them? will they die if I let the marten refreeze over night?

Overnight in a sealed plastic bag with raid sprayed into it.

GoodJob!!!

Osky yes those cats were huge. I caught them both in the same area a year apart. Right now I have a set in this same area where there is a big track again. I don't know why but these are the only cats I have caught in this area. I have caught other cats but never in this one spot, except the 2 big toms.

160user I couldnt kill that little cat. This is the first one that size I have ever caught.

GOOD of you to let the little one go backroads!
I had a little one in a 220 a few years back. D.O.A. so I put it up and shipped with the others. Little bugger graded Western and went for $500 before commission. One of my other big ones went top lot Northern and only brought $200.

43 and 45 are my heaviest

Ive had several guys bring in "40lb bobcats" most where low 30's and even high 20's (Weighed them after they left lol) but I have mounted a 39lb and 43lb for customers and have seen a few other legit 40lb cats that were caught. I myself haven't even broken the 30lb mark but if I ever catch a 40lb cat I will be mounting it, even though I already have a couple "pretty" ones mounted

Awesome pics. Nice to see states that still allow fisher and marten trapping done the right/effective way. Our lynx exclusion devices are a pain in the buttocks. You could run quite the fisher line with a back pack full of 220s, wire, beaver and lure. Now that same 220 requires a small garage to put it in:(

Morning heading out shortly to pull the marten line,it's a day early.Hope to have some bushy tail pic's later,have a great day everyone.

I'll be heading out tomorrow to waive my magic wand that turns all my fisher sets into cat sets.

nothing today. Will be pulling boxes and BG's tomorrow with fingers crossed. Hopes not quite as high as they were a few days ago.

I had a fisher go right by a set. It must not have been hungry.

I'm a little north of MN but I like to brag.





28lbs male. Caught the cat in a fisher box. Used to never see cat sign but they seem to be getting more common here. Must be coming from MN or eastern North Dakota.

You go right ahead and brag young man, you've earned it.

Great catches, very pretty cat.

Osky

That’s great, didn’t know a cat would stick his head in a box?

Congratulations Pmbna...very nice Catchs

Another marten season is a wrap,worst year ever for movement,proven spots 2 marten.Talked with other trapper friends abnd everyone up here 1 or 2 critters for the too short of a season,still fun,but we normally get our 6 running 30 sets for 4 days.Maybe next year they extend our season back to 9 days at least.Now it's time to trap and snare some bobcats and coyotes.Have a great day everyone.

Hey, Rick. I bought your book last year and have poured over it several times trying to gain as much info from it as I can. Let me tell you what I've been experiencing and maybe you can point me in the right direction.

Last year I had a few cats using certain travel corridors quite regularly. When I say regularly, I mean I might get a picture of them every few days following the same path they used before. Those spots have all gone cold on me this year. Maybe the cats are gone or the prey species is more abundant elsewhere, I don't know.

I have found more cats but they are quite a ways removed from where I had been finding them. Their timing and movements have been unpredictable with the exception of one cat. They don't move through the areas in any particular way. I have cubbies and scent post sets. Law prohibits me from using flagging within fifty feet of a set and snares aren't allowed. As infrequently as the cats move through it would be good to set up right on them but they seem to cross in different places every time, save for the one cat I mentioned above.

The conditions keep changing due to snow every two or three days and it's starting to accumulate. Over a foot on the ground right now. I'm throwing every lure known to man at them but keep drawing blanks.

Not much is moving right now except for squirrels and hares. Any advice?

Nice catch Pmbna.

I caught no fishers or maten for 6 sets. all of them set on sign.

I did catch a cat today.

Nice cat Les, was it in a coni?

Nice cat there les. I would imagine you snagged him in a snare near where you caught that beaver.. now you have a little more bait..

Yes Andy, this beaver pond had many places to hang snares in the downed timber around it, and I did just that. 2 out of 4 snares have produced the cat and a fox. I'll let things track up a bit and resume my snare hanging. I've started a bait station in that area as well.

I snared it.

Pretty cat Les.

Way to go.

Osky

good job Les! sounds like a area I am going to check out this weekend. Stay after them.

Those locations are killers on cats.. I've snared many cats in this type of a location. When your on good cat sign, it's just a matter of time. Not seeing a lot of sign in my area this year, and still no sign of scavenger birds in my area on my bait stations. Sure a strange year. Good luck.

It's just an awful lot of work hiking in and finding good areas, and a lot of gang setting.

I am amazed at how many grouse I see every day...and pass up, lol.

Saw a real nice tom track today,luck of the draw those 9 lives.Came across a cattail slough south of the main trail,crossed the road heading west,i have cr south proven spots.Heads west looking good at this point,normally heads south again,started heading south to 3 more cr,for some reason cats being cats headed back to the west.I'm sure he'll slip up and use the normal loop the next time through.Waiting for some yotes to make there rounds also,tomorrow i'll check some of the bait stations to see if any yotes and cats have found them.Gotta run heading to work,at least it's overtime.

The fisher (two) were moving last night but nowhere near where I've seen them cross this season. One was right off the edge of a agricultural field. Plug some more holes tomorrow.

My guess is that the fisher will start finding my cat sets about tomorrow.

Yes. I posted a pic a week or two back showing two fisher traveling together on snow.

So we ended up with 2 young females between 4 guys and 32 sets over 4 days. Registered today and looked at the past 7 yrs of registered marten/Fisher and you can see a huge decline in the numbers. I wonder if that's because of breeding issues or just less people out trapping since the limits and time frame is so small/short?

Now that the season on Fisher is over they decided they could move last night or this morning. Went checked a few canine sets today and there were Fisher tracks in many places. One set of tracks went through right where I had a box set for them. Sixth sense I guess. One worked a Bobcat set where I caught a cat, wow I am glad he didn't set the trap off. Maybe next year now.

Les looks like a nice cat.
Good job Pembina trapper

Heading out to set a few more cat spots today and check some bait piles I put out a week ago.I'll put out a few more bait piles as well,have a great day everyone.

Are you trying to chum cats or fisher with your bait piles, or both? Had another fisher move through last night eighty yards upwind of one of my sets. I know guys preach to set on sign but from my experience, these things have no predictable pattern. Not predictable when or where they'll move. I also had a cat move through last night about a hundred yards from a rub post set. They are kicking my rear end!

Tracks and video, Joe. I've never managed to find a toilet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMkwvxFoz8

Here's a pic of Merl's first marten from a few days ago,no cats yet made 2 cat sets today and hung 12 snare's for cats/coyote today.Picked up a pale fox today.

This is a big cat, Joe.

https://youtu.be/segCpoMrLKI

The Bear came out and CRUSHED my cat sets. Him covered in snow made for some cool pictures though.

Beautiful spots there les !

There's a natural cubby that holds mice right where he's making his lunge. I assume he was thinking mice. That cat worked that little road regularly last year and most of this summer. I had him on camera there several times. I just cut his track yesterday. He's still using the road but he is crossing about a hundred yards down the hill from where my camera is set. A rub set and maybe a cubby goes in tomorrow.

Not a cat or a fisher but picked this big fella up today.
He ruined a perfectly setup coyote snare setup, but I guess it is ok. Tipped the scale at 31lbs. Biggest I have gotten in a long time.

Nice one! I had one large boar mess up one of my snare sets a few weeks ago. They sure can make a mess of things can't they!

Logan got his first cat today! It was a nice 38 pound male that stretched 46 inches. The otter, grey fox and red fox today were bonuses. I will post pictures tomorrow.

Congrats Logan and Rob,looking forward to the pictures.Had an otter today in a cross over,snare was set for a bobcat,but the otter beat it to the snare,neck caught and dead.

congrats Logan and Rob, keep after them.

Here's a few cat sets waiting for Tabby to come by.

I posted these on another thread but what the heck.............






And the bear eating Marten boxes.

I have a question for you guys. Im trapping fisher in WI. Do you guys flag your fisher sets? Always have for cats. I usually rely on my skunky lures and good bait. But cant help think it couldnt hurt. Course we can’t use real fur or feathers here. Thanks Jeff.

I haven’t trapped fisher for close to 10 years now. But I would tear 1” wide strips from an old white cotton T-shirt for flagging. Put your skunky lure on the cloth so the wind would help blow the scent around. Along with the eye appeal.

Two more running together last night. I cut four sets of fisher tracks on my check this morning. One of them ran upwind of one my buddies sets. Missed it by about thirty yards. Had another one do about the same on one of my sets. Too many holes to fill and you can't have too many traps in the ground.

I guess I knew some people questioned whether or not fisher ran together. About ten years back I had a picture of one of my bear baits with five (5) fisher in the frame at one time. I didn't think all that much of it until I posted about fisher some time later and brought the pic up. Very few people believed me. The only proof I have of it now is the testimony of the fellow who was baiting with me. That would be an excellent place to trap if it weren't an hours drive and a two mile paddle by canoe away from my home. You can do that when you're baiting bear once a week but it's not practical with 24 hour checks. I have 24 hour checks.

I put out a rub set today in the area the cat was last known to wander through. We'll see. As to the fisher, I've barely got the energy to run the line as it is, much less backtrack fisher. They are crossing randomly almost every day now. Sooner or later they'll get downwind of one of my sets.

Last fall, I saw 3 fisher running down a stone wall towards a beaver pond.

I've only seen fisher running twice. Not a common sight.

I keep thinking trPping here it suddenly dawned on me reading above that I have many pictures from bear baits with two Fully grown fisher in the frame. At least August-October they run together up here.

Osky

a short recap.
I spent a lot of time and energy trying to get a marten or fisher with no results other than a lot of burnt gas and boot leather.
Very little sign in my usual haunts. And searching for new sign has been unproductive.
Not complaining to much, but it certainly makes me scratch my head wondering why I make the effort for such a short season when all the marten and fisher have eaten their fill of deer gut piles .

Its still slow as far as critter movement around here, making me cover more area searching for sign.
Frustrating season for sure, but I did catch a couple nice large male mink and a 36 lb female cat, so maybe things will pick up before cat season ends.

One last thing - has anyone noticed the lack of grey jays in their area or is it just around here?

I think if we are going to have just a 5 day fisher season the season should get pushed out a week or 2. Right now there is fisher sign every where.

36 lb female cat? You sure it wasn’t a tom that would be huge!

Agreed.

Osky

A lot of cat tracks around, This dusting of snow every other day is helping me see better.

I think if we are going to have just a 5 day fisher season the season should get pushed out a week or 2. Right now there is fisher sign every where.

Yep,..you nailed it,...holed up on a gut pile,or relaxing in a hollow. Tell me how they formulate their hypothesis?

Because your state government really doesn't want you to catch any fisher or marten. They give you that little short season just as a political (little p) teaser. What happens when you guys politically push back on that length, do they threaten to yank the whole thing or do they just ignore you...?

yes its a female. she had globs of fat lining her abdomen. the biggest I've caught is a 47 lb male 2 years ago.
I have a scale in the skinning shed and both cats were weighed.
biggest beaver 65 lbs.

Fisher's are mover's. I don't think a deer gutt pile is gonna keep em camped out.

I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit later of a start on the season to have a better chance at having some snow to help with finding tracks. Are there any groups in MN currently pushing any reform on the marten/fisher season?

It would be nice to have a Dec season so most of the marten's would grade as heavy,plus the forest's would have less traffic after muzzle loader has ended.Dec 10th would be a good date to start the season,a ten day marten/fisher season and bobcats Dec 10th to Jan 31st.Here's a rub set I put in yesterday and a picture from earlier this summer.

yes I have lots of fisher pic. with two or more at a time

I think they view trapping as more of a sport nowadays as opposed to any type of supplemental income. Whittle away, whittle away.

"It would be nice to have a Dec season so most of the marten's would grade as heavy,plus the forest's would have less traffic after muzzle loader has ended.Dec 10th would be a good date to start the season,a ten day marten/fisher season and bobcats Dec 10th to Jan 31st."

Rick, I would suggest pushing it back even a little more. I would open it closed to the 15th or 20th so the kids off school for Christmas break could take advantage of it.

That would be a great season,so the kids can be part of it too.The later season would produce better fur on all three animals,cats prime late also,plus they would be hungry more often by that time.I know 30 years ago it was a later season,it's time to change it back,and close ruff grouse season mid Dec so there would be less conflick with hunting dogs.I like to shoot a few ruff's each year,but we sure don't need a 4.5 month season on them,sharptail grouse season end Nov 30 each year.Sorry if I made some upland bird hunters mad,but 4.5 months is too long.

I have lobbied for YEARS to move the fisher/marten/bobcat season from Christmas thru January. There are numerous good reasons for this but the BIGGEST reason is we would eliminate most if not all dog issues as their pheasant/grouse/duck seasons would be over and the coon hunters would more than likely be done for the year. I would have no issues with the bobcat hound hunters having a season before ours but if at all possible not during our season. To me it is a wi-win for all sportsmen and women.

Great minds think alike! Eliminate the dog issue, better fur, kids get to participate.............what am I missing? It seems like a no brainer.

MN DNR Does not agree of course. It would be too simple and would have to studied for years to get that season. By that time most of us will be dead & gone. Same goes Non-Resident trapping changes. If it don't fit their agenda, it doesn't get looked at.

We have NR trapping up here already. A few years ago we had some folks from "Dang Near Iowa" trapping up here so it must be legalized. I have to admit, the guy was a HECK of a good cook though. Not much of a trapper but geez that guy could cook.

I overlooked politics on the change of dates. How could I have missed that?

From my years in the trapping political ring I can attest to the fact that any reasonable law changes that we trappers would like to see would have to go thru the Legislature as the DNR has a difficult time in some cases agreeing with our wants and needs. I don't want to get this thread into a DNR bashing contest as that would serve no purpose and only anger them all the more. The DNR is here to stay and in many cases much needed but unfortunately when it comes to trapping issues they aren't open to our wishes in a lot of cases. I think we need to have our support lobbied in the Legislative arena. Could be tough as the Democrats are in charge. Let's not give up.

Very interesting, what are you using for bait it that photo? Our northern Maine fishers might be different. For the past 10 years I have been looking at cameras on bear baits. A conservative guess is at least 20,000 camera nights. I have never seen more than a single marten or a single fisher at a bait, but have had hunters report as many as 5 marten on a bait. I have trapped two fishers & three or four marten off a bait many times.

Another fisher missed my bait. Cut two sets of fresh fisher and two sets of fresh cat tracks made since yesterday. This beaver flowage has gotten a lot of attention from the cats over the past ten days or so. Four sets of fresh tracks in that time but they will not commit to my sets.

https://youtu.be/fUXo1O-1gVw

https://youtu.be/PlL9xyKWILU

I moved the barrel & I did catch a marten, a fisher & a weasel here in Dec. That is a large marten, BTW.

We had a good day on the trapline,had a guest ride along Friar Tuck Jim,the gentleman that helped the two young men and there father for the week of marten/fisher season along with bobcat.Had a very good visit and a good catch besides.Here's a few pic's.

The big tom was 41lbs and the female was 21 lbs one in a snare one in a 3n fox was also in a snare,missed a coyote today.Tomorrow's another day,Merl is going with tomorrow,hung 1 snare today and put in another Rub set for cats and pulled out of the one location where the cat and fox came from had 4 snare's and 2 MJ 600's,will set that area again next year.

congrats Rick.! The tom looks like a nice color.

Yes the tom is pretty nice the female not so much,we almost released her,but her foot was frozen it was 11 below this am.Had the catch pole over one leg and neck and pinned her down to look her foot over real close,caught in a 3n,if it hadn't been so cold she'd running around yet.We both agreed to dispatch her even though I really wanted to release her.There's a big tom in that area her smells should attract him then i'll pull out of that location for another year.I hate to take more than 2 cats out of any location.

You did have a good day Rick.

No cats today or new cat tracks,hung a few more coyote snares and set one foot hold on a drag for coyote.Had a nice big good colored coyote today,here's a couple pic's of him.

Great yote! I hung a few wires for them today but I am not very good at catching butt sniffers.

Good job on those cats Rick a beauty Tom!! We set for fisher and marten in UP today and found a huge tom up there as well. Lots of marten sign so we will see what happens Sunday. All sets in proven spots. Cat season starts her Monday i can’t wait!

Your right about that!

Nice yote Rick.

Here is a catch from today.


32lb male, a couple of poorly snared fox, too big of a loop, and the ol' mink in a box trick.

Nice ! Who said mink boxes don’t work ......

The Beav said it....2011 sometime in December, at about 2:17 pm, if I remember correctly.

Nice catch Les! Send a few inches of that snow year. Hard to corner anything at the moment now. Sounds like snow melting weather coming also.

In my defense my instructor was drunk most of the time so he gave poor instructions.

. He’s mostly right !

In my defense my instructor was drunk most of the time so he gave poor instructions. [/quote]


Sounds to me like the student was too sober to understand the instructor.

A big zip here today. Pretty depressing.

I seen Pictures today of two guys having a 5 cat day with the last 11 snares that were hung.

This is the heaviliest furred coyote I've caught yet, old female near as I can figure. Right after deer season, I bagged a trap and covered it with snow at a flat set. There is another trap set 10' away that had tracks everywhere but on the pan.

So...if you leave a set alone, eventually something will visit it.

No cats today, not even a fresh track.

That's a dandy,Les.Looks nice and pale to boot.

Some of you will remember the young man that tagged along with me this fall, and he tagged along today too. Just a nice otter today, at a foothold at the spillway of a beaver dam. Wyatt is his name.

Nice catches, Les and Wyatt! Tomorrow I start.

nice work young man

In my defense my instructor was drunk most of the time so he gave poor instructions. [/quote]
Are you sure it's not just his southern Minn drawl he has

Does he run a heater is that fluid replacement cooler of his?

Pretty puppy Les. Great of you to work with the young fella. Seems like whole lotta mentoring going on around here.

Osky

Nice work Les!

I am trying to dispel any myths or rumors about my generosity, but...the kid keeps hanging around asking questions, lol.


I am basically an extremely selfish guy.

Had another good run today,32lb tom.

Rob, your bear must have wandered north,he crossed the road twice guessing he's really looking for a place to take a 4 month nap.

Here's a couple pictures from yesterday,checking the line earlier today so we can do a little ice fishing this later afternoon.

I believe I found where my diaper eater is going to call home this winter. He was still out on Saturday but has a trail packed headed to an old beaver house in a dried up pond. I think I will go check on him in February.

Rob at our latitude any bear out this late.......is 95% positive for rabies. It interfers with their sleep pattern.

Is that fatal to bears ?

I followed some bear tracks five days ago in southern Chisago county. It crossed the Sunrise river and I was unable too. Small bear.

Great pictures Todd. It looks like you guys have whacked a handful of cats!

I have struggled this year but didn't really take the time to run a serious line with cages, snares and footholds this year either. I got the kid his first and that was the only one I really cared about. I have a couple easy spots set up that I can check before or after work but that is about all.

Rabies is fatal to bears, at one time or other they have eaten a carcuss that was loaded with the virus.
A few years back a person I knew was confronted with a small bear (lab size) eating dog food on her porch, she tried to shoe it away but got mauled, It was a long medical process for her to go through.

That is why EVERYONE needs a shotgun handy on the porch.

Biggest cat I've caught at 40lbs even. And I caught it today in the general area where a lady lost 17 chickens and the neighbor is missing a bunch of cats, and I caught a coyote around there too. Who's to blame ?

boy that cat looks like a porker, he's been eating good.

Atta boy Les.

Osky

Usually loaded with rubber buck shot...........I know a guy..

You are to blame for the dead cat Les.Nice one.
Did he get a leg thru the loop,cats usually go down quick.

He got both legs through the loop, and It's been awhile since I did that.

N ow rid the neighborhood of that pesky yote and they'll love you even more!!

I would definitely say the bobcat was the culprit on the house cats. I wouldn't be so positive except that several years ago a neighbor called me after returning home from a couple week winter vacation and said he had seven of his farm cats missing and would I investigate what happened. Before I got there he witnessed the large bobcat chasing one of the couple remaining cats. I set several snares on the packed "cat trails" behind the shed and got a very large tom the next day.

I knew a bobcat was killing cats around there a year ago, different cat though.

I got the coyote a week ago.

I wish more folks would try to live in the sticks and raise livestock, lol.

Not a cat but finally broke my coyote slump tonight with this big male.


Hung the cable Sunday in this spot with high hopes and it payed off.

Way to go Backroads .

Not a cat here either.

But I did get some action.

Les you need to send some of that snow down here. Hard to find any fresh sign in this crust we have. Congrats on your catches!

Well, my bear is still awake. He charged to within 6 feet and I felt under gunned with my 22 revolver. We did pick up 2 fox today, one red and 1 grey. Time to clean my shorts, have 37 fingers of whiskey and start skinning. Strange year!

We did get a couple more inches of snow last night, just the right amount for seeing new tracks.

Send some of that snow down here Les! What little we get doesn't seem to last more than a day so can't do much for tracking.

I wasn’t laughing. It scared the crap out of me. Today I will be taking the slug gun with me!

Rob I don't blame you for bringing your slug gun today,with this weather we are having he'll be out for a least another week.I hope to have some fur today the last two checks in the fresh snows have been two snowshoe hares,i need some yotes and another bobcat or two to come back through on their loop.I do have two otter traps out also,i should put out a couple of rat traps out for weasel,i do have 2 mink sets out also.Good luck to everyone that still have a few sets out.

No cats today,but the coyotes were on the move plus I missed one also,tomorrow might be the cat day and another yote or two.

nice looking yotes Rick! Keep getting them. Found a couple of new tracks today. Cables are now waiting.

Awesome catches guys! This post motivated me enough to make a couple of otter sets across the lake close enough to access by bicycle. This morning I caught a pair about 3 feet apart. There was no fresh sign there on Monday when I made the sets but this spot is a producer and I knew it was just a matter of time when they would be back. I did not expect it to be so soon.




My camera finally died when I went to take an on site photo so after getting a new camera and getting it figured out I had to photograph them at home in the dark before skinning.

1 grey fox for us today. I spent the day with the slug gun seeing where Boo Boo was today. Lots of tracks but I didn’t see him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t see me.

That's good that you didn't run across the bear today,one day I hope I can catch a grey fox,every once in awhile i'll run across a track of one.I want one for tanning to add to my collection of furs.

We run about 50% greys here. Greasy little pigs!

It has been years since I have caught a grey fox. The year I did I caught 2 in the same set a day apart. Good job on the otters MnMan. I am in a area that I usually see otter sign but no sign this year.

I have probably seen a grey fox track and didn't notice a difference. I'd have to google it.

They are the size of a quarter,maybe just a touch bigger,i've seen 6 tracks up here and a bunch in AZ.Dallas,Larae,Jerry,Lyle,Troy,Jim have all caught one,Troy's caught two.

Great looking Yotes Rick!

Awesome otter MnMan! I'm waiting for some to circle around again!

I sure did. I crammed them both into the backpack you see and rode them home. I also have an Ottersled that I pull behind it that I hauled all of the traps and stands into that area. Only about an inch of snow on the ice makes for perfect riding conditions.

Wow youre a tough old goat!

This is that rig:



I figured there was a reason for them being called Otter sleds.

Now that is a profitable trapline doug

I like that rig. It makes me want to go strip cutting and horse logging, very little overhead.


95% of the folks on here, maybe 98% don't have a clue what strip cutting was. No offense intended.

Good check today, got this coyote in a snare. Getting harder with the snow melting.

Good job on the 'yote! I have not seen much coyote movement since the warm up here. Hopefully see some improvement in the morning but not too optimistic. Can only see tracks on the ice right now.

Nothing today but this huge buck mink. I am showing Wyatt to set for them in the holes in old beaver dams and such.

Archer.....nice color on that dog.


Good work there Les! Hasn't the young fellow got a name?

Osky

Wyatt is his name. He is going to make a fine young trapper. I got him running off to check a trap while I set back and drink coffee. I fixed that other post.

You know I'm giving you the raspberries Les. Great what your doing. Don't let the young apprentice wander off on his own too soon, sooooo much to learn and your guidance grows more important.

Osky

Yep, he wanted to hang out all night, but his ma said to send him to the church, to go Caroling with the rest of them, lol. Then they came and Caroled at my house and left a plate of cookies, lol.

Nice yote there,he looks like a western coyote great color,Mn high line yote.Hope to post some pic's later today,missed a cat yesterday and waiting for a couple to make their rounds.

I had a female and a kitten moving around the home place yesterday. They luckily missed the sets and hopefully they missed them again last night. We picked up a couple more fox over the weekend but pulled most of our sets.

Thought i'd have a cat today,maybe tomorrow,caught 1 coyote and a fox today.

Nice! At least you've got some snow. High temps here makes it feel like spring!

Picked up this coyote today, he finally worked a dirt hole set. Big male.

I am jealous of the coyotes. Just fox and wolves here. Very few yotes.

Rob,we have some coyotes,but we have WAY TO MANY of those other ones also.This year they seem to be everywhere,talked with another trapper today,he said the same thing,sure hope they can get them delisted soon.

Lucky enough our population on the big dogs seem to be down. We had one lone one come through right after deer season and haven't seen any sign of him lately which is fine. Rick you catching a few fox along with the yotes. We don't have many fox in this area. Congrats on the catches maybe I will be lucky again tomorrow, fingers are crossed.

A few fox,i have 8 would rather not catch them since their price is way down,i miss some running 3.5 to 4lbs pan tension.Close to town there are a few pockets of them i'm about 2.5 miles out from Warroad that's where most have come from along with 6 coyote.

haven't caught a fox in 2 years here, which is fine. Like you said the price is down. Lost a coyote today in a snare. The first cable break I have had in years. He had it tangled up pretty tight and either chewed it off or it just twisted it off.

Three down and one more to go on these guys. Not much coyote action for me yet. Still a waiting game for me.

Nice work! We took 3 and quit. I may set some beaver sets under the ice this weekend and see if we can get one out of some "fresh" ground. I hate to hit that family any harder this year.

On Friday I lost a trap, after an encounter with an otter in a mink box. I found it today downstream about 20 feet. Smoked it right behind the ears. I too, have 3 down, and one to go.

I encourage folks up here to try and catch their limit of them, as we have a tremendous otter factory up here on LOW.

That trap is an old square jawed 110 that I added a spring to.

How many traps/snares you guys running right now? I have a couple areas set up for cats and haven’t had anything moving all week. Nothing in my mink traps for a week either, no fresh tracks, it’s like everything jumped town! Too warm and we’re losing all our snow!

That's pretty cool that you found your trap with the otter in it, Les. Crazy to get one in a 110 even with the extra spring. Fun when weird events happen on the line that yield fur. Hope you get that last one.

I am in 3 good otter places, and they keep appearing. But an otter can go anywhere, and doesn't always take the same trail twice, and I see that they can punch through the ice on the edge somewhere that you wouldn't have expected.

I have quite a line out, multispecies, and couldn't hardly give a count off the top of my head. I might pull quite a bit, and , or move it around. I am on about 5 cat places waiting for a return. 3 otter spots, and a half dozen coyote bait stations, some of them created in just the last couple days. There seems to be a lot of wolves around and that effects coyote movement for sure, and they eat up a roadkilled deer quickly.

Here's a photo op from today,plus I took a bunch of furs off the boards tonight.I have 5 more coyote's to board plus 8 fox in the freezer a couple of coons,muskrats and mink to do yet also.

Nice furs Rick. I better try to get a "barn wall shot" of Logan's take over the weekend.

Rob I look forward to that,maybe a cover shot for the MTA magazine...….

Really Nice Fur Rick!

Good Idea 160!

I have told the little toad to send them in.

That's one thing I haven't found much for otter sign here this season. Usually good for a couple but just have one this season.

I have learned the hard way also with 160's to over secure them. Otter get in them all the time(and some big ones). Never had to worry about it years ago.

Still no sign of the cats that i'm waiting for,two bigger tom's in 2 different locations.Saw one track today in the fresh freezing rain dusting of snow,ended up being a 25lb coon,it's prime,but it's one of those 3 colored coon,it might bring $15 we'll see.Looking forward to the next 3 or 4 checks,going to get a little snow Saturday so i'm thinking a cat will be showing up,plus a couple more coyotes.

Nice job on the cats bridger. You must be running a pretty decent size line? Keep up the good work. I've managed a couple cats earlier, and a few coon as of late, otherwise my small line has been a bit slow the last week in a half.

Another one bites the dust.

Nice job les. Did you get all that rain up there? Had to fix up most of my footholds today after last nights rain.

We had a misty rain last night and it turned into that dusting of snow you see on my coyote. Some of the rain was more evident on the snares I was checking to make sure they would still work. I carried a plumbers torch with me to quick dry things up after clearing the cable itself. That's a nice way to go.

I fixed up a few footholds, all of them are bagged and now covered with a bare minimum of undisturbed snow. I expect some snow in the next day or so.

Looks like your lucky enough to have enough snow to set snares. Been so nice that what little we had is gone making it difficult to set snares. Looks like a brown Xmas this year...

Some cooler weather would make the snaring a lot easier. I managed to snare a coyote out on the ice last night. Had 2 but one chewed out on me.

Nice work on the yotes Todd!

I have caught nearly every coyote with 5/64, 1 x 19 cable, and a cam loc with a dispatch spring. I have had one chew out with the 1/16, 1x19 cable.

Ya cam locks and dispatch springs would definitely help or some entanglement.

My bear is still out cruising. Something must be wrong with him.

I had another fun check this morning of the few traps and snares I have out close to home. This is my fourth and final otter for this season.

Nice work!

Nice is right! I had a frustrating day today. Caught my 3rd otter today but as I approached it, it slipped out of the trap and dove into the river before I could do anything. It was a toilet set but too much ice to use a drowning rod or cable. Really tore up the place and not sure if I should remake it or not. Oh-well, that's trapping for you?

Good job everybody on your recent catches! 20scout its hard to watch something slip out of a trap when your walking up to it isn't it. Had a cat do that a couple of years ago. Just sat there in disbelief. The end of the week here has uneventful. We really need some snow. Cannot pick up any new sign in the crust we have. Going to go check out a new farm this weekend, they have a couple of bone piles out. We will see if anything is going on there.

Way to go MnMan !

I limited out on otter today too.

That's a long stake at the top of the spillway of a beaver dam, holding a CDR 7.5, my choice in footholds for otter.

Good job, Les and all who have posted! Always fun to see the pictures of the catches.

A trail set connected today,still no sign of the two bobcats I've been waiting for,waiting for 1 otter to return also.

Very had to watch especially with Things being as slow as they have been. Even the crust is gone. Looks like a brown Christmas this year! Keep up the good work everybody!

Getting a little snow today,guessing Monday will be a fur day,those two cats better make their loop pretty quick other wise they'll have to make it through another winter.

yep got some snow last night, Hopefully new tracks start showing up tomorrow. Did a quick spin on the trails today nothing moving here yet. Nice looking yote Rick!

2" fresh snow this morning,might be a fur day today,tonight they should really be on the move.Running out of time on those two cats returning,not the end of the world if I don't get them,they'll make more cats for the future.Have a great day,i need to go pick up some fur.picture's to come in the next two checks.

No tracks today,no pic's,did hang one more snare today.The next couple of days should be good below zero at night 10 to 12 during the day.I'll pull 90% of the line by next sunday,might leave 2 locations with coyote snare's,we'll see how this week pans out.

We got maybe an inch today. I rebaited and lured in the snow so hopefully we can connect again. Time is running out!

Even in the new snow never found any fresh sign. Might check out a new farm today. I know they have a couple of deer bone piles out from this last deer season. Merry Christmas everybody, stay warm the colder weather sounds like it is coming.

Saw one cat track about a 100 yards from a couple of sets,saw 1 coyote and 1 fox track in the gravel pit today,neither of them walked down any of the right trails,maybe tonight.

That's how my luck has been. Do you suppose a cat would work a rub set more than once if it missed getting clipped the first time?

Yes I think they would use it again,try a different lure like Silver Vine,Waterline Call lure,Peco's etc.good luck.

Will do. Thanks.

Just tracks today in two locations,we'll see what tomorrow will bring.

Encouraging to see cat tracks on it. I've had a road-killed doe out all season and the only thing hitting it has been ermine, chickadees and Canadian Jays.

I see a good spot for a #3 victor softcatch.

We need to be 20' off exposed baits.

I need to be fifty. I don't have any traps set on it, just trying to inventory some wildlife.

I am snaring down here around Duluth. One gray so far in 2 weeks of checks. Got about 23 snares out now. Very slow but I am basically a beginner snareman. The question for you seasoned fellas: How low do you set your snare for fox and what size loop do you use? I have seen alot of 6-8" recomended for height and loop size. I have seen several fox go under or around my snares. I try to camo them and blend them in but many times its just not possible. Thanks for any insight.

Red fox 7x7 works well,grey fox 5"loop 6"height,hope this helps you out.

We were trapping for the DNR yesterday. 1 fisher in a fox snare that was DOA. Pretty quiet. Hopefully this big storm coming will make things move.

6 in high and 6 in loop.
Most guys set their snares too high.

pulled everything yesterday because of the storm coming. Saw a few fresh coyote tracks come through. Already have the spot picked out for a cable when the storm is over. Pulling the snares will start me going all over again but they will be in new areas and on fresh sign again. Bundle up guys!

I did the same here as well. Looks like it could be a real doozy of a storm. Did maneage to pick up another coyote, and an otter also. Everyone stay safe out there, roads could get pretty nasty sounds like tomorrow.

Right after a storm is when your predator sets will be full.
But you have to make sets above the snow,not under it.

we get 12" of snow like they say the only thing sticking out would have been the top of the loop and would have had to revisit everything. I wish it would only be a couple of inches. I like a fresh dusting after I hang cables.

Me too pulled all of the footholds today,left 1 blind set foothold in the woods,pulled a few snares thinking I wouldn't be able to get back to them with the snow and wind coming.Had a yote walk up to a snare and turn around,he'll end up in another one pretty soon i'm guessing,i have 20 snares in about 5 acres in that gravel pit.Neither cat came back last night,maybe they'll move during the early part of the storm.

I hope we do get a big dump of snow, and I understand why taking precautions is wise. I dont have much faith in accumulation predictions , especially as far out as they started.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas with their families. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. The pair of coyotes was my Christmas presents. Pulled the line yesterday because of the snow storm and hope ill get to reset this weekend again. Ended up with about 8" of snow lastnight!

4.5" of snow so far,then the big cool down and 40 mph winds are coming.Going out in awhile to check the shorter line before the winds,be safe and have a great day everyone.

5 inches here so far and another 8-10 forecast. I am going to run mine before the big blow starts.

Finally connected on a small female. Twenty pounds I'm guessing. I thought I had a fisher at first glance but it turned out to be a cat. Beaver baited cubby guarded with a couple MB 550s. I checked the set yesterday and could see something was hitting the bait. Seemed like a clever animal as it was pulling the bait behind the tree to feed on it. My thinking was fisher. Crusted snow so the only thing showing for tracks anywhere is moose. I wired the bait hard to the tree and blocked it down with more brush.

Not a particularly pretty cat but it broke the ice. I remade the set. Thanks for all of the help you folks have offered up. Now on to that big male I know is running around.

Hey ANY cat is a good one. Congratulations!

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Congrats she's a little fur ball,it's winter here 5" of fresh snow and 30 to 35 mph winds now,with below zero temps right around the corner.

Thanks, Rick. We had a daytime high of around ten degrees with a pretty nasty wind chill. Been cold.

We have 9 inches so far and another 6+ hours of snow yet. Winter found us!

Nice!

Great work Bridger congratulations !

Osky

Good job Bridger! Just got done moving about 10" of snow and it is still snowing and the wind is starting now. Hopefully don't need to move that much tomorrow. Keep warm everybody!

Congrats Bridger it's always nice getting your cats.I've been waiting for two cats to make there loop,i'm only waiting till sunday,if they come great if not they'll be around next winter.Just finished putting up some muskrats and mink for our tanned fur program plus they'll get bobcat also.Congrats again.

Enjoy. I'm out here past Huron SD helping on a special pheasant hunt for veterans. Hunted in this blowing blizzard most of the day. These folks are tough, I'm beat, and you have a heck of a blow coming. Still howling here as I type.

Osky

We got around 15 inches here and winds 30-40. I doubt the critters moved but with the -20 temps coming they will. Time to dig things out and get them operational again.

Did you get up and running again?

Remade 4 cat sets today and relured,saw two yote tracks today.I taught one to sit and stay.

I got the snares dug out but not all the cat sets. I spent 4 hours in the plow truck!

Rick I would say you have extra smart coyotes up your way if you can get them to do that. Good job. Good luck on the last week of cat season. I am going to wait about a week now to see if the bone piles start getting hit. If they do, game on!

Nice job Rick. Another one bites the dust.

Pretty much what I had to do to my pigheaded English Pointer to get him to sit still. I miss that dog.

28 below zero here this morning. That should make the critters hungry.

The cats moved like crazy last night. It snowed overnight so all of the tracks were made during the early morning hours. One cat missed a set by a couple hundred yards, another missed another set by a bit more than that and the other cat was nowhere near a trap. The cubby I caught the little female in was destroyed last night but it happened before or during the storm. Couldn't pick up on any tracks. Pinched something in a Bridger 1.75 in a walkthrough set but I have no clue what it was. Blood in the snow when I flipped the trap but made before or during the storm so I couldn't tell what did it. No fur, no feathers that I could see. No fisher tracks today. I've got three more nights to connect before the season closes. I'm more optimistic than I've been all season.

No fur today,saw 1 fox track and set up a roadkill deer 1 snare and 2 trail sets with footholds.

I'm sure this is a dumb question but do you leave the roadkill in the ditch , or are you moving the deer ? If your moving the deer does that require any permission?

Contact your CO's or police they'll give you a permit to move them.The one today a coyote or two were eating on it in the ditch,so I made a circle behind it back in the woods and set up on the trail,there were two trails that merged into one.We'll see if they keep coming to it,will find out tomorrow or the next couple of days,we are going to get a dusting of snow in the next day or two,that always helps.

Do you wire the kill to a tree so they can’t drag it off?

I never have. Typically they are pretty well frozen to the ground.

Morning,we'll see what todays line will bring,sure hope one of the cats will return.Pulling one cat location today,i'll leave the other two spots for a couple more days.I would like to get 3 to 5 more coyotes by the 10th,pulling the plug,it's been a pretty good year.

Depending on the size of the bait, definitely. Even wired, I've had pulled away and dragged off.

I had a twofer last night. Caught two of my neighbors dog at a cat set. I am getting some sick tired of having my traps fouled by dogs running at large. He has two dogs and I've caught them both, twice. You think they'd learn.

No cat,but i
picked up another coyote today.

Nice coyote Rick! Maybe one day I will figure those things out.

Rick by spring you should really like to skin them critters. Keep getting them!

Always enjoyed skinning warm coyotes,ever since my neck and elbow surgery I have a good friend skin my coyotes,beaver and otters which I don't trap many of.I skin the easier fur like fox,cats,mink,marten and muskrats.4 years ago I skinned a few coyotes and it bothered my elbow way too much.I never enjoyed skinning coyotes that had been frozen.

That might make some sense why mine hurts in the fall trapping worse then summer fishing!

Dead C it is probably the summer therapy of those 10 ounce weights that are occasionally lifted in the summer time.

That must be 10 ounce Canadian. Here we curl 12 and occasionally 16 ouncers. We refer to those as “pounders”. We are going to introduce those to northern Ontario in mid June.

-8 here the truck is plugged in,heading out to see if any cat returned and if there's any yotes hanging in the brush.The next couple of days are going to be good ice making weather,by wed there should be 16" of ice on the lake for the thinnest ice depth.I might fish later in the week,have a great day.

We didn’t run our under ice beaver snares today but it appears not many predators moved here last night.

Another good day way up north,not the cat I was waiting for,but it's a cat.Caught in a exposed walk thru I put a piece of moss on the pan,picked up another coyote today.

Rick that is maybe my problem with my elbows. Been fleshing beaver and putting up a few coyotes. They have never hurt like they do now. I tried to talk my wife into learning to skin coyotes but I think she witnessed the frustration I have shown with skinning them. She didn't think that was a good idea.

Looks like a good day. You must have a good population of coyotes up there this year. Way to go!

Nice cat Rick and coyote! Keep up the good work

Nice cat

Not really,2 years ago was pretty good,this year is a little better than usual.The BIG DOGS population is toooo good up here.

Rick old boy nice job Happy new years

Happy New Yearit was cold this am -27it's warmed up to -7 now.I'll head out shortly to see if anything moved last night,i think tonight will be a better movement night,have a great day everyone.

Good luck to you. Our regular season ended last night at midnight. Beaver trapping from here on until the end of April

Want to pick your brain later on so I'm better prepared for next season. Only ten months away.

That is a Real Nice Color on that Yote!

No fur today for the new year.

Hey, I FINALLY beat you! We got one little beaver under the ice in a snare today. We never saw a predator track but DANG was it cold!

I didn't know this was a contest,i better get some snare's sets under the ice to keep in the race lol.Good luck fishing later this week Rob.

No tracks no fur today 2019 has been rough lol.

Rick you caught them all, that's why there isn't any tracks.

There's some truth to that,i should go set up one area sw of Warroad,but with this snow and wind I don't think I could get back where I would want to put in a bait pile.We'll see if I can pick up 1 or 2 more in the next 5 checks,if not it's been a good season.

I was pleased to see another cat moved through very close to where I took that fur ball female. We seem to have a lot of cats this year. I wish our season lasted longer but it's over for me as of midnight, New Year's Eve.

Saw a coyote track today it was real close to some snare's,if it keeps hanging around it will get a ride in the back of the truck.A few more checks to go,we'll see what happens,i'd sure like to pick up one more cat before sundays close and a couple more coyotes.

Saw 2 coyote tracks today neither one went down the right trail,maybe tomorrow.

Did a little scouting this afternoon,checked out a spot I took a big tom the first week of Dec.There were two cats there that was good to see,the one was a very large tom the other one was smaller,a female would be my guess.When I got home my coyote from last year had came back from the tannery,Mom's coyote the one I caught the day my Mom passed,i'll never forget that day and that coyote.

Zip here today and we pulled everything except a couple of beaver sets. It’s over for us.

Are you fishing sun,mon Rob.

Really Nice Yote Rick!

Rick as always darn nice catch picture's ! My favorites are the critters caught in snares imagine that ha ha
We had 50+ for our high today and wind gusts that hit 64 mph or so the national weather service said hopefully it'll miss you.
I've got my short snare line to check if I can get close go in and out on the frost if everything goes well !
Stay Safe out there and enjoy your weekend !
Allan

We fished Wednesday and came back Thursday. We caught 33 for 7 of us plus some pout and whitefish. We had fun but all of us had a headache Thursday morning.

No new tracks today,they're talking some snow tomorrow night and Monday,i'll leave the snare's out till Thursday or Friday and call it a season.I did take in our HS hockey game in today,first game I've made it to this year,they won.

got out and checked one of my bait piles and they were on it so I hung a couple of snares. Fingers crossed.

Another bobcat season is done,raised snare's today they're talking 4 to 7" of snow.No coyote tracks today,saw wolf tracks,they knocked a couple of snares to the side of the trails.Here;s the cats from this year.

Good job Rick.

Great looking cats Rick! 2 of those are almost blue on the back. Our 2 under ice beaver snares produced a 52 pounder today caught by the nose. I pulled them at least for a few days. I hoped to get 20 cords of wood out in the next couple of weeks but the snow may just be too deep. If it is then I will get back to snaring beaver. I goofed off WAY too long chasing kitties.

Yep the second one from the left is a real pretty cat,it has a 2/3 belly the back and sides are nice for our cats.

nice looking fur Rick!

Well we only got 2" of snow plus freezing rain again,hope the sun comes out and melts the ice off the snare's.

Only a wolf track today,i'm running out of coyotes,hope I can pick up 1 or 2 more by Friday.

And in 3 weeks they will all be in LOVE and running everywhere,dang yotes,

In 3 weeks you start to see some getting bad. But you are right they will be everywhere. I usually go into Feb. the fur runs about 50% good and bad. But some areas here still have quite a few of them. So why not try and get a few more.

Nothing today except 30mph winds,below zero tonight and much calmer tomorrow,hope some coyote's come back through In the next few days.

Nothing moved in that wind last night in the 3 spots I have snares out.Sunny 7 above and not much wind this afternoon,laid out the fur and did the yard shot and basement shot,not shown mink,mrats,otter and beaver,donating them to the MTA Tanned fur project.Hope to see a coyote or two in the next couple of checks,fur pick up is Friday.

Love the snow shot!! Great looking bunch of fur-hope you do well-I have enjoyed following this thread!

Here are some of the better colored coyotes,could be $500 laying there.

Great looking fur.

Thank's,Boco.

5 below and not much wind tonight,i think there will be a coyote or two looking to fill their belly tonight.I'm guessing one or two might run into some cable or the 2 traps I have out.

Nice looking Coyotes and the rest of your fur too!

Thank's how are your coyote's holding up?There holding up well so far up here.

Dropping fur off tonight for tomorrows pick up,saw a few coyote tracks and a fox track today,the fox ended up in a coyote snare,good color and no rub.

Dang I need to get some beaver sets out so I have something to check!

I might snare a few beaver under the ice later,basement is mostly empty now,dropped off the fur's for the NAFA pick up last night.Going to keep a few coyote snares out a little longer,seeing that fox yesterday with no rub changed my mine for another week.Heading out now to see if I have any yotes just hanging around for me.

No tracks today,put in one more hay set today.

Lots of eye appeal with that set!

I've had three baits out for coyotes since the middle of December and not one single hit. Lots of tracks in the area, but with this lack of snow and the apparent abundance of mice the coyotes just aren't interested. If I don't have at least a foot of snow on the ground, I seldom have coyotes interested in large baits.

Goldy are you setting bait piles there near home?

Osky

No new tracks the last couple of days other than wolves at the one place,those hay sets do have eye appeal but they need to come back through to see if they'll work.Running out of time here shortly and good fur.

Rick do you use drags with your hay sets or stake your traps down?

I have 4 bait piles out this year only 1 of them have been hit. Much different year from last year.

10' of chain pre hooked a little Sabor Tooth Jr's drags,have both Reg and Jr's GREAT DRAGS mainly have them for cat trapping rigged on 3n's and Sterlings.Hope they come back through,never used hay sets before,i like the idea of them.

Yes. I'm not traveling at all this year, just not worth it with the lack of snow and disinterested coyotes. We only have about 1" of snow right now.

I must have run out of coyote over west,did pick up a fox today,still no rub,i'll donate it to the MTA TANNED FUR PROJECT along with a bobcat,muskrats,mink and weasels.

dropped off fur for FHA today. Now need the coyotes to cooperate so I can pick up a couple of more. The room is empty now with no fur hanging .

Yep I know the feeling when you send all the fur out.The last fox I caught just started to show a tiny bit of rub on the left hip.

Sons 5 cats and my 5 are off to auction..set alot snares for fox and coyotes..the last few days

Fox snared the last few days

those fox look pretty good yet by the pictures. I would hope the population would grow a little here. It has been a few years since I have seen much sign of them.