Back in the Swamp....

1st check today after setting 10 traps (six 330s in channels, 1 snare, & three dam breaks with footholds) on a nuisance job yesterday.

Been slow getting back going since b4 Christmas...

Have had fluid drawn off both knees & steroids shots in both starting b4 Christmas. Been on-going knee problems for a couple years or longer. Doc finally decided to test the synovial fluid last week for evidence of gout. Positive confirmation for gout. Started some meds couple days ago. A little better today but still annoying pain with unsteadyness when walking....especially in mud and muck.

And to top the knee problems, I had about 6 episodes of vertigo from last Friday thru last Monday. I'm not talking about just a little dizziness....these were full blown world spinning so fast around me I came close to passing out. Didn't know which way was up or down for a minute or two. Only got vomiting sick once, so that's a blessing.


Anyway....it sux to get old and these issues pop up and put the brakes on the fun stuff. But, I always try to be positive. Many, many people have way more serious problems that me. I'm just glad I'm blessed with a great wife and sons that help ol hubby & dad out a little...lol. Never thought anything would slow me down getting in the woods.....hah...not true. Sorta sad when I realized this..

Stay tuned for a few more pics of my returning beaver work...

Btw...I found another great use for my tater rake.....a very necessary walking cane....lol. it has saved me 3 or 4 times past 2 days from sitting down in the beaver pond...lol

Get em Uncle Swamp ! … hope your knees feel better soon

Thanks Savell.

Predator trapping (as in down on 1 or both knees to make a dirthole set) has not been a reality for me this winter. I miss it greatly....after looking at your recent pics.

… maybe that medicine will get you right

… I’m basically water trapping myself at the moment lol

Way to go.Nice catch.

Keep on keeping on sir. Laying around the house aint no good

I'm glad you are out and about again

Swamp, you don't think that the meds you are taking for the knee are causing the vertigo do you?

Health problems and beaver trapping don't go together lol. I been hinting at getting old the past few years myself and like you never gave it a thought id not be able to fall around in the woods one day in the future. I guess we can go to wal mart and run into people with those little rascal scooters when it is time to call it quits.

Swamp you need to get you a kid apprentice to relieve the work load. Good luck on the beaver.

Mike,
I despise taking any meds. So, I've bounced around from ibuprofen to Aleve to Meloxicam over the past few years for the knee pain. I'd go many weeks and not take anything for the knee pain.

My 1st vertigo episode was about 2 years ago. Then...not another until last fall. Now, this bad few days last weekend. I do think there is a connection to my sinuses and inner ear problem.

We could go to the same Walmart and play bumper cars!!!

That's 4 sure, but have no grandchildren yet and my sons are 40 and 39.

There are no young'uns around here that have any interest in the woods.

We could go to the same Walmart and play bumper cars!!!

Id rather do jousting tater rakes in the plant section, haha

Swamp, I get reoccurring vertigo too. Usually starts in bed with me, roll over and twist my head. I haven’t had the bad nausea in a while, but when I get an episode of spinning, I’ll have a low grade headache for a while. I found that sleeping on my right side often causes problems. In 2023, I got vertigo the night before my first day of moose hunting. That morning was horrible. Shook it off the evening. Best of luck to you.

Any chance someone could have slipped you some drug in one of your drinks?When I was working as a DSP in Bangor taking care of the handicap people I had another worker slip me something that caused me to have vertigo for a few months.

Like that idea, but we might better put some rubber tips on the tater rake prongs.

My 1st two episode were triggered the same way as yours. Got out of shower, ready & into bed, turned head to left and here we go. A month later...happened again.

Not unless it was my wife. I'll ask her...lol

I don't go to restaurants or bars. I drink bottled water, a little sweet tea, and 2% milk. No soft drinks, no alcoholic beverages.

You faked the out. They thought you were finished for the year. When do your beavers start biting their mates?

… that’s why you got vertigout… your beer level is too low

On that boat with the other workers you talk about?She slipped it into ice tea that I always make.

Keep At it when you can! A Retired Game Warden like You Deserves a Great Retirement

Prayers Swamp from Minnesnowta

Thanks 330T!

I'm gonna keep at it if I can. It ain't as much fun though when you're in pain every step...or worried about incredible dizziness.

BruceT,
You must have me confused with someone else. Last boat I was on was a state of Georgia jon boat by myself patrolling for fish traps on a local river....about 4 years ago...lol

Savell,
I should get drunk. After I sober...it might be fixed.

… likely a sure fire cure for your vertigout

… too many years of being uptight game law takes a toll I’d imagine

Thats not a boat your working on with the young guy who drinks so many energy drinks?

… that’s W’Dawg Bruce lol

Swamp

my Vertigo was bad until I started taking

Ginger root 2 a day

and This
No Joke Wal mart brand

it's been 5 years since Vertigo

Don't try another ACTIVE ingredient Motion sickness pill

LOL....thought I was falling off my rocker

My mother would have on and off Vertigo and it was caused by an infection in one of her teeth. When was the last time you went to a dentist?

They don’t have dentists in Georgia

With vertigo , I’m really hesitant anymore about crawling under my vehicles to change oil. I still do, but I have to get the frame up high enough so that I can lay on my left side, rather than my back. I can’t watch a train go by at a RR crossing, and make sure I don’t turn my head too far too quickly, and always try to see that my eyes are looking in the general direction my head is pointing. I’ve learned little things matter sometimes.

I'll ask my wife about the maneuver she does on herself to get rid of vertigo when she get it.

A doctor taught it to her when she got vertigo while working the ER one day.

She says it's immediate when she does it.

I remember her saying there's a sound that you'll hear if it works.


Also make sure your blood sugar isn't dropping.

I get vertigo when my sugar hits about 55-60.

Last time I got it my wife checked my sugar while I was in the midst of it. It was 42. She looked at me and said "I can't believe you're still able to talk and tell me what's going on."

Swamp if you’re like most of us it’s a pain to go see a doc.It could be a myriad of different things. Make an appointment with an established ENT doctor. Trust me a good one is worth every penny it might cost .

Mr. Swamp, yer a retired GAGW, a professional trapper, and a Southern beaver trapper.
When I saw that Wal Mart tater rake, I got vertigo.
You have a reputation, get yerself a RAZORBACK tater rake and look like the pro.you are.
VS
PS, getting old aint fer sissys

Ha!

That tater is a couple steps up from a Walmart version...it's a Agri-Supply rake.

I have a dislike for any doctor visit.

The local ENT doctor and I have some history. I issued him a citation for hunting turkeys over bait about 25 years ago. He had not forgot that last time I had any contact with him ...about 20 years ago. I'll have to find another ENT doctor....lol

Charles,
These beavs are all hatter beavs, so a chewed up pelt brings as much as a perfect one.

Also, I've caught bit beaver year-round. One caught in a trap will likely get a bite or three when another comes along.

Never knew we had so many medical professionals on here. lol

Plus as an added bonus we learn there's as many grades of tater rakes as there are coon hide grades at the Canadian casino that went out of business for betting the house on mink hides.

Ha!

Jacks of all trades on Tman!!!

Stumbled out a couple more and a buck otter today.



A few pics of the main dam and the breaks at a couple of the set locations. Footholds are in trays on upstream side...attached to 9' rebar drowning rods.

How do you mix up a retired white game warden with a 20s-something black barge worker? LOL

I feel you Swamp, Got a cortisone shot in my right knee this morning. Trying to avoid surgery for a while. That swamp work is hard on the old knees.

Looks like some turtle chewing on that Otters rear leg.

That's a brown maple leaf stuck to the otters leg. He does have a small bare spot on his tail though.

YT30,
BruceT says he was drugged...so....

Ol' female today was a big girl!

That a railroad in the background in one picture?

i got a big sow like that last week, probably the biggest beaver ive caught in 10 years and crazy thing is i took 18 out of there last spring! Figured just be 2 year olds and such this year but still haven't caught a small beaver in the whole place. Land of the giants i guess.

Nice job … you still got it

Yes....

Landowner owns both sides of RxR ROW. Luckily beaver dam on landowners property. I can't get these railroad companies around here to get back with me to issue me written access. At a couple of last years jobs..the beaver dams are on RxR property....they still have their beavers...lol

Nice flattails SW

In addition to the tray on top, I’d have a submerged 330 with a dive stick waiting at the bottom….deadly sets!

There is no firm bottom at that beaver dam's low side. It is mostly pure muck well over knee deep or deeper. My knees can't handle trying to get back up outta that.

Plus, that is where the cottonmouths are...in that low side bramble of sticks, logs, and grass.

Maybe they have a mail in program?

Be careful Swamp, the snakes are out again. Picked up a Garter out of the trail today to relocate him to nicer more tolerant grounds.

In addition to the tray on top, I’d have a submerged 330 with a dive stick waiting at the bottom….deadly sets![/quote]
There is no firm bottom at that beaver dam's low side. It is mostly pure muck well over knee deep or deeper. My knees can't handle trying to get back up outta that.

Plus, that is where the cottonmouths are...in that low side bramble of sticks, logs, and grass.[/quote]

I know what you’re steppin in…. We call that loon poop.

BR,
No loons here. But I can see why it's called that.

That stuff is years of sediment in an already wet bottom area that has remained saturated for years. The water in the foreground will float your hat. Only way to access dam at at each end...in this case from RxR bed.

i know what you talking about. i dont have vertigo but i have bad back, and arthritis in my shoulders.

a year ago i started the gel shots in my knee. after the shots i thought it was going to work but about a month later i was bad again.
had a total knee replacement one year ago February 12. best thing i ever done. will eventually prolly get the other one done.

still kinda uncomfortable to kneel on it but with pads its not too bad.

i dont set as many traps in the ground as i used to. maybe a dozen. most my trapping now is snares and conibears.

Did not realize they were two diffrent people.My mistake

Love all that open water and bare ground.

Landowner owns both sides of RxR ROW. Luckily beaver dam on landowners property. I can't get these railroad companies around here to get back with me to issue me written access. At a couple of last years jobs..the beaver dams are on RxR property....they still have their beavers...lol

Odd company's runnng RR. Got so bad above the house the NTSB told them if something wasn't done they were shutting that line down, all the way across Ms! They hired us begrudgingly and i worked my butt off through 3 county's getting their crap back on high ground. Once they had NTSB off their back they said stop work unless they called, which they never will! So now it's all back flooded from one end to the other. First derailment they will point the finger at us claiming we hired them to keep this from happening.

Beautiful Beaver Location

Without the snakes I mean

Today's haul...


Pic of a small dam on the creek downstream. Captured one of the pictured beavs in a foothold here last night.

Cleaning them out … all I had today was a Timberwolf lol

I miss killin' coyotes and bcats. Keep gettin'em Savell! Maybe my knees will moderate b4 next December and I can get back to catching predators.

I barely made it today. Had to quit about 2pm. Set 3 new nuisance locations in a couple more counties. Only 3 or 4 traps at each location. Needed to get to 2 more locations, but knees said..NO!!!

Will start fresh and get those set tommorrow.

Gonna have to pull traps a few at a time.....not sure I can pull em all in one day...lol

9 beavers in three days off this one job....6 males/3 females.

Not sure how your beaver trapping in that mess on rotten knee's. More power to you, my spot in my back lets me know every time i step wrong, figure that will only worsen with age.

Congratulations on your beaver.

Is Groeny gonna run a buying route your way this year?

Supposedly.

Two Georgia stops listed on the website last time I looked.

It's killin' me J, but I can't sit at the house.

I've made some commitments to a few landowners to trap. I've put it off to long already. I'm hoping after I complete these clients that the calls will slow or stop for a while. I'm looking at beaver'in thru end of March now.

wtg , keep after them, and thanks for taking us along, great pic,

Swamp, always enjoy following your trappin. Yep, it stinks gettin old. Keep on keepin on. Do what we can do. Nice work.

From looks of weather you'll have a few days off, flooding in your neck of the woods tomorrow.

Saw that.....maybe we won't get a lot.

I like rainy stretches when I got beaver traps out at several locations. Extra water gets em moving.

Yep they get excited in that bad weather. Last flood episode id of had to hang snares of pasture fence's to trap them, flooded to beat the band.

Love seeing green and flowing water....nothing but cold, frozen ground and wind here at the moment and supposed to get colder. Nice work Swamp!
Coyote season is done here so traps are pulled up. Just beaver/otter left. Gotta a pile of equipment to go through get cleaned up and sorted. Swamp
you said something Jackie and I talked about....I can't sit around the house....agreed. I need to be somewhere in the woods for part of the day scouting,
hunting or trapping. Wife thinks I am nuts but.... we trappers gotta trap....lol

For sure Mike!

Nice bunch hope the knees are holding up

Washed away, tree's in house's, etc. last night. Now a cold north wind blowing. Hopefully you don't get drowned with this front like we did.

Just a fast moving rain/wind band. Just about over now....

Just a couple beavs today. One more from location of the others....and one from a new nuisance location.

Checked out a couple other nuisance locations....found a broken arrowhead and a shed antler. It was a good day...until my knees had all they could take about 1630 hrs.

Swamp is it still cool enough there for the moccasins to stay holed up.

I probably shouldn't speak this into existence....but haven't seen a cottonmouth, yet!

Yeah I hear ya. It has been warm here for about two weeks now,I have not seen any either . We have some 20 s coming in next week so that should hold them awhile longer.

Blue skies and not flooded out, you must of not got what we got for rain. 27 degree's tonight and snowing by wednesday so doubt i have to worry about snakes this week, lol. Was 82 last week, crazy!

Moved over us too fast to drop much rain....we got 3/10ths of an inch. Supposed to be in upper 30s for low next few days. Perfect beaver trapping weather.

Yep you should be in the gravy now! Washed half the world away up here, guess it petered out by time it got to you.

you got a couple ,wtg, keep at it

Just 1 today...from original job site. Got to be near the bottom of the beaver barrel at that location.

1st beav I've caught with a lobed tail..

Had minimal activity at other locations.



Jet Sled is a beaver trapper's helper!

Nice,,,, you can use it to clean your finger nails…
It is hard to pretend your a doctor on a plane with hand like that…..
I don’t eat with my toes…….lol

If you ever go back in the wooly swamp…well, you better not go at night.

A trapper with clean fingernails AIN'T NO TRAPPER!

I love the woods and swamps at night!

Made a career outta lurking around in the darkness trying to catch poachers...loved it!

Almost as good as my toes’……



Say hello to my little buddies,,,……

I thought I have seen those fingers before.

Dang Bob!

At least shave the hair off your arms and hands so you don't get lure smeared there.

Noice!

No beavs captured today. Giving my knees a rest...lol