Greetings trappers, off to a late start this season. Went outside to visit family and friends instead of trapping the first part of the season. Got across the river and set a bit of line out. Not much marten sign across the flats so didn't set but a dozen poles with no results. Saw a little cat sign at the start but that's what I normally have is a little cat sign. Put out some of my usual wolverine cubbies and pole sets. Didn't have much snow to begin with but got about 4" when I left which was a welcome sight for the trail. Troopers stopped me on the trail with a Helicopter looking for a couple overdue moose hunters. Wrong area fellas. Lots of trees down along the trail. Saw lots of moose and caribou and even some bulls with their antlers still on. Didn't find any wolf kills but seen good wolf sign. Cut 3 different wolverine tracks. That makes me hopeful. Ended up picking up a beautiful 35# male wolverine in a cat cubby right behind the cabin during the daytime. Went by the set in the morn and came back by it at 5pm and had this guy. Didn't mess around just took the first shot he gave me and put him down. Good thing, I had him by his pinky toe in a #3 DLS. Glad I came back down that trail or he'd a been gone in the morn. Better lucky than good. Left the truck it was +20 and when I got back 6 days later, it was -50. Never even got cold til I looked at the thermometer. Picked three bait stealing marten for my efforts and that big ol wolverine. Happy with the start even without any canines on the the boards. Spent Christmas day skinning marten even if it was only a couple. When I got home, my Moyle's shipment came in. They did a great job as usual. Well good luck to all, Happy holidays and may we all have a safe and successful season.
Saw your truck sitting there Christmas eve coming back from town and kept wondering when you were gonna post! Always enjoy your pics! Hope you have a good, safe season!
Good stuff howler! looks like fun...i am jealous...you actually have winter....in southeast we have freeze thaw and dumps of snow..then 35 and rain the next day.
Love reading your journal and I see your off to a good start. Where is all the snow, it must be a pain and hard on the sleds with out much snow? Congrats on the gulo always nice to get a pig for the first one.
I'll get some pics of my hitch setup for ya. Don't know if it's the best hitch but it's what I learned with and along with some of my running mates have used for 20+ years. Darwin.. They get bigger, I caught a 38 pounder with a full belly and seen a giant wolverine while I was guiding in Unit 17 one fall but wouldn't let the hunter shoot it because the hair wasn't prime. It would have been a waste of a awesome animal.
Originally Posted By: broncoformudv
Great pics and looks like you are off to a good start!
What hitch setup are you using on your sleds to haul doubles?
I noticed you have a snow deflector on the front of your siglin, how well does it work for keeping snow out of your sled? My only complaint about my siglin is that it fills up with snow pretty quickly if it's soft powdery snow which it always is till spring.........
Well it's a recip and that in itself is a reliability issue. But just in my personal experience, I never experienced an engine failure unless it was caused by an external source..i.e bullets. I'd much rather see a turbine in there but the up front costs would be a lot higher.
Apparently the state has a good maintenance program and has been happy with the R44 & R22. The size is also nice for tight work in the mountains during sheep season. Also handy for darting critters. It surprises me that they don't use the Hughes 500 but maybe it's a cost issue. The next step up would be the Jet Ranger or the A-Star and that would be a big step in cost and size so maybe it's just the best compromise.
I don't know if you knew or knew of the late Bud Woods. Owned Woods Air out of Palmer. Back in the old days he did most of the high altitude rescues on Denali with an old bell 47. Most of those were supercharged so that really helped when the air got thin but they were still reciprocal engines.
Well it's a recip and that in itself is a reliability issue. But just in my personal experience, I never experienced an engine failure unless it was caused by an external source..i.e bullets. I'd much rather see a turbine in there but the up front costs would be a lot higher. .
I have a rule to never trust anything that flies and is driven by a fan belt! The price on the 500's and Death Rangers has really come down. The R22's and 44's are great for on-field crashes but I would be scared o operate in the bush with one. The Robby's and Scweitzers scare the heck out of me!
The Robinsons have had a few issues with fires after crashes. The aluminum fuel tanks crack and leak after impact. The fact that the fuel is gasoline rather than jet A or B compounds the problem especially if the master is still on at impact. Hot exhaust is another obvious problem that we can't get away from.
Robinson has ordered all aluminum tanks replaced with bladders by the end of 2014 in an attempt to improve safety after a crash or hard auto-rotation.
I think I'd prefer to put one down into vegetation rather than an open field, depending on the size of the vegetation. But I'd prefer not to do it at all.
Hey guys, came in early to attend the monthly ATA meeting. Great showing. Started out pretty slow on the line. Saw quite a bit of wolf sign and they didn't like something about my Pee post sets. Back to the drawing boards. Ran 50 miles of line without a single piece of fur in a trap so to the cabin to pout and get a fire going. Unloaded the sled, fire going safe and off down the line. Wolf tracks everywhere and something is amuck with my Pee posts. They milled around on the creek way to much. Gotta be a kill. I find a totally eaten caribou. Hang a few snares on it for next trip through and place some #9's on their pee posts. Down the trail I go and low and behold in the four snares I hung on my first trip out wait two wolves. The snares were placed on a trail where they came to investigate an old fall moose kill. 79# black female 73# gray female So the black was caught by a front foot in a snare. She chewed her foot a little, ended up skinning her out that night. Brought the gray out frozen. Feeling a little better now being on the board so continued on up the trail and ended up with a lynx in a root cubby towards the end of the line Found a nice bull caribou kill from earlier. Must have drove by this rack 20 times 20 feet away. Wolves showed me the way. Saw quite a few moose and caribou along the way. Still a few bulls with antlers on. Broke into some new country and got to witness some spectacular country. One man shouldn't get to have this much fun. Didn't see much fur sign but lots of food for them. Had a wolverine hanging around a buddys cabin so I left him a gift. Came across the Tanana this afternoon and overflow froze plum across the river. Nice to see. Bank to bank.
I thought that was you.I was a carpenter there for four years.Actually went four wheeling with you and some friends.Congrats on some nice wolves and the lynx.That is some good looking country your in.
Came in this afternoon, had a heck of a trip with lots of HIGHS and LOWS. Picked a couple marten and a beautiful wolf on the ride across the flats(HIGH). Dropped down on the creek and was auger'n along thru the over flow and the Skidoo went left and I went straight. Right on my face sliding along the ice. That was definitely LOW. Had a hard time righting the Skidoo as the sled was jacked under her. Once everything was back on their skags, up the trail we went to the cabin. +46 degrees. Unloaded, got a fire goin and took a couple asprin and washed it down with a good snort or two of E&J brandy and on up the line. My bait station had a couple coyotes working it and snagged one, that chewed out and only made it 30 feet. Nice big 35# male Hung a few more snares and picked up a lynx on the next cubby Went venturing around cleaning off traps for a couple days. Finally gave up with the warm windy weather and just went exploring. Skun the wolf. 80# gray female caught in a #9 pee post Built a new fleshing beam and mounted it in the fur shed/shop. Worked good, never used a horizontal beam and kinda like it. Built an ear turning attachment for it. Ended up getting a shot on a beautiful 35# fat coyote and connecting On the way back to the cabin the trail went away. Great trip over all even with a few bumps and bruises.
I seen a giant wolverine while I was guiding in Unit 17
Ive heard about these here and dont doubt it, but have yet to come across one 45+. I still have many years to put into this park. Thanks for sharing. Its nice to look into similar lifestyles for once. I dont feel like such a hermit when I read the Alaskan journals.
Nice looking wolf, you are getting good ones this year! Were there more traveling with her? That snared coyote looks nice too, pretty cool that he laid down and died after chewing out.
That wolf is a stunner and if that coyote is as pale as it looks you need to send that one to NAFA. Well at least you should have last year. LOL. That thing looks like a MT Pale. Great story and pics as always. Mike
Weldnfella, I carry a Savage Predator .204Ruger Smalltime, looked like pack of 6 or 7 and caught the 1st one and they went back. Kusko, got a couple hundred screws in the track but in dire need of new ones. 4k on them and they are a little dull.
O and your face twin is here in Bethel, guy I know did the same thing on the ice this week, and his nose looks similar but he also needed 10 stitches on his head
Came home a little early this week, not much snow and hard on the machine and rider. Healed up good after last trips misadventure. Kept the WT on it's skis the whole trip. The trail was so hard that the skags didn't even leave a mark. I cannot believe how much snow we lost, looked like May out there. Didn't have a single work wise #9 on the line. They were all either under 3" of overflow or sitting on top of the ground. I had wolf snares that were 2 1/2 feet to bottom of the loop. Didn't even know I had that much snow to begin with. Picked a couple marten, ermine and one mad ol tom cat. Pretty much tripped most of the line til things get better out there. Saw a few moose, couple dozen caribou and 3 dall sheep. They were liking the lack of snow. Didn't see any wolf sign this trip but probably couldn't see it anyway on the frozen trail. Nice day for a walk so went up in the mountains to try to call some wolves. First howl had a response but it was coyotes instead of wolves. Gotta love the mating season. That ol male wasn't giving any ground to no trespassers. I gave him a couple challenge howls and off on a walk I was. Bout a mile and half later I was 217 yards below him and 2 other yotes sleeping on a knoll. Took careful aim with the .204, let out a woof and as he jumped to his feet, I touched the trigger on the Savage. Right in the forehead and it was over. Didn't compensate for the steep uphill angle, but it worked. Talk about a long walk back to the sled carrying that stinking dog thru ice crusted snow. Found out I ain't in very good shape for this walking BS. Had to do a little trail clearing and maintenance on the way out today. Kinda nice when the snow's gone, makes it easier to cut down to the dirt. The Tanana crossing was great with a slight breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
Parts of that looks like my mountaiin line. I banged over so many rocks yesterday my arms are sore. Snow dropped a couple feet and what's left is super hard, hero snow, you can go anywhere. Nice pics and story AK hope those mosquitos stay away
It's always nice to read about your adventures. The snow is like concrete around here as well. I'm not looking forward to this weekends check as the snow seems to get worse (harder) every week. Pretty hard on the liquid cooled machines and the hyfax. Will it ever snow again...
Thanks for sharing your line with us ! The pictures of your area must be a real kick to trap and snare in with both the brush and open areas . Our snow has been different here to it settles in a little then the wind picks up and it's gone or drifted off into the coulees . Keep up the good work ! Allan
Always love your pictures and adventures! Yeah, we didn't lose that much snow, but everything is as hard as a rock now. All wolf traps were encased with a rock hard cover of ice.
Came home this afternoon with 2 inches of powder on a groomed trail with fur in the sled and no new scuffs. Does life get any better? Had a pretty good trip this week. Started off with the very first snare I set this season at the beginning of the line, holding a pretty little male cross fox. Crossed the Tanana, hooked up to the groomer and off down the line. Bout 16 miles in came on wolf tracks coming at me, looked like good sized pack. Of course speed picked up knowing there was gear up the trail. Rounding the corner to my Pee post and.... NO Wolf. MB 750 froze in good and hard. 3 more times this happened and then BAM.. 90# male Gray in a #9 Pee post. Bout time. Every corner was now getting exciting til I got to the river. They cut a corner and missed my party. Wolf sign everywhere and I pulled most of my gear out of the river last week. Ended up hooking up on a wolf in a #3 coil cat cubby. Surprisingly it held for quite awhile before the jaws pulled out of the frame. Got to the cabin, got a fire going and on up the line. Wolves came to an old kill I had set up and didn't like something and went upriver. I followed them up river getting closer to the bait again my speed ever increasing til I came up to the bait. Seeing the tracks all over the river is a tell tale sign I'm holding something. As I approach the bait site counting snares as I go I see I have had something. I caught a wolf in a snare and it separated the moose stop below the lock. Was always nervous with those and finally lost a wolf. Had another wolf open one of my Thompson locks that I cut and pinched. Ok, 5 wolves caught and only have one in the sled. Getting PO'd. The next day picked up a 22# female lynx in a cubby behind the cabin. She'd visited the set many times this year and finally caught her. That evening found myself checking a kill site up Caribou Cr noticing the overflow was greatly increased from last week. It's kind of a adventure in itself just climbing up this creek. And this what I find... You've got to be kidding me. Back to the cabin for some rest in preparation for the battle to come. 6 hours with about every tool I had at the cabin and the wolf was free from it's icy tomb. It had a bobbed tail and missing a paw or should I say it has. Little careless with the chainsaw. Used a sledge to knock the block ice free once it was out of the water. Ate like a king, drank like a sailor and slept like a baby that night. Got the lynx and fox put up and went back up river only to find a bit more overflow, enough to stop me. Pulled out the rope a long again and Ice screw and yarded the whole outfit back up and on the ice. Tools of the Trade Put a lot of wolf gear back out paying careful attention to where the overflow can get. Have a few #9's in danger but not worried about a live wolf in a trap vs a dead wolf in a snare. Live and learn. Howled from the cabin at night cause of the full moon or maybe I do it all the time but anyway, in the morn there was wolf tracks 75 yards in front of the cabin. 2 wolves came up to see who's on the river making all that noise. Left them some gifts, hope to see them upon my return. On the way out today, got outfoxed by a fox.
good read howler and congrats on the fur, one thing I have wondered is are you taking all these pics of yourself or are you toting some chick or someone around with you? seems like a lot of work to stage the pics but I never see any other sled or anything around, just curious.
WOW! You have some serious adventures!!!!!!!! Bites that you had to dig that one out, and that the jaws popped on the one trap, but the one you did get looks good! Congrats on the critters and thanks for sharing!
as always looks like a good time stillninternet trapping out here for lack of snow and ice Ive had a few critters hit overflow over the years but never a wolf and never anything like that what a fun mess that was
Wow. Crazy trip. Frozen fur is better than no fur I guess but you earned every dollar that wolf puts in your pocket. Thanks for bringing us along. Quite the adventure.
Thanks everyone, pleasure is all mine being able to do what I love and able to share the adventure and experiences (Good and Bad) with everyone. Got the big gray male boarded tonight and the 225# ice wolf is hanging in the shop and loosing weight fast. Guessing it'll be ready to skin in a couple days. Martenpine, I rarely have the opportunity to take someone on the line with me and never been able to find a woman that likes me and the outdoors as much as I do or would go out and do this with me willingly. Always enjoy having someone out there with me just to share the experiences and adventures. It's not always a picnic of a trip and don't really like to take just anyone out there for safety reasons. Sometimes you get to experience or see things that others just would not believe and nice to have a witness. This is why I take bunches of pictures and these new little digital cameras are awesome and most are expendable now. I usually shoot around 100 pics every trip out and erase the ones I don't like. A lot of pics were not near as neat as they looked when I took them. I carry a little light weight tripod in the box with me at all times and set the camera on timer and snap the self portraits and action shots.
Hey Kusko I never claimed to me a good trapper nor a wolfer but be damned if you are gonna take these wolves from me. I'll cull the retards just the same. Just happy putting iron in the field and some fur on the board.
Hey Kusko I never claimed to me a good trapper nor a wolfer but be damned if you are gonna take these wolves from me. I'll cull the retards just the same. Just happy putting iron in the field and some fur on the board.
LOL!!! The good, the bad and the stupid. Good for you!!! Come on now, am I the only one that noticed the cross eyed wolf???
First thing I noticed was the crossed eyes. I thought it would make the wolf twice as vigilant with the extra ocular angle. But I can't go cross eyed so I really can't say
Noticed that his left eye, eye on our right when looking at it was looking outward. Not cross eyed. A condition that I looked up and found to be called. Strabismus The opposite of cross eyed where the eyes look outward from one another. Interesting enough it is associated with in breeding. Good one to cull out. ;0) Still a beauty.
I see some nice guns on the wall behind you and the Wolf. What you using for rifles there? One looks like a Savage in a .17 HMR or a .22 Mag. in Savage. I say that because I just bought a Savage in a .22 Mag scope combo that looks like one on your wall. Just curious.
Really enjoyed this one! Great pictures and crossed eyed, frozen in or not I'd be happy with every one of those wolves especially that first black one ( I'd have some big mitts made out of that one!) Looking forward to following your adventures! I've got caribou heart and potatoes cooking then I'm off to my short line, not expecting much if anything though because snow's been drifting since my last check! Take Care!
howler congrats on some really nice animals,thanks for the great photos ,i wish i could have seen the look on your face when you realized what you had caught.
I usually used sheet metal stitch screws and removed the rubber washer on my polaris WT's. For the Skidoo, I used some "special screws" from the Polaris dealer in Fairbanks. Bigger heads and sharper, but they didn't last long and were 3 times the price. I believe if I reversed the track on the Skidoo, the screws would bite better due to the flex in the 1 & 1/2" track lug. She will have full blown studs next season.
I usually used sheet metal stitch screws and removed the rubber washer on my polaris WT's. For the Skidoo, I used some "special screws" from the Polaris dealer in Fairbanks. Bigger heads and sharper, but they didn't last long and were 3 times the price. I believe if I reversed the track on the Skidoo, the screws would bite better due to the flex in the 1 & 1/2" track lug. She will have full blown studs next season.
If you reverse it, you won't need screw as it will levitate...
My bad, I meant that you use with the rope along. I've been using the screws in my track that they have at Compeaus. They've lasted along time but full blown studs would be awesome!
Martenpine.. I'm reading ya now, the Ice Anchors are Black Dimonds and you can get them at Beaver Sports as Bairdi said but they are a lot cheaper through Amazon. I use 9 or 10" anchors. Not sure if ya need them that big but that's what I've always used. Very handy tool in the bag of tricks. Caution.. always put a coat or log over the middle of your rope to stop the snap-back if the screw pulls out. Common sense just like with tow straps and winch lines. I have pulled the anchors out a time or two in Overflow ice. Skeeter.. That is a Savage 93 in .17 HMR. Awesome little rifle. Others I carry are a .204 Ruger, .300 win mag and occasionally my .22-250 Rem or 6.5-06. Never have enough fire power. Rifles depend on where I am goin, what time of year and what I'm after. Kind of an oppurtunist and wanna be prepared. Seems like I always have 3 guns onboard at all times including the .22 pistol on my person.
I thought it was a Savage .17HMR or .22 MAG. I have the Savage 93 in a .22Mag, just bought a month ago. Yours looked like mine, so figured it was one or the other. Nice guns. Enjoy the stories, keep it up. Thanks. And of course becareful , looks like it can get a person in trouble in a hurry out there. Especially alone. Good luck.
So I finally got the overflow wolf put up. 5 days hanging in my shop at 60 degrees and still froze around the neck and front shoulders. Little bit of green belly but think he's saveable. Lost one front foot and the tail and a few little rips. I put him on the board and rubbed salt into it good with a fan on it and turned it the next eve and left the fan on. Here he is next to the cross eyed dark gray. Couple more pics from last week. Here's my Pee Posts on Pee Post Pass. #9 MB 750 So I tried some commercial wolf urine this year and it was expensive and my wolves didn't like it one bit. They wouldn't come within 10 feet of the pee post with this urine on it. They would pee on the next thing on both sides of it be it 15 feet or 20 yards. Kinda strange, really potent stuff but there is something about it they don't like. Heading out on the line. Hoping to have a few wolves {not in Overflow} waiting for me. Have fun and be safe.
Awesome thread AK, miss the mountains every time I look at your pics. I just started using traps for wolves this year and got 2 on pee posts but I used fox urine on top of the natural post. Seems they don't like a smaller k nine using their spot.
I'm curious, did you then find the perfect pee post location,set blindly there, and use the commercial urine very close to that perfect spot knowing they would avoid the commercial and use the visually better blind set location? Or does it not work that way up there with wolves?
Hey Kusko I never claimed to me a good trapper nor a wolfer but be damned if you are gonna take these wolves from me. I'll cull the retards just the same. Just happy putting iron in the field and some fur on the board.
LOL!!! The good, the bad and the stupid. Good for you!!! Come on now, am I the only one that noticed the cross eyed wolf???
I noticed it to. Still a beautiful wolf!
I work with a guy that has eyes like that....we call him grader eyes. One eye on the blade, one eye on the road hahaha
Those wolves turned out nice! Nice lynx. I tried the store bought urine last year also. I didn't have much luck. My best luck so far was with female german shepard dog in heat. Fresh from home. LOL. But I don't have enough experience with any of it really to say for sure. Good luck out there!!
Came home a little early from the trapline this week. Got some home projects to do and monthly ATA meeting tomorrow. Had a pretty good trip out this week. Took my neighbor out with me and had some beautiful weather. Lots of overflow this week, some froze and some not so frozen. Found a spot where the ravens were washing up in the snow along the trail and the wolves were doin the same. Just so happens I happen to have a bag of new snares that HFT sent up to me and took them out for a walk. Found a moose calf the wolves had killed a couple days before about 1/3 of a mile back up into the woods. Huh, might as well lighten my load, I hung all 18 snares around the kill and walked back to the river. Found 7 beds on the cut bank overlooking the trail. On up the trail they pee'd on the stump 15 feet from my pee post. Dropped a few more 9's and on up the trail to the cabin. +32 degrees. Got a fire goin, unloaded the sleds and off to check the line. The wolves hadn't been back by the cabin so we continued on up to Pee Post Pass. Low and behold Pee Post Pass strikes again. Had this pretty little 62# gray female. Guessing she's this years pup. Posted the set pic in last weeks posting. #9 does it again. Took her back to the cabin and when on up the river. Wolves had been in and out of the river between my set until we came up on this pee post with this big gray female in it. She was fighting the trap pretty hard so I look at her through the binos to make sure of the catch before proceeding the last couple hundred yards. Full paw in the #9, just like we like it. She was a feisty 82# female. Continue in on up the river following the rest of the pack, they missed a couple sets and then came to this set. Evidently they didn't like something about it but both the coyote and the wolf left me a present after scratching off the wax paper. Pretty happy with the day's catch and returned back to the cabin for the night. Next day went and pulled most everything but the wolf gear. Overflow had come into the trees and down my trail from a spring in the hill. Made my trail a little difficult. This is one of my cat cubbys under 10 inches of ice. Went out exploring and in this beautiful weather, it was amazing. Saw a few moose, three dall sheep and these three caribou. Not much game but lots of sign. Ran into a couple guys up Caribou Cr, lost, nice guys but along way off from where they thought they were. Took them to the cabin, showed them where they were on the map, had coffee and sent them back to the truck. Come to find out one of them is my neighbor. Small world. Unprepared 40 miles from the truck even in the springtime can be dangerous. On the way out today Brooke slowed down when he should have sped up. Stay on the trail men.
Nice trip and pics! Did you end up gettin those last two wolves on that commercial wolf urine, or use something else? I was gonna try some last year, but didn't. PPP sure produces for ya!
Thanks guys, Wlftrppr..I pick up their urine off existing pee posts and move it. Haven't used the commercial urine since the refusals. Smalltime... I drive stakes in the summer and sometimes in the winter. Not big fan of drags myself, work for some just not me.
Way to go dude!! do you gang set or just single traps per post? i think pet dog pee and poo is better than the commercial stuff...imo...and cheaper too. the ole timer says pee from a female inheat is pretty hard for any dog to resist this time of year....hope you pinch a few more and awesome journal....i nominate you for tman journal of the year:)
Good idea to collect your own frozen Wolf Pee and move it, that way you know exactly where it came from. Fresh frozen with zero additives is as real as it gets!
Great journal as usual Hopefully the weather will corporate and you wont have to do the ballet on water again like last spring (although I really liked the video haha)
Short trip out on the line this week. Thought spring was upon us and then it cooled back off. 40 above when I got to the cabin and minus 10 when I left. Lots of overflow on the creeks. Passed an ol timer and his son on a pair of Bravos pulling a 4-wheeler out to their cabin. No studs and hardly a skag on their Sig sled. Told them I come back for them if they had troubles. Got to the cabin, got a fire goin and on up checking line. Caught a caribou in a MB 750 pee post and held for awhile before finally pulling out. The overflow followed my trail down from the creek and covered the trap. Will go get it in the spring. Continued on up checking the south line and didnt connect with anything. Ran up caribou creek to pull gear up there. Lots of overflow. Amazing how much it can build in a week. Get up to my wolf snares and this is what I find. On the way back, ran into the Bravo jockeys. They had a rope between them and tag teaming the overflow together. Where there's a will there's a way. That 4-wheeler was tailing those Bravos around pretty good. Continue on up the upper line and stopped where I saw the sheep tracks last week. Spotted 10 dall rams 500 yards above the river. To late to go up for pics so I shot some video and pics from the trail. Sat there for about a half hour. Pretty neat. Wolves must be up high driving them down. Followed a couple wolves up the river and seemed to miss my sets. Close but not connecting until this set. 85# gray male in #9 pee post. Had another head for the trees and open one of my cut Thompson locks and get away. 3rd wolf I lost this season to them. Won't happen again. Didn't get much fur for the stretcher but opened up into some new country for next year. Time to get the grey on the board and get ready for the Fling. Got some carvings to get done.
Good snag on the caribou antler! Those things must be getting pretty loose this time of year I would suppose. Congrats on another big dog, you are knocking them down this year. Great pics as usual!
Got a nice gift in the mail today from a friend. Cannot wait to put these little jewels to work next year. I've never used Sterlings before and the 800 has 3 swivels in 1 foot of chain. Looks like the perfect wolf trap for a track set. We'll have to see. Figured I better take a couple pics of the seasons catch before the auction and fling on Saturday. Happy with catch on the wolves this year but slow on everything else. Hoping the weather is good, seems like we sell a lot better when it's warm than cold. Hope to see a few of you out there.
I've got one of those 600s, only complaint is the heavy pan system with light tension makes for some dicey setting. No good way to increase tension that I see, but haven't messed with it too much. Are the 800s the same way?
Came in this afternoon, had a heck of a trip with lots of HIGHS and LOWS. Picked a couple marten and a beautiful wolf on the ride across the flats(HIGH). Dropped down on the creek and was auger'n along thru the over flow and the Skidoo went left and I went straight. Right on my face sliding along the ice. That was definitely LOW. Had a hard time righting the Skidoo as the sled was jacked under her. Once everything was back on their skags, up the trail we went to the cabin.
Great pics except the one with your ugly mug all beat up! Some of these pictures you have sent me already but it is cool to see all of the other ones. You are a lucky man to be able to see all that country +46 degrees. Unloaded, got a fire goin and took a couple asprin and washed it down with a good snort or two of E&J brandy and on up the line. My bait station had a couple coyotes working it and snagged one, that chewed out and only made it 30 feet. Nice big 35# male Hung a few more snares and picked up a lynx on the next cubby Went venturing around cleaning off traps for a couple days. Finally gave up with the warm windy weather and just went exploring. Skun the wolf. 80# gray female caught in a #9 pee post Built a new fleshing beam and mounted it in the fur shed/shop. Worked good, never used a horizontal beam and kinda like it. Built an ear turning attachment for it. Ended up getting a shot on a beautiful 35# fat coyote and connecting On the way back to the cabin the trail went away. Great trip over all even with a few bumps and bruises.
Originally Posted By: AKHowler
Came in this afternoon, had a heck of a trip with lots of HIGHS and LOWS. Picked a couple marten and a beautiful wolf on the ride across the flats(HIGH). Dropped down on the creek and was auger'n along thru the over flow and the Skidoo went left and I went straight. Right on my face sliding along the ice. That was definitely LOW. Had a hard time righting the Skidoo as the sled was jacked under her. Once everything was back on their skags, up the trail we went to the cabin. +46 degrees. Unloaded, got a fire goin and took a couple asprin and washed it down with a good snort or two of E&J brandy and on up the line. My bait station had a couple coyotes working it and snagged one, that chewed out and only made it 30 feet. Nice big 35# male [img:gal:2003652e0801f9eb3d]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193870-trapping_2013_14_049.jpg[/img] Hung a few more snares and picked up a lynx on the next cubby [img:gal:2003652e0807fd02c0]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193872-trapping_2013_14_030.jpg[/img] Went venturing around cleaning off traps for a couple days. Finally gave up with the warm windy weather and just went exploring. [img:gal:2003652e0815c0f85a]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193873-trapping_2013_14_027.jpg[/img] [img:gal:2003652e083e86f8aa]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193876-trapping_2013_14_042small.jpg[/img] [img:gal:2003652e083e86f8aa]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193877-trapping_2013_14_043small.jpg[/img] [img:gal:2003652e083e86f8aa]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193878-trapping_2013_14_035small.jpg[/img] Skun the wolf. 80# gray female caught in a #9 pee post [img:gal:2003652e08459596e7]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193880-trapping_2013_14_029.jpg[/img] Built a new fleshing beam and mounted it in the fur shed/shop. Worked good, never used a horizontal beam and kinda like it. Built an ear turning attachment for it. [img:gal:2003652e0852c0f182]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193883-trapping_2013_14_075.jpg[/img] [img:gal:2003652e0852c0f182]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193884-trapping_2013_14_078.jpg[/img] [img:gal:2003652e0852c0f182]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193885-trapping_2013_14_079.jpg[/img] Ended up getting a shot on a beautiful 35# fat coyote and connecting [img:gal:2003652e085e24b490]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193886-trapping_2013_14_081.jpg[/img] On the way back to the cabin the trail went away. Great trip over all even with a few bumps and bruises. [img:gal:2003652e0863b26890]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2014/01/full-20036-193887-trapping_2013_14_083.jpg[/img]
Good to talk to you today. Got caught up on your posts. All I can say is Awesome. Hope the face healed up. You look like Tigner when he left your shop after the E and J evening. Stay safe and we will see you in a month
Looks like you had a good season there Howler. Thank you for sharing your adventures, enjoyed all the pictures. Oh and next time you slide on the ice try not to use your nose for a rudder.
Well sad day for the Howler, line is all pulled. Had a pretty good season even with the scarceness of fur for the stretchers. Few new bumps, bruises and scars but very little break-downs this year. Took a buddy out with me to go exploring and had a fine time. Weather was awesome and got into some neat country. Hauled in the metal for the roof of the fur shed to be installed this summer. My buddies Arctic Cat went tits up so the Super Bravo came off the bench. Ol Hank could really ride that Bravo Here's an ol guide cabin built in the late 1920's. Lots of history up here in this valley. Didn't see much game this trip, few dall rams and one cow calf pair of moose. Picked up this little moose shed, the only shed of the year for me. Another buddy and his son came out for a ride a long and we had a blast. This is another cabin built in the early 20's by Hugo Stromberger, the famed market hunter from Jim Rearden's book Sam O. White, Alaskan. Pretty neat to find out some history in the area we spend so much time in. Hope you all have a safe and productive spring summer and fall. Cannot wait til next season. Until next season... AKHowler out.
Well, I couldn't take it and had to make one more trip out to the cabin on the sled. I took a buddy of mine with a Tundra LT 550. Wanted to see how it handled. Will be buying one for next year with the 600 Ace. Didn't like the 550 due to the fact I'd have to rejet in the mountains and warm weather. Ran pretty good even a little rich. So, had an awesome trip into some wild beautiful country. Snow got a little rotten at 50 degrees but still a heck of a lot of fun. Saw this ptarmigan in a spruce tree which I'd never saw before. Saw a few Sharptails that evidently could read the game regs and pretty sure I could too. Next year they should probably not be so photogenic Climbed and topped out a whole bunch of passes looking into uncharted territory. So much country, so little time Dang Skandic thinks it's a mountain goat sometimes didn't quite make the summit. Ended up finding a few traps from the old trapper I got the line from. Funny how you can drive by so many times before you finally spot some things.
No bears out yet that we could find and didn't see a single moose or caribou. And finally crossed the Tanana safe and sound. Last trip across on the WT this spring...
Great pics as always, looks like tons of fun. Nice shed you got there. Did the old trapper leave any Newhouses around for you to find? What's up with the whirlybird?
No Newhouses, just some odd dls, few coils and #9's and I like 9's better than Newhouse myself. I have a heck of a collection of NH at the house, to scared to have them in the field. Trooper out for a flight on a nice day and seen us at the cabin and stopped by.
Ak - your photo's are outstanding and the countryside very dramatic, some real winner photos there. What are you using. One of the problems with an I-phone is you start to use it for all your photos, but they have limits. I shoot a Nikon D-90 when I'm trying to get serious photos, but that means you have to pack it!
I was hunting bear last weekend to. No bear up here either near the Rat river. There are odd ones out but not where I went. Going back up in the mountains today but for work so no hunting.
AK Howler, great photos as always. I take it you want the 4 stroke and so are going with the LT vs the Tundra Extreme? Have a buddy here who has the extreem trapping the Tickchiks and he loves it
Howler thanks for more great pics you certainly have a paradise there.I bought a 6oo Ace four stroke a couple years ago have app 2000 miles on it no troubles at all ,with the narrow ski stance they are very tippy,gotta be about time to go after some bears .
Thanks everyone... Bushman... I don't even carry my good camera anymore. I use a couple small digital pocket cameras, Fujifilm (FinePix XP60) water-proof and pretty durable, and the second is a Nikon Coolpix (not quite as durable but great pics). I am not a great photographer but carry a good, smart camera into so great places and they do the work, I am just the mule that packs them. My good camera is a Canon EOS Rebel T1i with a 50-500mm lens and is pretty heavy and not quite as durable.
Otterman... I ordered a Tundra LT 600Ace this morn. Thought about the Extreme but heard of too many issues with the 600 etec from friends with them. Some love them others have big problems.
Well I couldn't take it and had to do one more ride. Went out to the cabin in Minto Flats to haul in some firewood. Not much snow left and leaving fast. Needing a new deck and a handicap ramp on the cabin so went down to take some measurement and get a material list. Instead of going to town and buying the lumber to haul back in with the boat, we went upriver to a friend's and milled the lumber our self. Never messed with a bandsaw mill myself and wasn't really interested until yesterday. I can see one of these in my future. Bruce has been milling lumber for himself and others for a few years and really had it figured out. Will milled 46 2x6x8', 10 2x6x16' and 8 2x4x16' board in 2 & 1/2 hours start to loaded. I couldn't have drove to town and bought the lumber in that time. Hauled everything down to the cabin and will build the deck this spring with the boat. Bruce had his operation set up very well and is a very work-wise,efficient and organized woodsman. Would have done it faster if we weren't in his way and him having to teach us how to mill. Here I go.. The deck in the sled. Heading across the flats to the cabin
Why didn't you load that toboggan up? That's a bit of weight, I'm thinking you weren't pulling that load up over those rocky passes. The coolpix is my go to camera when I'm buying one for a gift for someone. Lots of my kids have received one over the years and now grandkids. I have a couple. Fit in a pocket nice and you can do underwater. i have some cool bulltrout spawning under water footage.
You keep saying it's your last trip! LOL I know the feeling
That was the last trip on the sled! Bushman, that trip was all flat lands through the Minto Flats. No hills, barely any snow on the trail, mostly ice with surface water. The lumber was pretty dry spruce and looks a lot heavier that it was. Hardly knew it was behind me and with the spray guard on the front of the sled made it to the cabin with a dry load. Cannot say the same for the other 2 guys loads of firewood. There firewood would have floated right out of their sleds if it wasn't bungee chorded in. Here's a few more pic for you guys to enjoy in preparation for the coming hunting season.
Nice pictures, when I first saw that you were driving across the tundra, I was thinking.....When did he come to Nome? But then I noticed you have alot more trees then we do
Spent quite a bit of time over there in Nome. Never in the winter. Looked like some good wolverine country and actually seen my first wolverine on the road to Teller. Almost moved to Nome, really liked it. There's not place like Nome.
Great pics JR. Hope you got the ramp built heard the old guy is doing great. We have a ton of stuff for the banquet. Mathews donated a new creed decked out today. Should be a blast. See you in a couple days.
Thought I'd check in and give a couple updates of this spring and summers activities. Been a pretty busy year this year. My best friend and hunting partner of 20 years fell out of a tree deer hunting in Minn in December and severed his spine. That was pretty hard to deal with. I flew down for a benefit on his behalf and we raised over $50,000 in about 6 hours. Great support for a great man. Sadly Jake passed away the following morning of complications. That was one of the toughest things I've had to deal with in my life. He was loved by many and never will be forgotten. I spent 3 weeks down there with family and friends before bringing part of him back up here with me. Flew out to my trapping cabin to wind down and leave Jake there to watch over the place. Spent a couple days out there. Little griz activity but nothing damaging. Headed north to the Brooks Range for a little spring griz hunting but it was still a little early. Only saw one small sow and lots of caribou Lots of rain up here in Fairbanks this year so most of the rivers are high which is good on my props. Went down to Minto Flats to work on the cabin. Milled all the lumber this spring and hauled it out on sleds. Spent one day cleaning up around the cabin and tearing off the old deck. Beautiful weather on the 4 days I was in the flats. Could even see Mt. Mckinley from the flats. Caught a couple fish but nothing special.
Change of plans so back to town for more supplies. Decided to put a roof over the new deck. Water came up several more feet with lots of debris in the river. Hunting season is upon us and hope everyone has a safe and productive season. Appreciate your hunting partners and hunt safe. Rest in peace brother and we'll meet again in the happy hunting grounds. Duane "Jake" Jacobsen October 6, 1947-April 27, 2014
Sorry to hear about your friend. That is a reminder how quickly life can change. God bless his family and friends. Lost a few friends over the years, life changer for sure. Good luck up there and look forward to more pics to live life thru you fellas up there in God's country. Thanks for sharing. Reminder for everyone to wear your safety harnesses.
Great pics as always, that's a beauty of a moose. Sorry about the loss of your friend, I currently have a good friend battling cancer and pray everyday that he beats it.
So I've been luck enough to spend the only 8 sunny days this summer out at the flats. Took my 4 year old god-son Tristan out to the cabin on his first trip overnight away from his mom and first trip to the woods. I was nervous to say the least but not near as much as his ma. Little man done good and loved the Rhino but didn't care for the boat. No cartoons, video games or toys. Just tools and exercise. Little fella did great. Kind of a picky eater but just wasn't hungry enough. My old running partner has passed and a new one is in the making. Had a blast with the little man. So I took some buddies out again this week to run around in the high water. My new deck is soon becoming a dock instead. Highest I've ever seen the water in the flats. Took my buddies Go Devil out on a test drive. Man, that thing is awesome. 35hp on a 24'X48" flat bottom. I did manage to stick it though. I think it was operator error. Think I can see one of these in my future It wasn't quite my airboat but only burnt 2.5 gallons an hour.
Is that the 24x48 that's been on Craigslist? Ever time I see it I send the link to my wife and say "With this, we could hall our crap for a comfy camp, and still have room for bringing home the harvest!" It gets tight in my 18x48.
You won't regret having a surface drive for flats running if you get it.
Took AKnatitve and his family along with a couple more friends down to Minto Flats for some fishing and fun. Great time but the fishing was slow. Water is continuing to rise. My cabin on the great peninsula now sits on a little tiny island. Had to show Temple what those surface drive motors are for. Went places in the high water I had never even been with the airboat. Caught a few northerns but all little ones, fun just the same. Brooke landed her first pike and Jerod even managed to land a few. Temple's little man didn't land any pike but it sure wasn't from lack of trying. Sunset from atop the cabin Play time is all but over, got one moose hunt and then be building 400 #9's. Good luck to all and be safe this hunting season. May your meat poles hang heavy and you and yours return home safely.
Flew out to the Trapline cabin to check on things. All looked good except we lost the big strip upriver. Second time in 7 years, this time I don't think they be fixing it without some serious heavy equipment. That was a beautiful grass strip. Coming in on final approach below my place Even got to see a few critters
First moose season opener in 20 years without my ol hunting partner Jake at my side. Went at it solo this trip but Jake was with me all the way. Got the Mothership up and running, took her north to the south side of the Brooks Range. Go a couple brothers coming up next week to go moose hunting. Kind of poor weather but better than sitting in the house. Found a neat little bluff with some beaver ponds below and looked pretty moosey to me. River was high and expect to be a little more challenging when the water drops and it cools off. Spotted a few moose and a bear from the bluff and called that good enough for a camp. Bought a new 12x12 Arctic Oven with a vestibule, sure liked that. Put my wood stove and cots in and called it home.
Is that a can of sardines hanging on the back wire of that bear fence? Make sure you pee on the other side of the wire so the ground is nice and damp in front of the can. I love that big vista shot, nice composition. It looks like you have it all there, good view-point, old burn, winding river with open banks, beaver ponds, and Jake looking out for you.
That looks like a great spot for glassing, I see you are running an airboat, ever run a jet boat for a comparision? I have had an intrest in airboats but they are rare in this part of the country, everything is jet or prop. I'm headed out to do some scouting soon, got a hard frost this morning.
Thanks guys, good times. NH.. The batteries in the electric fence seem to last quite awhile. Should have changed them this trip. Could touch it without peeing my pants, new batteries will give you quite a wake up. Usually change them every season, cheap insurance. Bushman... I spend quite a bit on gear and usually buy the best I can afford or a little more. Ya git what ya pay for. The ground is pretty wet around the whole area so grounding the fence won't be a problem. Tundra300.. I've run most of the interior boats and have quite a few myself. The airboat has it's place and will go where no others will and where most people shouldn't even attempt to go. They are fast, loud and very expensive to run but couldn't be without one. I know guys who could easily run a jet boat up this river to where I am camped now but in a week they will have wrecked them in the shallow rocky river.
Made it back from moose camp with a moose in the boat. Little slow hunting but the country was beautiful. Real happy to come around the last bend in the river and see my camp still intact. We only saw 2 bulls and one cow in 7 days. First load was pretty heavy and the river had dropped quite a bit. The old Mothership did well and got us up through the shallows. Did lots of calling,hiking and fishing. The Grayling fishing was unbelievable. Ended up calling a 56" bull from about 3 miles away and knocking him down 1/2 mile from camp. Happy bunch of hunters. Ate like kings, fresh organic moose and cold water Arctic Grayling. Life is good. The new Arctic Oven was awesome and slept 4 comfortably on cots. Great trip overall and almost glad to only get one moose due to the river dropping. Made it in and out safely with no major mishaps. Sent my brother and Ross back to North Dakota with the moose in a pickup and little brother and I went down to the Chatanika for a little walk about. Ended up calling in a little 44" bull and my brother harvested his first moose. Great season with good people, filled a few freezers for several families and now we get ready for trapping season.
Congrats on the Moose. Sounded like it, but not sure. Do you guys split the meat up between all of you when someone kills a Moose, or any other game? Just curious, that is how we do it in our hunting party when we get Whitetail deer, or Bear. Nice looking Moose. So very jealous. Good luck on more.
Nice work on the moose. Got back Wednesday from New Mexico. Called in a stud bull to Lon. He killed it at 7 yds. In wyoming with the kid now. Called in 3 bulls the first day. All small five by fives. Had a good one in tonight screaming 40 yds but not shot I am to opportunity. I am to dumb to post a picture or I would send you one of Lonnie's bull. In the wall tent having a cocktail before we are at it again in am.
Yes we share our harvest with the hunting party. Being single, I cannot eat a whole moose in a year so I end up sharing with a couple older neighbors and friends with most of my bounty. I usually shoot little bulls and when ya get a big one like this, there is about 2/3 more meat than on a little spike fork bull. We are lucky enough to live in a country where our hooved animals will feed a couple families or maybe unlucky if you have to pack it far.
Brian, that is the 12'X 12' Arctic Oven with vestibule. It's huge, you're not going to have a barn dance in it with 4 guys but send me 4 women and I'd try. There is plenty of room even with 4 military cots and the wood stove.
saw you guys headed south packed to the gills and that big bull on the roof rack on the 2nd rig (you were in the lead, good stuff and great pics as usual!
12" x 12' is a nice size. I think I need to check the AO out.
I need a good setup for some researchers and our film crew this winter and have been pondering how best to keep folks warm. As my location would remain the same all winter maybe a wood floor and AO would do the trick. Worth looking into
I'm off Sunday with the Kifaru tipi for a week long wilderness elk hunt. Not an AO but it does have that trick little wood stove, and their is Birch!
Just a quick check in an update. The river isn't close to froze so I haven't been out on the line. Picked up a new sled this year for the mountains. 2015 Tundra LT with the 600 Ace. Got a few mods to do to her to get her ready for the trapline but will be fun. She is definately as tippy as people say they are. Got my shipment of wolves back from Moyle's this week too. Been a expensive week. Hopefully be able to get out and lay down some steel pretty quick, kinda going crazy here. I guy can only build so many #9's before he's got to take some in the field and put them to work. Be safe and have fun this season.
Rugger.. Everything is for sale. Only got the one black last year. The light colored one is the female I caught minutes before I busted up my face on the ice. She is beautiful.
Muskrat.. Team V on here covered my seat for me with some ballistic material I had on hand. Just did it to protect the seat a little more and does look good too. I have a bad habit of tearing my seats climbing over them with my boots and gaiters ripping my seat covers. Cannot wait to see how your Voyager preforms. I'm hoping this Tundra is a Skidoo and not a Skidon't like my other Scandic Skidid.
It's not the floatation, the bow is usually high and dry with the new skis with skins, the long keel seems to catch edges on lightly frozen overflow and ice. When you catch and edge on an all ready top-heavy machine, it gets a bit sketchy. On the trail and in the powder, they are awesome and double tough. The skins are on back order from Delta. I just happen to have a extra pair here for the WT that will go on the Tundra tonight.
AK - it's always fun when you're sliding sideways on glare ice waiting to catch an edge. I love that seat cover, I can't seem to help ripping them. For years I wore the seats out on all my sleds kneeling on them but these new style of machines have a way better sitting stance. One more week and I will be laying some #9's.
I have wide ski skins on mine. They provide good floatation but don't expect them to make the machine any less tippy. It is a capable machine but it gives a full body workout trying to keep it upright when breaking trail My machine has been reliable and the worst problem I have had is breaking off the cheap plastic reverse lever twice. Pulling heavy loads like you sometimes do the machine will need a clutch rebuild at about 5000 miles. In 7000-8000 mile range the front pogos will break off the tube that holds them together. It will happen sooner if you ride it hard. Some extra welding and bracing at the points where the pogos attach to the tube that connects them would cure this. Mine haven't broken yet but I am expecting it this season. These machines do not take a side load on the frame or front skis well. Don't let it slide down a hill sideways and impact anything it will fold the front aluminum frame pieces. The tundra LT is the worst side hill machine there is. It won't side hill it just slowly descends and will roll if you aren't completely hanging to the uphill side of the machine and have at least 200lbs of counter weight in your shorts I like my Tundra LT with the ACE and would get another but these are some things I have noticed. Thanks for sharing all the great pics and good luck trapping this year.
Dang man! You got me scared to come on a ride along with you now! Hope my little Polaris can keep up! Hope it does you right and that is a nice batch of fur!
Rugger.. Everything is for sale. Only got the one black last year. The light colored one is the female I caught minutes before I busted up my face on the ice. She is beautiful.
Muskrat.. Team V on here covered my seat for me with some ballistic material I had on hand. Just did it to protect the seat a little more and does look good too. I have a bad habit of tearing my seats climbing over them with my boots and gaiters ripping my seat covers. Cannot wait to see how your Voyager preforms. I'm hoping this Tundra is a Skidoo and not a Skidon't like my other Scandic Skidid.
Excellent job TeamV. I thought my Tundra seat was dry but it froze again today when I used it. Might have to order a Boss Seat. Check out my latest video on the Almighty Video thread; lots of Voyager in action on the Yukon North Slope. Good luck with the Tundra I had to change the clutch on mine put a Power Block 80 on there night and day improvement. Butter smooth shifting compared to to the bang and jerk, belt eating OEM clutch. Trapper Ty you have me getting off the computer and going out to check the KMs on my Tundra to see if I should expect my pogos to break. Really glad i bought the Voyager after reading that. But Ak Howlers Tundra with the snow camo seat really looks cool.
The Tundra will serve you well, a very agile machine in tight forest. I would like to get the Scandik for the heavy hauling, and my tundra for trapping, best of both worlds. Nice camo seat on the tunda.
Still haven't put any gear in the field. Busy building 9's and going crazy. Flew out to the trapping cabin to check on trails, sign, and the river. THE RIVER isn't even close. Was thinking about taking the airboat over with the sled in it but snow conditions didn't look that promising anyhow. Lots of overflow on the creek and some major falling out ice. Everything looked good at the cabin. Had lots of ermine and coyote tracks on the river. Had a lynx walk through the yard 5 feet from the cabin. Saw some griz tracks by the cabin from before this last little snow. Saw 4 wolves on Crystal Ridge, a ridge I've always wanted to put some gear, and they didn't hang around long. I did manage to get one pic of the last one heading off the ridge for the canyon. Saw lots of moose which really suprised us. The big bulls already shedding antlers. The moose were yarded up in pretty big numbers which was kind of odd to me with such little snow. Well maybe get a little colder weather and the river will freeze next week, quite a bit of ice flowing down her.
Cool pic's! We finally got a good dump of snow the other day, about a foot out on the line. The overflow right now is ridiculous and back breaking! I normally see a bunch of moose, between 20-40 in the early part of the season, this year I have only seen a group of 5 bulls. Funny how the snow drives the train like that!. Hopefully you'll get cold and snow and be able to hit it! Thanks for sharing!
These are some great pictures JR, from the sounds of things it's a great time to hunt moose sheds. While setting out your trap lines. I hope you catch the wolves and coyotes . Allan
Thanks for some great pics hope you are able to get some gear out soon had my sled out the other day those tundras sure do give you a good work out.Be safe out there good luck
The river hasn't froze up at my usual crossing so changed things up a bit. Left from the house on my sled and crossed the river by town. 106 miles from my shop to the cabin door on my new Tundra. Not much snow but a good trip just the same. Covered a lot of new country, seen some moose and a whole lot of wolf sign. Our wet summer in the interior really changed up the rivers. I lost a few #9's and couple snare pens. Didn't set out any gear. The new Tundra did well and the studded track is a great addition. Fur sign was scarce seeing only a half dozen marten and very little cat sign. Wolves were running amuck and only a few coyotes. Next week I'll head back out and lay some iron (all my wolf gear) and set some snares. Kind of strange to cover 235 miles with all that wolf sign and not find a single kill. Merry Christmas everyone. Finished the box on the Tundra Had some good groceries while out at the cabin. Canned snowshoe hare and moose steaks
Merry Christmas JR, that is a fine trapping box and set up. I've never tried canned snowshoe hare but it sounds good. Our weather turned to snow so we have a white Christmas after all, not enough to ride a sled on yet but soon if the wind doesn't pick up. Allan
Man your new Tundra looks good. My Tundra gave my a big stinky lump of coal for Christmas: The crappy Chinese sealed jackshaft bearing went again. 5370KM and this is the second bearing it has blown. Looks like it will be the Voyager for the next month or so while I try and get the jackshaft sent out and a new bearing pressed on. Well there goes any hope of making any money this year, it did not look good before that any-ways.
I was skeptical with the studs, mine came with it for free even, but have come to like them greatly! They did forget to put in the UHMW runners, a quick trip to delta fixed that. We ripped it apart put them in. I do need to get my shocks rebuilt, but don't have much intent of riding. At this point I'm surprised I still have it.
How much does that box weigh JR? Did you bump up your suspension?
Not much going on this season with me. Kind of got a lack of drive this year. Finally got out and set out some wolf gear last week. Really liking the new Tundra. 79.5 miles home on 4.3 gallons of fuel, breaking trail on 6"s of new snow. The belt chirped on me a few times on the ride home. May have to seal up some holes to keep the snow out of the cowl. The Tundra really throws the snow around when breaking trail. I was soaked when I got home. Picked up my first shed of the year. Flew out to look at the river and cover some country. The Tanana is wide open and seemed to have no intentions of freezing up at my crossing. It was actually scary to see the amount of overflow. Ended up going out the long way leaving from the house again. Set up a camp half way so I could spend some time putting out wolf gear. Didn't take many pics this trip, was just covering as much country and setting as much gear as I could. It snowed every day I was out there, not accumulating snow but just enough to make it flat light and interesting breaking trail. Saw quite a few moose and lots of wolf sign. Had a visitor invite himself into the cabin for breakfast. Cute little destructive fella really wanted my moose sausage. Heading back out on Sunday to lay down some more gear and hopefully get something for the stretcher.
Glad to see you got out Jr. Interesting how changes in weather patterns can throw a guy for a loop with regards following through with regular events he is used to. Shouldn't be hard to put that weasel on the stretcher. ;0) Or is he going to be a regular?
Thanks guys. HFT... Are you going to make it up this year for a ride a long?
FT.. The ermine will be a regular til he messes up. He's worth more around the cabin than his little pj's are worth on a stretcher. Heck, entertainment value is priceless.
Tradbow1... AO Pipeline.
Bushman... Definately can make time for sharing a bottle
Trapper Ron... Thanks for the reminder on the grocery list. List is filled and will be hauled out this week.
I thought similar Len, it looks sweet...but for that kind of money I wonder if the 8man kifaru, liner and stove wouldn't be a better trail option. It sure opens up a lot of hooch idears!
It does look much easier to set up than the kifaru however that comes with limited experience (buddies 6man no liner only ran a few times in it).
Wow very impressive JR! Can't believe the temps you guys up there have to endure... I appreciate your advise on the traps. I will let you know how they end up smelling after the coat job. 70 miles just to get to your cabin in hard to imagine. Thanks again and cant wait to see what you end up with after your next catch.
Ak - That's the kind of country keeps a man young and feeling alive
I used my Kifaru for base camp while building my cabin last winter. Only problem was I ripped the base when I had a heavy snow fall and melt while I was gone for a few days. The ice tore my tent. They also don't hold heat so you have to keep the fire going steady
Had a pretty good trip on the line this past week. Picked up some fur for the stretchers, found 3 moose sheds, got some more wolf gear lain and make it home safe. Picked up this 102# black male in a #9 pee post. Expected to pick a few more in the area but the wind seemed to cover most of the trail and traps in a foot and a half rock hard drift. Hauled out a pretty heavy load this trip and the Tundra did well. The wolves came right up to the cabin snooping around. They sure are belligerent this year. Caught a 24# male lynx in the Catch-all set. Here's the catch and the remake.
Picked two more wolves up river and missed a few more. 86# gray male and 76# gray female Picked up a couple more moose antlers which will help pay for the new windshield the Tundra needs. Pee Post Pass didn't produce this trip but narrowly missing. Squirrels and porkys didn't like my sign I guess Here's the 102# black male next to the 198# trapper Picked up this 40# male wolverine on the way home in a #9 Pee Post. Well furred with a busted up leg from that 9. Nothing that cannot be fixed.
Thats a nice haul, and great pics. That mountain country is just beautiful and a triple on wolves! Still have the Skandic, and is that the stock tundra windshield? Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on the critters, and nice haul. That country is beautiful. You are a lucky fella to be there. Nothing comes easy for sure. That is a awesome way to catch them Wolves. We haven't had much snow here where I live all winter. We are getting quite a bit now. Been trying to set a few foot sets out and it is a pain cleaning them off all the time. Cannot imagine trying to do that on all you set . Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics from your neck of the woods. Good luck.
Thanks guys, Enjoyed participating as much as sharing with ya.
Tundra300... That is not the stock windshield. It is the tallest one I could get from BRP and the same one I put on my Scandic WT. Great windshield, got a little brittle at -20 and I was going places I probably shouldn't have. I wouldn't mind replacing one every year but that's about it.
Takotna... The wolves were all in packs. The black male is from a new pack I'm playing with this winter with 11 blacks and 2 grays, now 10 blacks, in a new area.
AK TRAPR... The Tundra is tippy as people say it is buy very manageable compared to my WT in the mountains. I can high side the Tundra in the hills where the WT kinda goes where it wants too. I'm not a very fast traveler for the most part and that's where I think you can get in trouble with the tippyness. They are notorious for darting or catching an edge and dumping you on your face when not expecting it. That's when ya end up on the ice with your nose as a rudder, kinda like I did last year on the overflow. I do hang on a little tighter to this machine. I'm sure I'll relax or get complacent nand end up upside down sooner or later. The thing I like about this one is I can manhandle it where the WT was a heavy beast in the mountains.
Looks like you have the ski skins on your rig? You might want try the summit ski's. They are a little bit wider than the stock and the keel is deeper than regular ski's. With the deeper keel your not stuck in someone else's ski track making a straight path when riding. I found them easier to use around here anyway.
Safe trip home off the trapline with no fur for the stretchers. My chainsaw gas tipped over in my sled and leaked. My Pelican trunk with all my wolf gear has a hole in the bottom of it. These two little tidbits of information together equal no wolves in wolf gear. I had 5 pee posts dug up. Warm and good traveling but the overflow was ridiculous. The studs on the Tundra are awesome but I can see some little mods to her in the near future. Spent a day up looking for antlers and only found one but found a few moose. Broke out SMG with lots of overflow and the log jams were crazy. Finally gave up and went through the trees.
Bought some new cabin protection and entertainment. This little thing is pretty fun for shooting flies off the ceiling. Shot 4 in one night, not sure what the limit is on them. Set some more clean wolf gear hoping the warm weather doesn't expose them. Woke up yesterday morn at 5 am to 42 degrees ABOVEzero. I set 5 9's with grapples hooked to them. Dang that was hard for me to walk away from. 1st time using them and it was extra brushy around the sets. The wolves have been peeing on that 55gal drum everytime the walked by it so I planted a 9 beside it.
Man they are some awesome pics. You are in a beautiful area. Unreal to live there to enjoy that. You can have some of our snow. I live in Central New York. Country. We had close to 3' of snow in the last 2 and a half weeks. That is close to our total for a winter. We only had 14" of snow that had stayed all of January. Unusual though. When I think of Alaska, I think of snow in Feet, not what I see on your line. Look forward to your pics and stories. Thanks for sharing. The Yotes are strange in my area this year. Not seeing them come through much at all. Only killed two all winter so far. Had 6-8 by this time last year. I have had a couple #3's at a pee post for a month. Visited it once. Okay, good luck next time out.
Too bad about the tainted gear, looks like you would have had one or two.
I got something in a wolf trap with a grapple on it in mid November that disappeared. Because of the circumstances couldn't tell if it was a wolf or coyote. The place was fairly torn up, but trap and drag missing. It is along a road, could have been theft. Spent a long time looking over several days, no luck. I still use some grapples, but try to limit to good entanglement areas. Got one in a grapple a couple years ago, only made it about 20 feet to the first spruce tree and was there waiting.
JR, what made you decide to use grapples? It seems like the system you have staking or solid anchoring was working well. How much chain and cable between the trap and grapple? Good luck.
Thanks fellas, the grapples are just a quick way of setting wolf gear when there is no trees around to tie off and I'm not on ice. I just used them in places where I don't plan on re-setting in the future like odd pee posts along the trail or odd blind trail sets. They are from Alaska Range Trapping Supply out of Eagle River. These are made by a local blacksmith down there and are the best grapple I've ever seen. I have 6 and was pretty impressed when they hooked up just pulling them across my sno go trail and it about pulled me off my feet. I still only set them where there was extreme narrow trail with lots of brush. Most of them I threw the grapple into the brush to start. I kind of got tired of making and driving stakes all over. Lots of guys use them with great results. They will not be my main anchor by any means but will certainly be a nice addition to the gear box. Hope to post some pics next week showing how they work or don't work. Meanwhile, here's a few more pics from last week.
I bought a 12 volt jump kit and tried it on my Polaris 4-wheeler. Battery totally dead, 15 below and hasn't been started for over a year. This thing cranked it over better than the new battery did. This is another great addition to the pack on the trapline, boat, hunting camp or even the truck. Can charge cameras, phones and about anything you can think of. If you run a 4-stroke sled, I'd say they are a must.
Man! you are lucky to see caribou. Almost finished the 6 from this fall. I wish Fort Yukon would send the Porcupine herd back. My boys went to Herschel Island so I hope they get some caribou down there. Stuck going to training all next week in the capital. So go to traps on Saturday and that will be it for my on the land experiences for the next week.
Had a good trip out on the line and a rough one back in to the house. It was just as I expected out on the line. Lots of exposed gear, frozen snares, snares to high, overflow and not much fur for the stretchers. Spent a good deal of time chipping 9's out of the overflow. Pulled a lot of gear due to weather and not seeing much sign. On the way out, ran 76 miles without a piece of fur until I get to the cabin. Picked up a 23# male coyote in a snare. Just so happens to be the same coyote I snared last season 5 miles above the cabin and chewed out of a wolf snare. He was still wearing the snare when he walked into a 1/16" snare with a Senneker Kill spring and trigger. That put him down quick. The Wolf snare he chewed out of had a Amberg lock with moose stop. Covered a lot of beautiful country again. Picked up one more moose shed and topped out a couple more passes. Did some mods to the Tundra and she preformed well. I put a pair of Polaris Profloat skis on it. They are 9 1/2" wide and bolted right on. That took the darting out in the overflow and crusted ice. Then I put plastic under the running boards to stop the spray and drag in the overflow and powder snow. Worked out well also. Probably 80 miles of my line looked like this. Picked up a marten in a lynx cubby behind the house. Nice male in a #4 dls. Found a NH 1 1/2 hanging in a tree above my Catch-all set. Interesting to know how long it had been hanging there and who it belonged too.
Had a buddy fly out for coffee. Stip was a little icy. This has got to be the biggest moose rub tree I've came across. Had a fine dinner of Mashed potatoes, moose steak and candied parsnips. On the way home, I belly flopped the Tundra 1 1/2 miles from the house. Sled came out alright but it's Norwegian rider took spanking. May have sprained my ankle, hopefully that's all I did.
Thanks for the update. Dinner looks awesome right now! That trap is strange eh? Must be just one of those good trapping spots. Take care of that ankle. Good thing you're Norwegian or it may have been worse! LOL. Take care of yourself. All the best!
great pics u live in some incredible country no wonder everyone is moving to Alaska .pretty cool finding that trap my uncle found a trap one time grown into a tree could hardly see the jaws the tree had grown around it , I always wanted it as a keepsake but who knows where it is now . nice to see things of days gone by and think of the hardships and good times those early trappers had . great posts thanks
Sweet photos and great update on your latest expedition. From the looks of that whiskey and book I'm thinking you might be one of those brother's from a different mother. Thanks for the great posts all winter JR
Thanks for the update. It was nice of that yote to be sitting up waiting to welcome you. Are you going to keep trying for more wolves or call it a season? Hope that ankle heals up quickly!
Was talking to B. Smith yesterday and you came up. It was all good stuff, tho!
Bushman and AKhowler, when do you guys sleep? you guys always seem to be on here in the middle of the night. lol. Just curious. Nice pics from both of you guys. Lucky men. Thanks for sharing your photos and experiences.
Thanks guys. Went to the doc, nothing broke, just bad sprain. They say most accidents happen close to the house and it sure did. Probably gonna pull my gear next week when I go out. Got the ATA auction and banquet on March 21st and 22nd. I personally don't have much fur for the auction this year but got some antlers and skulls to go along with my catch. Got some projects around the house I should be catching up on before spring bear season. Putting up some fur and going back to work tonight.
We had a great monthly ATA meeting this month with Jim Masek as our speaker. As many of you know he is a wealth of knowledge and very woods wise. He spoke on different traps, snares and placement for all species of furbearers. It's amazing how you can pick up some little simple tricks from someone else. If you are not a member of the Alaska Trappers Association, I'd suggest joining. Our new editor Justin is putting out a great magazine with lots of pics and great material.
Smalltimetrapper... Haven't talked to Mr. Smith in a while. Don't think he'll be heading over this spring with the Tanana the way it is. He's one good ol'timer. Lots of respect for that man. Thanks for the note on the box the other day. It's going back though, wrong windshields. Delta Powersports is making it right. Good people to work with.
ATA auction and Fling is over and was a great success. What a busy weekend and glad it's over. Didn't get any pic posted from last trip out so here goes. 36 below when I left for the cabin pulling gear along the way. Had more snow on this trip than all winter long but the overflow was solid for a change. The new pack of wolves was at the bait but didn't lay any 9's due to the warm weather to come and it wasn't conducive to snaring. Next year I'll change that up a bit. Picked up this beautiful 27# male coyote in a lynx cubby that the ermine ate all the bait out of the last week, in an uncovered #3 DLS. Unreal how you can be clean and careful and not catch one and then something like this happens. Spent alot of time pulling gear and not seeing any wolf sign upriver. Covered a lot of country just exploring new passes and valleys. This used to be a nice tight little valley til the flood of 2007 and last year opened it up. This valley has been good for wolves for many years and they'd only been down it once this entire season. Put the Tundra to the test and did well. Found out it's hard to ride with one good ankle though. Tipped her over in some dumb spots. Put 1680 miles on it this season even with the late start. Really happy with it. It was -30 on Saturday morn and she didn't start though. Wasn't in a hurry so waited til 11am and -10 and she fired right up.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 03/26/1504:12 AM
Next year we are going to need a class on dirt hole trapping! What do you have auto pilot on that sled? Straight trail.
Spent alot of time cleaning up around the cabin and relaxing. Hate to see the season over but a poor year for fur and weather anyway. Saw quite a few ptarmigan and Sharptailed Grouse this year. Didn't harvest a single bird this season due to meat in the cooler and didn't need wings and bait since I wasn't trapping lynx or marten. Nice to see their numbers on the increase. On the way home, I saw a otter on top of the overflow on the new portion of the line. He wasn't very photogenic and wouldn't resurface for a photo op. Got some paperwork to tally up from the auction and get the furs that didn't sell back to the trappers. Heading back out to the cabin for one last ride out exploring and taking a buddy with a Scandic Expedition 900. This will be fun. See ya in a week.
That arrow straight trail must be the polaris skis. That windshield looks like the skandic model? How do you like the tundra compared to the skandic. Thanks for the great photography.
Thanks guys. The straight trail comes when you pay 10 thousand for a new sled and has GPS auto pilot. Those who've followed my journal can tell I'm not a very good driver and prone to make poor decisions. This should help, had to widen out my trails and keep the GPS hooked up to 12volt. The Polaris Profloat Skis help greatly.
Came home off the line today. Took a few extra riders with me this trip. 5 of us started out and 3 finished the ride. Took my neighbor and his wife along to show them the trail to their moose camp where my tent camp was at. A buddy of mine Kevin,also came with and we brought The ATA mascot Woody with who evidently has been in solitary confinement for many years. Not sure how to take this fella yet. So we started are trip in the morn with blue bird skies and +45 degrees. Around 12 miles into our journey, approaching McDonald creek, where I saw the otter last week, from a distance it looked to be covered in overflow. I was rapidly gaining speed when realizing that what I thought was overflow was actually the river wide open and flowing. Hard on the brakes and sliding out of control, the sled containing Woody, groceries and 8 wolf carcasses overran the Studded up Tundra and spun me backwards, dragging the sled off the ledge into the flowing creek where we came to a stop. This was very exciting. Kevin was wondering why I was speeding up when I saw it. May need to get my eyes checked. The wolf carcasses all floated away and we hooked a strap up and yarded it back onto the ice. Sorry about that Woody, first trip out and almost killed him. What a knucklehead move. Thank you for studs. If I didn't have those picks in the track, I would have surely been in the drink. We went up and down the creek looking for a ice bridge worthy of crossing and found one upriver about a half mile. After saying goodbyes to the other two riders we continued on up the trail. They had enough excitement for one trip, heck their shorts weren't even soiled. About a mile up the trail we found this young moose stuck in the creek exhausted and scared. There was nothing we could do safely and let mother nature take her course. 45 miles up the trail, all forward momentum came to a screeching halt. I lost a wheel off the back of the track tensioner and the axle shoot out. Lucky to find all the parts and were able to throw it up on a drum I picked up on the river and put her back together. What can go wrong next. Both episodes were operator error though. Made it to the cabin got unloaded and pulled Woody out. He was a little reluctant to come out after the ride he got. A little wet but no worse for wear. Got a fire goin and gave him something to ease his nerves.
That night we sat around the fire drinking with Woody and howling with 2 different packs of wolves. The next morn, Kevin, Woody and I went out looking for those wolves. Couldn't find them so we just went exploring. Picked up a couple old moose sheds and found a couple old trapper's cabins. Saw this neat tree growing by the one old cabin. This tree has a will to live, growing right around the deadfall. Snow was leaving fast so thought we'd better skidattle. Kevin got to find out why I didn't like the DS2 Pilot skis on the WT. He came across some overflow and on it's side his WT went sliding on it's side. Kevin and Woody got a little wet but unhurt. Don't think ol Woody will wanna come back out on another adventure with me.
Looks like the open water isn't the issue, it would be hitting the ice on the other side. That calf was alone I assume. Cow wouldn't leave that calf while still alive. I wonder if it got swept down river a bit away from cow. That woody would be darn handy if a fellow ran out of kindling...just saying.
Greeting fellow trappers and adventurers. Been a busy spring and looking forward to summer. We've had the mildest spring I can remember here in the interior. Been busy hauling cabin building materials out for a buddy building a remote cabin. Good times. 15,000# of materials hauled in with the Caravan. What an impressive bird. Good bunch of help unloading and many years of great fishing to come. Saw lots of game on our flights to and fro. Been wanting to do a little remodel in the house with some Knotty Pine T&G. Finally stopped talking about it and did it. Not much of a carpenter but the hides covered it up well. Flew out to the trapping cabin and finally got the tin on the roof of the fur shed/shop.
It was 85 Degrees and hot and dusty for the first few days in the mountains. It finally cooled off and we got some much needed rain. Not much but every bit helps. It was a dry tinder box out there and the river was lower than I've ever seen it. Once the roof was completed, it was time to play. Went out looking for bears and found lots of tracks and sign but no bears spotted. On to something else, antler hunting was good. Picked up a dozen moose sheds and a one caribou shed. Covered a lot of country, didn't see much for critters, probably hiding from the heat. Saw a few sheep which made me happy since I didn't see any this past winter.
Hi, this is AKHowler's sister Kami (kamray23@yahoo.com) AKHowler is down in the lower 48 for the next few months. He was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left cheek/sinus cavity. He is currently at Mayo Hospital Saint Mary's in Rochester,MN. He had surgery on June 10th and I have started a Caring Bridge Site to follow his progress and leave him words of encouragement. The site address is caringbridge.org/visit/jrpederson You have to register your email account to log in, the site name is: jrpederson
Please let know if you have trouble getting on or any questions. Thanks. Kami
Well it looks like we are having a couple days of winter this season. -27 this morn at the house. I'm healing up fine, just trying to put on some weight and muscle. 198# to 150# is a pretty big jump. I'm now at 160 and holding. It is really hard to go from being so strong to so weak is such a short time. It's hard to eat with no sense of smell or taste. It becomes more like work then pleasure. Been spending a lot of time in the shop reloading and building #9's. Took the tundra on a ride and did well. Got some mods to do on the Scandic WT yet and a little maintenance to do on the Tundra. Just a quick note of thanks for all the prayers, support and donations this year when I was down in Mayo Clinic. The place is amazing. I've been independent most of my life and I learned a lot on this adventure. YOU CAN NOT FIGHT CANCER BY YOURSELF AND NO ONE IS INVINCIBLE. Heading back down to Rochester for check ups in a couple weeks. Good luck to everyone and be safe this season. Thanks again.
GREAT to hear you're working your way back JR, you definitely have my utmost admiration. You're one STRONG man, I wish you a speedy recovery. I bet it was bliss for you to get back on your machine and get some wind in your face. I hope your checkup trip goes well, safe travels!
sounds to me like someone's going deer hunting ! hope all is well man! I'm rotating shifts this week, was hoping to stop by with Adam but it sounds like he beat me to the punch at the meetin.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 12/07/1504:41 AM
JR
It's good your gaining and its sticking. Have a good trip home and load up on your Mom's cooking! Snap
Jr, i was glad i was able to run into you at last months meeting .Glad to see things are getting better ,i cant imagine what you have gone through this year.You are one tough son of a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) .Hope things get back to normal.take care you are an inspiration to many thank you for your many posts. Matt
Glad to see you are back in action and healing up. Your loss of smell and taste do have one advantage... if you get stranded out on the line and have to eat a wolf, it would taste the same as prime rib to you.
Try a bit of Italian salad dressing on things you're eating. The vinegar seems to put back some of the original taste of food. At least it helps me. Chew some sugarless gum. It really helps with the dry mouth thing !
Did the radiation make your hair fall out ? LOL !!
Hey guys, I'm back with a clean bill of health. Speed trip down to Mayo Clinic went well. They said I looked great, if fact my surgeon said I looked tremendous. Hated to burst his bubble but I told him I didn't even look great before this whole ordeal. They want to see me in 4 to 6 months for more check ups and some new teeth. Crazy weather down there and look at the green grass in front of St. Mary's Hospital. Got home from Mayo, stoked the stove and flew out to the cabin for some real healing. Spent 3 days out there just living. Something about those mountains, the snow, the wildlife, that really helps the body and soul. Only had about 6" of snow out there. Spent a lot of time on the cross country skis predator calling and covering some country. Unbelievable how strong I felt while out there. Unbelievable how sore I was in the morning. Argued with a few coyotes on the mountain but they wouldn't come out of the sheep country. They talked tough but wouldn't come down and do anything. Saw pretty good fur sign on the river with lots of hares and grouse. Temps were great from 15 above to 10 below and dropping. My buddy came out and picked me up as the temp was suppose to be dropping to -30 or-40. Hope everyone has a safe and productive season this year. Thanks again for the support guys. Seasons Greetings.
Happy for you J.R., great to see you've been out to the cabin. Best Christmas present you could get was the news from Mayo. Hope you have a great holiday!
Nice to see you are doing great, and can get back into camp again, and certainly not disappointing with the beautiful pics you provide us with. Look forward to reading your Journal again and seeing all your beautiful country up there. Thanks for sharing and hope all goes well for you.
Great news Jr,good to see you got good news from the doctors,it is great to see you back to doing what you love to do.If you ever need anything let me know.Happy Holidays . Matt
GREAT to see you get back out in the woods again JR, I'm sure it did your heart good! Again, I admire your strength and perseverance in kicking cancers arse. Merry Christmas!!
Happy New Year all. My HP pc went down so I was without a computer for awhile. Picked up a MacBook Pro last night and will have everything uploaded from one to the other tomorrow. Been out on the line messing around on the rocks, ice and overflow. Not much fur out there this year and mainly just out there loving life. My left eye must have been the eye for photography cause I haven't been taking many pics this season. Picking up some shed antlers and a little fur for the stretchers. Had a wolf hunter suppose to come out with me last week but never made it. Glad of it, didn't like taking a greenhorn out on the line with the deepest overflow I think I've ever traveled in out there. Got plum scary for a bit. Hopefully get everything transferred over to the MacBook and put some pics on to update the journal. Got some other trappers journals to get caught up on reading myself. Good luck and be safe.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 02/21/1607:43 PM
JR Glad that your out going. That's the best thing you can be doing! Hope your able to get the great pictures coming again. Snap
Mac Book Pro. Good choice. If you need any assistance let me know. I can walk you through it with my eyes closed. ;0) Give me a call anytime. If your new to the mac it will take a little getting used to. Some work flow that will really help you to know.
I have really enjoyed your journal. You boys are some tough dudes up there. I went through the cancer deal in 07 [stem cell transplant]. The people at Mayo are amazing, they saved my life. I ate many meals across the street from St.Marys at the Honker. Good luck and keep your knife sharp.
Hello guys and gals, got my Macbook up and running. What a pain in the rear, but here goes. Went out in January and set a little line. Took my buddy Kevin with me just too babysit me and make sure all went well with my scrawny rearend. Spent a little time cutting trail and felt good over all just a little weak. Been seeing a lot of caribou and moose along the trail. Picked up a few sheds and Kevin picked up his first caribou shed Lots of overflow this year and very little snow. Pretty good wolf sign but not seeing much coyote sign this year. Snowshoe hare population seems to be on the rise.
It was just great to be out there and very healing in it's self. Ended up picking a 88# gray male wolf in a #9 pee post at the end of the line picked 3 red fox on the first check, which is what I usually catch all season. One was in a #9 on Pee Post Pass due to setting the pan tension light to deal with this freezing and thawing BS that we've been getting. The other was in a cat cubby in a covered #3 DLS Thanks you Mr. Allan Minear for the Chokecherry syrup, went well with some beer pancakes and bacon Pee Post Pass #1 #9 Pee Post Pass #2 #9 This is where I caught and lost a black wolf in #2 #9 on Pee Post Pass on the first check Lots of overflow this year. This is good overflow when I take pictures of it. The bad stuff, I usually don't take pics of and am running for my life from it. Pretty big pressure ridge out on the creek below the cabin
As always JR these are some great pictures and congratulations on the wolf at least you have a little snow, it was 72 here today with dust flying behind even our little dog. Keep up the good work ! Allan
The second check went quite a bit better than the 1st. #2 wolf waiting for me on Pee Post Pass in the same spot I caught the red fox. 94# gray male On up the line to the bait. I'm pulling gear as I go due to the warm weather. The wolves had hit the bait the first week and hadn't been back till now. That is #3, 4, and 5. 93# black male 86# gray female 98# gray male. Was feeling pretty strong even with the pack down the hill. On up to wolverine creek and lucky enough to pick up #6. 82# gray male in snare. All looked to be quick efficient kills. Thanks to HFT for the snares last year that he sent up. 2 of the wolves were hung in HFT's snares. 17# scrawny Coyote in MB750 catch all set
Your welcome JR if we get a good crop of chokecherry this year we may make some home made syrup. It's good to see wolf catch pictures those two on the ridge need to be framed. Allan
Your an animal brother. Most would of took the winter off to heal up from the battle you have been on. Great work. We will catch up soon I want to hear all details. Stay Safe
Nice to see you are getting well enough to get out and take some great pics as usual, and take care of the Wolves up there. You take some awesome pictures of that great landscape. Hope you can get back to your normal health. Good luck you have been through a lot. Take care.
Thanks guys, the pleasure is all mine to just be able to be out doing what we love and sharing with you all. Here's a few more pics. I'm all loaded up to head back out to the cabin in the morn. I've never done a cabin pic with the year's furs on it. That is fixing to change. Thought I'd spend a couple days out there playing.
Moses... my wolf snares are 1x19, 3/32 cable with cam locks, berkshires, thompson or Amberg. Leaning mostly on toothed cam locks. Bushman... I get the gravel from on site on the pass.
The annual Fling is coming up on March 19th. Hope to see some of ya there.
Made a trip back out to the cabin hauling supplies and messing around. The main reason was to haul my furs out for an end of the season pic on the shed. Spent a few days just messing around, covering country and looking for antlers. Didn't find a single shed. Spent some time playing on a serious glaciering little creek. Can usually find a few sheds back in there but not this trip. Hard to leave the cabin with a view like this. Had a visitor this morn but she wasn't as friendly or near as photogenic as the one last year. This is a waterproof bag John aka Team V made for me. It is awesome and hauled all the fur out in it. Works great. 0 degrees this morn and snowing. What the heck is going on. Nice to be able to see tracks in the snow though.
Hey JR thanks for allowing us along again out on your line, your cabin picture with your furs showed a nice variety of colors and a great job on some well handled fur. That creek is really something, on a snare line years ago I had a spring along one part that did the same thing just not as thick of ice that's just wild looking. We had a quick horizontal snow storm blow through this morning sadly it didn't last very long. I agree with you on the view from the cabin that would be tough to leave. Allan
Well brother and sister Trappers, here we are again, another year. Me and this Apple still aren't really getting along very well but here goes. Started out this spring doing a little bear baiting out around the trapline where we thinned out some of the population but not the right bear. We had a very rude cabin raiding bear in the valley this year that did unbelievable damage to many cabins. I will deal with him this spring personally. Covered a lot of country picking up some caribou sheds and looking for moose sheds Game Cameras sure were fun this year. Lot of pics but still have a learning curve. I got lucky and had very little damage. Did loose a little skin off the back of the cabin, the screen out of the big window and one Coors light. Spent a lot of time making Alaskan #9's and some stretchers since we didn't have any snow and the river took a while to freeze.
I finally made it out on the line. The Tanana crossing was the best I've ever seen. The rest wasn't optimum running conditions. Only had to pull the chainsaw out 4 times in 40 miles to the cabin so that was nice. There is about 2 inches of snow at best and made for some rough travels on machine and rider. Lots of overflow this year. Put a couple hundred miles on the Tundra without any problems other than tipping it over more times than I care to count. Found this caribou kill from this fall. Pretty cool find but a lot of work to get it out. The heavy rains this summer left the trails with some speed bumps. Did get some gear out. Put a few lynx cubbies out for good measure, a few coyote sets, hung a couple dozen wolf snares and couple dozen #9 pee post set. Good wolf sign, cut a few wolverine tracks and very little marten and lynx sign. Saw lots of groceries along the way so that was good. Didn't take many pics of them but seen some good numbers of moose and caribou. I was lucky enough to pick up a 22# female wolverine on a 2 day soak in a MB 750 catch-all set. Good thing I came by when I did. I was going to take a few pics of her but looked at her in the binos from about 60 yards and could not see any foot under the jaw of the trap. I took her from there with the .22 mag. When she fell out of the tree, there was just part of her pad caught in the corner of the jaws just out of the off-set. She must have just got caught. Changed out the trap and re-set . This is only the second female wolverine I've taken out there. They sure are small compared to 35-40# males. Put some new bags a scabbards on the Tundra which worked out well.
The bear problem/damage seems to be increasing state wide. Many of us are making the jump to solar bear fences. Bear boards used to work well, but these determined bears are boring through siding and jumping through windows on a regular basis. Time to change tactics.
Great pics as usual Jr,looks likes things are going well.The tundra,s are nice but if you look at them they will tip on you.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year be safe out there
Great pics,love the trail cam pics at the camp.How do you navigate the washouts on your trail-make a quick log crossing or find a better place to cross?
Hey guys, I did a quick trip to the cabin on Thursday morn after working night shift. Heard we had a bad winter storm coming in Thursday night so I decided to spend it at the cabin verses the house. Power outage out there is as simple as fueling the little Honda generator. Pretty nice ride out in the calm before the storm. I actually got a couple inches of snow out there last week. Lots of groceries in the flats. Made it to the cabin without incident, got a fire going, unloaded the sled, grabbed the water jugs and on up the line. We must have had some pretty good winds out there. Many of my traps were under drifts. I didn't even bother working them over with the on coming storm. I caught and lost a wolverine in a cubby with a Duke #3 cs. Held him pretty well until his toe gave way. On up the trail, I knew I held something judging by the pacing coyote tracks in the trail. Sure enough, 1st wolf of the season waiting in a #9 pee post. Beautiful 112# gray male. Quickly dispatched him and went on up to Pee Post Pass. Missed a few wolves on the way and found one of the #9's tripped. Ran into these 13 bull moose who were thankful for the trapper and allowed me a few pics.
Back at the cabin, I hung the big gray to skin but somehow have caught my second wind even after being up for 28 hours. Still ahead of the storm, I figured I'd better get back out and finish checking the line. Stoked the fire, put the water in the cabin and on up the line Behind the cabin I have 5 cubbies in a little over a mile. These held 2 marten and a 33# male coyote. Pretty stoked as I come up to the 750 Catch-All set where I caught the wolverine last week. Low and behold another 28# male coyote. I feeling good, traveling upriver to the bait with a wolverine working the trail ahead of me. He some how tripped my 330 cubby without getting pinched. He's made it thru a fence of snares and as I round the corner, I see eyes in the headlight. What a beautiful 28# male wolverine waiting for me in a Duke #3 CS, just like the one 7 miles downstream where he left his middle toe. Now with a wolverine, 2 coyotes and 2 marten in the sled, I head back for the cabin. Up late but get the wolf and wolverine skun out and turn in at 2 am. The wind picked up around 10pm and steadily got worse over night. Friday morn, I fired up the stove in the shed and skin the coyotes, marten and boarded everything but the wolf. Made a call to town on the sat phone and was told I was needed to plow snow in town. Aw crap... the wind was dying down so I figured I better go. We didn't get the snow out there that they got in town or if we did it all blew away. This morn I decided to run back up river real quick to have a look and came on this beautiful female wolf in another #9 pee post. Good run and headed back down river. Some wicked drifts to contend with on the way home and lots of trees across the trail. Made it to the truck one tired trapper. Got some plowing to do for the next couple of days. Happy New Year all..
Happy New Year JR great pictures as always and thanks for bringing us along for the ride. Did you weight the second wolf be any chance ? I'd guess that it's about the same as the first grey one. Allan
Thanks guys... The second wolf was a female and weighed in at 82#. Just got her skun out an threw here outside to cool off before I start fleshing and boarding. Otterman... There wasn't a collar on that first big male wolf. FL cracker in AK.... the Tundra pulls the sled just fine and I built the sled and is pretty close to the same thing as a Cross Fox. HFT.. I have all the snares you sent me out in the field just waiting for a wolf to stick it's head in them Boco... I usually just cut trail around the wash outs but have built a few bridges. Need to take the time to build a few more good bridges.
JR, I saw one of your pee post pics. How do you secure them in the ground and what do you use for the pee? I'd like to see a diagram of how you do those. Is the trap in the picture under the gray gravel? And if so, how far is the trap from the scent? What do you use to cover the trap? Wax paper?
Inupiaq... The #9 at Pee Post Pass is anchored with a 18" #5 Rebar stake. I usually use those stakes on my ridge tops and occasionally on the trail where I use the same pee post year after year. I ice in a lot of traps too since I run so much river and also tie off to trees. For urine, i prefer to use wolf pee that I've picked up from wolves natural pee post that I collect but I've used dog urine, store bought wolf urine and even pee on the set myself. My wolves seem to shy away from the 2 different store bought urines though. The #9 on Pee Post Pass is under the pee gravel. An arctic ground squirrel dug a den right in the middle of my trap bed this year so I had to fill in his den to bed the trap. I put a piece of wax paper under the trap and one over the pan but under the jaws. Truthfully I don't have a set measurement for placing the trap away from the post or scent. I've set the pan 10" to 18" from the post or scent kind of depending on the size of the post. Smaller posts like the flat rock on Pee Post Pass, I set close. It seems like they step over and walk all over the shorter posts. I found that I will catch a lot more females when the trap is set close and I'm assuming that it is because they walk over the post and kind of squat on the post.
Good morning fellas. Came back a little early trying to beat the cold front moving in to the interior. I was a little slow on my forecast. -30 degrees at the cabin yesterday morn when I got up and -46 degrees at Tanana crossing. Had a good trip out pulling the groomer in some fresh snow. Overflow wasn't to bad this trip on the way in but on the way out was a different story. Picked up a 65# gray male in a AK #9 pee post on the way in to the cabin. Pulled the groomer over some across a new line that was pretty cool. Made for a really nice ride when I was done. Lots of fallouts in the ice again this week. I've seen that over the years even with low snow years after big wind storms. It's like the harmonics of the wind drop the ice like the weight of heavy snow does. Picked up another beautiful gray male in a AK#9 pee post with a grapple. Drove right past it on the way out not even 20 yards off the trail. Maybe my eyesight is even worse than I thought. Caught his eyes in the headlight when I was grooming the trail. Temps started dropping and snow was building which made for busy trap tending. The view out front of the cabin Ended up getting a bit of frostbite under my left eye. I have no feeling in the left side of my face so guess I'll have to pay attention to that in the future. Seen lots of groceries on the way in and out. Didn't take many pics as the temps were uncomfortable to my photogenic side. Lots of twin moose calves this year. Picked up my first moose shed of the season. Well got a couple hides to flesh and stretch today out in the shop. Stay warm all and safe trapping.
Good stuff as always buddy. I once tracked a trapped wolf up a river bank and didn't see anything. After running the line, I was coming back down the trail and I seen where he came down the bank right over my walking trail. Once I caught up and dispatched him I went back to see how I missed him. Seen that he was laying behind a 4 foot snowdrift the whole time no more than 25-30 feet in front of me.
See the Skandic is back on the job, getting up in Kms? Thinking a guy needs a Skandic and a lighter machine for just running around. Nice job on pinching toes.
Nice work as usual JR. You've got your on little slice of heaven right there. When I ran dogs there was this cream we used to use to prevent frostbite, or at least help.....dont remember the name of the stuff but it might work good for you. Think Cold Spot Feeds used to sell it.
Made a quick trip out on the trapline. Pretty slow for fur but did pick up a #85 gray female in a snare and found my missing trail groomer. A moose had got tangled up with it and carried it 20 feet off the trail. 3" of fresh snow had hid it from me previously. Lots of overflow after that cold snap. 30 degrees above this time though but it cooled down a little. Picked up another small moose antler. The wolves had played with it a bit. Lots of groceries running around this trip too. The female wolf had a beautiful hide on her. Heading back out to put a new bait out on Monday in a different area. Only spent 2 nights out at the cabin this trip. The wolves were around just missing my gear or not interested in the sets they did come by. Ordered a metal detector to help locate a few #9's that got swallowed up by the overflow.
Good looking amaguqs JR! I would get frostbite in the same area before I started doubling up my NO-FOG masks. I just cut 1 up so it fits inside the other, however I pull the inside one up so you have better coverage underneath the goggle area. Plus I dont even feel the cold down to -45 below. Best mod I ever did for my face. Im just curious what kind of camera you use on the line? it takes really good pictures!
Thanks guys, the pleasure is mine being able to be out doing it and sharing with those who appreciate the outdoors as much as I. Kinda funny, the other day someone asked me if I wished I was in Hawaii when it was so cold up here in the interior. My answer to them was, I am right where I want to be, the fact is, there's no place in the world that I'd rather be than right out on my trapline. No Place. Here's a few more pics from last week. This is one of my catch-all sets dusted off. Picked up the female wolverine and a coyote in so far this season. This is a typical wolf snare in the trail. I don't put these snares where the caribou tend to wander. Moose push them right out of the way. There is usually a pee post not to far from these sets. The stove is full of stainless pots. Hot dish water in the stock pot, coffee in the percolator and hot water in the tea pot. This is where a herd of caribou came through the other night and I didn't see a single bou that day.
Really enjoy your journal JR. Funny how the caribou are always on the move, there one day and gone the next. We have a couple of the AK #9's out of that dozen we got from you a couple years ago set and hope the wolves come thru. Will be setting a few more in a week or so. Thanks again for journal.
Yes i agree, always look forward to next post, and there is no place i would rather spend winter! That wolf snare set up has me intrigued. I want to get into foot holds for wolves yet, we have a 48 check law makes it tuff. Sharing pics makes us all better trappers.
When you set snares on your trail, do you drive over them as you come back on your next check then reset off the back of the sled? I'm trying to figure a way how to do it without getting off the sled and leaving tracks all over.
I guess that would me mine. Maybe I should have taken that last fur handling class huh... So I let my last wolf get a little too dry when I tried to turn it fur side out and pretty much ripped it in half. My temper got the best of me and it will cost me dearly when I get the bill back from Al.. I'm not much of a seamstress either so I brought it to Al. When you handle fur like him, you better know how to sew....
I just walk back on my sled and reset the snare and replace the guide sticks. I should say I crawl over my sled usually falling off and leaving tracks or a body imprint along the trail before the re-make of the snare. This was just good photography here and you don't see all the tracks. This set doesn't work all the time but what it will do is show you where they will go when they go around it when they're spooked. If that is the case just leave this up as a decoy and set their trails on the go arounds.
I usually just walk in the ski tack of the snow-go. or get off the snow-go and make a horse shoe loop back to the snare. Or just drive pass it,just enough to put the NO# 9 wire back in the right place never getting off snow-go. I never use guide sticks, so this works the best. Also don't catch many wolves with this set, but i usually have other snares off the trail.so when the wolves jump off the trail, i am skining and sewing. as JR pointed out.
Lol I can picture you reaching off your sled getting the snare perfectly in place then rolling off and leaving the prints you didn't want to leave behind lol. Thanks!
IF you go by the set, then you walk on your snowmobile trail back to the set, it doesn't look out of the ordinary. If it was just a snowshoe track I would see where that would be a problem. Just a suggestion.
Just came back from an awesome trip out to the trapline. Little cool when I went out but doable. Late start getting going but made up for it on the groomed trail and lack of overflow. Got the fire going in the cabin, grabbed the water jugs, unloaded the sled and on up the line. Was seeing a lot of wolf sign on the creek so had high hopes but low expectations. We had snow, cold weather, warm weather and now cold again. That combination puts traps out of order. As I come up the trail I notice a pee post that I thought about putting on #9 on but never did covered in fresh pee. Dang it, I stop and place a #9 on it and as I'm doing it I hear a chain rattle and walk up in front of the WT and see a gray wolf in a #9 20 yards up the trail in another pee post I made. Cool. Dispatched her and on up the trail missed 3 more on frozen traps and a couple walk by's. As I top out Pee Post Pass, which you are in the blind until you are on crest the ridge, I pretty excited. Low and behold a double. Both AK #9's held gray males. Definitely one of my highlights of my trapping memories. Put them in the sled and headed back towards the cabin. Back at the cabin, got some dinner and went to work pulling the pajamas off the Slide Creek trio. Long night but got those 3 peeled. Big breakfast in the morn and on up the line. -25 when I left and dropping. Hard to believe how beautiful it can be even when it's chilly. Proceeded up to RMC and noticed quite a bit of new sign around it. Picked up a big ol gray male in a snare on the way to the bait. Still pretty soft, probably a day old. Seneker kill spring and toothed cam lock snare did the job quick. He was 111 pounder in really good shape really long claws. Always amazes me how long their claws are if we have a good snow year.
So Sunday morn I wake up to -34 degrees and didn't put the WT in the shop and also my extension cords are definitely not arctic cords. Round 1pm she finally started and I went on out another leg of the line. Not much fur sign but lots of moose. Got an infection in my left index finger where I stabbed it a few weeks ago while skinning a wolf. Took some antibiotics and it went away but came back. Was a little worried when it woke me up. Nothing a little whiskey can't fix. The swelling seemed to go down the next day so I stayed out there. Ran cross country to the new line. Missed a few on pee posts and a couple trail snares. Pretty happy to come on to wolf #10 in a trail snare. 76 pound gray female Had some good eats while out there on the line.
How long did it take you to skin 3 wolves? You must have a strong set of mitts on you to do them all in one night. Do you have a puller of some kind set up?
How long did it take you to skin 3 wolves? You must have a strong set of mitts on you to do them all in one night. Do you have a puller of some kind set up?
No kidding, I skinned out two the other night, peeled them out of skulls,feet, and tails, and man did my hands hurt! Beautiful country and wolves. Thanks for the ride JR.
I started at 7pm and went to bed at 1:30am. Had dinner in there some time. Just peeled them and left the feet in 2 of them. Skun out the feet on the other two the next morn before breakfast. I don't have a puller but will have a winch set up out there next trip. I broke my rope-ratchet that I've used for years. Good thing as it wasn't the smart way by any means but it worked. Just got done putting one wolf on the stretcher. Will do the rest tomorrow. I love trapping and putting up wolves but dang they are a lot of work compared to doing marten.
It just so happens I have 4 more to do tomorrow if you need something to do..... Can always use the help. Gave a fleshing and boarding demonstration tonight for a new trapper so that was fun.
It just so happens I have 4 more to do tomorrow if you need something to do..... Can always use the help. Gave a fleshing and boarding demonstration tonight for a new trapper so that was fun.
Appreciate the offer but I want four of mine. Tight chains JR.
Both the WT and the Tundra are 600 Ace. Was talking with your partner about his Expedition 900 Ace. He said he really likes it and it will walk on water pulling a sled.
Awesome! Those doubles are nice to pull up to for sure! I love driving up to the top of passes and seeing mountain tops, nothing like it. Keep it up Bud!
I use a 12" cabin spike with a 1/2' nut welded to the head for a test stake. If the spot provides catches then I use a 18" piece of #5 rebar with a nut welded on the top of it for permanent stakes. I put a short piece of chain and swivel on each stake so all I have to do is use a quick link to attach the trap. I have these drove in all over the country out there.
I use several different cameras on the line. Here is 3 of them. The little yellow one gets the most use and is a Fuji XP, fits in my pocket and is with me at all times. The giant heavy one is a Canon EOS with a 50-500mm lens, this camera has been with me on a lot of adventures and used mainly for wildlife pics, some scenery and close ups. The last one is a new camera and just getting used to it. It is a Nikon Coolpix P900. It has got more zoom than my Canon and weighs less than half the weight. This Nikon may replace the Canon very soon.
Yes sir that is single wall stainless up to Metalbestos going through the ceiling. The stainless is amazing and never had to replace it on any of the cabins once installed. Costly but well worth it. I usually fire the pipe pretty hard once a week just to burn out the creosote which builds pretty quickly since I only idle my stove most of the time.
I used to run mine all the way out to but the creosote build up above the roof line was pretty bad because of the cold pipe. I put Metalbestos in last spring and seems to be working well. My stove just idles once the cabin is up to temp and I let it rage about once a week to clean out the pipe. I've seen some pretty wicked stack fires over the years in cabins that could have went terribly wrong if we weren't there to take care of it. After a couple pretty good scares, the extra cash for stainless pipe seems petty in comparison to building a new cabin.
Came back from the cabin to plow some snow. Got a bit of snow out there and crazy winds. Pulled the groomer out to the creek and proceeded up to the cabin. Didn't see much for sign probably due to snow and wind. First trip out without seeing any caribou. Got the fire going and on up the trail. Had one wolf walking up the trail but missed my all the gear until Pee Post Pass. Not only did I get my first double on it last trip but I picked up another one in the remake with a MB 750. I've never caught a wolf in the same spot twice in one season until now. The trap bed was worn down from the last catch so I bedded the thinner MB 750 rather than the AK#9. It worked. 86# gray male Had about 20 minutes of nice calm weather so I took this pic. Wolves made a kill just off the river. Young moose, looked like 3 wolves left in this pack. Left some snares above the kill. Not really good snaring area but should pick at least one off it. Picked up a matched set of antlers about a half mile apart Thawing 76# gray female from last week in the shop Turning the ears on this week's gray male in the fur shed
Nice wolf Howler! I'd love to catch a NICE looking wolf instead of the mangy, lousy, or Mohawk wolves I have been lately. After taking out 20 or so from my line in the past 3 years I do notice an improvement in the fur quality though. Less competition usually means more resources to the surviving wolves, less stress should improve the fur.
Nice wolf Howler! I'd love to catch a NICE looking wolf instead of the mangy, lousy, or Mohawk wolves I have been lately. After taking out 20 or so from my line in the past 3 years I do notice an improvement in the fur quality though. Less competition usually means more resources to the surviving wolves, less stress should improve the fur.
I bet the top of Alstom Creek would be almost like Pee Post Creek. Jonas hot a huge 135# wolf near Fish Hole the other day.
Pulled the short line and man was that a long day. 75 mile round trip and was stuck more times that day than the rest of the entire season. Some rough conditions for towing a sled. Figured I'd take a pic of this years catch before they go to their new homes. Got a few of them sold. 3 in snares, 7 in AK#9's and 1 in a MB750. Hope to see some of ya at the ATA auction and Fling on the 18th and 19th. Good times guaranteed...
Amazing how uniform the colors are! So glad to see you back in form. You are indeed as tough as your sister said. I followed your progress through her site. Good job winning the battle, J.R.
Thanks guys. Probably pull the line next week. Got some frieght to haul out for an outfitter, ice fishing and adventuring to due yet this spring after the Fling.. Temple.. most sleds will level the trail behind you if you have the tongue mounted close to the bottom of the sled. The sleds that mount the tongue high in front or on the sides will actually dig your whoops deeper pushing the snow out of the low spots. Come pick the Tundra up tonight and take her for a ride..
Came home tonight way earlier than I'd have liked too. Lost a wheel on the back of the WT and figured I'd better head for the truck before I had to walk further than I'd like. The weather was unreal today and wolves came out of the wood work. I'll start at the beginning.. Pulled the groomer in to prepare for hauling a bunch of hay and fuel for a outfitter. He wasn't ready and backed out. Got to the cabin and headed up to Pee Post Pass. Guess what.. Wolf #12 in AK#9 and the 4th wolf in the pass this season. Unreal. Downfall of it was, the SMG pack came up and dispatched it for me. Big male and haven't got it on the scale yet. Reset both traps and we'll see what happens. Spent most of the time pulling gear. Pulled 3 dozen #9's from their snowy or icy tombs. Left the snares at the bait and the moose kill. The 3 wolves that made the kill stomped all over the big rock where I caught the female earlier but didn't fire the #9 with 10 inches of snow over it. They weren't falling for the snares on their trails into the kill either. The Iowa Ridge pack made an assault on Dry Creek this week. Haven't seen them come down that chute for many years. Yesterday they came down above the cabin. Looked to be 10 strong. Went up on the ridge to see if I could find them. I found a bit of sign. Pulled those traps one day to soon. Good times and weather just didn't have another wheel to replace the one I broke. Got the ATA Fur Auction and Fling this weekend. Hope to see some of you there.
Bummer on the dead wolf, hope they didn't tear it up too much for you. Have to get Al on the sewing machine again. It looks like you will have plenty of wolves left to mess around with next year! Glad you didn't get stranded out there.
Congrats on #12! When you pull gear, it always happens that way! Hopefully they come play next season. At least the pack didn't eat up the wolf for you! I remember one of the biggest dogs my Dad ever trapped, got eaten up by the same pack it came from! It was completely eaten up on one side of its body. On some big wide open country like that it might be worth it to follow the tracks a few miles. Man I usually throw in some extra wheels and bolts into my action packer full of gear, my load is usually heavier then I want. When you travel by yourself, all the stuff you got, is what you got. Its better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.
What a great series of posts AK. Your photos really set the scene. That wolf looks like it took a beating. I just finished up a book by a guy who was a bio for the Yukon government who headed up their wolf control program. Their research showed number one mortality of Yukon wolves was death by other wolves. Followed by Dave ( Yukon 254 )
Nice looking country there howler! Some big tracks amongst the wolves there. I agree with Nunamiut, In some of that big open terrain I would bet you could get a few by tracking them.
Came home this morn a sad trapper. Closed up the line for the season. Followed the SMG pack for 3 miles right up to the Pass from the top. Talk about some anticipation and excitement as I followed their tracks. Missed the entire pack in both traps by inches but didn't seem educate them. Next season and they showed me several more posts to set. Pulled 90 gallons of gas, some propane, a Bravo and the groomer out on the first trip. Trail was awesome. Hauled out 36 55 pound bales of hay. Once the work was done, it was time to cover some country and look for some wolves and antler. Didn't find either but did manage to see some pretty nice country and a few Dall rams. Got one #9 left to chop out of about a foot and a half of overflow next week and then the work is done. Play time. Going to get out and do some exploring for next season and get ready for spring bear season. Been a great season, learned a lot and we had a real Alaskan winter like we used to.
Thanks JR for taking us along,you need to put on a demo on wolf trapping i have tried for the last 4 years to take the class the ATA puts on but it always gets cancelled.
Nice stuff as always, love seeing those rams. One idea for your overflow traps, get a bucket of ash from your stove, or some dirt from an exposed bank. Spread a blanket of it over your buried trap and the sun will start rotting it out pretty quick this time of year. Come back next week you won't have to chop so much.
You're living the life AK and an example of what one determined man can accomplish. Your journal has been my go to for adventure and great photos. Enjoy your spring
Made a trip out to the cabin this weekend. Took my neighbor with and let him ride the Tundra. Left early in the morn while the temps were cool and the trail still firm. Some other prick didn't and tried to go out with a big UTV side by side on tracks during the heat of the day. Left the first 15 miles of the trail a mess before he turned around. I wished I'd had caught up to him or maybe not, he probably wasn't worth the time or trouble. Hoping karma will catch up to him. Built some stout bear shutters for the cabin windows out of steel. Got them installed and they worked great. This was the reason for the shutters. Tracks all over the windows but never broke them. DIdn't see any fresh wolf sign but lots of coyote and wolverine tracks. Seen a few Dall rams at a distance Spent most of the trip just covering some country exploring.
Had a little trouble with this little water crossing. Snow flap got caught up on the studs of the track and wouldn't let me back up. Time to tear down the sleds and inspect and service for next season. Thanks for following the journal this year and have a safe and productive summer. Lets kill some bears and catch some fish. AKhowler out.
Awesome and it's kind of surprising there was no wolf sign with all the action you had out there. I feel your pain re the trail some guys make it tough to share!
Thanks for sharing your Journal and photos of such a beautiful Country. I always look forward to seeing them. Awesome pics and stories. Thanks to all of you guys that take the time to have these Journals. I live in New York State . Look forward to seeing more either this spring or next winter.
I forgot to post the pics of #12 on the board. That other pack really worked him over good. Next season the SMG pack with pay dearly for what they did to poor old #12. Here's a few of my little tricks for stretching wolves on the boards. May be a bit different from what most do but seems to work well for me. I skin most all my wolves for taxidermy. My stretchers are a bit wider in the nose than most specs. They work better for me when stretching and drying the lips. The forms are made of heavy cardboard and last for a couple years and easy to stick pins in and remove. Just an idea for any newbie's looking to put some wolves on the boards.
JR - When you're doing your wolves do you skin the head from the jaw side? I find it easier to get the thin sections of the gums by doing it that way. I also had my taxidermist tell me to leave the cartilage in the ear as they like it stiffer. I try to clean skin wolves which takes longer but the taxidermist seem to love it.
My last wolf of the year was work over by other wolves pretty bad . Felt bad for him but reassured him I would take care of it for him . We use poster board for front legs pretty cheap and last for years .
What size lumber do you use to make wolf stretchers? I find 1X4 to thin and if you use 1X6 there is more to pin to and you don't have to mess around with extra wood except for the tail and front legs.
Brian.. I don't skin the wolves faces through the mouth. I have but mostly hang them by the back legs and skin them down to the front shoulders and then I flip them over and hang them by the hide and let the weight of the carcass pull itself out the rest of the way.
Muskrat411... I use 1"x 4" wide cottonwood milled lumber for my wolf boards. I may try 1 x 6 on the next batch I make. I usually put a piece of plywood between the boards to pin the tail to.
So against my better judgement, I decided to make one last trip out to my cabin to haul out my new solar panel and aluminum corner flash AKA bear proof corners. The river looked great when I crossed and the flats were losing snow fast but very doable. Dry Creek and the mountains were still in full winter mode and the riding was awesome. Got the work done around the cabin and went out looking for some shed antlers. Snow was still a bit to deep to find any but made for some great riding. Seen lots of mating ptarmigan. Got up yesterday morn and left pretty early to beat the heat of the sun. I had noticed we lost a lot of snow over one day with 50 degrees and 30 mph winds. The flats got bear fast but the 4-stoke Tundra did well and never got hot once. Go to the Tanana River a little sore and beat up from the ride but happy and in one piece. Dropped down on the river and smiling finishing up the last and latest trip I've done and this is what I see when I get to the far side of the river. Oh (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman).... One day and the river went out... Wow.. I traveled down river a bit knowing better but just hoping there'd be a bridge. Nope. Here's my conundrum, one of my rules is never to haul fuel out from the cabin. If I have enough fuel to get to the truck then don't top off with fuel. Well.... If I'd had topped off at the cabin, I could have turned around and went back 40 miles to the cabin and left the sled and gear there safe and sound and called for a plane to come get me. I didn't and didn't want to risk running out of fuel somewhere in between where I could't get a plane in. So time to call in a favor. I hate to ask for help but sometimes it's time to man up and admit you need help. I had cell reception and was only 2 1/2 miles from my truck and the highway. Quick call to my buddy Doug and he said he was just changing the oil in his Cub and would be out there in a few hours. I marked out a landing zone on the overflow in the middle of the gravel bar and ran my sled up and down it a few times, dumped my gear that I didn't want to leave and then took my Tundra and sled over and stowed it over in Stan the Mule Man's abandoned old hay barn. Should keep the bears off it till I can get over there with the Airboat. Walked back out to the river and got a big ol fire going. Took a nap and woke up without my shirt and in a fricking huge sombrero. What the heck is going on and how long have I been sleeping. Anyway, Doug shows up and we had a good laugh. Short flight across the river to a lake where I walked back down the highway and got my truck. Good friends will drop what they are doing to help a friend in need. There wasn't any him'n or hawing, he just asked if I needed anything and said I'll see ya when I see ya. Learned a little bit on this trip like maybe ought to pack my Pack Raft with on these late spring rides..
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 04/24/1705:15 AM
JR As I went around the bend past Harding heading to Delta this afternoon I was sure you weren't on your line, "breakup is here". When I passed the state camp and your rig wasn't there I was sure you weren't.
One thing's for sure JR your journal and stories are never boring ! Thanks again for allowing us to tag along and showing off some great looking country along your trap and snare line. The wolf put up is very interesting I for one hope to get to stretch my first wolf sooner than later and will be back looking at your pictures repeatedly when that time comes. Have a great bear and fishing season and keep posting pictures. Allan
Greeting fellas. Hope all is well this summer. It's seeming to be flying by. Been busy this spring and summer with bear baiting and lots of relatives coming up to visit from the lower 48. I'll start out with some pics from the spring baits. Lots of bears but I didn't harvest one myself. Had a few buddies take a couple Black bears and one griz. Had a blast with those trail cameras and they sure are addicting. Left a few in the field just to see what is going on. Here's a few of the overflow on the creek that is a pain in the winter but sure makes for smooth fast running in the early summer and also keeps my groceries cold up into July.
Little sis Kami came up and spent 10 days with me so we flew out to the cabin and did a little work and play. Dug in a few trap beds and drove stakes for new ridge top pee posts. Have a couple new packs to play with this winter. My folks came up and we did the tourist thing during rainy weather.
The little man and I have been doing a few little trips. He's doing well and getting pretty tough but still a picky eater. He got in his first wreck and I was lucky enough to be the driver. He was pretty excited and made sure I got a picture of his 1st crash. I guess there was no getting this by his ma. I hit a stump under the water which launched us out of the water. Amazing how much scarier it is when you are responsible for someone so little and fragile. I almost puked I was so scared for his safety after we hit the bank. All went well and his mom said that it would be the first of many. Here is a marshmallow stealing squirrel at my bear bait. I warned him twice before letting a arrow fly. Shot 3 on the bait and left them. The bears nor the wolf touched them. I shot 17 red squirrels at the cabin in two weeks Still have to go pick up my Tundra across the river before winter. Water is raging so I think I'll wait for a couple weeks and hope for the best. Well men, have a great rest of the summer and a safe fall hunting season. Trapping season is coming fast.
Looks like you've been getting in some good family time, and I know yours is close. Best feeling in the world to be loved by those who know you best, and a bad sign when your own family can't stand you! Believe it or not I was just presented with my first great grandson on Father day, and I'm 57! To me family is the most important thing in the world, with bush a close second.
Those hills look a lot more timbered by your cabin, now that most of the snow has burnt off. Like that shot with the caribou shed and the big vista in the background! Keep on living the life AK
JR thanks again for bringing us along that's some great looking country out there . I'm glad your folks and Kami made it up there for a visit even if it rained while they were there. The picture of the two grizzly bears is way cool it needs to be framed and hung on the wall. Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Cool pics man! That's some good prep work for the wolves. I'm looking forward to fall hunting soon then getting a bit of trail cutting in before the trapping season starts.
Awesome pics and write up jr! Btw those megabears I got off you this spring where the cats meow on beaver, a little scary to set but worked great!. hope to see a pic of a wolf in one this winter.
Good weather upon us so took a buddy over across the Tanana with the airboat "Mothership" and retrieved my Tundra and sled that I left this spring. River was still high but doable. The new machines are so dang big even the Tundra was a load in the Mothership. I'm not much of a big water guy and that bow heavy load was sketchy crossing the main channel of the river. Once on the other side in the slough, I began to relax a bit. Had a couple little glitches with the boat but thankfully they were when we were empty and in good channels. I wasn't feeling good about taking it 10 miles down the river so we just took it across and unloaded it on the back below a friend's place close to the river. The 4-stroke Tundra drives like an atv along the trail except it doesn't wanna turn. Kinda like the Wide tracks do any time. Once the sled was unloaded we walked up to my friends house to wait out he oncoming thunderstorm. I really hate being out on the water in that tall airboat during a lightning storm. After an hour thunder storm passed over, we walked down to the boat and headed downstream in the sun. 4 minutes into our journey running about 35 mph, the boat just looses all power and dies. That'll liven up a trip in a hurry. The rain had pooled up on my gauge panel and shorted out my main fuse killing all electronics. Ol Leroy watched downstream for sweepers and kept me up informed of the river. I had a new fuse in the box and quickly replace the fuse and fired up the big block and we were back up and running. Nothing like a little excitement to keep ya young. Took the boy up this morn and loaded the Tundra and sled on the truck. She's back home now with her big brother the WT in the shop.
JR, what are the pods on the hull? They look similar in design to additional floatation I have seen added to floats on aircraft. Love the airboat pics. I run one, and am building a second one.
Yukon254... fuel economy all depends upon who is buying the fuel. She's 20' powered by a 502 Chevy big block. If you are buying the fuel, she's pretty thirsty and will burn 15 to 25 gallons an hour. If I am buying the fuel, she's pretty good and burns about 8 to 12. I run pretty light most of the time and don't spend time trying to impress anyone. She's a tool and needs to get me back home too. Used to be pretty rough on her but not any more.
Mad mike... I'm not sure what pods you are talking about but I assume you are looking at the 4" aluminum channel welded along the sides. This was a reinforcement to the hull we did 25 years ago for preventing the sides being pushed in coming off log and or ice jams in the springtime. I'd like to put a new hull under this one. She has so much memory in the bottom, it's hard to keep the bottom straight after hitting the rocks. We've built a steel jig that works really good for pushing the bottom out after these rough trips but it is time consuming. The boat is a 1984 Panther hull and rigging that has been through a number of power plants and this set up has been the best by far. What do you run and what is the new one you are building?
Cool Mike. My first boat was a 11' fiberglass hull with a 160 hp lycoming. Great 2 man fishing, exploring boat. She didn't like to pack much weight though and her own wake would sink her. Dang did I have some good times in it til the hull just gave up. I really like the big hulls for my applications though. Good luck and have fun. I'd like to see some pics of your boats some time.
Got my traps that I'd had at the house all inspected, fixes and mods done and dyed for the up coming season. Had a few chains that were in poor shape from someone with a bad axe eye. Chopping them out of the overflow has it's hazards. I'm sure some of them wouldn't have held a wolf. Took my god-son Tristan out to the flats fishing this weekend and had a blast. He's coming around. Even had him driving the boat. Not for long though, his attention span is just a little bit shorter than mine. The water had went down in the flats so we had a great time fishing. He learned how to use the kayak and did really well. We kayaked up to the neighbors cabin and had a long legged beaver fall a tree on their shed. Good to have all the kids home for a reunion in the shop. They missed their little sister the Tundra. Hunting season is upon us, hunt hard, hunt safe and see ya this winter
Thanks guys. I use white oil-based paint mixed with AV100 (av gas) for my dye. Mixed around 50%. I just keep adding the gas until it thins down to where I like it. I put it in a plastic bucket and just dip the traps and shake them around when I pull them up to hang them. I thin the mixture down till it doesn't leave big paint drips on the gear. Avgas mixture seems to evaporate a lot quicker and scent free, very different from Unleaded gas which seems to hold the scent for quite a bit longer. I used to use Coleman fuel but it got so dang expensive although I just bought 5 cases of Coleman fuel for $7 per can of Craigslist. That was a good score.
Flew out to the trapping cabin to work on a trail and look for some lost gear. Nice trip and 16 mile hike down the canyon and back. When the guys came to pick me up, we went for a few hour sight seeing flight up to the glacier. This was just out of my trapline and some country we've never been. We must have done something right in life for Mother Nature herself let us in to some spectacular vistas in the middle of the day. Been blessed in my life to do and see some really amazing things and places but today was humbling to say the least. The air was smooth and let us fly right on the glacier. I'm not sure I believe in heaven but if there is one, this is the stair steps to the gate. My buddy and pilot had to tell me to take pics because I was just in awe looking. It was pretty funny. We landed and had a snack and a leak, when we took off we went left in one Cub and our buddy went right to look for some wolves. When we saw the glacier, we tried calling him on the radio to get over here. No answer and we tried and tried. I had to laugh and told Dave there is no reception in heaven. We laughed and the saying for the rest of the day was "We took a left to Heaven and Mike went right to (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman)"....These are the pics with my little camera. I'll try to post some pics off the good camera later. Moose season is upon us and haven't been able to put one on the ground yet. Back to work for a week and regroup. Seen a few bulls last week but were further than I was willing to pack by a long shot. Try it again when they are a little more willing to come to a call. You guys be safe out there and good luck hunting.
Yes, she burnt in 2009. Pretty rough hunting. They appear and disappear just as fast. Should be able to call one of the smaller bulls away from the rest but was a bit early. Almost impossible to walk in for a short legged guy like me.
Man you are one lucky man JR. Very envious of your lifestyle. Beautiful pics of the country you are in. Thanks for sharing. Good luck hunting, and glad to see you are in good health to be able to enjoy it.
Quick questions regarding white dying your traps... Will any ol oil based paint work? Do you have yo rust/degrease them first? No worry about the paint smell? Thank you.
I just use a cheap oil-based brand, nothing particular just something Lowes carries. I usually pressure wash my traps and sometimes boil them. I do worry about the smell and that is why I do them early before season and hang them outside to ventilate. I dip mine about every 5 years or so. Not something I do on a yearly basis.
Finally made it out to the trapline last week. Not like I'd like but got out there with an quick flight in the Citabria. Pretty good snow but no base and the ol spare Polaris was riding right on the rocks. Saw lots of moose and caribou around the cabin and even more from the plane. Lots of wolf sign and not much else for fur sign. Put out a dozen #9's and a few snares out within 5 miles of the cabin. Placed 4 catch-all sets behind the cabin for cats, coyote and wolverine. This is my back-up sled that I left at the cabin. Nice ride but not set up work-wise like the Scandics and sure missed the 4-strokes and pogo-stick front ends. She's sitting on Pee Post Pass while I'm setting 3 pee posts. I've always had 2 sets but put a new trap bed and stake in last spring while my sister was out here with me. There was sheep tracks all over the pass and there were 9 ewes and lambs watching me while I was placing the traps. The Polaris didn't like the ice at all so I took it back to the cabin, put her in the shop and put 200 screws in the track. That really helped a lot. The river had froze at it's normal levels so there isn't much ice to work with and traveling up the river on the rocks wasn't good for the machine at all. About 3 miles above the cabin, I decided to turn around and head below the cabin instead since the snow was getting slim. Thought about dropping the Fold-a-Sled at the cabin and breaking trail bobtailed to save the head aches. 50 yards from the cabin, I come to a complete halt wrapping the lower control arm around a rock. Starting to love that pogo-stick front end being so durable. Not near as comfortable but I'll give that up for durability. Didn't take many moose pictures as the camera wasn't as handy in an Rubbermaid action packer under bungee cords. I did manage to shoot a few pics though. Flying back out tomorrow and fix the sled and put some wolves on the stretchers? Hot weather up here right now so I don't think I'll have much snow left out there. High hopes for putting some fur up and getting some more gear out. Bringing the rifle and doing some calling if travel isn't good. Good luck, be safe and Happy Holidays fellow Trappers.
Nice pictures as always JR. Glad to see you finally were able to get out and make some sets! I bet you were chomping at the bit for awhile there. We have that warm spell out here as well. I could have sworn I saw rain today...
On your flight over, how does the river look to being frozen? Seems like it is later and later every year to be able to cross the Tanana. I like the lower fuel bill with global warming, but not so much the later and worse ice conditions for traveling.
Not much happening with me this week. The ol river was still in a liquid state so had to get flown back out to the cabin again this week. Got a fire going in the cabin and put the Polaris back together. Grabbed the water jugs and ran on up to Pee Post Pass. Guess I was over confident as I didn't see a single fresh wolf track up to the Pass. Six empty #9's, filled the water jugs and went back to the cabin with a hint of displeasure. Proceeded on up to the other end and picked up a beautiful tom lynx in the Catch-All set on the creek. Pulled the pjs off the lynx when I got home and had some dinner.That check didn't go anything like I thought it would. Saturday it warmed up to +30 degrees and the winds picked up. Put some more gear out and covered some country just loving life and taking a few pics. Chopped up the lynx and baited a few cubbies behind the cabin. Wasn't gonna trap marten since I haven't seen much sign this year but I have a bait stealing marten. That may change my way of thinking. Hung a 12 volt winch in the cabin for skinning and cannot wait to hang some wolves on it. Speaking of wolves, went for a walk on Sunday looking for a moose kill across the river and saw 4 wolves up on the ridge about a mile away. They didn't wanna play. 2 grays and 2 blacks. Spent the better part of the day looking for that kill. Put a lot of miles on and still couldn't find it. The next day I walked up river a mile from the cabin and just sat on the bank waiting for the ravens to feed. 100 yards off the trail in plain sight. I was just looking to hard on the other side of the trail. Year and a half old bull calf mostly eaten but I hung a few snares around. Can't catch wolves with gear in the sled... Did see a lot of moose and caribou again this trip. I still only have around 10 miles of line partially put in. Missing the durability of those Scandics. Didn't dare break out the canyon on that Polaris Trail Touring. Hopefully next week I'll be able to ride in and get some trail broke and gear lain. Merry Christmas everyone and see ya next year
Happy New year fellow trappers. Finally got to ride the ol Scandic out to the cabin. I was even luck enough to have a few locals cut the trail out for me to get to their cabin above me. Talk about a bonus as I went out pretty heavy carrying 50 gallons of gas, 18 #9's, food and gear in one sled and 600 pounds of bait in the other. Saw lots of marten sign across the flats but not much else. The canyon was still a little on the rough side but after a couple trips, I think I found most of the holes to go around. This one took a little work and some rigging. Put 300 miles on the WT and couldn't even cut a wolf track. I howled every night with no response. I did manage to find a couple old kills to hang a few snares. The warm weather and wind really took a lot of the snow I'd had left. The overflow was really picking up and had some current keeping me pretty close to the cabin. Ended up picking up another beautiful lynx behind the cabin in a catch-all set and that was it for fur. Just covered some country looking for fur and adventure. Headed for town early on Wednesday as I had to work Thursday morn. I decided to set a few marten poles on the way to the truck. Guess I hung around 20 or 25 poles between the cabin and the Tanana river. When I got to the Tanana, this is what I find. Here we go again. This was knee deep the first step off the bank and it's not the main channel. Wasn't worth the troubles and I turned around. This river is really pushing me to get my own plane. Quick call to work saying I won't be making it in for my shift and a call to friend to fly out and get me weather permitting. This time I had enough gas to get back to the cabin. On the way back I picked up 4 marten in the poles I just set on a 2 to 3 hour soak. 3 juveniles and one large adult pale male that I let go and not on purpose mind you. What better place to spend an extra day then at the cabin. Called Andy early and he flew in at 11am to get me. Nice flight out till we got to town and spent 20 minutes flying circles in this Hopefully next week the wolves will make an appearance and cooperate. I imagine I'll have some marten to put on the board. Happy New Year, good luck and be safe.
You have some crazy tough conditions with the creeks, rivers, overflow, open water, sucker holes, glare ice, and no snow - you da man! I hope the wolves show up for the party and conditions improve.
It depends upon the overflow. Slushy overflow with lots of snow when it's cold can be tamped and walked on to build a bridge to get your sled out to dry ground. It will freeze to you shoes though and get really heavy. If it is warm out then you will just walk on the bottom and will not set up. I used military magnesium shoes with rubber slip on bindings and they work well for me. I can get them on and off and bang them against a tree to get rid of the ice. I don't put my snow shoes on very often though.
Trapping up in that neck of the woods looks like a recipe for a disaster to happen at any time. Dangerous. Good luck and safe traveling. Beautiful country and pics.
If this keeps up, I'm gonna have my entire fleet of sleds over at the cabin. My buddy came out and across 2 days after I flew out and said the Tanana was alright but Dry creek was a handful on the lower end. Said I had some marten hanging so that was good.
So I thought I'd post a picture of my Extraction or Retrieval bag for you guys see and maybe you can get some new ideas on your gear. This is a cheap back pack and I carry one on each machine. This one weighs 25#'s. I don't move this from machine to machine and about the only time it comes out is when I'm using it to get me or someone else out of a bind. I did a presentation at our monthly ATA meeting a couple months back on this bag and my survival bags. Here is the low down on the contents. Name brands aren't as important as availability and durability.
1. Rope-a-long with 100 to 150' of 1/2" hard wound nylon rope.( I make a removable handle for easier packing. Have the rope already loaded in the rope-a-long)
2. A couple pieces of 1/2" rope 20' to 30' (this is used most of the time for pulling out a sled or securing to a tree or rock to use as the deadman to pull from or too.
3. A few shackles and caribeaners (Make sure these are rated for what you are using them for)
4. A couple of shivs or pulleys ( used to change direction of pull and increase power by parting the rigging)
5. A couple hundred feet of Mule tape ( Light weight, doesn't take up much room, cheap and used to extend pull to longer reaches)
6. A couple Ice screws ( For anchoring in the Ice when stuck)
7. Rope ratchet or ratchet strap ( can be used for extension, very useful when working on machine suspension, many uses)
8. Couple flares to start a quick fire when the extraction is gonna take a while or you got wet.
There's about $300 in that pack depending on where you shop and name brands. This is one of those priceless tools on the sled that ya hope you never need but always prepared and have it.
As always JR that's a great collection of tools to get a person out of a tight place when out in the hills no matter if your in Alaska or Montana or beyond. Where does a person get mule tape, I've not seen that before. If your wondering where some of your snow is ? It's found its way down here, we have a white out at the moment. Stay Safe out there and keep up the good work ! Allan
Here's a close up of my removable handle. It is a piece of 1 3/8" of chainlink fence top rail with a swaged end welded on the rope-a-long frame. Works for me an is stronger than the original. I put a keyway in to make alignment a little easier.
Back from the line with a few marten for my efforts last week. That was a good call setting them marten poles. I've let the marten rest for the past couple years and it really shows. Lots of juveniles this year. Picked 16 marten on the way in and missed a few more. Using Salmon heads for bait with a dab of Gusto. Seems to be working well. The weather was ridiculous this week. Coldest temp I saw was 15 degrees above and the warmest was 43 degrees above and rain last night. Crazy overflow with current. Finally found some fresh wolf sign. They killed a young bull moose and ate about 1/2 of it. Got some gear out for them. Opened up another spur of the line and placed a few set. Had a buddy come out and run with me for a couple days just exploring and looking for antlers. Got in a little trouble. Put out a few wolverine set but the marten have been cleaning me out of bait. Saw lots of moose and caribou this trip and they were overly photogenic posing for pics. Woke up this morn, went outside to relieve myself and heard the river flowing overflow from the cabin. This isn't good I thought. Could be a wet ride out this morn. As I stood there thinking about which way to go, the wolves opened up on the ridge across from the cabin. Nice to hear you I said and I'll see ya next week. The trip out was as wet as I thought it would be but made it safely to the truck picking up 5 more marten along the way in. I ended up putting 26 marten on the boards this week. I'm no marten trapper but they sure are easy to catch and put up compared to wolves.
Hopefully next week I'll connect with a few wolves. They haven't returned to any kills, leaving them half eaten. Breeding season is upon them and they should be covering some territory now. Good luck and be safe .
Way to go, nice marten haul. Easy winter as bulls still have their horns. Usually dropped around here by now.
Thanks for sharing those pics.
* just saw your post on your extraction bag. That post could save some poor trapper a lot of grief or save their life, if they pay attention. Never thought about packing flares.
You sure it was just the fact you didn't trap marten the last 2 years that brought them back? Must be a lot of voles, marten feed around if there's a lot of marten. Quite the variety of color in those marten. They look nice and prime! mt
Nice to see you you out and catching fur with all the crazy weather and ice issues that you have been having! Looking to finally start setting here maybe in another week for a short line.
Came home a little early for a board meeting and to pick up the new track and parts for the WT. Pretty much had to reset the entire line. Re-baited and knocked the ice of the marten traps. Picked up 7 more for the efforts. Using Salmon heads for bait and working well and really quick. The cooler temps had the river and overflow in it's solid state and that's how I like it. Two packs of wolves had been back on the line and I was lucky enough to snare two of them on that first moose kill I looked so hard for a few weeks ago. 95# gray male and 90# gray male Both quick kills. They evaded my snares at the top of the bluff and came down to the river 150 yards upstream. I'm no mountain goat. Missed them on over a dozen sets froze up with a 1/2" of ice over them from that rain a couple weeks ago. Pee Post Pass was froze up solid too. Had to use an axe to chop them out of the gravel. Pulled the groomer 80 miles with the Tundra and she did well. Picked up a nice lynx and red fox too but didn't snap any pics for some reason. Had all three of the girls out at the cabin for a nice family reunion This old burn is really productive this year for juvenile marten. Little afternoon lunch break along the trail. Coffee, grizzly bear sausage and mom's ginger snaps. Fuel for the trapper.
Good to see you got a little snow! Way to go on the wolves! Bites to hear everything got froze down though, hopefully things will stay cold for you the rest of the season! Thank you for sharing your adventures!!
Good trip to the cabin even without any wolves waiting for me. Marten are still fighting to get to the salmon heads and had a good check on them. The warm weather that plagues wolf traps really seems to get the marten moving. Ended up with 2 juvenile females this trip making 7 total females so far out of 55 marten caught. That seems really off to me but had a old timer tell me one time that the females are more hesitant to climb the poles and when food is plenty they don't need too climb. Sure amazes me to how small they are. I'd been working on a bypass trail to get around a bunch of overflow and it seems like this overflow and I have some sort of connection. It followed me into the trees and down the trail. This was not how I wanted to start my trip but such is life with a full bunny boot of water The overflow really came down the trail behind the cabin also Reset a bunch of wolf gear in preparation of their return. Ran 300 miles and didn't cut a single wolf track. Set two pee posts out front of my cabin that they marked a couple weeks ago when they passed by. These will probably be covered in overflow next week but had to try. Covered a lot of country this week just looking for antlers, tracks, critters and loving this life we live. Found a couple places I shouldn't have been That last pic looks harmless but trust me you do not wanna be in there with your sled.
Saw lots of moose and a few bulls still carrying their antlers. The moose are really high on the mountain this year and I didn't find a single shed antler. Put up a load of fire wood just to feel like I'd done something and burned a log jam at the same time 35 degrees the last two days and then wind and snow. Pretty sure most of the gear will be out of commission again. The snow sure was soft coming out though. The groomer was on the wrong side of the creek with some overflow preventing me from dragging in out so I came out with a light sled. That was sure nice. Good luck, be safe and hope to see some of ya the Fur Rondy next weekend.
Nice pics, JR. Really warm temps up here in the Arctic as well. Lots of overflow. I got into some last week. Lucky I had my new Polaris Titan XC. Anything else would've been uncivilized. A couple questions: I see your pee post for wolves. So you just put your chain in that hole, put snow with some water, making a slush, huh? Keep packing it down? Then you put your trap over that and some wax paper over your trap? Just curious.
Also, that last pic. What's under that snow? Water? Air pockets? Great job on the marten by the way. Gotta make lemons, huh?
Thanks guys, really enjoying trapping these marten. Been a rough season for wolves but lucky enough to still be out doing what we love. Complaining about the weather, snow and critters doesn't help put fur on the stretchers but to me it not all about the fur anyway. I just love being out there enjoying the country, seeing game, reading sign catching some fur and knowing that WE are to thank for being the conservationists that make this all possible. I'm really tired of all the negativity towards trappers and hunters on the social net these days. These worthless bunny hugging fruit loops don't do anything but complain about what we do while not helping with the problems at all. Sorry for the rant, woke up on the wrong side of the bearskin this morn.
Inupiaq... I usually just chop a hole under the trap bed about 4 inches deep, drop around 4 or 5 inches of the end of the chain in, pour some hot water out of the thermos and pack it with snow. The chain anchor would be about the size of a Spam can in the ice under the trap bed. Coil the chain in the bottom of the bed, lay a piece of wax paper over the chain, place the trap and another piece of wax paper over the pan under the jaws. I like the top of the pan to be about level with the ice. Cover with light covering of snow, blend and chop it out of the overflow next week and do it all over again. That's how it's been this year. One thing you wanna make sure of is that the ice is solid. Some of the overflow will drain the water out of your anchor pocket you chopped and you know right away that this is not a solid anchor. You should be able to pour you hot water in to the hole just like it was a coffee cup. If the level goes down, you'll need to chop a different hole. Speaking of Thermos', I need to get a new one. Mine hasn't faired to well this year and not keeping my water hot. How are you liking that Titan? My buddy has one and I haven't got to ride it yet.
The last pic was a field of niggerheads AKA Tussocks that are about 3 feet tall blown over with snow. It was fun getting out of there. Felt like a pin ball...
Quick trip out to the trapline on Thursday morn when I got off work. Took one of my pilots with me to show him what it looks like on the ground and test out his new sled. Weather was pretty nasty, snowing and blowing. Marten activity was pretty light this trip only picking one on the way in and seeing another one eating the bait over a tripped trap. Took a few pics of her as she watched at us. Most of the wolf gear was out of commission as I suspected, froze and covered in new snow. DIdn't see much sign on the first leg of the journey but things were picking up as I neared the cabin. Missed this one that I'd set last week. Didn't look as it spooked him judging from the tracks leaving. I've seen this happen on numerous occasions with tracks and a tripped trap still in it's bed. Most of the time I believe the wolf tripped the pan but the trap was froze in. As the temps warm up the trap fires and jumps out of it's bed not scaring or educating the wolf. Got a fire going in the cabin, unloaded the sled, grabbed the water jugs and headed on up the line. Looked to be a couple single wolves running around on the line. Got up to Pee Post Pass and this little 72# male was dug in tight getting out of the weather. Must have been blowing 30 to 40 MPH over that pass. It was ridiculous. Put him in the sled and carried on back to get water for the cabin. Hung him in the cabin, stoked the fire and headed upriver picking up another lynx behind the cabin. Put her in the sled and on up the line about a mile and a half and find this little gal waiting for me in a #9 along the trail. 72# female in a pee post Put her in the sled and made a run up the river. Starting to get a little hungry and a whole lot tired. Back to the cabin at 6pm and had put on 85 miles. Got something to eat and pulled the four critters out of their pajamas. Caught my second wind and had enough left to play a couple games of cribbage and watch a movie with Ben. Turned in at midnight. Got up early and headed for the truck. Had plans of driving down to Anchorage today for Fur Rondy and SCI banquet. Ol mother nature had different plans. Lots of fresh snow, deep soft drifts and an airplane pilot not a Skandic WT operator at the controls. Not quite as much lift in the ol WT as in Ben's Citabria left him stuck many times. Trees down in the wind really slowed travels. Picked one more marten on the way out. Decided to fly down to Anchorage this evening and save some time. Down here till Monday. Feel like this is going to be a very expensive weekend.
Drasselt.... Was nice to finally get down and see you guy's fur sale. Wished I could have spent more time but you know how it is. Seems like the same thing goes on up at our fur auction and Fling in Fairbanks. Busy, busy, busy and this is the only time we get to see a lot of the trappers and visit. Hope you are coming up for the Fling
Smalltime... The lynx is in a #4 Victor DLS
couple pics from the Fur auction in Anchorage We put on a little trapping seminar for the SCI banquet on Saturday afternoon and our own ATA President won the Conservationist of the Year Award at the Alaska Chapter of the SCI on Saturday night. Well deserved award for Randy and Congrats. That was a good time and hope to attend again in the future. Here's a little closer pic of the gray wolf dug in on Pee Post Pass.
Flying back to Fairbanks this morn and head back out on the line. Gotta trip my marten gear, re-set some wolf gear and haul in the WT.
AK I look you pin you marten leg on tail side, i do it like this too even in FHA book recommand to put on belly side, i find look better on tail side give an extention of the back, anyway they buy marten for the back. I also put my lynx back leg on belly side or the same reason they want lynx for belly,white leg pin on belly side give more lenght and better look to lynx skin.Most of time i get select or 1* in grading with legs pinned like this.
Did another quick trip out to the cabin to put the marten season to bed and bring out the WT. Some goofy weather we are having up here. Winds out of the west are new to me out there and really hit the cabin hard. Tripped all the marten sets on the way in. Still a few marten running around that I could see. Turned out to be a beautiful day for the return trip to the truck. Pulled the WT's track out last night and got some issues with the suspension. Will be calling Delta Powersports this morning and placing an order. Them rocks were a little hard on her early this winter. Just under 8000 miles on the WT and she's held up pretty well for the abuse she's been through.
Greetings and Happy Spring Trappers. Put $600 worth of suspension parts and a new track under the 2012 WT and a ski widening kit on the Tundra and headed for the mountains. I cannot believe I've waited that long to put that kit on the Tundra. It makes it a whole new machine. Had a buddy from Minnesota come up and go for a ride-a-long and see how we trap up here. Lots of moose and caribou along the way. Got a fire going in the cabin grabbed the water jugs and headed up to Pee Post Pass. Picked up a 95# gray male in the new post up there. Really beautiful gray with a full foot in the AK #9. This is the new post my sister and I set up this past spring. Caught and lost one in the other set. Had to chip out a few #9's out of the overflow and dig a few out of the drifts. Pulled most of the gear this week but had to leave a little working. Couldn't of asked for better weather to be up covering country. Missed on both posts on Iowa Ridge but that is the learning curve with new sets. next year the traps will be bedded on the other side. Picked up another nice 88# gray male in a snare on the first kill from earlier this season. Taken 3 off that kill, 2 off Pee Post Pass and one a mile and a half upriver from the cabin. All my fur except the marten have been caught within 5 miles of the cabin. I'm running a lot of wasted miles. Got into some new country but the ice bridges weren't cooperating Some of that water was deeper than I was willing to mess with so we headed back out to more familiar territory. The sights were beautiful and Derek was having a tough time keeping the Tundra on it's track. Sight seeing and driving don't mix in that country. Now I don't feel so bad, it's not just me that does that. It was nice to just cover country and share the experiences with someone new to the adventure. Ya do get pretty used to running alone though, that whole looking back thing is for the birds. This is one of the most beautiful well furred wolves I've ever caught. Working tonight and getting set up for the ATA Fur Auction and Fling this weekend. Hope to see some of ya out and about. Bring your checkbooks to the fling,, it's gonna be an expensive night.
Thanks JR for the ride along again, tell Derek I understand having problems keeping the sled on its track & skis. That last wolf picture is incredible and deserves to be framed and added to your photo album. Stay Safe out there and have a great time at the Fling don't let the ivory trap go to easily into the night ha ha ! Allan
First off thank you JR for taking me on a great adventure. It is some unbelievable beautiful country you have and you are correct about keeping my eyes in the trail. Lots of rubber necking off into the distance but who could blame me. Definitely a trip I will never forget. Thanks again I really needed some time away from the day to day BS. Kind of sucked coming back to cell service and emails. Good luck at the fling this weekend hope there is a great turnout.
So many people post fabulous photos here, and these wolf pictures are what I am talking about. Is there any way a T-Man calendar could be made with them, and sold as a fund raiser?
So many people post fabulous photos here, and these wolf pictures are what I am talking about. Is there any way a T-Man calendar could be made with them, and sold as a fund raiser?
So many people post fabulous photos here, and these wolf pictures are what I am talking about. Is there any way a T-Man calendar could be made with them, and sold as a fund raiser?
Great idea!!
Join the Alaska Trappers Association and get a free calendar with some of Howlers Pics in it. They do a good job.
Howler, Sonny, did y'all have to adjust the rear suspension any after you put the ski widening kit on your machines? Had a Tundra Extreme, getting a new Tundra LT Ace, hopefully Everts will be able to fly it out tomorrow. Learned a lot about traveling by snow machine and trapping in Alaska from reading your journal since I moved up here in 2012. Good stuff Howler.
I didn't adjust my suspension on my Tundra. Installed the widening kit, did a hot lap around the yard, loaded it on the trailer and headed for the cabin. My buddy rode it the whole time we were out there. Gave it really good ski pressure for turning on the ice and still seemed to float the skis in the deep snow. I'd put the ski skins and the widening kit right off the bat.
Take what you are reading in my journal with a grain of salt or maybe a shot of whiskey. Use your best judgement to choose which path to take when following me. I may push the envelope a bit more than I should occasionally but have learned a lot on what my machines and myself are capable of. One probably shouldn't push it all the time but it's best to know your limits too.
"I may push the envelope a bit more than I should occasionally"
Famous last words of many a bush pilot.
Its a fine line in the bush between a mistake and an adventure. But to sit a home just because you're afraid of a little mishap would sure limit life experiences. I balance the safety and adventure by preparing for the worst case scenario and then going for it. And like AK I'm usually alone so that adds another factor to the equation. What i'm starting to deal with now is the age factor. At 58 years old the odometer is getting up there and depending on being tough and stupid isn't quite enough anymore. I'm banking on technology and keeping in shape moving forward. Those new machines make bush travel a lot easier.
If you ever hear I bought in the bush, have a whiskey for me but don't be thinking there's any regrets on my part.
Yep. When I first moved up here, I had no clue as to how to be comfortable and prepared for bad weather and unexpected events. It's been a learning curve for sure. The fellers here on the wilderness forum, and native friends in the villages I have lived in have helped immensely with their knowledge. When I first moved up here just walking in snowshoes, keeping comfortable during the winter, and setting a trap in the snow and keeping it functioning was a challenge, now it is the norm to drive 200+ miles in one day on a snow machine to check traps. One thing you have to figure out on your own is how far you can push the envelope! No one can teach you that! Y'all have shown me techniques and gadgets to push it further though!
Well guys, my trapping season is officially over. Got all the gear pulled and put away. Got a lot of work to do on the Skidoo's before next season. Got some gear, fuel, hay and solar panels hauled out for an outfitter. Trails were great. The trail grooming is definitely worth all the work in the end. One of my buddies flew out and spent the night. He rode the Polaris Trail Touring and we covered some country. Finally got my solar system up and running and that sure is nice. Limbed a few trees out front of the cabin to enhance my view of the hills. Dang am I gonna miss that view. Hauled one of my Rhinos out to the mountains with my Tundra because it has studs in the track. Still haven't put the studs in the new track on the WT. Tundra did well only getting stuck a couple times.
The ATA Fling and Fur Auction went extremely well. We sold just shy of $70,000 in our little 2 day sale. I believe we set a new record. Special thanks for all the volunteers that helped this year. Couldn't do it without you. The Fling was very expensive for me this year, more than usual. Not only did I win the highest bid on the ivory trap but I talked with one of my neighbors and bought a couple pieces of remote property with cabins upstream from my trapping cabin. The ivory trap was great but the property has been a dream of mine for many years. I first hunted that country in 1991 when I moved to Alaska for caribou. I started trapping out there in the late 90's, 1998 I believe. I'd used Arctic Oven tents and borrowed a cabin from a friend. In 2009 I bought my present cabin and trapline while applying for the State Trapping cabin permit as they are non-transferable. The 1st piece of property is a little over a mile upstream above my current trapline cabin. The plan is to pick up the fur shed and cabin, put them on a skid and drag them upstream on the overflow with a couple studded up Widetracks. Not in a hurry as the permit doesn't run out till 2022. The second cabin (Sheep Cabin) is up stream about 8 miles. Both new cabins need some TLC but very workable.
This is the Sheep Cabin and will get most of my attention to start. Spent most of last week out there working on it. Got metal sheeting hauled out there to cover the side walls. Got a bunch of work done in the interior of it. The bears had reeked havoc on this cabin over the years. The view out the door is even better than the trapping cabin. Be spending some time out there with this little man this spring and summer doing some improvements. Been seeing this guys standing here all winter. Finally stopped and took his photo. Wasn't very talkative though. Hope everyone has a great productive and safe spring and summer. Let's take some bears out of the population this spring. Heading down to the Western Regional NTA expo in Livingston MT in June. Hope to see a few of you there and put a handshake with the name.
JR, very nice cabins granted the expense may of been more but I'd say it's a great investment! For the view alone and the adventure of scouting the new area's for wolves, lynx and coyotes. As for Spring bear hunting, the delisting of the grizzlies is tied up in litigation because of the anti's . Yes the grizzlies are out of their dens down here I've not seen one around here yet however they aren't to far to the west from here at times. Black bears are fair game I hope to finally get a chance to fill a tag this spring time will tell. As for the western NTA Convention any of you folks are well come to stop by the camper I promise I'll have some ice tea ready and waiting it should be a great event ! I did some horse trading for a paddle track older Polaris 680 triple sled next year the coyotes and bobcats better be afraid ha ha ! I agree on the age thing the late 50's is kinda spooky ! Thanks again for bringing us along there's many of your pictures I still think are worthy of a frame and a place on a wall for everyone to enjoy ! Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Man I couldn't imagine being so blessed to be able to hunt and trap that area by yourself. What a beautiful area . Awesome pics. Glad you are able to live the dream, especially after the nightmare you endured a few years back. Thanks for sharing.
Beartooth Trapr.... I'll be bringing a few #9's down. Wasn't planning on getting a table and vending. Just coming down to see the Big Show and meet and greet. Maybe some good food and a few drinks too.
Elitebowman.... I do not have that country to myself by any means. Lots of people hunt that area in the fall. There is several Big Game Guides in the area and lots of local hunters. I usually have it to myself in the dead of winter until it warms up in the spring. That's when all the yahoo's come out of the woodwork. There is a couple mining claims, some deeded property so there is people around. As the raven flys, I'm only 50 miles from the mighty metropolis of Fairbanks
Make sure you get your clutches rebuilt after pulling all that weight. The spring should be changed out also you don't want that breaking on you next fall.
Greetings and happy summer fellow outdoorsmen. Just came back from a couple week trip out to the cabins. No so much summertime out there. 28 degrees this morn with fresh snow on the peaks. Bear hunting didn't go as planned and antler hunting didn't go so well either but just being out there sure is fun. Dumped the ol Rhino on her side right out front of the cabin. Operator error but with a little rigging and the winch, she was back on her wheels in short order. Like on my sleds, I carry recovery gear on the wheelers too atall times. Had some nasty weather and took advantage of every reasonably nice day to go cover some country. That Rhino really worked well and I sure liked it over the 4-wheeler. Seen a few critters and lots of breeding pairs of Ptarmigan both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan This little red fox was standing guard over the entrance of her den. She let me get really close before diving into the den.
Got some new neighbors that moved into the country in search of gold and other treasures. Sure hoping they don't find anything. They are just drilling and exploring now and doing everything out of helicopters. Seemed like really good crew of hands with a sweet tent camp. Heading back out in June with my Godson to look for more antlers. I saved the good spots for him. Did manage to find a few though. Got some traps to build and finish up a few projects around the shop. Heading down to Livingston Montana for the NTA Western Regional Expo. Be down in MT for about a week. Oughta be a good time. Hope to meet a few of ya down there. Be safe and have fun.
All I can say is WOW ! As always great pictures and thanks for sharing your trip out with you to the cabin. Those are some nice looking horns your finding lots of knife and ulu handles there. Or business card holders or ??? I hope the rivers and creeks settle down a little by the western we have high water levels all over the state at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing you soon ! Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Those miners launched from my driveway around the end of March. I guess they found zinc out there, they are verifying there is enough to start a real mine. Had a cat train, a couple d6 and a couple big sleds and a couple connexs on skis. A guy I know used his nodwell to help get the stuff out there. Progress, I guess, but always a drag when there is more traffic over a guy's line. Had some chagga hunters running my trail at the end of the season, made for some rough riding.
Hey guys. Made it back from the NTA Western Regional. What awesome time with some great people in some spectacular country. Really proud of the volunteer participation from the Montana Trappers Association during the expo. Awesome job guys and gals. Watched some well done trapping seminars and met a bunch of vendors. Even won a new rifle from Furbearer Unlimited. (6.5 Creedmore) That being said.. the best time I had was covering some new country and taking pics of some really cool country and critters. Guess that's just who I am. Bighorn Sheep was my main goal and did really well with this monster ram. That 9000 foot elevation is a bit much for this lowlander though. Lots of country and lots of wildlife Spent a bit of time with this den of fox pups. 7 pups in the den but hard to get them all out at the same time. Watched them from a distance before going in to shoot pics.
As always great pictures and it was great to finally get to meet you in person. They're still talking about your demo on wolves and trapping your area. I need to start buying lottery tickets so I can hopefully get up to Alaska for the fling some day. Allan
Excellent pics. J.r. glad you had a good time, we did. Was good to meet you, some day it's going to happen were coming to Alaska for a visit. Thinking in about two years we will just go.
No not this time, I may send up chokecherry syrup for the fling I know between you fella's it may bring a good price not ivory trap prices but you never know ?
Thanks guys, the pleasure was definitely mine. I think we ought to have a Rendezvous up here like they do down south and not during trapping season. Just a great time all around.
I did have to mail some stuff home Pete and had an extra bag and gun case from when I went down. Bought a few new traps for the collection and a bunch of other stuff at the Expo. I'd a left all those traps in trade for some chokecherry syrup. Allan do not send that syrup to me if intended for the Fling. I am not to be trusted with such sweet goodness. Just being honest.. I got the traps in the mail that I mailed on Wednesday from Bozeman. Pretty fast. Back to putting together some #9's and heading out to work on the cabins next week.
JR I'll send you syrup before then I'll send Pete Chokecherry and some buffalo berries just because ha ha ! I'll have to stock more of the 1x19 snare cable so I can fit in with the Alaskan snare guys.
Sure thing JR, I'm waiting for this year's crop before buying more syrup just in case it settles to much in the bottle. The high for today is in the mid 80's way to warm for this time of the year.
Happy summer fellow trappers. Just got back from a 10 day vacation in the mountains working on the new cabin. Got all I could do with the materials I had on hand. Weather was awesome and cooperated well. Got all the metal siding on minus the corner trim which I didn't have yet, new windows installed and interior painted. Need some new stove pipe and a oval shaped 6" 90 degree bend for the back of the new wood stove. There was a new 1979 Franklin "Scandia" 150 in the box at the other cabin. I hauled it up to replace the tent stove in this cabin. The view out of the front of this place is pretty sweet. Recycled a little wood from the old cabins for window trim and a shelf. Amazing how clear and straight the old wood is. The river crossings were a bit of a pain at times and got washed downstream a time or two which gets a bit exciting. Got the belt wet in the Rhino and had to winch out. The warm weather melt off from high in the mountains really fluctuated the water levels. It would be fine early in the morn but by noon it would be almost impassible. Found these under the cabin but haven't a clue what they'd be for. Any Ideas? Got a little work to do on the sauna and she'll be work wise. Found these aspirin under the bed. Could have used them after this 5 minute face cramp I had going. Little dehydrated but one of my new normals in life Be heading back out to finish up the Sheep cabin and work on the outfitters cabin. Not much of a carpenter but have the work ethic and enjoy the heck out of building and improving camps. Just takes me a little longer than most. This is a picture of a griz that a friend of mine from South Dakota got just off of my trapline. A true giant of an interior griz and a lucky hunter. We'd never seen this bear or gotten him on a camera.
As always thank you for taking us along JR the views rival Montana. The wild ride down stream I don't think you need to do again for awhile. Darn nice bear that's one worthy of the record books ! Stay Safe out there !!!! Allan
Nice place you got there JR, I'm more than a little jealous! Beautiful country. Nice bear, definitely a hog for interior. You get any numbers on him, hide or skull?
That bear hide stretched out on wall reminds me of some the bear pics Frank Glazer had of bears. Interesting on the caliber of rifle he used on those bears also... thanks for posting
Smalltime... The big boar squared just under 9 foot. 8'10" or 8'11" and the skull went B & C at bit shy of 26 inches. A great trophy for a great guy.
RdFx... just the reliable ol .338 Win mag. Them big bears die quick when that first bullet is placed in the right spot. It's those times when that first shot wasn't placed right when you want those big shoulder fired cannons to stop them.
I like the Barnes bullets and Swift A-frames myself as well as many others and personal do not own a .338. But like I said before "It's not the bullet or caliber as much as the placement of that 1st shot. I carry a .300 Win mag or .375 H&H mag when I'm guiding myself.
Hey guys, just checking in. Got a couple days off from the mountains to get cleaned up and so some laundry. Having a great season so far. Filling tags for clients and putting meat in my freezer. Found some pretty neat finds this fall out in the mountains. Found a creek that had an avalanche that killed 4 caribou last spring. Looked like the wolverine had a feast. Watched a golden eagle kill two dall sheep lambs on the mineral lick across from my cabin. That didn't make me very happy but rare to witness I'd guess. I asked him politely to quit as it is illegal to kill ewes and lambs in my unit. Did some more work on the cabin before the clients showed up. Still wanting to put a deck on and a lean off the side First client was from Texas. Bowhunter for sheep and caribou and we harvested this monster on the way up to sheep camp. An absolute giant barren ground caribou. He didn't get his sheep but he'll be back in September with his wife and we'll try again. We had 4 guys from South Dakota all harvest their Dall rams with in the 1st 4 days so that went well. Got into some crazy water and grew a heck of head of hair over night. Life is good, weather wasn't that good but still out in the mountains and loving it. Heading back out through the end of September to get another sheep and couple moose. Hunt hard and be safe this fall guys. Trapping season is right around the corner..
JR, thanks for the ride along with pictures the avalanche chute was really something, but shows mother nature gives and can take away. Your cabin is coming along nicely I'm sure it's going to be ready for another trapping season. Those are some once in a lifetime sheep and that caribou is exceptional. Stay Safe out there! Allan
Pretty awesome set of caribou antlers JR! Massive beams, maybe a new Pope & Young record? Hard to tell from the picture, is the shovel and bez points combined into one unit, or whats going on there?
I need you to send me a pint of that water, getting a little thin on top! lol.
That's a beast of a caribou and the velvet adds to it. Thanks for the usual great pics. Be careful about using any of that crazy water to bath in, hate to see what it would do to armpit hair.
Hey guys, just got in and finished my fall season. Good times, great country, awesome critters and some so so clients and weather. Filled a few tags, met some new friends and came out heathy and safe. Lots of little rodents out there this year. Killed 7 porcupines this summer and fall. That's more than all the years put together. Spent some time up in the snow looking for sheep. Sheep hunting in September isn't the greatest but sometime it works. Weather was hit and miss. When it was beautiful, man was it beautiful. Wildlife was plentiful but legal moose were few and far between.
Harvested a lot of sheep this year but not many moose. Picked up another #9 hanging in a tree off and old trail that washed out years ago. Happy every time I find a trap and really happy when it's a #9 or Newhouse. Called in a pack of 12 wolves twice over the season and looks as if I have some blacks this year to play with. There was 5 black pups in the litter this year. Hung a few trail cams and got some pics but need to get some new cameras. These pics weren't really good. Great season over all and excited for trapping season to start. Got a few clients to go on this winter's trapping adventures. Thinking of heading for Kodiak to try to get a few deer and goat before trapping season starts. Hope everyone had a safe and successful hunting season this fall.
Great pictures as always JR I'm sure you hated to leave camp I know I would of. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing about your adventures to Kodiak then on your trap line. Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Thanks guys. Sold all but two of my tanned wolf hides to hunter this year for a nice price. Moyle's called and last seasons fur is finished and in the mail.
RdFx... the logs were hauled in with dogsled from about 6 miles away down by my sheep cabin. The cabin was built in the late 20's by the late Hugo Stomberger. They were some tough men back then. There is also a really neat wood fired steam boiler just down from the cabin that was also hauled up by miners.
smalltimetrapper... I usually shoot the porcupines a couple times to make sure they are really dead and I haul them away from the cabin. I don't do anything with them as for salvage. If I'm heading out or close to the road, I'll haul them out and give one to a native friend of mine who really likes them.
HFT... I am also looking forward to putting a few blacks on the boards this winter. It's been a while....
I always enjoy the stories and pictures in your journal. At risk of asking something so personal but how did you get to where you are? Did you grow up in the Alaska? What's the back story on you? I'm willing to bet it's as interesting as the stories we all look forward to now.
The pleasure is all mine guys for being able to share my experiences with you all.
Klemke... I got from North Dakota to Fairbanks on an airplane in 1991 when I was 19 years old. In search of bears and adventure and been blessed to find many of both.
Here's a few more pics from the summer. This is one of my buddy's new experimental SuperDuper Cub (Bipolar Betty) with me and my Rhino. She is a beast. Got to put a lot of miles on my Rhino that I hauled out last spring. They both are truly durable tools for out in this country. Bipolar Betty meet Big Blue my 72 Chevy Couple more bulls that survived the season to breed again
Beautiful shots, those, JR ....yes, especially that last moose ! I also really like that huge caribou your client got . These would make amazing art portraits , someday.
That first photo looks like it should be a painting and hung on a wall! Big Blue looks like quite the bad (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) truck. Thanks for sharing again. Can't wait til your out trapping again. I really enjoy these journals.
Greeting guys and gals. Been on a long road to putting meat in freezer. Took a drive down to Homer to get on the ferry bound for Kodiak. Lived up here 30 years and never been past Girdwood. What a beautiful drive. It took me a few days to get to Homer where I bunked at Len's place for a few days. He introduced me to winter King fishing and had a blast. Let me back up.. Before I headed south, I made one more trip out photographing moose as we were still shy of snow. Got a little bonus seeing this pretty little blonde griz sow taking advantage of the long fall feeding on some blueberries Ok back to Homer..and the Kings.. oh the Kings. I'm not much of a fisherman but it sure was fun trolling for salmon with a couple good guys. Learned a lot on fishing and putting them up. Thank you Len and John. I'll be back.. Finally loaded the Jeep on the ferry and on to Kodiak. Spent a lot of time down there but always flew out remote and camped. This time I planned on bowhunting the road system for deer, Mountain goat and Brown bear. The ladder of the three on registration permits. Deer season closed so I concentrated on goats and bears. Had a few issues closing the distance to within bow range of the goats and overestimated my sneaky sneakiness. This playing with your food is for the not so hungry. Got thousands of dollars in long range rifles and i'm trying to use a bow. Doesn't make a lot of sense anymore. Figured them out for next time and had a blast running around in the hills of the island. Weather was hit and miss. I got invited out on a wild cow roundup on a little island and gladly accepted the challenge. 70 Navy seals attempted to herd these cattle to corral on the North end of the island to no avail. We gave it a shot and failed miserably also. We went back to Kodiak island to regroup with our tails tucked.
The head guy of this adventure said if I wanted to go back and shoot one of those big old bulls that I could. Now this is exactly what I'm looking for...Meat. My buddy and I loaded back up in the boat and back over we went. Set up my new Arctic Oven Igloo and got comfortable. This was way harder than expected as I could have killed way more deer than cattle. I took me 5 days to track down a get a shot on this big old bull. That was well worth all the trouble and work. What a bunch of meat. We called for a pick up and back to town. Got it all cut up, ground and stuffed at my buddies place. Just made up 128 pounds of sausage and will stuff it tomorrow. Took advantage of every nice day we had covering country and taking pics. The place is spectacular when the weather cooperates. I spent a month down on Kodiak, made some new friends, seen some great wildlife and country and already planning next years trip. Now I hope to get a little cooler temps and snow so I can get out and plant some iron. Good luck and be safe out there this season.
You take amazing pictures JR! Thanks for sharing your adventures with the rest of us. I had no idea there were free range cows on any of the islands down there, thats an interesting hunt.
You take amazing pictures JR! Thanks for sharing your adventures with the rest of us. I had no idea there were free range cows on any of the islands down there, thats an interesting hunt.
You know........there was a pretty extensive cattle operation on one of the near islands to Kodiak. In years gone by,,,but within recent memory..............when people were still free........... the ranchers there actually mounted machine guns on the top of the canopy of a Cub to protect their cattle from wolves and bears.
Maybe some of you Kodiakers have better information or ....at the very least, better memories
Broncomformudv...The cattle were put on this island in 1944 and free ranged. They are owned by a Kodiak rancher. The native cooperation that now owns the island wants the cattle removed to make it some sort of bird sanctuary. I was working with some ranchers off Kodiak in effort to round up the cattle to remove them. That didn't go very well but sure was fun. There has been a couple attempts at this round up to no avail. I was able to go back on the island to try to kill the big herd bulls to make them a bit easier to move. This whole trip was to fill my freezer and gladly accepted the challenge. I could have shot way more deer than cattle as they were very elusive. Now my freezer is full.
AK Trapper... The Igloo tent was great. Taking back to Tent and Tarp for a couple little modifications I'd like. Perfect 2 man tent but 3 could be done.
Cathouse Jim....This little island was the home of WWII's Fort Tidball. It consisted of several observation and defense batteries. The big rusty piece of steel is one of the protective hoods that used to be over one of the two 6 inch guns at that battery. There is a lot of old buildings and relics around but the salt water and rainy weather of Kodiak takes it's toll very quick. I was really taken back by the history on the island. Spent a lot of time looking through the bunkers and taking pics. The steel doors and hinges have mostly rusted to nothing. The concrete is beautiful without a crack one. Those were some tough hands that built those bunkers and did a great job. Most of the wooden structures have collapsed.
Got to see a bunch of Emperor Geese too. They sure are beautiful but never had the chance to get on them in better weather.
You take amazing pictures JR! Thanks for sharing your adventures with the rest of us. I had no idea there were free range cows on any of the islands down there, thats an interesting hunt.
You know........there was a pretty extensive cattle operation on one of the near islands to Kodiak. In years gone by,,,but within recent memory..............when people were still free........... the ranchers there actually mounted machine guns on the top of the canopy of a Cub to protect their cattle from wolves and bears.
Maybe some of you Kodiakers have better information or ....at the very least, better memories
Ken, that was a rancher by the name of Joe Zentner that mounted the machine gun on his cub, and thinned the bears out around his place. I think that was in the late 50's, and early 60's. There were no wolves there but all the ranchers were losing a lot of cattle to the bears. Zentner was a pretty tough old guy, he'd head out in the dark by himself with a 30-30 and a dim flashlight after any bear that came in to his corrals at night. If I remember right Alaska Sportsman magazine did a story story about him I think sometime in the early '60's.
JR sounds like an awesome trip, not many get invited to hunt them wild cattle. You can hunt deer anytime, but the chance to take one of the wild cows is a rare experience.
JR ,Beautiful pics there. i recognize some of your spots there. long island is really unspoiled with the WW2 bunkers. "Used" to go for rainbows in the lake there[ f & g will not stock it anymore with fingerlings] ,but a lot has changed here when lesnoi came in claiming a lot of property around town. as soon as they got claim in court they logged everything they could so a handful could get $$ . and trespassed the locals and they are so few of them and i hear don t even live here[AZ]. Blocked even access out at chiniak bunkers and beach. and a bunch of my old trapping spots. lots of friction been going on. got a chance a few year back and was able to buy 2 newhouse DLS #4 ,one with teeth that have Z stamped in them . Was told they were Zenters.Long Island was a super fund cleanup. Hope your meat doesn't glow. I am sure its fine with as much rain we get. Thanks for sharing those pics love those moose ones especially. Come on back and get some halibut next time.
My wife's folks ran the mission in Kodiak for several years in the early 70's, and had a permit of some sort to kill a few cattle off the island every year. They also hunted rabbits on Woody island.
Otter3006... you right about Lesnoi.. Had to deal with them a bit and have very little respect for them. They have totally destroyed the forest over around Chiniak. Bought a permit from them for access through their property to go goat hunting. Spent a lot of my time out around Chiniak as that is were my buddy lives. Lesnoi had security guards patrolling their land like it was Fort Knox. That rain forest sure doesn't look like it used too. Their security goes out jack-lighting and shooting the Varying Hare cause they claim the hares are killing all the new growth trees. I told him to let people come out and hunt and trap and they'll hunt the hares and at least utilize them instead of leaving them. Their whole presence is kind of fishy. It sure is a different place than the interior. Hard to get used to running around in rain gear and extra-tuffs all the time. I was learning to enjoy it because when the sun was shinning, it sure made up for it.
Spek... I was in such a hurry to head north for the house, I forgot to try to get a hold of ya when I was in Homer. Had breakfast with FamilyTrapper and hit the road. Next time for sure..
Loving all the pictures and history lessons! I wonder how that iron bubble got seperated from the gun position, looks like it weighs a lot. Its amazing how good of condition the concrete is in.
After the war those gun emplacements here and in dutch harbor were blown up during decommission. some of the guns came from ww1 battle ships. Those guys did an super job on concrete too. always been amazed how well they have held up and the pours ,no bubbles, bulges and straight and lots of cu.yards!!!!!
Interesting JR. Thanks for continuing to post. In your photos (great job) I noticed a pretty severe lack of greenery in those logged-over places. Was intriguing to me that the company doing the work is Lesnoi. In the Russian language, "lesnoi" means "forest" or "lumber". What a name, huh?
Great write up and pics, sounds like a good adventure! I've only been to Kodiak once, but if I ever get over there again this time of year I will take some trapping gear. At least some fox snares. We did a fly in hunt, while out deer hunting would see several beautiful fox every day. Those things are big and fluffy!
Otter3006... I'll take you up on that halibut fishing next time. This trip was a recon mission and learned a lot more this time. You are right about that concrete in the bunkers. Amazing work and not a crack one. I cannot imagine building those structures so remote back then. Those gun hoods are 5 inches thick. How did they get there. Hard work and true craftsmen. I heard the same things about Lesnoi and that all the money from the logging went to the management and the shareholders never saw a penny. Didn't look like they replanted very well either.
Gulo... I noticed the same thing out in that logged area. Lack of greenery and it was clear cut around 4 or 5 years ago.
Bushman... Kodiak goats are pretty low as are the mountains. My buddy has seen them right down on the road and the beach. There are some higher more rugged mountains though. That is the first time I've ever seen those Emperor geese myself and yes they are beautiful. They have a season on them now and you can harvest one goose. I will be looking into that next season for sure. I would get one of those mounted for the house.
The river isn't frozen at my crossing so I guess I'll have to fly out to the cabin and get started trapping again this season. Good luck to all and be safe..
Hello Trappers, finally made it across the river. Ice was solid, snow was scarce but the trail clearing was a handful. Had to give in the first day after 6 miles. Came home for more gas for the saw and a much bigger saw. Came back out and continued out towards the mountains setting marten gear as I went. Sign was few and far between but set out around 25 pole sets. Did see fair bit of wolf sign traveling across the flats though. Was a bit late getting out to the creek so fired up the Crossover cabin as not to try to break out the canyon in the dark. Creek was pretty easy travel until I got into the canyon. Broke through in the exact same spot I did last year. Pulled out the Extraction bag and put it to work. Early the next morn I made the attempt to break out the canyon to the cabin. Had to build a few ramps and ice bridges but made it safely. The ice really froze high this winter so there is lots of fall outs and shelf ice. I had left 4 trail cameras out this fall and was really excited to see what was on the cards. I wasn't disappointed. Lots of wolves, a coyote, lynx, snowshoe hares, Griz, moose caribou and even got a wolverine. Switched out the cameras with some new Brownings in hopes of getting some better pics. On the way home, my Scandic was starting a little rough and finally let me down smack dab in the middle of the line on the way home. Called in a favor, thinking I lost the starter. We couldn't figure it out and decided to tow it back to the truck. After about 2 miles my buddy asked if you can tow start the 4-stroke. We had tried to rope start it to no avail. I put the ol WT in high range and off we went. I hit the starter button while we were moving down the trail and she fired right up. I was pretty excited with this and turned around and went back for my sleds I'd left behind. Got the Scandic back into the shop and figured out that it wasn't the starter or the battery. It was my main ground strap to the frame had broke. Quick easy fix and back out on the trail. Got a couple inches of powder snow on the line but not near enough. Placed some wolf gear and some catch all sets out. Had a tourist come out with me for a 3 day adventure. Had a great time but not the place to learn to ride a sled under these conditions. Picked up 5 marten and 2 fox for my troubles. Anxious to get back out after the Tuesday ATA meeting. Good luck and be safe out there.
JR, where is that main ground strap connected? My '13 Expedition LE in 600 etec is still in the shop. No electronics. I press the start button, nothing. I jump the solenoid and the starter engages, still no start or electronics. I pull my rewind starter, nothing. Could it be my ground as well? I wonder if when you tipped your rig in the ice if that's what loosened your ground? Did you electronics just go out on you? I'm curious. I really want to get my Expedition going but for the life of me I cannot figure that thing out. I may have to ship it to Nome's Wilderness Ski-Doo to have them look at it.
Glad you're out on the 'line again. I always look forward to your pics and stories.
Dang dude! That creek looks like a pain in the butt! Glad you didn't get hurt when you punched through! Good to hear you got gear out and picked up a little fur! Thanks for sharing!
Inupiaq.. Here is a pic of the location of the ground strap on my 2012 Scandic WT. It is a heavy gauge wire and bent in a bit of a horse shoe. With constant pressure I think it just broke the copper ferrule on the end where the bolt runs through. I couldn't figure it out. My buddy jumped a cable from the battery to the frame and she fired right up. Then we tracked down the ground strap. I will make another one a little longer and keep this one as a spare. I just crimped and soldered a new end on and headed back out the next day. Here's a few more from the trail cameras to help realize why I attempt to travers these ice conditions DIdn't take many pics of the fur this trip, was cold and in a hurry I guess. I did manage to take one of this little cross though in a catch-all set. This is a new face mask- goggle combination that I tried and really like this year. Got it off some site off Facebook. I really like it. For those of you who were glasses, this worked really well at -20 to -35 below. The mask does cover up some of the ugly too.
I've had the same grounding issue on my skandic, last time was in November elk camp. I changed out the entire cable. I'm thinking your machine started because it was bouncing up and down and the ground made contact again? I loaded mine once when dead and it started again after 100 miles of bouncing on a trailer. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your winter.
Thank you for sharing the problem...and the picture, JR. Really helps. I saw mine and nothing seemed to be wrong just by looking at it, but I probably should take it off and inspect it, huh?
So, if I'm getting it right, if I ground the battery to the frame and it starts, then it should be a bad ground at that place you showed huh?
Good luck on them amaguqs. They look healthy and well-furred.
Good afternoon trappers. Returned from the line yesterday with with fur for the stretchers. The river crossing was great but still no snow across the flats. Marten sign was really slow picking 4 on the trip into the cabin. My new little bypass trail didn't produce but one marten so far this season. It is really rough traveling so I closed up the traps on that line. Overflow was it's usual self but didn't give me any out of the ordinary troubles. I've learned to hold on and not relax when traveling through it. Ended up picking up a 78# gray female pup in a AK #9 pee post off the end of the airstrip below the cabin. Looked like the pack killed her. This is the second time that has happen on my line. She was froze down in the overflow so I had to chop her out but not too bad. Got a fire going in the cabin, unloaded the sled, grabbed the water jugs and headed up to check the line to Pee Post pass and get water. Low and behold, Pee Post Pass strikes again and wolf #2 is held fast in a AK #9 pee post. It was dark so didn't get any pics. Dispatched the 78# gray male, reset the trap and headed back for the cabin. Missed on a couple set between the cabin and the pass but just due to foot misplacement. Peeled #2 and called it a night. The next day picked up a 25# big lynx tom in a catch-all set. Not seeing much lynx sign on my line but picked up a couple on this trip. 400 yards up the river from the lynx, a #9 pee post held a 32.5 pound wolverine. He wasn't throwing a fit so I took a couple pics of him before dispatching. This is the first time I've ever done this, usually I just dispatch them quickly. I have a bait station 5 miles above the cabin and ended up picking up wolf #3 in a snare on it. He came in solo from the top. I just walked through the snares double checking and found him. Beautiful 92# gray male. We had a cold snap blow in and got 40 below out there. First time I'd seen true -40 at the cabin since I've been out there. Good time to catch up on some skinning. Really burnt some wood there for a couple days. My wolverine had some sort of rub or something going on. Pretty disappointed when i noticed this As the temps warmed up, I attempted to open up some more line. It was more than I could handle. Really hard on the sled and rider.
Four days into the trip, I picked up #4 in a AK #9 pee post that I've set for many years without catching a wolf. I'd placed it on a grapple and the 97# male made it about 30 yards before totally wrapping up. After dispatching him, I place the same trap right back in the same bed and 4 days later picked up #5 on the same post. Here is a prime example why we have a swivel right on the base of the trap. This big old male weighed in at 107 pounds and 8' nose to tip of tail. Ya know what, I dispatched that one and placed that same trap right back in the same bed. We'll see what happens. I headed up to Pee Post pass to check the rest of the line since the pack went in that direction. Bingo, trap and drag are gone on the post I missed on last week. After a 40 yard track job though some dense willow, my first black wolf waited. Wolf #6 was kind of a wizard on how he made it that far without getting hung up. A huge 92 pound pup of the year with a beautiful hide. Decided to spend another day at the cabin and get everything peeled before heading to town. Not much fun carrying whole wolves through the overflow. Skin them when they are thawed is my motto. The trip out yesterday produce 6 more marten and another big tom lynx. Got a lot more gear out this week and looking forward to heading back out in a couple days. Every once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Busy day putting up fur today and enjoying every minute of it. Be safe and productive out there.
JR as always thanks for the ride along those are some great pictures ! You still have more snow than we do down here I fired up my old Polaris for when we get enough to ride I'll be ready ? Your marten have some interesting color phases. Keep up the good work and Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Great run, you are whacking the wolves! Thanks for the pics. How do you know you have a pup? Seems like 92 is pretty big for a pup. Excuse my ignorance, lol.
Good info on resetting the dirty trap. Just smells like wolf I guess. Interesting that they would come right back to the catch circle.
WOW! That looks like a awesome trip and thank you for sharing! Good to see you connecting with the wolves! Shame about the wolverine, kinda looks like it was living in a barrow, still a nice catch though! Look forward to seeing the next update!
That's a great trip JR! Glad to hear there were no sketchy parts on the trail this time. Shame about the wolverine.
We've been having "interesting" snow out this way this season. It took forever to show up and then it was storm after storm. Pretty rough ride over the tundra now.
Who needs aerial wolf control when we have you around JR. That is an amazing haul. Thanks for sharing your adventures. Those one hand setters sure make it easier to get those traps off. Did a wolf straighten out your drag or is it designed with one straight hook?
Here's a couple videos I did while out on the line this past trip. This first one you'll hear the wolves answer me back after my second howl. You'll have to listen closely after my second howl. I ran back into the cabin and locked the door after that.
Thanks JR. I cant open the videos but it might be my settings here. Thanks for sharing your days. I'm still dreaming about getting some #9's from you one day soon.....
Thank you very much for taking the time to chronicle some of your season, I love this stuff! About the wolf that made it through that tangle on the drag; Is it possible he took the drag to mouth on first resistance and carried it a ways? Or do you think it was just a coincidence and it didn't hook up? I don't claim to know a thing about wolves, so if thats a really stupid question I apologize
Sure am enjoying watching your journal. Got addicted and binge read for a few nights to get all caught up! Sure am enjoying the video, and the recent wolf catches. Congrats...
Got the Scandic all tore apart. Front Pogo suspension was acting funny. I'd hit a stump on the way out and dented the upper tower not allowing the shock and spring to work properly. Be looking for one of these in town today. Forgot to mention that I'd lost my starter on the Scandic last week out at the cabin. Luckily it was at the cabin. Used the Rhino to pull her into the shop and replaced it pretty easily in the heated fur shed. I'd bought a couple of them for spares and they came into play. A connection broke free on the positive lead. It felt funny when I checked it the week before looking for the problem that left me stranded. This is Wolf #1 that the pack killed in the trap. They tore her up pretty bad. I brought her in to Al at the Tannery for him to fix. That is way above my sewing skill level. He did a great job and she's on the stretcher now. Got my new aluminum trapline signs done. Let's see how the porcupines and squirrels like these. Auto Trim Design in Fairbanks made these for me. $53 for 3 didn't seem to bad to me. Heading back out on Sunday. Suppose to be unseasonably warm.
Great videos JR the pack sure did a number on that wolf sewing it darn sure would've been a challenge how about a after picture. I hope you find the part you need for your sled. I've noticed that we normally get the same weather you had up there about 10 days after you had it there . Stay Safe out there and catch a bunch ! Allan
JR how many miles do you have on that Skandic now ? Im going to need a new sled next year and am considering going back to the 4 strokes. Whats the most common problem you've seen with the 600 ACE ?
Update on the wolf that was brutally attract by a unsavory gang. The surgery was long, just about 2 hours. But i was able to put her back together.She won't have a full recovery. she'll have a few disabilities. She won't be able to be taxidermy, but she could be displayed as a nice wall hanging fur for the rest of time.
JR how many miles do you have on that Skandic now ? Im going to need a new sled next year and am considering going back to the 4 strokes. Whats the most common problem you've seen with the 600 ACE ?
Do your self a favor and get the 900 ace. The 600 has the same if not less HP as an old fan cooled. You'll be much happier with a 900. The 600 will still pull your sled anywhere you need to go but come spring time or deep snow you will be glad you had the extra HP. If you run through any valley's with deep snow the snow 600 ace will struggle.
Update on the wolf that was brutally attract by a unsavory gang. The surgery was long, just about 2 hours. But i was able to put her back together.She won't have a full recovery. she'll have a few disabilities. She won't be able to be taxidermy, but she could be displayed as a nice wall hanging fur for the rest of time.
Thanks, nice work Al. I stopped by the shop this evening. I'll swing in a pick her up tomorrow and reintroduce her to her pack. I took out another one of those bullies that tore her up. Big 115 pound gray male in the same post I caught #4 and 5 in. This one made it a bit further than the rest.
Had a buddy with me so had him video the remake Weather was warm and overflow was ever present and maybe a bit angry this week. Picked up a couple fox along the way. One in a cubby and one in a coyote snare. I'll get some pics of the one when I get it on the board.
Ended up getting a 1/4 inch of snow today. Just enough to see new tracks. Speaking of new tracks, the wolves came down to investigate who was howling in the valley again this morning but gave a wide birth around the pee post that I've been picking them off on. Missed on a few on pee posts this week but got some more gear lain. Here's some sign for ya. Came out today and found some serious overflow on the Tanana. Got around it without to much trouble.
Dave, haven't had too many problems with the 2012 Scandic WT for having 8300 miles on it. Most of it besides the Ground strap breaking, Fuel pump and clutch were self induced problems that hard riding and rough country caused. I've replaced the track and most of the suspension parts at least once. I'd like to get a 900 ACE in the Expedition WT next. A buddy has one and I'm excited to try it out. Really getting tired of the pogo stick front end.
Nice wolf. Thanks for the videos. Are those cross bars on your sled the original ones we made up? I still got mine from that build. How do you like that tough box?
Thanks JR !! I had a member who bills himself as a "professional outdoorsman" tell me that no sane person would believe that wolves would scent mark a frozen hummock. I guess you didn't know that either .
White I think anybody who calls themselves a professional is usually the opposite. Jr here is the kind of guy who others call a professional. Still my favorite thread JR. the tracks on your trail make me realize that I took the wolves on my line for granted. I sure miss seeing tracks like that.
Thanks JR !! I had a member who bills himself as a "professional outdoorsman" tell me that no sane person would believe that wolves would scent mark a frozen hummock. I guess you didn't know that either .
That's what a good number of my pee posts are, I guess the wolves in my area don't know that yet. Works good to chop one loose and put it where you need it...
I gotta admit that chewed up wolf might not have made it back to town with me. Take the head and shoulder for head mount and the rest is bait. Nice repair job!
Ryan McLeod..... The only reason I got a million views is because of all the pictures I post as most of us cannot read.
Got back from the cabin today with a little fur for the stretchers and a new lease on life. My coyote bait on the Tanana isn't producing coyotes but picked up my 3rd and 4th fox of it. A small pack of wolves came by this morn but didn't venture in. Snared a cross also and the hips were already rubbed. On down the trail and caught this goofy looking little guy in a Bridger #3 protecting a cat cubby. 72 pound male pup. This is why we have leash laws in Alaska. Threw the collar in the woods and put this German Shepard on the stretcher. Pretty odd colored pup. Had a wolverine working the trail pretty hard cleaning off salmon heads off the marten poles. I'd tripped most of the traps and left the heads hanging to feed the few marten that are left. Not thinking about the wolverine that is now trained to climb marten poles to steal the free meal. I'd already caught my one wolverine I allow myself per year but have now changed that to two wolverine per year limit and left him a surprise. The overflow was ridiculous this week but didn't pose much of a problem. Missed a few wolves on the posts this week. Lots of activity just not much getting pinched. Called the wolves from the cabin 3 nights in a row and couldn't get them to step on the traps. Swing and a miss. Got a little bit of snow last night but todays wind will probably send it downstream. Travel is still pretty rough going The caribou moved in now and are all over the trails. Just when ya think you can set some blind trail sets. Got some work to do on the Tundra and heading back out on Wednesday to try to catch a few more dogs
Congratulations on the successful check and on the new lease on life thing's are sure challenging when some people don't give you all the information I've had a similar experience myself. That pup is really something else and you sure have some great colored fox keep up the good work ! Stay Safe out there and enjoy your day ! Allan
I read the post on another page that has to really take the wind out of your sails glad to hear all is well .Go out and enjoy every day because you don,t know what tomorrow will bring . Thanks for the ride along,
Not sure what the new lease on life is about, but glad you are ok, whatever it was! Cool looking wolf! Those Bridgers 3s are pretty tough, especially if 4 coiled and lammed and base plated. Not too surprised that it held. I've heard of one holding a yearling alces alces... Too bad about the misses, but you'll probably catch up to them later.
Greeting Trappers, made it back from a productive week on the line. Got some fur for the stretchers and put a lot of wolf gear in the field. Got an inch of snow but it blew away and ended up in drift form on the trail to Pee Post Pass. Ended up catching my bait stealing wolverine in the MB750 I'd left for him last week. Real nice 27 pound male. Lots of caribou along the trail this trip. Santa boards his reindeer out on my line. As long as I'm on his good boy list, they are safe. Here's the South side of some North bound caribou. Picked up wolf #9 in a pee post with a grapple and he didn't make it very far. I'd set this post for quite a few years and finally paid off. The same pack ate this lynx out of one of my traps. First time I'd had that happen in a trap. Had a few windy days and really scoured the hills and canyon both of what little snow we had. Hadn't done a track and skag inspection for a while but I could have chosen a little better spot. Picked up a few lynx this trip. This is a pretty little female Got this big ol male in a snare I'd set for a wolverine on the way out this morn. A huge 34 pound male. Picked up wolf #10 in a snare that I'd set out the first week I was out. A pack of wolves had milled around and one wolf had walked through this spot. It was the only spot I could see to hang a snare and was still worried about the overflow. Well, it worked. 90 pound black female held fast but not choked out.
Had a full moon while I was out there and the views were spectacular. This is 10 pm. Gives a whole new meaning to moonlight Still getting pics on the trail cams. This wolf is stealing carcasses off the dead pile on the end of the runway. You wouldn't believe how many times I've missed him. Inches.... Grooming the trail on the way out this afternoon
Dang you are tearing them up this year JR! That is a beauty of a blackie! A bunch of good looking fur! Bites about that one lynx though, those big boys must be really hungry to mess with a angry kitty!
Congratulations on the successful run on your snare and trap line ! I'll bet you'll have at least one of the lynx eating wolves your next check . Stay Safe out there and thanks for the ride along ! Allan
Back off the line today. Got a little fur for the stretchers and pulled most of the gear. The freeze thaw thing going on and pretty frustrating. Put 350 miles on and didn't cut one fresh set of wolf tracks. Howled every day with no response until Saturday afternoon. Got the pack to howl off the top of Iowa ridge. Walked up there with the rifle in tow but they went silent. Not sure if they saw me coming or the airplane that circled up there scared them off. Nice day for a walk anyway.
Last week the sleds kept wanting to lead the way on the ice and when I flipped it over this is what I found Pulled the stubs out and made a new pair of skags. These conditions are a bit hard on equipment Picked up an 87# gray female in a snare coming out of sheep country. Took her for a walk or maybe a slide down the creek. Picked up a few more lynx this trip. Guess I should have placed a little more gear out this year. Saw quite a bit of wolverine and lynx sign, seed for next season. Lots of overflow but really not menacing Trail conditions are not improving but I keep hitting it with the groomer. My groomer really needs some attention after the abuse I've put it through
Got the ATA Fur auction and Spring Fling coming up so gotta get some fur tagged and get ready. Here's the almost end of the season pic. Spring is in the air so safe travels out there.
Nice shots again, and gorgeous gulo, indeed . I sure like those colour combos, in dark bronze halo , rich sable browns, with that orange necklace bling to top it off....lovely animal .
JR, If you dont mind, Im going to save that wolverine for future reference ....his stare ,the light highlighting those wispy orange necklace hairs against the deep red bronze halo in the backdrop is such a nice contrast . I always love how winter snow light reflects in the eyes of any living being .
It may be a while, but when I "borrow" this one , Ill be sure to inform you, of course ....thank you , for your share in life adventures.
Laughed at the sliding video. Done that a time or two. Never done it with a wolf, though. Only a bear in a backpack down an avalanche chute. You can get some serious speed going, and yes you gotta be tough - it's hard on the bum! I ruined two pair of pants doing this.
Enjoyed the posts and photos as always.
Got a couple of your traps going out there now. Sure hoping they connect before I run out of time.
Just turn the groomer around and pull it the other way. Crosspieces will straighten right out, eh? Did that wolf die in the snare? How was the belly? Little green? mt
Sad day for this trapper. Finished closing up the line today. Great season with fur on the stretchers and no major mishaps. The wolves came back on to the lower end of the creek where I'd already pulled the gear. Lots of overflow with this warm weather. 40 degrees and the wind blowing really depletes what little snow we had. Travel sure is nice with all this daylight though. The landscapes were worth pulling the camera out for. Found a wolf kill right by the cabin. Figured they must have killed this in December before I got out there and the warm sunshine thawed it out for the ravens. Coming out today, I should have been riding an ATV though. The last couple miles were rough with no snow. The mighty Tanana was still in a solid state so that was nice. I think I have one more trip on the sled. Got the Annual ATA fur auction and Spring Fling coming up on the 16th and 17th so hope to see some of ya there
I think it's always a little bittersweet to pull the gear out - especially when there is fresh sign around! But with the changing of the seasons, there are other things to do, and next season to be excited about and planning for.
You have very beautiful country and a very interesting life.
You alaskans can always move to western alaska..........seasons open till apr. 15 mt
Bring your hip boots. Our snow is melting faster and earlier each year.
When I lived in Nome we often trapped till the end of march. Even tho conditions would allow a little longer, like in to April, we quit by April 1. After that worried about catching a bear! mt
Greetings trappers. Flew in from a few days out closing up the cabins for the summer. I have 7 trail cameras out and running along the line now. Got lots of pics of wolves, coyote and another wolverine. I'll share a few with ya I howled for four days with no response. Got an inch of fresh snow which was great for tracking but only saw a couple lynx and coyote tracks. Lots of hares and caribou though. Fired up the back-up sled, a 2010 Polaris Trail Touring and put 18 miles on it out on the overflow on the creek. That thing is so stable to drive unlike those skandics with the pogo stick front ends. Not once did it want to tip over. The ride stance has little to be desired after riding the new sleds though. Put a few miles on the Rhino too out looking for some shed antlers. The overflow has crept up onto my runway. set up another burnt hide post with a camera. Here's how I did it.
Took AKNative and his oldest boy out and caught a couple pike. Good food and great company. Them little ones really liven up a trip. Time to find a job and pay for my bad habits. Be safe out there and have a good summer.
Thanks for sharing JR! Pretty country and it looks like you have a lot of seed for next year! Nice looking pike! Would have loved to see the expression on that youngsters face!
Have you had luck with the bait burning method? I had a guy tell me about that a few years ago, tried it with part of a late season griz. I got a couple foxes off it and snared a wolf close to it. What is the advantage of burning over just letting it sit? Seems like the birds wouldn't bother it when burned, but birds usually attract other critters as well.
smalltimetrapper.... that is a burnt hide post that I set up last fall. Caught the first wolf of the season on it before the overflow started to creep up on it. It is under about 3 feet of overflow now and they still come by it a pee on it regularly. The new post I did was above the water and overflow line so I can work it all season
When I lived in Nome we often trapped till the end of march. Even tho conditions would allow a little longer, like in to April, we quit by April 1. After that worried about catching a bear! mt[/quote]
We had to call it quits in February here this year. High water mixed with no snow meant i was spending more on fixing my undercarriage then i was catching in fur. Our worst year ever in the 6 ive been here.
Happy Summer Trappers. Been working back in the iron patch this summer. Gotta pay the bills. Doing a little photo shooting again after I got the camera fixed. She wasn't very water proof but up and running again. Flew out to the cabin and checked the cameras with happy results. I got many wolverine pics and lots of wolves. Still not happy with the picture quality of my trail cams but getting pics anyhow. Didn't get a single bear picture out at the cabin but did on the baits. Personally didn't harvest a bear this spring but my buddies did their part and saved a few moose calves for me. The guys let me take part by doing the knife work on my days off. So thoughtful of them. Couple of the big ones got away but will be bigger next season if they make it through the fall. The calves are dropping and having some fun playing with them after work. I was asked to come back down south to share some of my wolf trapping techniques with the trappers in Idaho and gladly accepted. Should be a fun weekend meeting a bunch of new wolf trappers and seeing some old friends. Well be safe and have fun this summer. Trapping season is coming on fast.
Nice! Looking forward to seeing some of that fur on stretchers next winter. Crazy to think a little moose calf will grow to be a giant bull. Well I guess as long as those wolves don’t get them first.
JR - Its always a pleasure to see your pictures. That is probably the closest I will ever get to Alaska. Looking forward to seeing you in Rathdrum, we will have the bucket of ice cold beer again in our camp. Are you bringing any of your traps to sell?
Greetings and Happy summer trappers. Been a busy summer so far. Had a great trip down to Rathdrum Idaho for their Rendezvous. Met a bunch of great guys, sold some #9's and shared some of my techniques with them. That was a really fun weekend and hope to do it again next year. Really proud of all 4 groups that came together to put on the event. Thanks to the behind the scenes volunteers who did a great job on set up ,keeping things running smooth, break down and clean up. Attended a few of the seminars and learned a few new things. Thanks for the invite guys. Didn't get many pics as I was pretty busy BSing but this was a pretty good one of Justin Webb (Foundation 4 Wildlife Management), Rusty Kramer( President of the ID Trappers Association) and I after everything was done. Thank you guys, had a blast. Back to work for a bit but had a few days off over the 4th weekend. The wildfires subsided enough to allow us to make a run down to Minto Flats. Took my Godson Tristan and the President of the ATA with me. Weather, fishing, partners, wildlife and scenery were all as good as you could ask for.
The view from the top of the cabin was pretty sweet. Back to work in the morn. Trapping season is soon approaching so let's get our preseason work done in preparation for it. Getting a little giddy myself just thinking about it. Time to get some #9's built too, got a little behind the ball on them. Have a safe and productive rest of the summer.
Lovely shots and video, JR. Glad you had a nice time in ID. I know that area well. Its great you take these movies for your history -a life documentary as you experience them.
Ya ol Randy is calming down quite a bit. Finally realizing there is fun in them there woods. Pretty easy to get a smile out of him now. It was funny because he was worried about going out due to the Shovel Creek fire and them shutting the road down. I said we will go early and get out there before the road block. Anyway we snuck by as the National Guard was putting in the first road block, smiled and we were on our way fishing. On the way back after a wonderful weekend of fishing, as we approached Murphy Dome, the National Guard had a road block up not letting anyone through. Well, I sure wasn't having any of that, We got stuff to do. The young National Guard soldier informed me that he didn't think he could let us through. Time to pull out the big card.... I tells him that Pete Buist said that I would have the right away and if he had a problem to give Pete a call. There was a long pause as the two young soldiers discussed what to do.... One comes back as says to me that that Snowflake Pete has no pull on this situation. Well in that case I says to him... then maybe you'll recognize my passenger over here to my right. He looks in the truck at my 9 year old Godson Tristan and says he doesn't. Look a little further right I tells him... Oh I'm sorry sir he says.... I didn't recognize you at first sir. I'm sorry President Zarnke he says, you guys have a safe trip and I'll radio ahead and give you all a clear road out. That's what I thought I told him and on our way we were. Little Tristan asks me what that was all about and why did that soldier call Randy, President Zarnke? I told him, you didn't know that you were fishing all weekend with Randy Zarnke, The President of the Alaska Trappers Association? Well now ya know....
Hey JR, it was a pleasure meeting you at the ID Rondy, glad you made it down. Everyone enjoyed the big screen TV presentation / ride-along on your line. Look forward to following more of your adventures. Thanks for sharing--Mike
Awesome pics as usual, JR. Say, what kind of trail camera do you like best? I see most of your tc pics are from a Browning. Is that correct? I'm looking to buy a few for hunting/trapping, but also for our youth camp supplies that we have upriver.
Happy fall Trappers... I'm sitting in the house drinking a cup of coffee on the 2nd of September typing on this computer... Something is dreadfully wrong with this and me.. I still have one freezer full so no need to be out hunting but still should be out in the mountains anyway. Got three days off of work so getting some projects around the house and cabin done. Flew out to the cabin on Saturday to check game cams and get my solar back up and running. I messed up and drained the batteries but all is good again. Lots of pics on the game cams but nothing spectacular. Still not real impressed with my cams yet. They all seem to take good photos in the day but haven't been happy with the night pics. Here's a few of the thousands that were on four of the cameras. Built a few #9's until I ran out of parts. Got 7 dozen put together and time to order parts for 400 more. Was blessed to find my Artistic eye again and this is the first artistic projects I've done since my bout with cancer. Dang does that feel good. Been playing with the acetylene torch after work and some 3/4 inch thick channel iron. Guessing you can tell what is on my mind. Unbelievable feeling to be back doing art.
Shot a few pics of some critters from the plane this year in our travels to and from the cabin. Good luck and be safe this fall hunting season..
Inupiaq... I run a few different cams. Browning are new to me and I cannot say I like any of them so far in all aspects of the game. I still don't get any good nighttime pics. They all seem to take good daytime pics but most predators move dusk till dawn and you know how much light we have up here in the winter. Still open to suggestions on a good cold weather cam that shoots good night pics.
I do like the photos ....and well know the feeling of art done to the desired effects .
You must freehand the outlines then follow them with the cutter ...very nice ! I like the colours aftereffects in the metal , though they can also be powder coated . I used to draw templates for a man who did wonderful plasma art for hunting lodges , etc. It was fun seeing my animals in flat black powder coated metal.
I really like your 3D Euro art. Dall sheep ? Though it looks also like it could be one of those amazing Marco Polos.
That would look fantastic as the icon on a plane , snow machine, or especially a truck hood mount ! I even thought of a big belt buckle ....I really like how you "carved " that head out of metal.
Wow! Awesome pictures JR! Your trail cam takes great pictures. Still early in the season for moose hunting. Too warm, and lots of leaves still on the trees as you know. Pete and I used to goose hunt years ago the first part of the season, then moose. Lyme disease still has a grip on me so no hunting for me these days.
Your metal artwork is amazing! Where can I see your work? Is it for sale somewhere in town? Who knows maybe we need more art in the house. Our house full now! Always an outside wall.
Have a safe and successful hunting season. See you at the next ATA meeting in October.
JR as always fantastic pictures and story to go with them , nice looking critters on the camera's I'd like to see any of those bull moose, bears and Caribou if I had a tag for them oh well someday it'll happen.
The metal art looks great also I miss seeing your antler art too by the way .
Those wolves hopefully will make a return trip when trapping season is underway the black and then the white are going to look good on a stretcher !
Nice pics as usual. Your art pieces look great. Glad you bounced back from that dreadful health scare you had. That is awesome. Good luck this Fall/Winter and thanks for sharing your pics of the great North.
Very nice work jr. Thank you for the donation of a #9 trap to the montana trappers association. I now own 2 of your traps and have hopes of filling them with wolfs this winter.
Greetings trappers, winter is slow getting started up here in the interior. Came home from work to 2 inches of fresh snow in the yard. Still working iron til I can get out trapping. Been doing a few projects on the weekends. Built this wood stove for a guy on the Chatanika River. Turned out pretty well. I started this stove 10 years ago for my trapping cabin. Not thinking, just doing before I realized this is way big for my little cabin. So it sat in the corner of my shop for 10 years until I get a call from a guy needing a stove for his new cabin. They wanted nice but not too fancy so this is what I came up with. Been working on a few little stoves for guys but haven't had the time to finish them. Selling #9's like crazy lately. Almost out of stock. Good and bad at the same time. Found out that my stamp company whom I order my parts from down in California is a Liberal,Bunny hugging, tree humping Anti-trapper and has been overcharging for years all the way back to when Dean Wilson. Time to start shopping for a new Stamp company. My spring company in Arizona just doubled the price of my springs. Doubled. Unreal, Maybe we should just all quit trapping and hunting predators and let them thin out this Liberal screwballs. Sorry rant is over. So I've been modifying some older Manning #9's for a trapper. Laminating jaws, center swiveling, night latching and re-springing to put them back to work in the field. They all had the little diagonal brace brazed by the trapper. Looks like a little gold on the bottom. This last trap is a high value trap for all you collectors. It is the very rare Victor #9. Only one I've ever seen. Let the bidding start. Well good luck and be safe this season guys and gals. I'm going to work for a few more weeks anyway or unless I get the fever too bad and have to break down and fly out to the line again.
Thanks Ken and Sharon. The ball valves are two 1" that y into one 2" nipple for outside air intake. The valves were simple for airtight and had them on hand. For those without much experience with wood stoves, stoves with outside air intakes will burn almost half the wood of a stove with traditional air intakes. Traditional air intakes put negative pressure on the building sucking air through windows, doors and continually looking for leaks. Outside air does not do this. It is really amazing difference on performance of the stoves. I've built quite a few stoves over the year and always suggested outside air for my customers. Some they go for it and some not. It's strange that I never build the same stove though, you'd think if ya find something that works, run with it. Here's a few of them.
An artist does not do the same work twice, exactly as the last. Conditions and inspiration flex with the job. And that is what makes each one unique.
All beautiful works of art, JR.
The wuff footprints are perfect. Jack will love seeing those !
Not a few codes state for certain homes that wood stoves be rigged with outside air intake. All fine with me.
Really love the flat warming/cooking surfaces you install, and the animals, of course !
I can see one with a leaping wolverine ....tail waving in air as it leaps , in my mind's eye. I am starting the layout for a leaping wolverine soon, a very dark copper red , chocolate and black coloured one.
How fun to make your own animal silhouettes too. I have done many of those for plasma welders for coated iron art for hunting lodges, etc.
If I could , it sure would be fun to design a stove and have you build it.
I have the very same copper pot and a couple bowls too- from Korea , if memory serves correct. Good for many uses .
Always appreciate you sharing your art, JR. I know the years of work in practice that goes into the summit of each piece done to the finish . Very well done.
Happy Thanksgiving my friend it's stopped snowing like it was earlier this morning I've seen a couple of deer but haven't taken a shot yet it's a balmy 0 at the moment. Darn nice stoves that you made you have a gift that's for sure I hope you get out hunting soon !
Greetings trappers, hoping all is well and you are putting up some fur. Laying low around here waiting for a little cooler weather. Working on machines and gear lately. Ran down to Minto Flats and harvested a moose for the freezer. Ran around with Jim Masek for a few days in his country. Truly amazing to ride around with him on his line of 40+ years. He knows every tree, track, lodge and trail. Fun to ride some different country now and then. We saw a few unique things along our journey. 1st we saw where 6 lynx walked across the creek and across the flats. Six, maybe two kittens and the rest adults. Told Jim they were leaving the country because is was real thin on food for them. The second thing we saw was a bunch of grass in the middle of the river in the ice. You'd see a few tuffs here and there as we went down and then it steadily got thicker. I was a bit confused and thought we'd turned off the river and were traveling up a slough. Finally we stopped and I asked Jim where the heck are we? He laughed and said The Chatanika. I asked about all the grass in the ice. I wish I would have taken a picture to better explain this phenomenon. Jim said the river froze really high on the banks and when the water receded, the shelf ice broke off, shearing of the grass and falling down into the river floating downstream until it jammed up and froze. Been there hundreds of times and the water is 10 to 15' deep so it was really confusing to me to see all the grass that appeared to be growing. The third really neat thing we saw was a beaver lodge along a creek where the beaver had clear cut about 3 acres of birch. Really clearcut every tree, it looked like where the pilgrims landed and built their civilization. Three really unique situations to me and didn't pull out the camera or phone a take a picture. Something may be wrong with me. Ran up and plowed out my parking spot at the start of my trapline the other day. Tried out my new trail groomer and checked the river crossing. The river must have just froze up in the past couple days. There was a halfaz ice bridge that I walked across with the Eswing testing thickness. Saw a bit of coyote and lynx track. Traded my Tundra in on a 2019 Skandic Expedition sport with a 900 ACE. Still have some mods to do to it and mount all my typical accessories. Changing the gearing in it this weekend to the same as the Tundra for a little better slow pulling power. Be safe out there and have a great holiday season.
Good deal on the moose JR! Thanks for sharing your adventures! I agree with white17, that looks sketch! Be safe out there brother and I hope the conditions get better!!
You’ll like that 900 Expo, guys here do the same thing with swapping in the 21T top gear from the 600 ace. Makes it a better trapping machine, hardly a difference on fuel use. Looking forward to seeing fur in your sets.
Good Evening JR thanks for the pictures and ride along I'll bet Jim is a great wealth of information it was great listening to what he had to say when he was one of the instructors at a wolf trapping class in Miles City after the Western NTA Convention . Yes It was fun learning from both Pete's also .
Like Ken mentioned I don't think I'd of went out on the ice either darn nice sled too by the way. I like many others are looking forward to seeing how things go out on your line ! Allan
Happy New year trappers. Finally made it out to the cabin. Lots of snow and temps were colder than my face could handle. 30 below all week and dropping. With now feeling in my left check, I frostbite and don't realize it till it's too late. Pulled the groomer part way out behind a sled full of gear while breaking trail but had to drop it along the trail. The snow was just too much to pull through. The creek froze really high so the hollow ice and fallouts were something to behold. Had a few mishaps going up the canyon but eventually made it to the cabin. Dropped my sled about half way up the canyon after this pitstop and headed for the cabin bobtailed. Got a fire going and went back and hooked back up to the sled. Little shovel and axe work got the trail back in order. This is the first trip I can ever remember going up the creek with no overflow. I think I prefer the overflow to the fallouts, at least you can see the overflow your going into. Got lots of pics of critters on the trail cam Ran back down a couple days later and picked up the groomer I'd left along the trail and touched up the flats trail. Picked up a couple moose sheds and the find of the year. I've been running this trail since 1997 and driven by these 2 traps hanging in this tree Hundreds of times. I just happen to drop the groomer right next to them. Newhouse 114 and 14. No fur on the stretchers but super stoked with the finds. Anyway since there wasn't any overflow on the creek, I decided to drag my new 12' groomer up to the cabin for use on the upper end. I tuned up the runway below the cabin for all my pilot buddies. Had a little issue coming out on the creek to turn around. This one had me nervous about dropping in sideways into the main channel. I ejected way clear when she tipped. Had to climb down and unhook the groomer before uprighting the WT. Definitely gonna be a interesting year on the creeks. Saw some good sign of all the furbearers. Didn't get much gear out due to the cold but heading back out to do just that. Left the cabin Monday morn at 38 below and hit the Tanana crossing 4 hours later at -48. She was cold and angry. Walked out to check how deep and cold that overflow was and then hit it WFO.
That would have been a awesome find! Makes you wonder what the story is behind those traps You be careful out there Wildman! The ice is sketchy this year, glad you didn't get hurt or break a machine! Thanks for posting I love watching your adventures
The hollow ice must suck but the Tanana scares the heck out of me. Be safe out there. Those traps are a cool find. I wish they could tell their life story.
One thing's for sure your trips out to the cabin are an adventure without any doubt, that hallow ice looks like it really will keep you on your "A" game . Then finding those traps is icing on the cake isn't it interesting how things sometimes happen.
Darn nice pictures as always have you seen that white wolf show up on any of your cameras again ? Thank you for sharing with us and Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Pretty active camera spot there, that's pretty cool! Nice find on the traps, wonder how long they have been there. How much warning do you have before breaking thru the ice? That could be a ball buster, among other things! Be safe!
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's Journal - 01/10/2007:54 PM
I think those are my traps that I misplaced in 1982. I lost them somewhere west of Glennallen. I don't know how they might have made it into your country, but they look exactly like the ones I lost. PM me and I'll send my address so you can mail them to me.
Hey Trappers, back in off the line. Didn't take the new Expedition because of all the snow and pulling the groomer. Caught one marten in the 3 traps I had set. Saw lots of cat sign on the trip in. Got some plans for them next week. River was solid. This snow is awesome. Haven't seen snow like this since the 90's. Had some work ahead of me breaking out one of my 20 mile lines. I howl constantly when I'm out there and I believe they are on to my shenanigans. They haven't responded to one howl but still come investigate the trespasser making all the racket. On the trip out with no wolves in the six #9's I had set out, I was pretty disappointed. Early the next morning picked up a 93# gray male in a pee post off the end of the runway. Same set I caught the first one in last season. Dispatched the wolf, reset the trap and hauled him up to the cabin. Didn't have my computer out there so couldn't watch the videos. Had the camera on video but didn't pick up the approach or catch. What it did record was short of amazing. The wolf caught in the #9 had a little 65 pound brother came into view and started chewing on the chain trying to help free his big brother. How do I know he was 65 pounds, well I'll tell ya. After skinning wolf #1, took his skull and placed his carcass on the end of the runway in my usual carcass pile. This is my donation to the ravens for helping me find kills. The next day, ran out on the creek to dump the snow out of my sled and decided to run down and check that set again. As I rode up on the upper end of the runway, a small flock of ravens lifted off the wolf carcass laying on the end. With my glasses being fogged up, I couldn't see very clear, truthfully I don't see very clear anytime but this time it was really foggy. I saw something standing over the carcass. I slowed to a halt, grabbed the binos out of the handlebar bag and sure enough a wolf was chewing on the carcass. I jumped off the WT and went for the .204 in the Koplin gun boot. Covered in overflow, I couldn't even see the pin holding the cover on it. Panic is setting in as I grabbed the axe and started beating the ice off the scabbard. I glanced up at the wolf which was 100 yards away still contently feeding on his fallen brother as he just glanced up at me beating the heck out of my gun boot with an axe. The sun was just over my head and I believe he couldn't see me looking directly into the sun. Finally get the .204 out, loaded and pointed in the right direction. The wolf is just feeding away as I place the crosshairs on him. He was facing directly at me with his head down and not paying me any attention so I took a couple deep breaths, waited for him to turn a little broadside and touched off the trigger. The 65 pound male pup was pretty scrawny and had a few porcupine quills in his lip and not a lick of fat on him. He always was the last wolf of the pack when they go by the cameras. Sometimes it's better to be lucky that good. Picked up a nice little red fox and a lynx the next day above the cabin Just a great trip over all but really spent most of my time breaking and clearing trails. Heading back out to get some gear out. A little windy when I came out yesterday. Pretty sure it closed up everything I'd just got broke open. 25 below and the wind was blowing 40 across the flats. So glad I put my parka on when I left. Putting the fur on the stretchers tonight and heading back out on Monday or Tuesday. Good luck to all you and be safe. If I can figure out how to put some videos on here, I'll do that tomorrow
Saw your truck parked at the pull off a couple days ago and been looking for this update. Pretty cool to shoot that wolf, never know what you are going to find out there. Looks like your old faithful catch all set worked for the cat, that's been a good spot for you.
Thanks for the updates on your line winter set in for you that's for sure I'm glad the river froze over finally too. Keep the pictures and the stories coming Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Thanks for the pee post tutorial. I will be doubling up my traps now. You will love that Expedition. I just bought a SWT Expedition with the 900 Ace. It's way more stable than the pogos, although not quite as tough if you catch a rock or stump.
Greetings Trappers. Came in off the line today on my Expedition Sport. Should have listened to Wolverinebait when he told me to get one of these instead of the Tundra. This thing is a beast with that 900 Ace. Couple more mods to do to it to make it to my liking but we'll get to them later. So I started the journey on my WT making lynx cubbies on the front half of the line. When climbing over new drifts, the track would ratchet something fierce. I couldn't figure out why. Then the motor hiccuped a couple times and I got nervous. I decided to cut my sled loose and head back for the truck rather than have a failure further out. Well, didn't make it far. Ended up breaking a slide rail and not sure about the motor. Acts like a ground or a switch. Looking into that tomorrow. Grabbed the Expedition and hit the trail the following morning. Had set 10 cat cubbies on the ride out the day before and picked up this pretty little female cross fox in set #2. The wind and fresh snow provided a little more drifting than the Expedition could handle pulling the sled and groomer with the narrow 16" track. I cut the groomer loose about 19 miles in and headed for the cabin. Picked up a marten and a lynx on the way to the cabin but didn't see any fresh wolf sign. Not sure where they are but leaving gear out for them upon their return. Went back and got the groomer a couple days later and broke out some more trail. Howled every night and did have a single response from the wolves. Not sure where they ran off to but I sure miss them. Swung by my sheep cabin to have coffee and lunch one day while out setting gear on the upper end of my line.
Nice to have a guy to bail you out in case of breakdown, glad you made it alright. Too bad about the wolves not being around. I'm having a rough year with them in my area. Got lots of gear out, but they keep bypassing or avoiding it.
Thanks for the video ride along, my snowmachine did the same thing to me couple weeks ago and to have good buddies to come pick you up sure is nice. I picked up a 900 Expo WT, they sure are a nice machine.
Does the sheep cabin get you into more trapping country, or is it just a hunt cabin? I assume it's a fly in spot for hikes into the hills for sheep? mt
Your video reminded me of one time I broke down and lost all my antifreeze in my skandic. I was halfway between my truck and my cabin. About 10 miles in both directions. Just like you, I started a fire to keep warm. Luckily I managed to break down in a spot that had like 1 or 2 bars on my cell phone. Got a hold of a friend who was at his cabin close to mine. Luckily he had a little antifreeze on hand and ran some out to me. I always carry antifreeze with me just in case now.
martentrapper.... I trap beyond my sheep cabin for coyote and wolf. I take a lynx or two above it most years. Not much sign up there this year yet. It is nice to build a fire when ya go by and have some place to warm up when it's cold out.
Found out the problem with the Scandic WT. Broke a slide rail which was the reason for the track ratcheting and a loose negative terminal on the battery was the cutting out and not starting problem. Got 2 new rails from Delta Powersports and she's all back together and ready to go again. Took the Expedition 900 Ace out on this trip again and it continues to amaze me. Pulled the sled with the groomer 40 miles today effortlessly. Came off the line today without much fur for the stretchers. Picked up another lynx in the Catch-all set up river. Real nice female, dispatched and reset the #3 Bridger 4-coil. Had a wolverine packing off bait in the same spot I picked up the second one last year. Didn't have anything set there and thought I'd wait till next week when I have a client out with me. May have waited too long. He had all the bait gone and headed on down the line picking marten baits and then off towards the mountains. We'll try again this week. The wolves made a kill a little over a mile above the cabin so I placed a few snares for them. Lucky snuck in while the pack was away and grabbed some vittles. Hope to hang him up since I cannot seem to put him in a trap.
Picked up Wolf #3 in a pee post along the trail. 101 pound male with both front feet in the AK #9. Nice gray male
Cold weather but had a good time and covered some country without seeing much sign. 4 wolves came down below the cabin and missed them on the same post I caught wolf #1 on. Moved the trap to the other side and will have to pull it as it is soon to be engulfed in overflow. Got about a week maybe two before I have to pull it. Speaking of overflow
Cool beautiful day coming out today pulling the groomer Gotta grab some groceries, send out some #9's, pick up my client and head out on Tuesday. Hopefully it warms up. Good luck and be safe out there guys.
Awesome deal on the wolf! One heck of a catch! Hope you connect with the snare set up! Thanks for sharing JR, hope you and your client connect with the gulo!
Good morning guys, just got done putting up the wolf and lynx. Thinking about going into town and picking up another used 18 Expedition 900 Ace. Low miles and a good deal. My birthday is coming up in about 6 months.
As for the Trapline Expeditions... I like do to a 2 to 3 of them a season. 4 days to a week out on the trapline with me participating in everything that we do on an Alaskan remote trapline. Truth be told, I work you like an old borrowed mule cutting firewood, clearing trails, fetching water and other physical labor that I'm just to lazy to do and then to top it off, I charge you a ridiculous amount of money to do this. Would ya like to sign up....
Good morning guys, just got done putting up the wolf and lynx. Thinking about going into town and picking up another used 18 Expedition 900 Ace. Low miles and a good deal. My birthday is coming up in about 6 months.
As for the Trapline Expeditions... I like do to a 2 to 3 of them a season. 4 days to a week out on the trapline with me participating in everything that we do on an Alaskan remote trapline. Truth be told, I work you like an old borrowed mule cutting firewood, clearing trails, fetching water and other physical labor that I'm just to lazy to do and then to top it off, I charge you a ridiculous amount of money to do this. Would ya like to sign up....
Wow that video of you grooming is impressive. Sure looks like it does a great job leveling things off and even leaves some loose stuff on the surface for cooling the sled.
Good evening trappers. Came off the line yesterday with very little fur. We had a great time but couldn't call in a wolf or put one in a trap. Picked up a few marten and released a few more. Didn't catch my wolverine but left some more gear for his return. My TX hunter spent a lot of time on his side with my new Expedition. We had some crazy weather from -10 to +30, sunshine, snow, and some crazy winds. My groomed trails didn't last very long and my gear is long buried. Last week I found a wolf pee post on the ice but didn't put a trap on it because of it's location and after the wind this shows up below the pee. Looks like a moose fell through the ice at early freeze up when the water was high and got washed downstream. Made it over to the Wood and follow saw a bit of older wolf sign over there. Will head back over and get some gear out. Lot of overflow and fallouts over there. Kinda sketchy running especially with a rookie from Texas. Worried for him and my new sled. Really fun to share some of my country with some new eyes and share our Alaskan experiences with people from down south. Had the wolves answer back two times but wouldn't come in. Didn't see any fresh sign on my line except from Lucky and I've all but given up on him. Got some #9's to build and sleds to work on. Hope you all are doing well. Good luck and be safe. Hey if you aren't a member of your local, state and National Trappers Association, it's not to late. Join now and support your right to trap. It's not enough just to be a member but to participate in the fight. This is our Heritage and right to trap, support it and join.
That is a good looking kitty! Sounds like that guy had a good time, wish he could have connected on a wolverine or wolf though. The weather has been terrible down this away as well. From negatives to +40 in a day to snow to rain and back again. Nothing is on the prowl or moving. Thank you for sharing the adventure! You be safe out there!
What gorgeous country, JR. Love the ones with that deep glacier blue water, and colorful skies and layered mountains. Makes me want to capture them in art.
I'm really glad to hear that you are trapping those wolves over on the Wood River. I hunted moose there a few years ago and 2 days in a row I saw a pack of wolves across the river from me and I was extremely tempted to shoot them, but I didn't for fear that I might scare some moose from the area. I always felt a little guilty I didn't shoot at them. Because I feel like it's kind of the moral thing to do to thin them out a little bit. But I'm glad you are doing your part to trap that area. It seemed like there was an extremely high population of wolves in that area.
Picked up a few shed antlers this year and hadn't taken any pics of them. Here is a small pile I'd brought home. Not many this year with all the snow but should be fun hunting this spring.
Picked up a few shed antlers this year and hadn't taken any pics of them. Here is a small pile I'd brought home. Not many this year with all the snow but should be fun hunting this spring.
X2 on the horns JR are you going to be doing some carving before the Spring Fling or are some of these going to become Ulu handles ? As Bruce T mentioned the last moose horn is rather interesting looking I hope you find the other side too .
Guess I'm not seeing what you guys are seeing with the non-typical moose antler. I will put these in the ATA auction in March. Haven't carved antler since my bout with cancer. Still scared to put 10,000 rpm dremels that close to my digits. I have a crate with around 400 pounds of antler ready to carve when ready. Building #9's this past weekend and heading for the line on Wednesday.
Good Morning after looking closer it finally dawned on me that last set is a pair of moose antlers ha ha in my defense I've not had many chances to be around moose very often in the parts of Montana I've called home.
The one side appears to have a lobster claw looking set of pitcher's on it the right side antler , but then so does the middle set so possibly you have the horns off father and his son ?
Morning trappers, got a good message yesterday off my line. A buddy was hauling fuel out to his place and found a wolf in a trap along the trail. He asked what I wanted done with it. He dispatched it and hauled it in last night. Got it peeled last night. He said there was a wolverine in a trap also so that makes me happy. I wish he would have brought it in as well. Heading out this morn for a couple days on the line. #4 82 pound male pup of the year
What big wuffs you have in that country, JR . Good action shot of you skinning it, peeling off just like a sweater.Would love to see your wolverine when you get him in too. Thank you for the share .
Good evening trappers, made it off the line with a couple more wolves and the wolverine. Trip started off pretty rough, getting the Expedition stuck pulling a sled and groomer Please excuse the language About 15 miles down the trail, I caught my wolverine but he wasn't the one I expected. This one seems to be smaller. 27 pound male caught in a MB750 blind trail set.
Missed a few wolves on the creek and was starting to get frustrated with this snow and drifting. Got a fire going in the cabin and followed the pack right up to Pee Post Pass where I had this 92 pound gray male in the brand new #9 I set last week.
Sorry about the follow up video but I forgot until I was way down the line. Found 3 caribou kills on the creek within a few hundred yards of one another. This cow had a collar. Saw lots of groceries on the creek. On up the line, I landed this nice 98 pound gray male in a Pee post stump I'd set for years. 1st time I'd caught a wolf in it.
JR great pictures as always I'd be willing to buy a copy of your #6 wolf looking at you from behind the tree as well as the one on the pass. Has the package arrived yet ? It should be there very soon.
Lovely photos again, JR ! You have the area for pretty wuffs, for sure! Like the fluffy inner ears on the first one...how the soft fur folds around the bottoms from his head . More good template possibilities for your metal art.
And that wolverine ! Really like and prefer those darker ones , just love that deep red copper diamond . Inspires me onward with the one I am drawing these days.
Love the landscape shots...the angles of mountains , lighting, and water. Lovely day, indeed.
Good deal on all the fur! Thanks for sharing the adventure! I always wondered that about the urine, brown vs yellow. Now you got me wondering if that is why I have not connect Good story about the trap You be safe Wildman!
I know the feeling of getting stuck. . . lotsa fun! Good way to sweat when you don't want to. The snow here this year is not settling and just doesn't seem to have a bottom if you get off the trail. Good looking fur! I've not caught a a marten in a snare, but last year a buddy snagged one in a blind trail set for lynx. Perfect neck catch. Just couldn't figure out why the marten was that far off the ground.
Greeting trappers, came off the line this morn. Had big plans for putting out some more wolf gear on the new line this morn but when I woke up it was snowing. I don't like to run the rivers when I cannot see. I get snow blind something fierce anymore and sure don't wanna be running virgin territory when I cannot see. Set all the gear I had left yesterday and pulled some less productive and drift prone gear to move on the way back to the cabin. Guess I got ahead of myself, I picked up another wolf in the post on the end of the airstrip below the cabin. 1st female of the season for me, 80 pound gray female in a AK#9. Reset the post after cleaning it up a bit.
Tended to the rest of the line, cleaning off gear and setting some new gear. Set out on the new line seeing quite a bit of wolf sign.
Picked up a huge male lynx in a wolf snare at the bait. 5/64 1x19 with a Seneker Magnum kill spring. Didn't take any pics.
Got some fur to put up, 9's to build, ATA fur auction and Fling are coming soon and freight to haul. I got a lot to do. Let alone gotta enjoy the spring.
As always great pictures and videos from your trap line JR congratulations on having two good looking helpers with the one wolf your skinning in your shop .
I agree with you those pelican totes are great for storing anything you want to keep protected for the applications I've seen them used the most for the wheels and retractable handle were darn handy something you probably don't need often I'm sure.
I'd still like a copy of the wolf picture peaking around the little tree if you get the chance to make a copy. Have fun at the fling and fur auction take some pictures for those of us who can't attend. What kind of ivory trap is on the auction block this year ?
Thanks for the ride along. Question, how well do you brush out your tracks after you mess around at a wolf set? I saw a couple of your videos, including the wolf box one where you hung around at the set for quite a while. Do you go to any great lengths to wipe out your tracks? I usually try not to hang around a set any longer than necessary, then sweep out my tracks when I leave. Just curious...
Thanks for sharing JR! You know what you are doing, good work Interesting how the location can change from year to year. I am trying the yellow pee idea...found a bottle of yellow liquid lure and put up some cameras. May have to bag up dog yard pee. Would you set 3 traps around that pee post that caught? With all that canine smell, especially female urine, Lucky's days of luck may be running short! Also do you make blind sets in your trail?
What a big wuff she is ! You sure have nice ones in that area.
Don't blame you for being careful in running the rivers in bad weather...even in familiar areas, the conditions can still change with surprises if one cannot see ahead very well. That is wisdom.
Sure like the shot of your snow machine on that rise with the sun peeking from behind the mountain ...looks inviting to explore that drop ahead , down into the valley. Really like dimensional lay of the land shots like that.
Thanks everyone. Got to work on some sled and machines today. Better put that female on the board this morn too.
smalltimetrapper.... I usually brush out my tracks pretty well and drive my sled over close to the set wiping out my sign. I've been getting snow and wind and that does a really good job too
rosscoak.... Very seldom will I place more than one trap at any one location. Not sure why, but always thought it would catch more fur with traps spread out at different locations than 2 or more traps at one location for one wolf. I know lots of trappers that do double up on their traps to increase their chances
Thanks for sharing! Congrats on the wolf! Good to hear the activity is picking up and I hope you get gear out in your other area. Hopefully the weather will settle down
I have experience with the Skandic super wide track, both 900 ACE and 600 ETEC. Awesome machine but like the wide track not a sidehill sled. My choice is the 900 ACE, both motors get great fuel mileage and have a lot of power (and low range is great for not burning belts in slow going) but the ACE is quieter and I've seen the ETEC have a tendency to overheat in warm weather, especially and slow going and on bare ground or ice.
AK TRAPER.... I have zero experience with the SWT Expedition but I imagine it would be awesome. Heavy but great flotation and a beast with the 900 ACE.
I did a power trip out to the line last week to pick up a wolf on the Wood river. A friend sent me a email and said he dispatched a wolf in one of my traps. My friend from Minnesota was coming up to come on a trapline expedition with me on Saturday. I didn't want the wolf to lay on the ice dead and have the ravens or other wolves get into him so I ran up Friday morning to get him. Left the truck at 8 am, dropped 60 gallons of gas at my cabin and headed for the Wood river line. Picked up this beautiful 106 pound gray male in a AK #9 pee post. Probably one of the best furred wolves I've ever caught. Ran down stream checking and putting out more gear. Riding the Expedition 900 and loving it. Missed on a couple sets but not as much activity as expected. Headed for the truck and arrived at 5:30 pm and home by 6:45. 108 miles on the truck and 122 miles on the sled round trip all in the daylight. I love the spring. My buddy came in at 2:30 the next morning. Got the wolf peeled the next day and took it with us out to the cabin to put it up. We pulled both groomers 60 miles the first day and hauled 1600# of plywood out the next day. Jason did very well until the trip back to the cabin when he got introduced to overflow and the notorious DS2 Pilot skis on the WT. Got her out of that mess with a wet belt and frozen start button. Put her in the shop to thaw out and put a new belt on. My second belt in 10,000 miles. They just don't make them belts like the used too. Low range is the key to long belt life. The switch gave us problems for the rest of the trip. We covered some country exploring, ptarmigan hunting and just loving life. Jason really appreciated the vast beauty of the country I shared with his dad for 20 years. He said the pictures just don't do it justice. Had some cool weather but warmed up in the days. Put Jason to work cutting some firewood, this isn't the normal vacation. Jason is my ol best friend and hunting partner Jake's oldest son and a friend of mine so this trip was long overdue. He hasn't been up here since 1994 when I met him and his dad woking iron on Fort Knox gold mine. This week blew by but was so fun covering country, working and mostly reminiscing about his pa. My trapping cabin is full of Jake memories and memorabilia. Shared many a fire with his dad and Jake always said " fire is what separates us from the animals". Think of him every time I start a fire. Sent Jason back to Minn last night. Dropped the Expedition off today for a new fuel pump and front shocks, all under warranty. 2500 miles on it now and had a few issues this trip. Working on the WT tomorrow and hopefully get the start switch figured out. Next week I need to haul some more freight for some friends. The great thing is, my 9 year old godson Tristan said he wanted to go with so this will be an adventure of epic proportions in this young mans life and Tristan's too.
Once again JR great pictures and stories and to be able to share them with Jason makes it even better !
I was wondering do you ever set a trap around where you built a fire after cutting a load of firewood especially if you cooked up a bite to eat while there ?
I'm sure that both you and Tristan will have a great time making some special memories ! Allan
Gorgeous wuff....huge. Looks like you could wrap up in that one just like a blanket, it is so large.
I know Jason loved the trip too. Anyone who studies the land and it's dimensions to say, that even the most beautiful of photos cant do it justice , but needing to see in person, has that appreciation.
The stunning beauty of mountains . That admiration , to me , is what separates us from the animals , too
Greeting Trappers from warm and wet Fairbanks. Spent 3 days out on the line with my 9 year old godson Tristan. Got some freight hauled for the neighbors and have a few loads left to haul out this week. Tristan did well but still isn't into the outdoors like I'd like him to be. Cannot force him to enjoy the outdoors or it will push him away further. Kinda amazes me that he does't find the mountains so beautiful and he'd rather go back and watch a movie at the cabin. Oh well. Missed on a couple sets but didn't see much sign over all. Guess I'l pull my gear this week. Getting kind of hard to keep gear working with the temps and snow. Put the little man to work
Not sure if I'd posted anything on the Spring cabin and Hugo Stromberger's cabin. This is the properties that I bought into a few years ago. Hugo settled in this area in the 20's and after he got busted in 1939 by Sam O White for poaching, he signed the properties over to Bob Buzby while he was in jail. Hugo died in jail. Bob then in 1971 sold the properties to a group of 6 people. I bought one of the individuals out a few years ago. It is believed that Hugo shot over 2000Dall Sheep from the mineral lick above the cabin as market hunter and poacher. And now you know the rest of the story.
What a great time with Tristan. He is smiling and learning.....let each adventure work in his mind...and the fun he has with you. Stop at times and make a deal in excited appreciation over a view of the ranges that you like, the way the light accents a ridge at a certain time, etc.
The country is beautiful , even with temps rising. The sixth one down from the top, those mountains I am beginning to recognize . Sure do like seeing the videos in driving, I get to see the land and how it looks , seems like it is on a high level, that drops a bit just before the Range begins it's ascent . And the third one up from the bottom....just glorious.
An interesting history, Hugo's cabin is. And you have a part in the land . So good that you are documenting these things in video and photos.
So many will appreciate viewing them for generations to come, Tristan included.
Did buying into the Hugo property increase your trapping area? Appears trails are still in place. Could you go into more detail about the property? How did Hugo acquire "title" to the property? Is it deeded land? What type of deed did you get, if you got one? How large a property is it? Not trying to be nosey. I suspect many others could use some learning on property in remote areas. mt
Good evening trappers. Back in out of the mountains to pick up more freight and get another ride. The WT was a little hitch in her giddy up. Not sure what it is. The Expedition is done with a new fuel pump and 2 new front shocks. I did some modifications to her today and she's ready to work.
We have more snow than I've ever seen out there. I made my first trip out there and started trapping that country in 1997 and we used to get good snow back then but usually it blew away. Had some good wind out there this past weeks and starting to thin it down now. The sheep were needing that. Have about 3 more loads to haul out for the neighbors to finish out their cabin cut list. Starting to see lots of caribou and moose around. The wolves are nonexistent so either doing my job or they are on to me. Still have a bunch of gear to dig out.
st99....The shocks blew out and were leaking fluid. Factory warranty and replaced with the same thing.
FL cracker in AK.... not sure what the mask brand is. Got them off the internet. Just look up 2 piece goggle facemask combo. Around $40 or $50. They work great with my one set of glasses that I just broke on this last trip. Not with my other sets of glasses though..
The journey is over for this season. Came home from a couple week trip out to the mountains. Got all the freight hauled, gear pulled, wood cut and broke into some new country. The mods that I did to the Expedition were great in the overflow but not for the deep snow
She did good freighting though. 1400 lbs load 51 feet long 40 miles.
The Wood River was angry but let me dig my gear up and get out of there without too much trouble.
The weather was crazy from -10 to 54 degrees, snow, rain, sunny and any combination. I took advantage of every nice day to get out and explore.
Found this little marten on a moose kill and pretty sure she's the little gal that I let go a few times. She sure was photogenic though. Sat down 6 or 7 feet from her while she fed.
Could have spent hours with her. She sure was vocal.
Got into some country I'd never been. Played on the glacier but got scared and got off. Had a new alarm the other day. Scared the heck out of me. It shut itself off though.
Put a little over 3500 miles on this season even when I didn't get started until January. All that snow made for some good travel.
Stopped by and visited with the marten on the way out
Didn't put a lot of fur up this year but had a great season. You all be safe and have a great summer
Isn't it exciting to explore new turf. I'm glad the snow base was basically cooperative to do so. That was quite the haul length, and your snow machine did so well. I always like seeing how folks pack their gear during a trip.
Beautiful mountain ranges , to beg exploration into the valleys to see them closer. Always get a kick out of the groomer with that rooster tail billowing up.
The marten just had me transfixed. I always love observing behaviors with them, as well as wolverine . Seems like there's such little moving video of them. I learn volumes watching videos like these. I am certain that your capture is among the best ever documented of natural behavior . I would guess , seeing her constant watchful eye upon you , that her talking so much was directly inspired by your presence . She was just telling you how tough she was , and that she owned that supper , and surely wasn't afraid . Really enjoyed that clear , perfect documentation.
Cool marten footage! The woodpecker reminded me of a woodpecker that used to come and beat his head against our chimney at around 5 am. The sound would sure carry.
white17... When the red backed vole populations are low, the marten prey on other food sources. She seemed to think that moose was her kill and who was I to argue with her. She was pretty ornery.
Wow...more video of herself- and a friend ! No wonder she was talking....in keeping an eye on yourself, she was also convincing the visitor to take his number in line and wait !
What a way to try and enjoy a candle light dinner !
Greeting trappers. Happy Summer. Just flew in from the trapping cabin. Spent 3 days out there cleaning up, mowing the airstrip, checking trail cams and went shed hunting for a day. Got a few half az pics on the trail cams out of the 12 thousand pics I had to sort through. I'll back up. Been spending a bunch of time in the shop building traps. Getting a lot done with all the chaos going on around the world. Passed up a date with a beautiful woman and the chance to go bear hunting to stay and build traps. Something may be wrong again, maybe time for another checkup. Finally came to my senses. Arrowed this little dry chocolate black bear sow. Never harvested a color phase black bear so was pretty happy with this little sow and the meat was fantastic. After taking care of the bear, went on the date with the beautiful woman. Took her to Denali park looking at critters. Found the same cow from last year and she had twins again this year. Back to this past week. Went out looking for shed antlers and did pretty well for hiking around for about 4 1/2 hours
Thanks guys and gals, The gray is not wearing a collar that I know of. Got a few pics of it. Need to get a DR mower for doing the airstrip. That little Walmart special is getting a workout for sure and so is the knucklehead pushing it. Here's a few more pics
Forgot to mention, I'd sent 24 wolves to Moyles to get tanned in the beginning of May. Moyle called last week and only received one of 4 boxes. Sent Priority and they cannot find 3 of the missing boxes. Lost in transit... The were insured for $50 each. My bad for not insuring for the $3000 value of each box. I've mailed a lot of stuff through the USPS over the years and only had one mishap before this. I sure hope this pans out it in the end. They sure are hard to deal with, not sure if it is always like this or just with all the BS going on. You cannot talk to a person anymore ya have to deal with everything on the computer. Frustrating for sure.
That is a big big bear...was wondering what he did when I lost sight of him , just seeing his ears off to the left as he went. Wondered if he was going to arc around that side to see you better.
Lovely full rivers and creeks. They are full here too, clear and cold. The beauty of flowing clean water.
That's a real bummer about your fur shipment. That's a good lesson for us all. Don't skimp on the insurance. I hope they show back up. That bear was a bruiser. Too bad he walked off.
Greetings Trappers and Happy Fall. Trapping season is approaching fast. Been working close to home this summer so got a lot of #9's built. Been helping a few buddies on their cabins and shops as well. Helped Mr Masek put on his roof of his shop early this summer. Put up a high line and used a chainsaw winch to set the 44' trusses. Neat project and always wanted to do it. Worked well and learned a lot for next time.
Wished we'd had one more person to video when we got the bugs worked out and up and running. Got some wolf gear that I brought out dyed. Still have to clean up and file the triggers and dogs. Back in the iron patch putting up a couple building this summer. Finally got my new girlfriend down to the cabin in Minto Flats. Took 4 trips but finally made it. Water was ridiculously high. Saw a few moose but wasn't looking very hard since I still have a freezer full of meat. Good trip for photos and she is getting pretty handy with her camera. She took this pic from the cub when we were flying out to work on a cabin. Night-latched a bunch of #9's and figured I'd share it. Forgive the poor video. Heading back to work this week probably until trapping season. Hoping to fly out to the cabin and check some cameras pretty quick though. You all have a safe hunting season and we'll talk later.
JR I'm glad you're getting thing's caught up and as busy as ever I really enjoy the moose , bear and wolf pictures darn nice pike too . It's a relief that your hides finally showed up it makes a person wonder what is really going on after a box is dropped off at the post office or shipping center !
It won't be long and all those traps will be set and hunting season will of come and gone keep the pictures coming . Allan
Thanks for the trap tuning video j.r. always like your photos. Still hoping to get up to Alaska soon(2021) ? Had plans this month to celebrate the anniversary in alaska . But with covid and ms.v's medical conditions just don't want to risk it. Have good season and stay safe out there jr.
Greeting trappers. Been chomping at the bit to get across the river and it finally happened. Give ya a couple videos leading up to it.
Water froze really high this season but maybe just maybe that overflow will stay under this top layer of ice as the water level drops. Wishful thinking anyway Good snow with a few trees down along the way Pushed myself to the limit trying to make it to the cabin before dark. The canyon was a handful with huge fallouts this year. Made it to the cabin without incident at 3:30pm as darkness set in tired and hungry. 5 1/2 hours to break trail 39 miles. Had followed a huge wolverine most of the way up the canyon. Didn't see a lot of fur sign but still happy.
Spent most of the time breaking out trail but did get a few sets in. Didn't see hardly any marten sign but didn't plan on setting for them anyway.
Not sure if I have a new pack of wolves developing or an old pack changing things up. I followed a pack for 15 miles across the flats and a single for 20 miles. Kind of odd where they were but lots of moose and that is what they eat. Hopefully it is a new pack and they don't know about my habits. Got a checkup this week and gear up to head back out. Good luck and be safe this season
Lovely shots and weather . I find the mood swings of water and ice fascinating . The different in sounds walking on the top layer on solid ground vs the hollow , musical tone of an upper layer with a gap between the lower , be it more ice or water.
Glad you finally made it out there Wildman! Looks like you had to cut a little fire wood Hope the check up goes well and look forward to your next outing!
Good luck out there this season Jr. We have some rivers around here acting and looking the same, another goofy year when it comes to river conditions. Stay safe.
Seasons Greeting Trappers. Took my gal out to the cabin with me on her first trip. She had a few wrecks and got dinged up a bit. She is a trooper for sure and loved the trip even with a couple cracked ribs. She spent the whole trip at the cabin or close. She wasn't real fond of the canyon or the overflow. Was lucky enough to pick up this young red fox in a cat cubby. While she was cabin bound, I worked on some trails and got a bit of gear out. Seems like I have a few more coyotes this year. They wanted nothing to do with my snares at my baits. Have pretty good snow so made use of the groomer I had at the cabin. Getting a good base set. One morning I ran up to check Pee Post Pass and came up on these moose and had a pretty good show. Setting gear tired and hungry, I paid the price. I joined the #9 Club catching myself in a #9. Wowzer. That smarted but built some more setters and healed up fine. Got some projects finished up around the shop and heading back out tomorrow with my gal. We are taking the new Expedition LE tomorrow. Kind of excited. Have a great and safe holiday season .
Tough woman right there and a keeper! Hope the weather holds steady for you on this trip and that you get some wolf gear in the ground! Be safe and have a Merry Christmas JR!
It looks like you were having to bite the Bulliet after that snap with 9. That's good stuff.
I saw your truck at the pull out last Sunday and thought about you out there. Glad to know you have some company on the line! Too bad about the cracked ribs, she must be tough if she's ready to go again already! Good luck out there and Merry Christmas to you!
Happy New Year Trappers... Came off the line with a little more fur for the stretchers. Had Stacey out there with me for Christmas and we picked up a few lynx and a coyote. She was pretty excited. Took out the new 21 Expedition LE 900 Ace. Unbelievable machine. I never once thought my Skandic 600 Ace was underpowered until getting back on it after riding the new 900. The push button reverse is hard to get used to but really nice. Low range is ridiculously low. I redid my burnt post set at the end of the airstrip. The critters seem to have lost interest in it. Freshened it up with a caribou hide and skull. Put 3 pee post around it and a few cameras Took my gal back to the truck couple days after Christmas, grabbed some more bait and went back out. Time to work. Had a marten stealing bait out of one of my wolverine cubbies and kept tripping the 330. After the 3rd time, it finally pinched him. Didn't really wanna trap any marten but Stacey wanted a few. Trying to finish a 40 mile loop so I used the ol Skandic as not to beat up my new machine. Old gal took some punishment but got me back to the cabin. The moose and caribou were plentiful and photogenic this trip. Lots around the cabin and very little wolf sign. Never had response to the howling yet this season. Finally picked up a wolf #1 for the season up by my sheep camp. I was beginning to doubt myself. 94# gray male in a pee post along the trail. Never caught a wolf in this set before but it always had that feel . Came home to spend New Years with Stacey and put up some fur. So you wanna be a trapper, this isn't a spectator's sport I told her. Gave her a fur handling demonstration yesterday and put her to work with the needle and thread fixing my nicks. Got a few trap orders to fill and give the ol Skandic a once over and head out early next week. Good luck and be safe out there
Nice that you have a partner to help make you look good! Glad you are getting some critters.
Thanks for posting the videos. Do you try to wipe out your foot tracks around your sets? Looks like you were walking around them a bit.
Also, I think I may be having issues with wolves smelling my traps and getting shy. How much do you think they are bothered by rust smell? I had some traps that sat out over the summer and probably got some rust on them. I put them in buckets on my sled, then when I got to the site and went to set them, there was a fair amount of rust in the bottom of the bucket that collected from the traps bouncing around in there. Not sure if that is a deterrent or not.
Great Pictures! I enjoy seeing those caribou! The burnt hide set is interesting. I may have to give that a try sometime. Where I am coyotes are pretty scarce, but a couple have been seen over the last few years. I wonder how soon we will have an influx.
Kinda new to the wolf trapping game. But trying to learn as much as I can. Do you really use those rebar stakes to hold a wolf? Just seems like wolf could/would dig that up or pull it out very easy.
I have a couple AK #9’s I’ve set (so far wo luck) in SE AK. But alway have to keep my set within reach of a tree or large log to anchor to. Just driving in a rebar stake would be much easier!
Greeting Trappers. Did a power trip out to the line yesterday. A friend dispatched one a wolf in one of my traps a couple days ago and left it on the ground. I didn't want the ravens or the other wolves to get to it so off I went. 8 hours, 100 miles on the truck and 84 miles on the 19 Expedition 900 Sport. Hauled a load of bait out with me and pulled a groomer back to the road.
15 below out there but the sun is coming over the mountain now which is awesome. Kind of hard to see when driving right into it but a welcome sight just the same. The overflow was rising fast in some spots so had to chop out a few #9's. I always wait a day or two too long. Got the gray female wolf hanging in the shop thawing and time to modify some traps for a guy and build 9's for the rest of the week
Fishinak... I use 18" rebar stakes on my ridge sets in frozen ground. I would not use an 18" stake in your country. There is some experience wolf trappers down there that are more familiar with your conditions. I am new to wolf trapping myself and still learning everyday,don't wanna steer you the wrong direction. You are always better with a solid anchor like a tree IMHO though. Good luck and be safe.
This happened the other night coming back to the cabin after a long day After a little axe work, got the ol WT back on it's track and drove it out. This is the hole the next day My buddy that shot my wolf did the same thing on up the canyon. Cutting corners and driving too fast. He was luck to have a couple guys with him as he doesn't carry a bit of extraction gear with him, Not an axe, not even a shovel...He got knocked out and went to the hospital with a concussion. Doesn't remember the day at all. This is the hole he broke into.. You can stay home where it is kind of safe or get out and live life to it's fullest... Use your head, approach every situation with caution and Be prepared for the worse...
I hate shell ice. Prudent to carry shovel,axe,rope come along,chainsaw etc when going far in where you cant walk out. People nowadays depend on the new fangled satellite stuff to call for help,lol. Chainsaw and come along or two can save a lot of grief if you get slushed. Stay safe out there Howler.
Wow. Glad it worked out as well as it did for him...could have been much worse.
Yes live life in full gallop, steady in control around tight turns indeed , I know that well in driving anything animal or machine animal.....and always be prepared. Done this all my life.
Great country as usual , always love seeing the dimension of the land and its animals. Nice wuff , too .
I hate it when the creeks and rivers water level drops so much after freeze up. Sure keeps you on pins and needles at times. I have no doubt by this time you have become an expert at self recovery in those situations. I certainly have learned from your post and have supplemented my recovery gear with items you have mentioned over and over.
And I thought it was such a pain in the butt to get bogged down in deep snow. I guess either way it happens, it is, but never had to deal with those ice flows and cave in's before. I like your attitude about living life; it mirrors mine. I'm not wolf trapping this year and I miss it. Fun to see you get some!
Heading out to the line this morn. Had a practice run last week with nothing for the stretchers. We did get some line cleared out though and a 40 mile loop finished. Got a heck of a partner out on the trapline, and she cooks and plays cribbage. Picked up a couple moose sheds Didn't really see much for sign except for the same two lynx around the frozen MB750's. One big tom was eating the bait when we showed up and ran off. Stacey thought that was pretty cool. She still doesn't like the overflow Put the new Polaris Profloat skis on the Expedition and adjusted the suspension yesterday .
Heading back out this morning. Good luck and be safe trappers..
Good looking sheds You need to get that groomer up there and quit making here chop stuff! Like the snare video! Hope this is a good run for you and be safe out there JR!
Great pics JR, and as much as I love the colours of those overflows, the artist in me is intrigued with the glacial blues (my favorite blue) and translucent beauty of them, I would be nervous traversing them . Love to see them though.
My enjoyment of the art of multi dimension of the land is never ending . Thank you for the share.
I would say Stacey is a keeper if she is willing to work that hard and endure the overflow, sounds like she is a great partner for you. Good luck this week!
Good evening trappers... came off the line this afternoon with some fur. Shot a 26 pound tom lynx at the mouth of the canyon on the way in. That was a good start. Still not seeing any wolf sign. The coyotes are on to me, I snuck in a couple snares across from the cabin so we'll see how that works. I had two lynx that were eating baits and not tripping the traps so I hung a couple snares and that snagged one. Picked this pretty little gal up on a cubby behind the cabin where I caught the first red fox. Lots of chain and she made it up in the tree. Yesterday, I picked this guy up. 29# male. The calmest wolverine I'd ever saw. He let me take a couple pics before doing what wolverine do. That pretty much made my trip right there. On down the line as I came out to the river, a big ol lynx was ambling off my bait giving me plenty of time for a shot. I dropped the ball. I'll get him later.
The weather and views were exceptional The snow was leaving fast on some parts of the line
Stacey and I boarded the 3 lynx and the wolverine tonight. Head back out this weekend after I send some #9's out the door. Good luck and be safe out there.
Good deal on the wolverine! That is a pretty one! Nice scenery as well Good job on the kitty's, that look they have in their eyes, fierce Hope the yotes and the wolves get with the game plan for you Thank you for sharing and be safe out there!
JR and Stacey congratulations on another successful run on the trap line as always the scenery is spectacular and the wolverine has some great color as does the lynx ! As for the Snow it's similar to what we have , the Wind drifted what we had in the coulee's and filled in the low spots . I hope you get more snow and cold , we're at -8 at the moment . Stay Safe out there ! Allan
Really liked the details on that wolverine, JR. I prefer the darker ones, myself. Appreciate the showing of the toes and movements of the pads . All those close ups are great.
JR, you are spot on, we all should be members of our local trappers association , and the sportsman's alliance. There are plenty of people out there who want to stop trapping. We need a consolidated, loud voice to counter them. Good luck out there.
Good tip on the skis. I will point out that I actually put Pilot skis on a couple older Skidoos, back when they didn't steer worth a dang. That deep keel does catch on crust, frozen ruts, rocks and trees and can really throw you, but on the older machines that didn't steer well that deep keel helped catch snow and caused them to steer slightly better. Also put them on a couple with the "blown" plastic skis that came factory, those "blown" skis wouldn't hold up a season for me, they don't wear well on anything but powder. The new skidoos steer so much better though that the deep keel is probably unnecessary, and while I've never actually went Over the handlebars, I have taken the handlebars in the gut before when a ski caught, or had the machine go sideways and buck me off the side.
Good morning Trappers. Came off the line yesterday for a ATA board meeting. Well.... my little membership rant as soft as it was, went over very well. Gaining new ATA members everyday. It was not meant only for the Alaska Trappers Association but for National Trappers Association and your local trapping Associations as well. This isn't a spectator's sport people, there's plenty for everyone, join today As I came down SMG with Stacey, that big ol tom lynx was sitting out on the river protecting the bait. I wanted Stacey to shoot it and she didn't want to. I grabbed the .204 and took careful aim at 50 yards. Click. dadnabit .... rack the bolt again, Click. Here we go again.. 3 times before I throw off my glove and bang at 75 yards. Never had this issue before last week. Shot many times with gloves on. Anyway.... got a huge tom. He had been laying protecting that bait from the coyotes and ravens. Had a nest melted into the snow and ice by the bait. Worked our way on up the trail and hadn't cut any sign until a mile and a half up from my cabin. Cut 3 wolf tracks crossing the trail. With anticipation building, we rounded the corner and seen the circle. This is a post that Stacey and I set a couple weeks ago on a big rock with a big steel weight for a drag. The pup was able to drag it 35 yards away in the shallow snow on ice before wrapping the chain on some alder. 68# gray female in AK#9. On up the trail, with nothing more in the gear, it was picture time. Took Stacey to the truck Sunday evening and hauled a load of freight back in. Picked up another nice lynx in the first set of the season. Finally, I cannot believe how little sign there was at the beginning of the line.Nice tom with both feet in a #3 Bridger Back out on the Wood had me second guessing my decision to lay gear. There is little sign over on my side so go where the wolves are.... That overflow and open water had me tense enough to abandon the mission and wait for colder temps. Not sure where all the wolves went but just not seeing much sign on my entire line. On a good note,, cut a fresh little wolverine track on the creek on my way out yesterday. Thinking it was a female judging by the small print so I hope I don't catch her. Got to pull some fur off the boards today and put some more on.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 01/27/2108:36 PM
Looks like you could use your air boat JR. Great pictures.
Good looking wolf! Hope you figure the gun problem out, nothing worse in the world then pulling that trigger and hearing that very distinctive "click"! Glad you connected with him though! Hope the weather gets colder for you and the wolves move into your area! Thanks for sharing!
Nice shots once again, JR. I cringe though, every time in a video, when I hear the changing crunch of your feet on overflow banks ...when it becomes that hollow sound , you can just imagine the change underneath...that particular sound always catches my attention from feeling/hearing it myself along waterway treks.
As soon as I saw that sooty coloured wuff I thought immediately what a close up of him would be, scrolling down, sure enough, there he was. I may just borrow that reference close up for a future wuff commission .
Thanks for the share ...and watch that hollow crunch sound !
Sharon.... That sound walking on the overflow isn't for the faint of heart for sure. If the sound doesn't make ya nervous, you are to shouldn't be out there. I've got a few good close ups of the wolf for ya.
broncoformudv....I shoot 40 grain v-max handloads out of the .204. They have treated me well on everything except this lynx. Never had to sew a coyote but the thin skinned lynx is a whole other story. As for the #3's, welded jaw tips, jaw laminations and base plates with center swivel.
b line.... Yes the my Savage Predator has an Accutrigger and I have always loved it. I have to tear into and look. Never had this problem and not sure how old the rifle is but has been a great performer up until last week.
JR - I'm sitting here in the hospital down in MN, my 9th day here. Reading your journal and wishing I was trapping in Alaska. I really miss the wolf trapping and want to get better at it. It is fun to see you getting your variety of critters. I imagine it is so cool to have a partner out there... Good For You! I watched your snare video. I have bought your #9's.
Would you sell your wolf snares with the kill springs?
I hope to be back after it on a more full time basis next winter.
Nice fur Jr. If it helps any, our snow conditions are bad this winter too. Rocks everywhere, open water where there usually isn’t and traveling for the most part is just as rough as your country looks. Be careful out their. I wiped out a couple weeks back and totaled my brand new .223 bolt action when I landed on it. Not even a box of shells through it
JR I've been thinking about your lack of wolves. I'm no wolf trapper but I've messed with a few and it seemed after I got after them for a couple years in a row they started to avoid the area. At least it seemed that way. After some years it began to pick up again. I thought maybe the survivors learned to stay away and warned off the new ones. But over time the older ones died off and things picked up again. Just a theory.
"I shoot 40 grain v-max handloads out of the .204.", AKHowler. I have a Savage 25 Walking Varminter in a .204. Great fast shooting caliber. I shoot the Hornady 40 gr. factory loads. I see a lot of people who shoot re-loads ejecting shells that didn't go off. I'll stick to my factory loads. lol. The only thing I wish I could use where I live is a gun with a barrel nut so I could use a cannister to quiet it down. For a small caliber, it is loud. Thanks for sharing. Do you shoot Wolf with that .204?
Thanks everyone. It was just the glove that makes the trigger act up. Same on my Model 93 .22 mag and 17HMR's.
Pete in Fbks... I run all of my weapons dry and oil free after a few years of mishaps.
AK TRAPR.... Profloat skis bolt right on to the Skidoo's both IFS and Pogo suspensions, You do have to use the Polaris rubber boot on the ski too.
Wolverine Hunter.... I do not sell my snares. There is lots of snare manufacturers out there. I just like to build my own.
Nunamiut.... Sorry to hear about your wreck but they make new rifles every day. Hard to replace us....
drasselt.... I'm thinking the same thing. I have trapped the area for quite a few years using my own urine on pee posts and now believing that the wolves have submitted and gave the area within 3 miles of my cabin to me. I haven't had them howl or caught them on camera at all this season. Starting to believe I am the Alpha male and along with my girlfriend, we are the new Dry Creek pack. We are a small pack and have a pretty small territory but I will defend it vigorously.....No plans of being more than a pack of two.
Elitebowman... Never had a misfire, it is definately just the gloved trigger. Not with a leather glove, just the soft monkey face gloves I believe. I fired several shots with my leather gloves without fail. I have shot a few wolves with the .204 with the 40 gr V-max with excellent results. I would be careful on shot placement though. I'm not sure how it would do on a shoulder at range. Wolves are a bigger animal than people think. Far from a coyote.....I like my hunters to use the same calibers as they'd use for deer hunting. I just like how accurate it is, little recoil and flat shooting.
Did a quick run out to the cabin against my better judgement. Cold and breezy. Picked up a nice coyote who is in the washer right now. Found a pack of wolves 20 miles away and placed some gear. they made it down the river but narrowly missing where I had gear. Loving the ride on the new Expedition and it started right up at 30 below. Did learn one thing.... Don't use the parking brake on the truck or trailer at 30 below. Had a heck of a time unloading. Ran into a big ol herd of caribou by the cabin yesterday. They hung around for pictures not fearing the new Alpha male of the pack.... Crazy how 30 below can still be beautiful Heading back out Saturday with Stacey. Good luck and be safe
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: AKHowler's 2013-14 Journal - 02/04/2109:35 PM
Change up your diet and they may come back. I used to think it was the garlic that they liked...
What type of lens you use for your caribou pictures. I ran into a big bunch of caribou going to traps on Tuesday but did not want to freeze up my camera so I did not take pictures. Then did not catch anything so I could have took lots of caribou pictures. Dumb I am. I tried out putting a hot pack in my bag under my camera. That seems to work really good.
Nice fur Jr. If it helps any, our snow conditions are bad this winter too. Rocks everywhere, open water where there usually isn’t and traveling for the most part is just as rough as your country looks. Be careful out their. I wiped out a couple weeks back and totaled my brand new .223 bolt action when I landed on it. Not even a box of shells through it
That sucks. My 2 year old 223 blr came apart in my hands the other day too. Cracked receiver but I didn’t hit anything. 300 caribou right in front of me and my gun was in two pieces
bfisch... It depends on. It looked like the Dry creek pack only had 4 left but that may have just been a scouting or hunting party. The new pack I found had at least 16 or 18. Weather and the river will have a big influence on success.
muskrat411.... I have a 50-500 mm Sigma lens on my Canon Rebel 7Ti. It is hard on batteries especially at -30. I just kept it in my parka that day because there was a lot of opportunities. It is big and heavy but I pack it everywhere. She took a beating on that trip. I need a new camera for shooting videos. What are you shooting video with?
Got the coyote on the board. She sure is a pretty one for Alaska.
As always I enjoy reading your journal and the great pictures especially this year with a blown knee my trapping is cut down extremely hope to have anew one though before summer. Which of the new expeditions are you enjoying? I have been eyeballing the 900 sport as most of what I run is flat country with some river crossings and am usually alone so figured it would be a bit easier to dig out when I do get ti stuck because they all get stuck eventually
Good afternoon trappers. Came off the line yesterday. We got some new snow last week which made for a nice ride across the flats. Lots of drifting but they were soft and no issues. Shot another lynx on the way out at the crossover cabin. He crossed the trail in front of me and stopped for a look back at 35 yards. Clean miss with the first shot with the .22 mag Keltec pistol but the second shot rang true. Overflow was in the wet stage and not so friendly. Missed on all 3 posts on Pee Post Pass. Couldn't tell how many wolves were there but wind direction definitely determines which side of the posts they approach. Got everything going at the cabin and decided to pull the little groomer up the line and check the upper line while the cabin warmed up.The trail behind the cabin had pretty deep overflow on it so I went up river on the other side. When I came back, I dropped the groomer on the river and came down the back trail to check the 5 cubbies behind the cabin. I decided to continue on down the trail to the cabin trusting I could walk on water. Wrong...
Ran out the next day and missed 2 wolves on the Wood but picked up another lynx on the coyote bait in a snare. Pulled the groomer 68 miles in preparation for some freighting and picked up Stacey for the weekend. Those drifts across the flats were no longer soft and the trip out and back in the with the groomer was a handful. Little cool out but put on a lot of miles. Moving gear this week and freighting. Got a few of these to chop out too. Good luck and be safe out there.
Glad you made it out and got warm and dry and got a couple furs along the way. Is there more lynx on your line than normal this season? Hope those wolves come back through and you connect.
Wow, quite an ordeal, glad you weren't too far from home. What some guys do for fun, lol! Once that freezes up you could probably check some sets with your ice skates.
That's one way to break in your new machine and wear some of the new off! No Barbie dolly snow machines for most of us, they work for a living, just need to keep them maintained. thanks for your info and good luck.
Hey guys, been pretty slow on the line but still putting up a little fur. Weather has been weird for sure. That overflow that I got stuck in behind the cabin has now came into the yard under the shop and filled the outhouse hole full. This is something way new out there. I have a lot of wolf gear to chop out this week. Finally picked up another wolf, 90# gray female in a 5/64" 1x19 snare with Senneker triggered kill spring. Looked like 8 in the pack and landed her first and the rest left. Been hauling freight for some friends and that is going well. Putting on some extra miles as to avoid the canyon overflow.
Took Stacey out on Sunday to pick up the 19 Expeditoin Sport. Snowing and blowing. Decided to try out Eric's new groomer to see how it did. Pulled it 68 miles and 2 miles from the truck I do this. HFT showed up yesterday and we are heading out in the morning for an adventure. Ted is coming up today buying skulls, furs and the like so we will run in and see him. That female wolf should be ready to skin today also.
Good evening trappers. HFT and I got in from the mountains this afternoon. Not a good run for fur but a good run for sure. Got some new snow and overflow. We put on a lot of miles and finally found some wolf sign. The overflow builds quick and didn't put any gear on the creek. Found their kill the next day and John and I hung a few snares for them. Has great potential if they return. Missed on a few set down river and pulled some gear due to river fallouts. We saw a ton of wolverine tracks this week and followed one for miles up into the high country. Remember when I said I always follow the wolves up the river when breaking trail? Well that isn't true anymore. The overflow behind the cabin that I'd got stuck in is now froze up back there and heading for the cabin at a fast rate. Not sure what I'm gonna do as of yet. Picked up a real nice big 28# tom. I think John had a good time and started getting used to the Expedition Sport. He put a lot of miles on it this week.
Beautiful country up there, glad you guys had a good time. Drove by your truck at the pull out last night and was hoping all was well. That overflow is crazy! Wonder what makes it so bad over other years? I've got a creek that I run along for a bit that is higher than I've seen as well.
Lovely shots, JR. And yes that overflow up to your cabin is concerning. Wonder if there isn't some way to influence its advancement ...or hold it back ...
Good evening Trappers. Spent a great weekend out on the line with my gal. Pulled all the lynx gear and a lot of wolf gear also. Weather was chilly in the morns but warmed up with all this sun. Got some snow and allowed us to journey further up into the high country. This Expedition is impressing me more everyday. She carried us to the top of a couple passes riding double. 5920 feet on this pass. Saw lots of moose this trip. Ran over to the Wood pulling gear and checking gear. Was pretty excited when I came up to the site where HFT and I hung the snares last week. They'd came back and did what they were suppose too.
When HFT and I were leaving, I thought about pulling those two snares I had John hang on the way in. There was a split in the trail and I had him hang 2 snares on it leaving the main trail up the bluff open. The first wolf took the main trail and the second wolf took the left trail hitting the 1st snare John hung. Panic set in and the whole pack jumped off the trail and ran out the bottom. Live and learn. One is better than none Stacey said. Got the wolf peeled and stretched today. 90# gray female. She was kicked by a moose and had a heck of a dent on her skull.
Looks like great weather for a trip. I love those mountain pics that you post. Those wolves live a rough life. I've caught a couple this year with wounds, old and new. Taking down moose for a living is bound to give you some hard knocks! Thanks for posting, I saw your videos yesterday on youtube.
Wow! That is one heck of a dent in her skull! Surprised she kept going and she looks healthy to! Tough critters! I thought for sure they would come back in from the top side. Happy you got one, wish it would have been more though! Stacy is right, one is better then none! Hopefully the jokers will come back from the other side and you nail them Also glad we didn't have those temps when I ran with you, that is a little chilly!! Thank You for sharing and be safe out there Wildman!
Happy Summer trappers. Been a busy spring and summer so far. Spent a little over a month up in Barrow putting up a building. First time spending any time there. Met some really great people and learned a lot of their culture. Weather was very cool and 38 degrees was cold up there with the wind and moisture off the ocean. Got to spend some time processing a humpback whale with the locals and the excitement in the village when a whale was harvested was something to behold. I have eaten whale many times but was always raw. Boiled with a little salt was a fine dine for sure. The elements, weather, country and culture makes for the toughest people I've personally ever met. Stacey came up and spent our 1 year anniversary with me up there and we had a blast. When I came back, it was hot and dusty and went to work on my buddies cabin again. Put the footing in last year and built the deck. Covering the deck, enclosing, putting screen on and tin on the cabin this year. Put some new windows in and even got a little fishing in. A long ways to go. Everything was hauled in with Super Cubs. Great time with good friends. Took a short call in Fairbanks working iron and finished it so play time again. Took a Stacey down to meet Ada Wilson and picked up some cool old pieces for my collection. It was great to reminisce with Ada and share some old stories about Dean again. This is a stove I built for Dean some 20 years ago. Still looked great and was still heating the garage. Stacey's daughter and grandson came up for a visit and took them down to the cabin in Minto flats for some pike fishing. That is always fun when kids are catching big pike. Working on traps now and getting ready for hunting season. Good luck and be safe out there.
Was wondering where you have been. Looks like you have been very busy. Always fun to see what you have been up to. You coming down to the lower 48 for any conventions? Take care and be safe.
Thats quite the view from that cabin. Love those big pike. Reminds me of fishing Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba. My wife and I were just talking about Barrow tonight. It's somewhere neither of us has been. But we can't shake loose for an adventure till October, and I think that is supposed to be the snowiest month up there. I think it would be fun to get in on a whale hunt in some way shape or form. I'm a whale magnet, and I think they'd love me for it haha.
Decoy.... I was suppose to come down to ID and to Iowa but cancelled due to the covid and work situations. Wished I could have made it.
I was going through some pics and found these from the end of the trapping season. Had a little issue with the overflow hauling in a load of freight. Came out a little late so Eric and his buddy broke the trail ahead of me. Was smiling content when I saw their tracks until I rounded the corner and did this. We were there for a few hours extracting these 3 machines and of course Eric and his partner didn't have anything. I got my machine stuck 4 times after I got out of the first channel trying to get over to Eric.
Once out, I went back home to dry everything out. The new log splitter was full of water. Couple days later, Stacey and I went back out to finish the mission and take the WT out to the cabin. The 2012 WT is now my back up sled at the cabin Lots of overflow out there too and great snow. End of the season, one of our loyal fur buyers from Soldotna way called asking about some furs. Jim Masek and I gathered up what we had and did pretty well. Our auctioneer from MT Dwight Gapper had booked his flight for our cancelled ATA Fur Auction and Fling came up anyway so had him out to the house. He has been doing our Auction and Fling for many years and is definitely the best auctioneer I've ever been around. Made me a lot of money and cost me a lot too. He is famous for saying..." I'll tell ya when you bid too much". Just a great guy.
Flew out to the Trapping cabin for a few day checking on game cameras and cabins. Pretty disappointed in the predator activity on the cams or lack there of I should say. One coyote and one wolf on the cams. Had a new big boar griz show up chasing a sow this spring. Lots of moose and caribou. Kind of selfish being disappointed in the lack of predators when that means we as trappers are doing our job. Will definitely be expanding this year if I want to put some more wolves on the stretchers. Cabins looked good with not much activity around them either. Did have to thin out a few squirrels while I was there. Just came back from Minto Flats with my gal. We went down for the duck opener. Did well on the ducks and pike. Been a while since I'd duck hunted and was a great time. Didn't get my Speckled belly goose but I'll try again. The weather was awesome and water was high. Yesterday morn we packed up to leave and had this little fella come out for some pics. First ermine I've ever saw on our little peninsula Moose season in on us now so hopefully fill up the freezers. Good luck and be safe out there
Hey Trappers, hunting season is on us now. Spent some time back down in the flats with Jim Masek. Caught some pike and shot a few more ducks. Took the Mothership down for a shake out run and had a few issues. Weather was awesome with northern lights and awesome sunsets.
The Mothership issues were building so we decided to head tor the truck. 11 miles into the trip up, all stop. We lost a power. Jim wasn't too far behind. I sent a message up river to a friend with a bigger jet boat and he'd be down in a hour or so. Jim tried pulling us upriver at 2 mph with my jet boat. Slow but worked. And then Bruce shows up.....
Bruce has a 20' Alweld with a Chevy 350 and a jet. 22 mph on step towing the Mothership. He towed her 12 miles upriver. Learned a lot on that experience. Carry good rope, shackles, use long straight pull on the boat being towed off a bridle hitch on the tow boat and keep your friends close. Did I mention... good rope and great friends? We popped my bow rope 4 times when we started. We wore out the bridle rope where the shackle was rubbing back and forth. It may have made it but I wanted to be sure so we built a new bridle out of some 1/2" rope. We are all back home and hopefully the Mothership will be back up and running tonight. Spent the weekend down on the river with Stacey and some friends. Figured out the power wire on the boat and milled some cottonwood for the neighbors. Great time. Good luck and be safe.
Your cabin looks alot different with out the snow Good to see you and Stacy out chasing the critters and connecting! Thanks for sharing your adventures!
Was that one of them electric bicycles out side your cabin? How are they can you drive them through the creek? Them caribou sure look good on your trail camera picture.
Thanks guys. Muskrat411... that is just a fat tired bike Norwegian powered. Very hard to pedal through the creek if it is deep than your pedals. Don't use it as much as i'd planned on. More of a motorized man myself....
Good to hear you can wolf snare in Montana. Should be real fun running 200 snares up in that rough country. If you accidentally snare a cougar can you keep it? What system are going to be running for snares? Senneker kill springs?
Check out my moose hunting video on my 2022 trapping season thread.
Good morning Trappers. Made it back from a successful moose hunt. My ol buddy Jake's son came up and hunted moose with me. We went North with the Mothership and were able to fill the freezer with a nice meat bull. The Mothership had a wiring and carb issue on our last outing. Figured out the broken wire and put on a new carb and we were up and running. My trusty flatbed went down so Stacey let me use her 2010 Ford F150 FX. What a truck... It pulled that airboat better than any truck I've ever used including my diesels. Unbelievable little workhorse. Weather was good for the ride up but changed rapidly to snow and 16 degrees. There were a lot of people on the river this year. Had to go six miles past my old camp as there was someone already parked there. We picked a fine camp spot with great visibility, water and plenty of standing dead firewood. We called for days and burned a lot of firewood. Decided on day 5 as the water was dropping as fast as the temp, snow was increasing, not seeing a moose, that we would pack up camp and head south. In doing so, I heard a bull off in the distance across the river. A few soft cow calls and out he came appearing out of the snowy burn some 350 yards away. A couple more calls and he came across the open bog on a string. At 260 yards, he decided something wasn't quite right and decided to start to circle so we dumped him were he stood. Well now, I guess we won't be leaving today after all. The Mothership was froze fast to the ground and took us quite an effort to get her broke free.
I'd thought I'd parked her on a rock but the back was sitting hard on the ground. Broke loose, we crossed the river and walked over to survey our options. Pretty boggy so I decided to save our backs and use the HP the Mothership provides.
Froze her down again while we were working on the moose. Didn't expect that as wet as it was. 400' of rope and the rope-a-long and we were free again. A handyman jack and piece of plywood will be in the boat for the next adventure. What a day. Hauled the moose back down river to the truck and came back up to relax. Amazing feeling to have the moose back at the truck even though it still has to be cut up and processed. Feels like the pressure is off. Broke camp early the next morning and headed for the truck. Got meat to process now and snow machines to service. Be safe...
Good navigation on land too. Snow is just frozen water .
My father built his own fleet of airboats from scratch and of course was mech to them all. Others would hire him to fix theirs. As they would their planes.
He could dock an airboat on land sweeter than anyone I ever saw. And we routinely went anywhere he wanted, despite others telling him airboats aren't made to do that ...well he did . He would routinely go on dry land good distances from one waterway to the next. Even into , and up dips and swells on the ground. He would say, you have to know your prop and how sensitive it is to gun it or let off, when to gee and haw , when not to.
Aren't they so useful ? I love them. Spent many years traveling in them, on dry land too !
Good navigation on land too. Snow is just frozen water .
My father built his own fleet of airboats from scratch and of course was mech to them all. Others would hire him to fix theirs. As they would their planes.
He could dock an airboat on land sweeter than anyone I ever saw. And we routinely went anywhere he wanted, despite others telling him airboats aren't made to do that ...well he did . He would routinely go on dry land good distances from one waterway to the next. Even into , and up dips and swells on the ground. He would say, you have to know your prop and how sensitive it is to gun it or let off, when to gee and haw , when not to.
Aren't they so useful ? I love them. Spent many years traveling in them, on dry land too !
Thanks for the share, JR.
Yes they are useful and fun, but there sure are loud and expensive to operate.
I knew a guy back in the late 70’s I think it was that got tired going through the ice beaver trapping so he started using an air boat and it ended the problem.
alaska viking..... I didn't have to pull the boat 400', it just took 400' to reach a live tree on the edge of the swamp. We put all we could on the rope-a-long and then the big block and big rudders were able to break her free. I'm still trying to figure out what to pack in the extraction bag for that situation. That totally caught me off guard and unprepared. Don't like that but definitely learned from it.
Got all the traps tended to and ready for season. Been servicing the machines and sleds now. That was some fine moose we brought home. Cool weather and clean makes for some fine eating and very little loss. Got the moose in the freezer and made 100 pounds of some fine black bear sausage. Full freezer and ready for trapping season My old fleshing beam in the shop was starting to split so I built another one a couple days ago. I bought the old one from Dean Wilson back in 94 for $35 and then I built the folding stand for it. Built the new one pretty much identical to it. Season is coming fast. Be safe
I knew better and just forgot what I already knew..... I parked on a couple logs out of the river but had the bow up and not the transom. We put down a couple 4" logs but the boat kept sliding off of them back into the water. The 502 big block weighs a lot and that's where it freezes hard due to the weight. I knew better... Just a little slow sometimes. She was froze down on both of these pics. The second pic is the morning right after we shot the moose. You can actually see the dead moose just above center of the picture. You can also see the trees behind it that I tied the rope-a-long off to.
Good evening Trappers. Just thought I'd check in and give ya a few updates. Made it home from the lower 48. All went well introducing my gal to the family. Weather was a little nasty so didn't do much hunting and no trapping. Did see lots of deer, coyote and surprisingly large number of Sharptailed grouse and Hungarian Partridge. My folks live in Michigan, North Dakota on our family farm. I finally made it across the river breaking trail on Dec 8th. Crossed the same day as last year. Didn't make it far and had some chainsaw issues. I hate my Still Chainsaw..... Headed back out on Sunday with a buddy and we cleared trail to and on up the creek without issue until this fallout happened. Boy Howdy does that happen fast.. The water was deep andcold on the upriver side of the sled. Took a couple hours to get out of that hole. Did I mention it was cold. I walked up around the next couple corners with the axe. It was getting dark fast and I hate breaking trail up the canyon in the dark. Got to the cabin at 5 pm dark and 38 below. The bonus was it was only -10 F in the cabin. It actually felt warm when I walked into the cabin wet up to my waist. The next morning, my 19 Expedition Sport 900 wouldn't even turn over. Took til noon to get her running. Back down the canyon we went at -40. We shoveled in a few holes and pulled the groomer back down across the flats. Not much predator sign but hard to see all fogged up at those temps. Made it to the truck at 5pm and way cold. 56 below F at the truck and she wouldn't budge. Called a friend and she brought a generator over to plug in the truck. 3 hours later, she was still froze. Rich and I stayed warm by a fire. Left the truck and got a ride home. Came back out the next day and put heat to the Ford and got her home in the shop. Drove the truck 50 miles without a heater all the way home. You talk about cold.. Evidently the heater switch is vacuum actuated and doesn't work being that froze. Shouldn't have been out there in those temps. Got lucky. Warming up now and should be going back out this weekend. Be safe out there
WOW! That would pucker a person up real quick! Glad you didnt get hurt! I can see why it took a few hours to get out! I have always had problems with chainsaws when temps are in the negatives and those temps are a little extreme! Hope you get it figured out that tree looks like it would have taken a little to chop with an axe. Hope you get the truck fixed so that dont happen again, glad you had some back up You be safe out there wildman! And thanks for sharing!
Great pictures as always , I'm glad no one was hurt ! It's a balmy -20 with wind chill here this morning I hope the wolves come around for a visit soon for you !
Came east out of Montana hi line country thru Michigan ND one winter 30 years or so back shooting dogs. The entire way was -30 or worse truck had no heat. Same deal vacuum line cut where I couldn’t see. Lord that was cold. I can really appreciate your situation JR.
Ain't that the truth AK, I'm for sure one of those lesser men. Wife always saying that I just don't remember when I was younger what I did or should say what I shouldn't have did. Fun times.
Happy New Year Trappers. Been a rough start to the season as I am sure with most of us up here. I didn't get to spend Christmas out on the line with Stacey. I headed down the trail a day early to break trail and pull the groomer in anticipation of her arrival. The dang overflow wouldn't let me go back up so I came to town for the holidays. Definitely the most snow I have ever seen out on my line across the flats and on the creek. Think I have about wore out two shovels already this season. The high country is blown off pretty well and it didn't appear to have all the rain that we had in Fairbanks. Thankful for that as our Dall Sheep have had a rough couple years. Breaking trail across the flats with that rain and heavy snow made for a task for sure. Lots and I mean lots of trees down along the way. Got up to Pee Post Pass and it was blown clean. Got a few sets out on the pass and lots more to come in the high country.
The wolves were testing me already. They made a pee post right out in front of the cabin. While we were looking at that, I noticed a shed antler not far away. Weather has been rough and with the all this snow and rain, the moose are in trouble. They are begging for help from us trappers. Staying on the trails and coming right up to the cabins. I say this pair with the binos from the cabin heading into sheep country to get away from the deep snow and the wolves. Finally got the wolves to talk again and talk they did. Listen close...
Figured I show you guys my new display I put in the house. This is a 1930's meat display ice box. I picked it up last spring and Stacey said we are putting this big thing in the house. It is beautiful and heavy. We cleaned it up and put a couple new shelves and some LED lights in. It sure works great for displaying some of my local art and skulls. This is what I got Stacey for Christmas. She was pretty excited. Running out of room in the house so had pull down a picture to hang her pike Going over the sled, grabbing some gear and heading back out in the morning. Be safe out there this season...
Good to see you finally out in your element! Looks like you caught heck on that trail with all the trees! I take it you got your chainsaw issues resolved? Crazy the differance between snow levels between the low country and high country. Hope the weather holds for you and you get more gear out! Thanks for sharing!
Big snows and downed trees in SE AK too, from the messages and pics I have been receiving . Also big deep snow here . Snowshoe trails used all the time now . I love it.
Nice shots, as always . Fun to get the wuffs riled up. Beautiful home decor, JR.
I hear you, we got lots of rain here and then lots of snow came before the ground froze up. Made for a terrible year of downed trees. I remember one day my saw wasn't working, headed back to the truck after dark and a long day, and here is a tree across the trail since morning. Broke my ax handle in the first couple swings. . . ended up chopping about an 8 inch tree in two by holding the ax head in my gloved hand. Sure glad I sharpened it the night before.
Greetings Trappers. Finally got some fur for and on the stretchers. Picked up a 27# male coyote on Pee Post Pass in the Duke 850. This was the first set of the year I'd put in with Ryan. I'd missed her mate in the other set. Followed their tracks down to the last set where I had a caribou in a #9. Judging from the tracks, the two coyotes had harassed the caribou for quite some time. Went to release the caribou but noticed he'd broken his leg above the trap. I dispatched it and threw it in the sled. Threw the bou and yote in the shop on the way down and continued on up the line. The second to the last set which I'd set for lynx, held a 26# female wolverine.
The was a beautiful female with nice light diamond for my area. Had some good weather and got a lot of trail broke out and maintained. Getting some gear out now which is a good feeling. Did a power run to the truck grooming trail and baiting marten poles. Put salmon heads on the pole with no lure. Picked up one marten on the turnaround going back to the cabin. Heading to town to pick Stacey up so I wanted to have some marten hanging when she comes out. Friday morning left the cabin early headed for the truck. Missed on a couple pee posts below the canyon but picked up this pretty 73# gray female up on a dog straw set. Something new to try this season and it worked. Feeling a little more productive now with some fur for the stretchers. The moose are in trouble and I need to step up my game. Picked up 5 marten on the way back across the flats. Got the wolf and marten peeled after getting home. Loaded up and headed back out the cabin the next morning with Stacey. We picked 7 marten on the way in. Really pale marten this year.
Ended up picking 4 more on the trip back to the truck on Sunday. 17 marten on 14 poles in 3 days. Lots of moose this year. They are kinda of a pain on some of the trails. This little female marten is at the cabin and packing bait off pretty quick. Told her not to cache bait under the cabins or she'll be evicted. Have a couple cameras up on some of my marten feeding stations and they show some interesting activities. Shows marten running in pairs as the ones videoed last year. Also shows they spend a lot of time on their hind feet. One would always be looking out for danger while the other was feeding. The only danger I was seeing was other marten pairs coming in. Got the marten all put up and getting ready to head back out. Hauling a load of traps out and hopefully get some more gear set. We'll see what this weather does. Good luck and be safe.
Nice trip , JR. I'm always kind of surprised at coyotes being that far north. I guess I just expect only wuffs to be there.
Liked the wolverine very much, and the fur is beautiful. The gloss sheen can really be enjoyed when you flexed those feet ...such nice fur.
Trails look fine , compared to last time with the trees down to cut.
The 4th and 5th photo down, I always want to travel to what looks like where the land steppes down from the high valley you are on, stop, and admire the dip below with the mountains rising again on the other side. Always gives me that feeling to go further.
Always like the marten, of course. That big dark one, second from right, looks especially glossy.
Can't get enough of the northern ranges . Thank you .
Been waiting for you to post! Always enjoy the pic's and stories you share. Pretty good info on the wolverine makes sense. Some good looking marten! Congrats on the yote and wolf hope you connect with a bunch more! Waiting to see how those Dukes hold up when you connect with a big boy Thanks you for sharing your adventures!
Curious how you set up the dog straw set. I tried a couple last year and had the wolves walk by five feet away and never miss a step, of course they did that to pee posts and lured sets with at least two different types of lure that day also. On the other hand, I've had them circle all around my truck with a dog box full of straw in it, peeing on everything around, while I was gone with the hounds on the snowmobile hunting; so I figure it depends on the mood they are in.
Good morning Trappers. Still chilly up here at 37 below F. Came off the line with a little more fur and still working on trails. DIdn't reset the marten gear when we came out so I only picked up 3 marten on the way in to the cabin. Had a wolverine run the line and picked the rest of the salmon heads. Followed him for many miles and I thought he'd turned off and went a different route. He tried his best to get into this pee post but the 4" crust wouldn't allow it. 26 below when I left the truck and it was -5 at the cabin. Missed on the wolves on the creek so a little frustrated when I got to the cabin. The scenery usually calms me right down though. The ice shelves continue to fallout and I am going to have to start building some bridges I am afraid. I am running out of options on crossings as the holes are to deep to skip Picked up another coyote on Pee Post Pass in the upper set. Real nice 27# male who had a lot to say when I pulled up.
Boy howdy can that get frustrating. Was able to pull the little groomer down the canyon so I took advantage of that and did a 53 mile trail groom at 30 below and froze my arse off. I was warmed up quickly when I came upon this pretty little gal in a at cubby though. 17 pound female young of the year. By far the smallest wolverine I've ever caught and she makes the 5th female I've taken. That doesn't make me happy but unavoidable for sure. I seem to have quite a few wolverine on the line this year as I cut 3 more on the ride out to the truck. Left a couple MB750's in good locations for them. Looked to be a couple big males. Speaking of male female ratios, I have taken 7 female marten of the 25 total I have caught so far this season. After talking with Gulo and White17 for a bit, I was thinking maybe it was because of all the snow making my pole sets closer to the ground. Maybe the ice layer in the snow is not allowing the marten to go under the snow to hunt and they are out of options. One thing I know is I don't like catching those little females marten or wolverine. That is kind of ironic since I don't care if I catch a female wolf or coyote, the fact is, I'd rather catch a female wolf and coyote. I have been running a couple game cams on my marten feeding stations and had some great luck on one. The other camera flaked out on me and didn't produce anything. I haven't figured out how to splice these short clips together so bear with me. These marten sure are fun to watch. They are always on full alert looking for danger before darting in to gorge themselves. Each marten would spend approximately an hour at the bait before moving on. The juvenile red fox was around for about 20 minutes each time. I had a big male wolverine come in on the 30th but the videos are only 1 second clips.
Was pretty excited to see the wolverine tracks but the videos were at night and not very good. Got everything on the boards yesterday and got some work to do on the Expedition before heading back out. You guys be safe out there.
Came out yesterday pulling doubles and the cabin goober out for repair. Hadn't set this wolverine cubby in a couple years but with all the activity, well you know... Pulling the groomer is always relaxing to me and slows me down on the trail. Relaxing until ya get off trail, then not so much. It is the Hayseed farm boy from North Dakota in me that appreciates working that groomer like I am back working the wheat field or something. The trails are definitely getting better now until the next big snow or blow.
Good info on the #9 and moose! Love seeing those marten on the bait Pretty fluffy fox Hope the weather holds for you and you connect with the wolves! Thank you for sharing!
I've had the same experience with 9s and moose a few times. Often the trap is still in the bed, popped. Unfortunately this year there may or may not be a couple 9s "at large" due to moose. It's been a crazy season.
I lost a #9 to a moose a few years back. He broke the weld on the swivel and wore it on his escape. Always wondered if it came off or if hes still wearing it or maybe someone shot a bull moose with a #9 on its foot!
Back when Dean was building the AK #9 as well as Al, the chain was attached to the end of the frame opposite of the dog. Dean's big wolf swivel took a lot of punishment being connected to the frame like it was. Dean did this because it took the pressure off of the jaws when he was doing his trap testing. I had never liked that hook up as it seemed to put more pressure on the feet of the wolves when they hit the end of the chain. It seemed to have more broken feet of the bigger wolves that fought the trap. I slowly converted all my traps to a center of frame D-ring and center swivel. That seemed to help with moose self release and not breaking wolf feet.
Really like the videos of the marten and the tracks of the wolverine. You can see the toes and all. I tried to see if he was at a lope . I wouldn't think a trot , from the hind foot placement. The marten standing like that reminded me of African Meerkats.
Such a fluffy fox, too. Could hardly turn his head , so much ruff fur.
Greetings Trappers. Came in off the line yesterday after spending 4 days out with Stacey. The moose are really testing my patience this season. 16 wolf traps tripped on pee posts this season already. Between the moose and the weekend warriors, this is gonna be a long season of resetting gear. I thought ol Mother Nature could be rough... We ended up picking up a couple lynx for our troublesHe was pretty calm and let me get some nice photos #2 wasn't quite so photogenic
Spent a lot of time at the cabin. Snowing, flat light, people following us, a beautiful partner, rough year,,, excuses...Just frustrated and motivation to get out and do it wasn't there. Sunday morning picked up.
When I was skinning the 30# tom, this is what the front forearm looked like. This hide side looked fine but the fur side was void of hair in this spot. Any ideas? Neither of the wolverine came back so didn't get them. Saw a couple marten along the trail begging for fish heads. Even when it's rough going, it is aways good to be out on the line especially with my partner along. Caught a coyote in a wolf snare at the bait and it chewed out. The wolves came back but didn't go into the bait. They want to so I'll stay hopeful but a rough year for sure.
Glad you picked up some fur and got to spend quality time with your girl! That is weird on the cat, maybe from digging in a hole or an old injury? Bummer about the weekend warriors you put alot into grooming that trail! Gotta look at the bright side of the moose setting your gear off, if they stick to the trail the wolves will to I know your gonna connect! Thanks for sharing the videos and your adventures on the line!
There is nothing better than the view that you can see when you slow down and take in what winter has to offer. Catching is one thing but filling your soul with what us trappers see every day can not really be explained! When I would come back down my line in the afternoon and the sun would be in my eyes as it would be setting I would open wide and finish my day with a good shot of melatonin!
Thank you JR for sharing your line with us that can’t run anymore.
AV... thought about that too. This is the tom I shot from the cabin. No foot trauma or any signs of previous catch. Just odd as the hide side is fine.
The fur on the front legs on lynx and wolverines can get rubbed bald by crusty snow when they break through. It usually happens after a warm spell, like rain, then freezes again. I see it here a lot.
"There is nothing better than the view that you can see when you slow down and take in what winter has to offer. Catching is one thing but filling your soul with what us trappers see every day can not really be explained!"
Good evening trappers. Just got out of our ATA board meeting. Came home yesterday to spend Valentines evening with my gal. Lost a wolverine in a lynx snare on the way out. Tracked it for 1/2 hour before I played out. Spun up and broke off the 11 gauge support wire, my bad. Missed a wolf in the bait. He snuck around and all through the site without getting caught. Left a few more snares and a trap in the trail where the wolverine got away. Didn't see any real sign besides marten all the way across the flats until I hit Dry Creek. OMG....
They missed this post which was protected with a #9, just swinging wide. Boy howdy was anticipation running wild for the next mile. I'd never seen sign like this in my entire trapping career. Finally, 82# gray female in a AK #9 pee post set. The pack had kind of gave this post a wide berth 3 or 4 different times. It worked this time. The pack hung around this female for a couple days. They mauled her pretty bad but not killing her. She seems to be a 2 or 3 year old female, not rutting or swelled up. Didn't make a lot of sense why they hung around so much. They had the river beat down for 5 miles were they came up and went back down before leaving the river. I normally do not put much gear out on this section of the river because of the overflow. I have a bunch out right now though and I imagine I'll be chopping them out of the overflow directly. Got a fire going in the cabin and ran up to PPP to check gear and get water.
Broke trail over to the Wood and pulled the groomer. Got a little more snow over there. Reset and rebaited a couple lynx cubbies along the way. Beautiful day for sure. Got off the trail a couple times in the flat light on the way back to the cabin. Picked up an old female marten with a little different color in one of my cat cubbies. Also caught the meanest caribou cow I've ever met. We went rounds for quite a while before loosing my cool and yelling at her, threatening to shoot her if she didn't cooperate. Should have tried that earlier. She laid down calmly and let me take the MB750 off without incident after that. I laughed hard out loud when she laid down appearing to understand this cussing Norwegians broken English. My mood and the weather was changing for the better after the release. We both walked away uninjured and no worse for the wear. I went for a little ride up a drainage. The definite highlight of my trip was spending a little time photographing my little cabin marten. She is a bit shy but when she is in the mood, she is a super model on the runway. These pics are worth more to me than her soft hide for sure. Yesterday morning there were a few moose out front of the cabin. She gave me a pretty got pose with the full moon on the ridge. Having some downloading problems with the videos. Trying to figure that out. Will post some videos later. Put the wolf on the board after Stacey sewed up the holes. Got a Trapline client coming out next week so hopefully he can ride a snowgo or he'll be on a fold-a-sled.
Dang man that is ALOT of track! Hopefully they will come back to look for her and you connect again! I have a feeling things are going to all fall into place for you and your gonna connect with a bunch more Pretty country! Glad that bou didnt get the best of you That is a good looking marten, seed for next year Get a trap on that back side!!! Be safe out there and I hope you have a awesome run! Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Thanks for the ride along pictures and stories JR I'm sure the cow caribou could've been a rodeo to deal with . The wolf picture is frame worthy but then so if the marten .
Good job. Seems like all the wolves you post in footholds are on pee posts, are they all natural or do you make some of your own? Do you use much of any other foothold sets for wolves or just stick to pee posts?
Man, that is some insane wolf action on that stretch of trail! That will definitely get a guy's blood pressure going! Hope you nail that blue, I'd like to see it. You or a buddy must have seen the pack from the air?
I caught a big (97lb) old female last year in a snare, the pack worked her over pretty good. She had bite marks all over the place. I think I scared the pack off when I drove up. She was still kinda warm, so not dead long. Makes me wonder if they would have eaten her if I wouldn't have arrived when I did. They can be pretty savage creatures.
Good afternoon trappers. Came in yesterday off of the line with a happy client and frustrated trapper. Got a bunch more snow and the temps definitely warmed up. Wait a minute... Let me back up. A friend brought in wolf #3 the other evening. This is the wolf that I lost a couple weeks ago in the bait on the Tanana. It had chewed out of one of my snares. This was one of my good snares too, 3/32" 1x19 with a triggered Seneker kill spring. Never had lost anything in this set up but now I understand why. I'd put a couple traps out on some tracks and evidently one of them worked. Tested Stacey's sewing abilities and she passed with flying colors. Client came in from Florida on Saturday and we headed out on Sunday morn. Got some snow so the trail was a little rough. He got off the trail 4 times before we hit the creek. Pretty big ol boy and deep snow didn't get along very well. The Tanana pack came back in and missed on one post somehow... There was a big tom lynx on my beaver carcass at the cabin when I pulled up. Tim didn't see it but I knew he'd be back. We set a 330 in a plywood cubby that I had laying around before we went out checking line. Didn't see much sign with all the snow but lucky enough to pick up another wolf in a pee post upriver.
So things are going pretty well up to now, feeling pretty good and then......
On up the trail, Tim runs the Expedition Sport into a tree. Not sure the extent of the damage yet but he said he'd cover it. He was happy with the trip so far and admitted he just wasn't in shape for such an adventure. I jumped on the broke sled and let him ride my new Expeditioin.When we got back to the cabin or I'll say,, when I got back to the cabin, the 330 was tripped and out of the box. Swing and a miss and also no Tim... Reset the trap,cut the sled loose and ran back up the trail a 1/2 mile to find Tim walking and my new Expedition on its side. Frustration override ........ How the... What the...I just don't understand. Anyway, back to the cabin, drop Tim off and go for a drive to cool off. Came back to the cabin calmed down and shortly there after... 33# fat greedy tom Tim spent he next day grounded at the cabin while I went out and checked some more line. Found this moose by one of my cabins. Looked like a poor placed hunter's shot I'd guess. Pee Post Pass had a bit of snow Hauled out the Expedition on the flat sled and told Tim to " hang on, try to keep up and no passing". Took us 6 hours to get into the cabin and 3 1/2 hours to get out. Had some drifts to contend with on the way out other that that pretty good run. Tripped the all the marten on the way out too.
Glad you guys had a good run! Sucks about the sled but it is what it is. Hoping for a quick and easy fix for you. That is pretty wild with the lynx, big boy there! Congrats on the wolf and I hope there are a few more waiting for you when you make your next run! Be safe out there and thank you for sharing your adventure!
Good for you for having the patience to deal with a good-natured greenhorn and share your special place. I’m sure it’s frustrating but If he knew how to do all the things you do then he wouldn’t have asked you for help. By sharing you have increased th number of people who value the place and the lifestyle.
Aren't clients fun? Doesn't matter how many times you tell them to ride standing up and lean, they nod their head and say, "ok". . . and sit down before they go 10 feet. These new sleds are a lot better, when we used to put clients on the old style Tundras or the 440 LT; well there has been more than one time I've had to take a ride to cool down.
You probably made some memories for the guy, it's a long way from Florida! Hope your machines get back on their tracks ok. Cool deal on your yard cat.
Nice you caught up with that wolf and solved the mystery. I've got a couple out there missing some digits, would love to catch up to them one of these days. I saw you are still slumming some 750s, looks like it worked out that time. Do you use them in theft prone areas? Or just when you are out of 9s?
Nate I still run around 3 dozen MB750's. I've said many times that I use them where I am targeting wolves but hugh chance of catching coyote, lynx or wolverine also. The AK#9 is a terrible trap for everything other than wolves, mountain lion or bears. I've heard a lot of guys say they like them for wolverine but the jaw is too high and they can fit their whole head under the jaw and chew.
I'd set that MB750 in a track set for that wolf and it worked but as you can see, barely. There was about 7" of fresh powder snow. I do like the trap just not as reliable to leave unattended. If you have to clean off your sets after every little snow, you will probably scare most wolves or coyotes off. IMHO... This year is out of the normal for me with all this snow and think most of my #9's are out of commission too. I just hate stomping a trail over to them to clean them off and re-bed them up higher. Seems like I'd done this before and had a big wind come up and left about 30 or 40 #9's exposed...
Clients; gotta love'm. They are often having the time of their lives, while at the same time you are pulling your hair out. You just grin and bear it, and be thankful that you are helping them live their dream.
You'll have to forgive my videos. They cut out the sound because of a song on the radio. Evidently I don't have the right to share the videos with the radio playing in the background.
Greetings Trappers. Came off the line yesterday. Warm and windy out there. Got all my cat gear and wolverine tripped and started on wolf gear. Ended up picking up another wolf. Ended up being a 73# female pup. Didn't see any other wolf sign above her. When the wind died down, I went for a run. Lots of caribou out and about. Wood was falling out as normal My little ermine was very busy cacheing meat. Hard for me to get anything done when she is around. Very intriguing watching them do what they do. I watched her climb 20 feet up a spruce tree stealing the caches of the Chickadees and Gray Jays. She could climb that tree like a squirrel. On the ground, she is hard to get pictures of as they don't sit still very long. I did manage to get a few good shots of her. I howled the one quiet evening to a silent audience. Judging from the tracks the next morning, the pack had came off the foothills to investigate. They came down below the airstrip and milled around a bit but lots of people in the valley and they headed back up where they came. The wind picked back up so I didn't try to go high after them. The locals are out and about now with the warm weather and lengthening days. It gets very frustrating and hard to deal with them running over your gear. When the wind died down again, I went up on the ridges looking for them. Ol Mother Nature tricked me and let me get 9 miles across the top before she turned up the wind again.
I have some freighting to do shortly and firewood to get put up yet too. Got the ATA Fling and Fur Auction coming up so better get busy. Be safe..
That is a photogenic ermine Love watching those little buggers and they keep the mice/voles away! Good deal on the wolf! Those bou look healthy! Thanks for taking the time and making your videos and sharing your adventures! Looking forward to seeing you and your girl on the 19th!
Really love the practical way of doing things. Working smarter, not harder. I have always loved the details in preparing well for any trip. Must be all the horses I have hauled cross-country in big rigs that instilled the appreciation in seeing how other folks prepare and travel . The ermine shots, every one of them, are gold to me.
And the mountains.,.....I can hear the wind blowing across them...the stillness of them too....
JR - your photos and videos are fabulous! I just watched your videos for about 2 hours. I too appreciate your common sense thoughtful approach to life..
Once again, JR, kudos on the report, and for keeping me and others in the loop. Over the years, I have worked many hours to try and get decent weasel images. Each and every one of yours put every one of my images to shame. Thanks for showing how it's supposed to be done.
Those are cool ermine pics JR! Looks like it is laying claim to your sled. Nice you hooked up with another wolf. I've got low hopes of getting one more on a local line.
Hope all goes well with the auction, thanks for all your work supporting the ATA.
Hello Trappers, chaos around here trying to get ready for the ATA Fur auction and Fling this weekend. Starting to get some fur at the last minute and getting a few more volunteers to help with the auction. I'd forgot to share some pics from last weeks trip out with Stacey. Lots of snow and got about half the wolf gear pulled. Hauled fuel and propane out for the neighbors. Should have broken a trail first but never been known for my smarts. I usually have to get stuck at least 4 or 5 times before I'll cut loose and break some trail. My motto has always been "I don't learn unless it hurts or cost me money" and kinda been like that all my life. Stacey got to see the other side of her sweetheart, the foul language side that is... We got a foot of snow in a day and a half along with 30-40 mph winds. I couldn't even remotely see my trails in a lot of spots.
We sure saw a lot of moose and that makes me feel good. Hopefully they can make it through the spring. Seems they are starting to get used to me driving by and they aren't getting so excited. Got all my fur tagged and ready for the auction. Brought my marten in when I was getting my fur sealed. Kinda wanted to know what they were worth. Ended up selling them to Bill Wivoda in Fairbanks. Averaged $40 but didn't have to worry about freezing them and that paid for the gas this year so it's all good. We got spoiled a with those high dollar years and about time we get back to reality. Hope to see some of you at the auction and fling this weekend.
Looks like you got a little snow out there At least it was a nice sunny day When we get dumps like that it always seems like the moose follow the trail which helps me out alot Pretty country! Appreciate you taking the time to share your adventures and pictures! Look forward to seeing you and Stacy at the fling!
Thats some tough trail breaking when hauling a load. I can see myself getting frustrated and turning the camera off in that same situation. But it is gorgeous out there and you cant beat all that spring sunshine!
Hello trappers. back in off the line. Pulled a bunch of gear and picked up another wolf. 80# gray male in a #9 Pee post by the bait. I was really amazed that trap even fired with all the snow we've had and the freeze thaws. The snow had set up pretty good and made for some good travels Finally got the Bravo hauled out for my friends. Hated to see it leave. Safety thing is all it was in case of breakdown. Had the flu or some bug and wasn't 100% so didn't get too far from the cabin.
Pulled the ol Skandic out of the shop for a shake out run. Makes me appreciate the Expedition's ride for sure. Heading back out maybe Sunday to pull snares and cover some country. Be safe and have fun this spring....
Happy Spring Trappers. Spent 6 days out on the line pulling gear and exploring. The warm weather set up the snow for some great travel. Went into some country I'd never been. Saw lots of moose, a few caribou, 6 ptarmigan and very little wolf sign in 450 miles of travel In all those miles, I only found one dead moose and it was a calf that either starved to death or died of exhaustion. Took a buddy with me that had never been in that country before and he loved it and rode well. Crossed over quite a few different passes and went down some valleys I'd never been able to travel. All this snow worked to our advantage for this. Had this little red fox in the yard a few times. It was nice enough to let me shoot a few pics early one morning. Still a bit dark at 6 am but did the best with what I had. The rivers were still holding pretty fast and travel was great. I ended up blowing a belt on the Expedition. Only 4500 miles on it. They just don't make those belts to last anymore I may have got it wet a time or two on some water crossings and that is hard on the belts. I put the spare on a we continued on. Closed up the cabins for the season and don't know if I will make another trip. Would like to do one more out and hauls some RR ties out to put under the cabin.
Some awesome country Looking at those pic's makes me wish I was there listening to the silence of the mountains Glad you had a good run that was pretty uneventful Like the fox pic's, hopefully there will be a few more around the cabin next year for you to play with Thank you for sharing your adventures with us!
Fantastic pictures as always JR your have talent for sure for capturing images , the fox looks good and should get along with the weasel at the cabin .
I agree on the belts for the sleds even when they brag them up because of all the new improvements they still seem to go bad to soon .
I'm glad to see and hear the trip out there went as well as it did we've got another snow storm heading our way soon . Stay Safe out there !
Greetings Trappers. I believe summer is finally upon us. Still have a bit of snow behind the shop where the roof slid on the North side. Rhubarb is coming up fast. Been trying to get a boat out to a remote cabin for a couple years and finally got that done. I couldn't get it all the way to the lake so had to helicopter it in the last 15 miles. We probably could have cut a trail but we didn't have time with the warming weather. Really neat to cover some new country. Had air support and Dave shot some the pics of us on the trail. Got a couple Elans from a friend. I'd like to restore one for sentimental value. Never messed around with them before but got them both running. Such a simple machine compared to today's equipment. One will get hauled out on the line cabin for a back up machine to save some walking. Bear season is up and running and we got a good one to start the season. He was an old warrior scarred up from head to tail. My buddy's first bear and a good one . Hard to beat a 9' interior griz with a 26 7/8" skull. May have to go get a black bear myself for some sausage. Have a good one hitting the bait. Been working a little iron this spring and hope to get a good work year in. Had this little fella on the job site so had to get a few pics. Have a safe summer..
Elans are from a much simpler time on the trapline! GREAT machines. But a little difficult for a tall fat man to ride on! I always rode on my knees and steered mostly with "body English!"
Masek was over at the shop yesterday admiring my collection of Elans which is up to 3 now. He said "you need one more and you'll have 2 sets of snow shoes'. He called the Elan a motorized snow shoe and ya need one for each foot.
I can honestly say my knees are bad now partially from 10 years of trapping on an Elan. Slow and gas hog but would go anywhere and very basic unlike the newer sleds that can go farther faster and not on your knees as much!
I'm pretty sure that my knee issues are directly related to all the time I spent on them while riding Elans! With the insulation on my insulated overalls "crushed," the ol' knees got pretty cold. Over and over. pb
Happy Hunting Season Trappers. Sorry I haven't checked in in a while. Been a busy summer. Spent a bit of time out at the trapline cabin this spring and fall. Did lots of videos but haven't shared them yet. Found a few antlers this spring and 2 dead wolves on the line. One was right on the trail and looked to be a 2 year old killed by the pack. The other one is a yearling I found on an old trail 1/2 mile from the first. Judging from the hide quality, I'm guessing it was shortly after i'd left last spring. Found a couple nice moose sheds and lots of caribou antlers Game cams produced lots of bear pics this year. Definitely more bears this year than any other year since I'd been going to here. Very few caribou pics compared to what I was seeing out there last winter. Spent a lot of time working on my buddies cabin and we got a lot done including some good fishing. I howled with the wolves pretty much every day out there and ended up calling this one right to the cabin Spent 4 weeks running the Mothership carrying wild land firefighters on the Minto Lakes fire this summer. Great time running the boat and protecting our own lands. Met a lot of great guys and gals mostly from out of state. Still waiting to get paid from ol Uncle Sam for that mission. Just returned from the trapline guiding a caribou hunter from North Carolina. Great guy but hunted hard for one adult bull. Tough hunting due to lack of bou. Lots of griz for sure. Here's a couple pics of a young marten from our fire camp. Just plain hungry. [img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2022/09/full-20036-149420-img_0031.jpg[/img] Off after moose tomorrow. Good luck and be safe out there.
I've been wondering how the summer has been treating you JR , I'd say you were as busy as could be . Nice shed pictures ! Darn nice cabin with a driveway just out the front door ha ha !
Very nice caribou I'm sure he was very happy with it . We're all looking forward to moose pictures next !
The amount of bears will effect the amount of calf, both caribou and moose survival. The dead young wolves is an indication that the pack needs thinning in my opinion. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get after it again!
Thanks for the update! Good seeing you and catchin up! That is pretty crazy with the wolves. I hope Oh Snap is right that the packs need thinned and you have a bountiful year! Be safe on your adventures!!!
Thanks guys. Made it back from my moose guiding adventure. No much to report. Spent 17 days in some new country void of moose. Lots of bears both black and griz, a few caribou but didn't see a single sign of a moose. It was some beautiful country for glassing and hiking when the weather permitted. Found an old guide cabin that the bears didn't hesitate to walk through two walls and evict a lot of the contents. They definitely need to be thinned down in that country and may make that a mission myself. The cabin was very salvageable in Alaskan's eyes. Good roof Good cabin.. My hunter was a heck of a guy with a great attitude even without seeing a moose. That poor guy was stuck 10 of his 12 days in an 8'x8' tent with me due to weather. I don't even like being stuck with me for that long.. I have have two strict rules in my camps. No talking about Politics or Religion and we'll get along fine. You know how it gets when you are stuck in camp, solving all the world's problems.. Our saving grace was that I brought "Alaska's Wolfman" by Jim Rearden out and read it to him twice. Reading that book really make me realize how weak and lazy we are today compared to Frank back in those days.. Reading that book to hunters has been a thing that I have been doing for years. Anyway, my hunter was the kind of client that you really want to get a trophy for and it just didn't work out for us. That is why we call it hunting and not killing. I glassed through the scope and bins more on that hunt than any sheep hunt I've ever been on. Spent the day with my hunter in Los Anchorage waiting for his out going flight since we were a couple days late getting out o f the field due to weather. Swung into the park on the drive home to test my failed moose calling ability and weather shut that down too. Decided to try to catch the last couple days of moose season down in Minto Flats. Didn't sound like many people did well but had to give it a go. I called a friend of mine to see if I could take his boys with me calling moose. He said yes but they wouldn't be down till late Saturday evening. I canoed across the river on Saturday morning and walked back to my spot and started calling. This is on the edge of where the fire was this summer so I wasn't all that excited but had to try. Within two hours, I had a response and boy howdy was that exciting. I can call.... I messed up though and was a little too aggressive and ran him off. It is a antler restricted area so Spike-Fork, 50" or 3 brownies on one side and I am close to the border of the GM Unit also. I didn't get to see this guy but figured I give him a chance to calm down and return later. I did see a little sign along the slough and the trail so was pretty stoked now. I paddled back across the river and loaded a load of firewood and had lunch. At 5pm I paddled back across and tried it again. This time I used my best horny cow impersonation along with some light tending grunts. Here he comes again lighty grunting and starting to circle downwind. I had to move fast to stay downwind of him. I really don't want to shot a moose in the evening. I personally like to shoot my moose in the morning and take my time processing it. Anyway, I quietly ran down the trail trying to stay ahead of the grunting bull stopping along the way to get a locate. The good thing is we are going closer to the canoe and river. The last time I stopped, he went quiet so I let out a soft cow call. That was a mistake as now he locked in on me and came grunting loudly. I am standing on the GMU (Game Management Unit) boundary and he is closing fast from the open unit. The unit behind me is closed. As he was coming through the rose hips and high bush cranberry bushes, I got a good look at his brow tines as he was not close to the 50" limit. He had 3 brows on each antler. Legal... 7:30 pm at 30 yards from me he stopped and decided that I was one ugly cow and maybe we should fight instead. At 51 years old, I am not much of a fighter but instead raised the .375 H&H and sent a 300 grain A-Frame through his skull. That took the fight right out of him. And now the work began. 1/2 mile from the river with 1 hour of daylight left I put the knives to work.
The boys made it down and even heard the shot so they were excited. The next morning, I canoed them across the river with packs, knives, game bags and a saw. Bruce and Justn weren't far behind in the boat. It was nice to see the enthusiasm in these two young boys walking up the trail. These two packed out the entire moose on their backs with smiles on their faces. Oh to be young again. They didn't get a moose this fall so we shared the young bull and should put both households in meat all winter. These boys are 12 and 13 and made me feel like there is a little hope left in our younger generation and were a pleasure to work with for sure. Got some meat to cut up now and back to working iron. Trapping season is coming fast so hope you are all prepared.
Good hunt and help. Always have liked gear, how it is used and maintained. Back packing is a specialty in itself. So good the boys want to learn things young.
A couple weeks ago I was hunting with Kid #2. He shot a moose with his bow at about 8:45pm one evening. First thing I did was call Kid #1 (6' 5", 330 lbs) to come help! Then we got out the headlamps.
I HATE cutting up moose after dark, but we were done by 11:30pm. More to the point, no one got a knife cut, either on themselves or the other two guys!
Greeting Trappers, Did a quick trip down to Minto flats on Friday. Weather wasn't the best but hadn't run the river boat or been to the cabin down there all year. Took Jim Masek with me and for those of you that don't know him, he is definitely one of the best most knowledgeable successful trappers in this state. He has trapped Minto Flats since the late 70's and knows the flats and it's history like the back of his hand. I was lucky enough to meet him and work with him since the 1st year I moved to Alaska in 1991. It is always fun as it is educational to run down there with Jim. We caught a mess of Northern Pike and I landed my biggest Sheefish I've ever caught on the Chatanika. 5 to 7 pounds is what we usually catch down there and this big one was 12#. We also never caught them this late in the season. Lots of ducks and hundreds of swans still hanging around the flats. Weather didn't really allow for much photo opportunities with all the rain. Saw a few moose that made it through the fall season. Did see one giant bull but he wasn't interested in us at all. Mother nature calmed down the first evening and that is when things got fun. There was a little young mink trying really hard to get our fish out of the boat. Anyone who knows me knows how I am with wildlife and a camera. I could spend hours taking pics of wildlife and forbearers are my favorite of course. My camera and I are still having some misunderstandings but hopefully we will work it out. Got a few good shots but should have had hundreds I guarantee the next time that little mink sees Jim, it won't be so friendly of a meeting. We actually saw quite a few muskrats on our trip also. Well I better start getting ready for our ATA's General Trapping School next weekend. Hope everyone is ready for trapping season
Thanks everyone, got a couple more videos I thought I'd share with you. We have the ATA General Trapping School this weekend so getting all loaded up for that.
Sure do enjoy your videos. I like hearing your thoughts as you find things or look around.
Really like the neat arrangement of tools, the hangers, and keeping the ground clean , even controlled burn . Seeing how folks keep their gear , and why they prefer certain arrangements in using equipment.
I keep an orderly camp, orderly clean anything. It just looks so good, makes one feel clean to see that.
I'm the same way, made bed, every day , keep things in their place. I cannot tolerate a cluttered mess in the house, grounds, or anywhere.
Like the Aussie tour ovah da glassier
Airboats are so great. It amazes me how you go at speed and know where to traverse in the river , around the gravel beds and stuff sticking out of the bends in places.
Trapping season is on and I'm still working iron or was.... Got a message that a pair of grizzlies had been on the rampage raiding cabins in the drainage. My trapping cabin got hit hard. Flying out this morning to assess the damage and hopefully get it back livable and kill those bears. I'd just got done saying how the grizzly bears were being respectful around the cabins and they go and make a lier out of me. The wolves are not my objective quite yet, the fact is, I'd like to feed these grizzly bears livers to the wolves. Will give a report when I return. Good luck and be safe out on the line trappers.
JR Those bears have the best wolf bait. Wolves love bear meat. Good Luck
Actually tainted bear scraps works better than any bait I ever used!
Interesting, I've not had wolves show much interest in bear... except some thoroughly tainted (as in rotted down) bear scraps that I put down a posthole and had the wolves dig it up to four times the original size.
Good evening Trappers. Made it back from the cabin. Never got the culprits that vandalized the cabins but spring cannot come soon enough. We will be doing some bear population reduction for sure. It was the big sow and 3 year old cub that I'd seen around for a few years. Cameras didn't pick up anything. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with them but pretty angry with it. Shot some pics and video of the mess. Doug flew out to give me a hand. Boy howdy was that nice. Hard to figure out where to start
Wind blew and got some snow so lost the track of the bears. Could easily track them between the cabins but couldn't find where she'd left the valley to den. Kinda figured I'd might find her balled up sleeping in one of the cabins.No such luck....
Eric had a Muzzleloader hunter out so I gave them a hand for a couple days. Saw lots of caribou and moose around.That doesn't help the trapping again this year. We ended up getting a nice bull with the hunter Still shy on snow in most places and had some issues along the way Spending time with this little female marten made the whole trip worth it and took my mind off the bears. Spent a week out there and boarded up some of the other cabins as well. Lot of work to do out there this spring. Hope everyone is out having some fun and putting some traps out.
WOW! She made one heck of a mess!!! Amazing the strength they have! Hope you come across her come spring! Good looking moose and a cute marten! Thanks for sharing!!!
JR it's like you said it could've been worse , I like many others are glad it wasn't ! I've got a feeling that you will get a shot off at her and that cub .
The marten is sure quite cute little bugger mice pack rat's and squirrels shouldn't be a problem while she's around the cabin either .
Darn nice moose he shot !
We're getting the Snow you're missing today it's nearly a white out here now .
Enjoy your day and Stay Safe out there even if you don't want to ha ha ! Allan
What a difference you both made in that mess cleanup.
At least, I noticed, she didn't tear up the foam pad seats on your chairs...I wonder if you could still find more totes like the one that weathered the tooth test . Can't figure why they had to mess up the woodpile. Or why the back wall was chosen to tear into. I'm always trying to figure any possible logic into what they do to stuff.
Bears here do like to chew into generators, gas cans, oil, something about that they like, chewing rubber hose connectors, etc.
I can feel how you felt at seeing all this, from some experiences of my own. Not just the break in, but the ensuing sheer mess. Yes it could have been worse , and you two cleaned things up very well in a short time.
I am good at tackling messes like that....from hurricane cleanup in my days in FLA. I graduated from that to developing a system of organized cleanup , that has worked well in helping friends with their places, and in restoring order to manage 20 stall horse barns with apartments attached. Inherited messes to organize. The system I've “invented” works very well and keeps the mind focused and not overwhelmed.
The main thought I had during all your video, which you of course mentioned, was that those burglars will be back. They follow the same behavioral pattern here too. Until they are stopped.
The siding you mentioned sounds like timely, good insurance to implement immediately.
If anyone wonders of animals reacting to their reflection in glass, just observe birds fighting their image , bumping into glass for minutes on end, to see your thoughts on blinds is spot on.
I call that wee marten Ivory....for her toes. I am borrowing your shots of her for a future portrait.
Glad you took video of all this. It is good education for anyone to learn from, and for your continued history of your life collection.
I always like when they take a big dump on the floor just to let you know what they really think about you Those bears are educated and won't stop until someone takes them out. We used a bear fence, you can get them with solar panels so they work all season. We got ours from a place in Anchorage that designed and tested them in Alaska, worked great and sure gives you some piece of mind.
Sure do enjoy your videos. I like hearing your thoughts as you find things or look around.
Really like the neat arrangement of tools, the hangers, and keeping the ground clean , even controlled burn . Seeing how folks keep their gear , and why they prefer certain arrangements in using equipment.
I keep an orderly camp, orderly clean anything. It just looks so good, makes one feel clean to see that.
I'm the same way, made bed, every day , keep things in their place. I cannot tolerate a cluttered mess in the house, grounds, or anywhere.
Like the Aussie tour ovah da glassier
Airboats are so great. It amazes me how you go at speed and know where to traverse in the river , around the gravel beds and stuff sticking out of the bends in places.
And that wee loping mink.
Thank you, JR.
That "wee loping mink" is one of the biggest I have ever seen. B&C for sure !
Wow, what a mess. That one will likely be a nuisance until it's dead. Hope one of you cabin owners up there get the pleasure. The season can only go up from here!
JR, there’s a place in Palmer called Fence Emporium of Alaska where you can get a complete bear fence set up for around $300. Comes with a solar panel set up that works great but I always put a fresh new battery ($60) every year just for insurance. Think it’s working good, found grizz hair on the wire over the years. Should be able for him to ship you the materials..
Happy Thanksgiving Trappers. Haven't set a trap yet as I am still working in town. Found a few pics I didn't share. Here are a couple of the bears at the cabin. Dang those camera make me mad. Cannot believe it didn't get a single pic of her tearing at the shop door. These swans were in Lost Lake when we had our General Trapping School in October. Had to be 75 total on the lake. I'm liking the electric fence on the cabin idea. i'd like more to put the cabin on 4 insulators and make the whole works electric after I put metal on it. Planning on putting up the bait station this spring and thinning out the bear population by 5. Like to put 4 griz hides on 4 hunters walls this spring if any of you nonresident's are interested. Make you a good deal on 1st come 1st serve on any legal bear. Starting to gather some bait for the season and getting excited to trap but think I am still a month away. Following you guys and waiting. Good luck and be safe out there
Cant have anything nice in the country around here, bears will tear it up.
I do have a 10,000 K bear fence around my beehives and can vouch for its effectiveness, it sends the bears to my neighbors to get shot instead of my yard.
Nowadays they all seem to work well, I use the lithium ion batteries in the cold. They are fun to mess around with and I've found it informative to see how animals react to my sets etc.
Work well in the day and warm weather. I've run several different brands and cold was their downfall. Some of mine revert back to a different dates and don't keep current date, time or temps. I don't mind paying extra if they preform. My Spypoint has been my favorite but it also looses time and date
The Stealthcams I have do not work good in the cold, neither have the Bushnell's, wildgame innovations and a couple others I have used. At least with the Stealthcams they will work well when it is warm and if it gets cold they may quit working but they will start working when it warms up again, unlike some of the others.
Also canines notice all the models I have tried, especially at night.
It would appear that AK Howler's "secret" (aside from lithium ion batteries...) is to place the cams quite a ways out from where he thinks the wolves will pass. I assume this minimizes the chance of the animals discovering the device and becoming spooked by it.
Hello and Happy New Year Trappers.. Made it across the river on New Year's Eve and spent 6 days mostly breaking trail but did get a little gear out. Snow was deep but that wasn't the problem. The crust on top made it hard to break trail. I learned a little about the Expedition over the past two weeks. I've always hated the fact that it digs a deeper hole when you are already stuck and trying to get out. The Skandic didn't seem to do that. If you put it in Eco Mode, it doesn't spin the track and will crawl out. That was pretty crazy. I don't like to run in Eco mode breaking trail or on overflow but to get unstuck, it worked awesome. Something else I learned .... but now I cannot remember what it was.. River froze high so the creek was a little difficult but got a good trail laid in now. Overflow wasn't bad at all. Had a big blow up there for a couple days and that cleaned off the ridges and any loose snow. Took a couple days to get up to Pee Post Pass and get some gear planted.
Picked up a couple sheds along the way and that always makes me happy. Saw a ton of moose and thay seem to be doing fine in the deep snow. Saw lots of calves but only one set of twins.
Spent 6 days and had to come in for a Dr appointment and resupply. A wolverine cleaned out one of my free baits at a marten feeding station. I'd seen a few fresh lynx tracks along with a couple coyote tracks so expected to have a couple lynx and a coyote upon my return. Set a few marten poles on the way back into the cabin across the flats and came on the free bait and look who showed back up.
I expected there to be another one with all the sign around there and on the trail both directions. After further investigation, it looked like he was a young male dispersing and was laying claim to that area. His tracks were on the trail for about 12 miles and he was marking at every Grizzly bear marking tree along the trail. Pretty big for his britches if ya ask me. I did see sign of a couple more wolverine throughout the line though. I was really surprised when I checked the gear that I 'd set and found nothing else waiting. Two days later I found my first lynx waiting for me in the Catch-all set.
Ended up catching another lynx and 5 marten on the way back to town yesterday afternoon. Ordered a fuel pump for the Expedition as she got left in the shop out at the cabin. Learned my lesson last time after the 20 hour 35 mile walk. Rode the ol Skandic out.
Awesome update and a good way to kick things off! Envious of all the sheds your finding Hope the wolves cooperate and come through where your gear is! Be safe out there Wildman!
Glad to see you out on the line and picking up some fur. That cave set looks interesting, curious how it works out for you this season. Thanks for taking the time to take and edit videos of your experiences.
Couple more pics from the line The one trail camera is still messing up on the time/date stamp.
Got the lynx and marten put up, the Scandic put back together and a little more work to do on my sled. Hoping to head back out Tuesday
broncoformudv.... My #3's are 4-coiled, offset, most are laminated and the jaw tips are welded to jaws. I've held a few wolves in them solid anchored but they were all pups and didn't fight the trap. Good luck and be safe out there
I was observing how you broke fresh trail, and figured you to be shifting your weight at times as you corrected direction....to influence steering , is my guess , anyway. That's what I do on horses when weaving through trees , holes and rocks on the trail . You must have put a lot of time making those pathways over the years.
I'm not the only one who learns something then can't remember what it was lol. Got a good laugh out of your video chopping off the rotted down grizzly fat. I can only imagine how loud that smell was.
Hello Trappers, did a short 3 day trip to the cabin. Took a buddy with a new Expedition SWT 900 Ace Turbo. What a beast. I started the trip off a little rough loosing a part of my cowling on the road. Wasn't a problem on the trail but off trail in the deep snow, belt would get wet. Taped a garbage bag over it and that worked pretty well as long as the tape stuck. Picked up a few marten on the way in Picked up a couple more antlers even after 6 more inches of snow I get just as excited over finding antlers as I do fur. I sure was happy to see a little snow but the lack of fresh sign was disappointing. The caribou tripped a few pee posts and that stinky baited set at SMG. The coyote came in behind the tripped trap and dug out the bait staying way clear of the tripped MB750. Kyle did good riding and that SWT pulled the groomer effortlessly. On the way out yesterday day, we got lucky.
She ended being a 96# female. Didn't see any other sign. In fact, 34 miles across the flats, I cut one fresh marten, 2 ermine and a couple grouse tracks. Pretty hungry country all of the sudden. All the baits were still hanging on the marten poles. I'm not grooming the trail across the flats this year to deter joy riders. Dang I miss that groomed trail. Saw a few caribou on the trip out and they stopped for a quick photo shoot. The Tanana was happy and froze up covered in a fresh blanket of snow Got some fur to put up and machines to work on this weekend
Very nice fuzzy wuff. Perfect carving material, those antlers will be. And always love seeing marten. Caribou always reminds me of a Jersey cow , in the face.
Man, the colours on that overflow...the new snow on the flats and mountains is sublimely beautiful.
Good job walking that dog out of that tangled brush and deep snow. That took strength.
Really cool finding those sheds! Looks like you've got a good moose population there, or at least an area where they are yarding up for the winter.
Was that batch of snares set originally on a kill site, or just a bait site? My baits are all pretty close to the main trail. That will get the heart pumping to bust brush through the snow with that big dog along for the ride!
How did that 900 turbo do on gas? I love my SWT 900 ACE but it isn't as good on fuel as I expected. I have a buddy with a 2018 he claims 20 mpg. I used it a week or two a couple years ago when my old sled was broke down and I seem to remember about 18 mpg. But with 1400 miles on my 2023 12 mpg the last two days is the best I've gotten. Usually around 10.
smalltimetrapper.... The moose did pretty well in my country last year compared to the flats and 20B. Moose come out of the flats all the way up into the high valleys to winter making it look like there is a lot moose here. They will do a march in the spring back out of the high country heading for the flats. The wolf came off that kill that I'd set up earlier. Nothing has hit my wolf baits. Definitely a good pack out for sure.
bearcat2....Not sure how it did on fuel but I own 2 Expeditions with 900 Ace and a Skandic WT 600Ace and none of them get 18 or 20 mpg the way I ride. 12-15 sounds a little closer. The guys that ride down a groomed trail or maybe ice fisherman maybe can get 18-20mpg. The power was crazy in the Turbo but the noise was rough.
muskrat411... The ATA Wolf Trapping School is on February 4-5th.
Yeah I usually get around 10 mpg with my 900 ace trapping. If I am just running long distance without all the start stop I get much better even if towing and breaking trail.
Well that is good to know. I was hoping for better, but it is still a shade better than any other snowmachine I have owned. I've been getting around 10 to 12 at best trapping and hunting off of it, always towing and often enough breaking trail. A lot of start and stop, the best I've gotten was when I am running over the pass, have a couple wolf traps and a couple marten traps up on the pass, but I can just look at them as I go by without stopping, so I have a long run where there is no game, I'm not slowing or stopping to look at tracks unless the wolves I come through or I have something in a trap, until I get down on the other side, so I have twenty miles each way where I pretty much sit down and cruise, with stop and go driving on both ends.
Greetings Trappers and Happy Valentines day. Came back off the line yesterday for a couple days. Had an appointment with the Apple company to help with my computer and phone problems. Grrrrr.... Do ya understand.. Grrrr. I am so frustrated with this bs. Anyway, picked up the third lynx in the catch-all set with the Kill Squeak. Still no wolves on the line. Missed the coyote again due to the caribou tripping the trap. Picked up a red fox on the baited hole set on Pee Post Pass. Tripped the marten gear and pulled a lot of wolf gear. Just got tired of continually cleaning it off with now wolves around.
picked up another young wolverine on a pee post that the wolverine #1 left. This little guy pulled 1 marten, ate 3 baits and I missed him on 3 post before catching him on a pee post I've never caught anything on. 24# little male that I choked out with the snare pole.
I think the little devil bear was trying to bait me into the circle to play. Anyway he is on the board now and just happens that there is another one nearby. Not sure about all the wolverines around this year but may have something to do with the lack of wolves. My ice bridges are starting to fail and it seems early for that. Picked up a few marten this year . Wolf school went over well and had some great instructors. The only thing more fun that catching wolves is talking about how to catch wolves. Got a few things to do around the shop before heading back out. Be safe out there
Its great to hear things went well with your PET scan, can't imagine having that weighing on my mind.
Thats a perfect picture of that lynx! Not sure I am to the level of wolverine choke hold yet, getting a little more comfortable with them though.
Thanks for instructing at the wolf trapping school and staying up Saturday evening sharing your pictures and video. Really enjoyed the entire experience.
Really like your how to in doing things, your custom tools, and organizing to make life smooth and better. Beautiful photos, always. Love the detail perfect lynx and close up of that growley wolverine..huffing and puffing.
I know you are the quality wuff instructor that I have enjoyed when I took the course , in Idaho, with Jack presiding in his wonderful way.
Glad you're inspired into the art again. You are a fine artist . Of course, good tools, even in art are just as important as those on the trail . Good close up glasses are a worthy investment . They will give a new energy on inspiration. As well as a magnifier visor headband. I have one and it makes all the difference in small detail. Your work in happiness is worth the best.
And finally, your scan being in glowing success is as life reborn. Worthy of celebration.
AK I got a question for you , here in Washington I’ve trapped marten for a long time and I always pin the back legs to go with the tail as I was taught in the 80’s . I’m being told now that they want them pinned with the belly ? What’s your take and opinion? Thanks Jake
i pin my marten legs back along side of the tail. Gives you better length then pinning on the side or the belly. Sizing is the first grade the graders do.
Good evening trappers. Still having technical difficulties over here. Got some good videos but unable to upload to computer. As much as I enjoy sharing this stuff with you all, I am not tech savvy enough to figure this out. Had a couple good trips out on the line. Not a lot of fur but good times for the most part. Had a friend of mine and his son come out on the line with me for a few days and we set some gear and checked some line. A couple coyotes had dug up the bone pile up at the neighbors so we hung a few snares in the woods around it. Picked up a little 23# coyote in the first snare we hung. He was excited about that so I gave it to him I sent them home after 3 days and was going to put out some more gear but the temps warmed up and got some nasty weather moved in. I decided to sneak out early in the morning where the headlights would help me see the trail. That worked good until I hit the Little Delta and sunk in the new overflow. Spent 2 1/2 hours messing around in that before finally getting out. I filmed most of the recovery but... well,,, it is in technical difficulty bin... Ran back out a couple days later and picked up a nice gray wolf in a pee post with some dog straw. You know what they say,,,, trap on sign. Well it works. 89# gray male next to the 23# coyote Spent one day testing some handholds for my 6.5-06 until I found one that worked. 120 grain Sierra Matching BTHP flew as true as this blind shaky clown can shoot. 5 shot group at 100 yards. Got some more snow and wind over the beginning of the week and made for an interesting trip back to the truck. Only got stuck once pulling the groomer on the way out. Starting to figure out how to drive that machine after 7K miles. Little bit of a slow learner I'd say. Getting ready for the ATA Fur Auction now and will probably start pulling gear this week. old luck and be safe.
Too bad you got sunk after your help left, that will get a guy hot and sweaty trying to get out of there! Cool pic of the wolf with the sign! I can't quite tell, what trap did you catch him in?
I hope you get your your technical issues figured out, I always like watching your videos.
I laughed pretty hard when you sent me the video of the howler Xing sign That was a good one Appreciate you sharing your adventures and glad I aint dealing with that overflow!
Thanks guys... The "Trapping on Sign" went over pretty well. It is so obvious, I'm surprised I had to come up with that. You guys are slacking. Had a great trip out on the line with wonderful weather and even a little fur. 22 below to 45 above with the sun shining the whole trip. Finally picked up my big tom lynx above the sheep cabin. I've been trying to catch this joker for four years. Needless to say, he was not near as excited to see me as I him. 28# beautiful tom in a cubby protected by a #3 Bridger. I always love coming around this corner. Everything above it is always awesome when the weather allows This was across from the cabin. Put on 86 miles on Sunday and didn't cut a single wolf track. Heading back out on Friday and running up the Wood. Might be time to do some calling and hunting. I doesn't do any good messing with gear when it is this warm. Got a coyote and lynx to put up today. Will post a few pics later. Still haven't figured out the video thing.
I too, smiled seeing that corner. The golden sky enhances the mountains and cool colour tones of winter. Everything just glows in that lighting...even in the shadows, translucent glacier blue. The pics of the cat are superb. The wuff is wonderful too.
You were right, March is warmer , seems to be much warmer, than earlier months.
Fantastic pictures as always JR ! The frosty wolf picture is now my favorite wolf picture that you have taken the entire area is a postcard quality vistas .
Congratulations on catching the lynx !
The sheep cabin area is really something else to thank you for the ride along .
I was wondering if my wolves went to your country, but sounds like they vacated both of us.
Those critters that put up a fight are the ones you remember. I messed with a cat for a couple months a few years ago. I knew he was a big one, he kept giving me slip and the finger. I remember the day I finally walked up on him. He was extremely grouchy, 34lb tom.
Good evening trappers. Still having technical difficulties over here. Got some good videos but unable to upload to computer. As much as I enjoy sharing this stuff with you all, I am not tech savvy enough to figure this out. Had a couple good trips out on the line. Not a lot of fur but good times for the most part. Had a friend of mine and his son come out on the line with me for a few days and we set some gear and checked some line. A couple coyotes had dug up the bone pile up at the neighbors so we hung a few snares in the woods around it. Picked up a little 23# coyote in the first snare we hung. He was excited about that so I gave it to him I sent them home after 3 days and was going to put out some more gear but the temps warmed up and got some nasty weather moved in. I decided to sneak out early in the morning where the headlights would help me see the trail. That worked good until I hit the Little Delta and sunk in the new overflow. Spent 2 1/2 hours messing around in that before finally getting out. I filmed most of the recovery but... well,,, it is in technical difficulty bin... Ran back out a couple days later and picked up a nice gray wolf in a pee post with some dog straw. You know what they say,,,, trap on sign. Well it works. 89# gray male next to the 23# coyote Spent one day testing some handholds for my 6.5-06 until I found one that worked. 120 grain Sierra Matching BTHP flew as true as this blind shaky clown can shoot. 5 shot group at 100 yards. Got some more snow and wind over the beginning of the week and made for an interesting trip back to the truck. Only got stuck once pulling the groomer on the way out. Starting to figure out how to drive that machine after 7K miles. Little bit of a slow learner I'd say. Getting ready for the ATA Fur Auction now and will probably start pulling gear this week. old luck and be safe.
FWIW, you sure did zero in on a great handload for your 6.5. An excellent, tight group.
Greetings Trappers. Came back off the line yesterday. Doing some freighting and getting ready for spring bear baiting. Got all but a few of the wolf traps pulled and most of the snares. Been a pretty slow year for wolves on the line but that is great for the moose in the valleys. Hauled this old Pug out from the Wood River yesterday for a friend. Collapsed the suspension on the Expedition so my trip got cut short. The trip into the cabin was crazy. Left in the sunshine and met a snow storm half way in. It is funny how hard it is to see in the flat light but the camera picks up the trail fine. Weather cleared off that evening and the next day was awesome Being so nice I decided to burn some powder and play with the .375 H&H in preparation for some grizzly elimination. That big dog will hunt..... Lots of people out and about with the long days and warm weather. Speaking of warm weather, our annual ATA Fur & Antler Auction and Fling went very well this year. We didn't have a lot of fur or antler but did well with what we had. Our Auctioneer is one of the best in the business and made short work of what we had. We sold $70,000 worth of fur and antler. We had 41 trappers bring furs in from one hide to 100. Thank you to all who brought in furs and special thanks to all the volunteers who helped out during the auction. We cannot do events like these without volunteers and this year we had a heck of a group of 22 from 10 years old to 65 years young. As for the Fling, it was awesome, sold out on tickets and great donations. Of course you already heard, I won the ivory trap.... I like to say I won it instead of bought it as it makes me feel better. Had to sell my truck and trailer to get home that night but worth it to me. It is always great to see everyone at the Fling. The highlight of my evening was meeting and talking with Audrey Magoun "The Wolverine Biologist". It was fun to pick her brain even if only for 10 minutes. She donated a wolverine print done in Pointillism which is a drawing done in small distinct dots. The artist is James E. Lawrence. It is amazing and seemed to stare at me the all evening until the auction. Had to do some rearranging at the house but everyone is in their place now. Next year is the ATA's 50'th Anniversary so the Fling should be amazing. Still having technical difficulties so no videos as of yet. Got a little more freighting to do this week. You all be safe as spring is upon us and along with that comes overflow, open water and avalanches
Glad the weather finally cleared for you to wrap things up and enjoy your scenery. There's that nice curve in the trail around the boulder.
The Fling sounded wonderful , in success too.
Now you've had an enjoyable time placing your trap and the Pointillism wolverine print in with all your collection. I call that style stippling. In ink, that's what I do for shading and detail.
Next year's 50th Fling will be amazing, indeed .... thank you for the share , JR.
Well we'd appreciate you getting started now that you know. This year was Close... got it at 1pm day of. Are you going to deliver it personally? I'd buy you a seat at the table with Sharon and I...
Well, I'd say Happy Spring Trappers but I'm not sure it is. Got some more snow out at the cabin but most of the new stuff blew away i think. I did get some more freighting done. Went off the trail 3 times in 40 miles on the way out riding the Expedition Sport. Little easier to tip back onto her track for sure. Got some more firewood put up on a nice day My little ermine was a little mad that I was cleaning up the leftover bait around the cabin. She seemed to sense what I was doing and packed bait off all day long. Made for some good photo ops. Got the door on the shop fixed after the bear problem. My two clients for spring bear canceled at last minute so if any of you guys wanna shoot a spring grizzly bear over bait in May, let me know quickly. Charging $12-$15 grand per hunter. Would like 2 maybe 3 hunters total. Got one more trip out this weekend I believe.
I heard some other disgruntled cabin owners up there that were on the bear rampage as well. I imagine there will be a few dead ones scattered around before end of summer. Good luck on your hunts! If you need an extra tag let me know, I might come smoke one for you.
Love the ermine pics! Talk about some crusty trail conditions, no fun breaking through that top layer. You sure do a lot of freighting in the spring, always interesting seeing the variety of loads and how you secure them.
Good luck with the bears and getting some clients!
hey AK Howler, love the pictures but miss the videos. I figured out my problem with posting videos. My memory was full. I cleaned a bunch of useless crap off there and I can post videos again. That might be your problem too, check it out. Check out my video too while your at it. You have them spring fed fish holes in your country?
If there was one wild animal that I could have as a pet that would hang around but also be able to fend for itself, an ermine would be it. They are so cool to watch.
And great pictures JR. Love the tongue lick in the one.
I'm late to this party and there are a lot of great places in America but man Alaska has to be the most spectacular state in the country. Just got done looking at all of this thread and your photos are just breathtaking JR.
Good morning Trappers. Thanks for the comments and I've said it before. I enjoy sharing my experiences with those willing to follow. If you can learn from my mistakes or utilize my methods, it is worth the time to download on this computer.
Did a quick trip to the cabin with a friend who'd never been out there. Had some good weather. Still winter up there for sure. Crazy spring. I always enjoy taking people with me the headwaters of the the creek if they are sled savvy. Lots of snow this year so made the trip pretty nice. This cabin was put up in the early 1900's and the weathered logs are beautiful. Rick brought the groceries and cooked. He is welcome back anytime and wouldn't mind putting his Skandic SWT 900 ACE to work. He got to learn about those DS2 pilot skis that Skidoo is putiing on. That was my last trip across the river this spring. I'll fly back over in a couple weeks. The Tanana was a bit sketchy and Dry Creek was falling out fast with the heavy snow loads. You all be safe this spring
Beautiful wood, indeed. What a rhythm wood grain has, with fur and hair grain flow, ocean swells, desert dunes , snow drifts, ice layers, and so much more.
As always JR fantastic pictures I really like the cabin and it's location , how is it's interior ?
I know darn good and well that my 660 Polaris RMK probably won't get far in your snow conditions thank you for the pictures and the story to go along with them .
Funny how different people with different situations like different things. I've been using Pilot skis on skidoos since before Skidoo was, and have even put those DS2s on other brands that I had to fabricate brackets to bolt them on with. That deep keel that you hate, I really like it the deep soft snow, it will grab snow and steer better in the soft stuff, where I always have problems is tight places with either deep soft snow (especially warm, sloppy stuff) or tight places with no snow. And if they've got decent carbides on them they'll steer in the no snow conditions also. Sure they grab and jerk your arms and your snowmachine around some, but I don't have to deal with a lot of ice riding like you do.
Beautiful wood, indeed. What a rhythm wood grain has, with fur and hair grain flow, ocean swells, desert dunes , snow drifts, ice layers, and so much more.
Wonderful mountains, once again.
Good company, good food, good country.
Thank you, JR.
You've got a good twist of phrase. I can't wait to read your write up after your adventures with JR next spring!
Happy Spring Trappers. Been a pretty good week here. Dean Wilson Jr brought me up a bunch of Dean Sr's #9 parts, traps, jigs and just genuine cool stuff. Years ago in 1998, Dean made a run of 100 limited edition Brass Panned AK #9's. This edition was to celebrate Dean's 10 years of production. Trap #1 was sold to sealed high bidder, not sure who got that. Trap #2 was donated to the ATA and Trap #3 was donated to the NTA. I was lucky enough to help stamp pans for him back then.They came with a signed verification certificate from Dean. I am trying to figure out a price to put on them as I have a dozen of them some with numbers stamped in the pan and some without. Dean kept a folder with everyone's name who got what number trap. Dean Jr is still looking for that for me. Another prize in the collection is Dean's Last #9 they built before selling to Al Barrette. This is a highlight in my collection for sure. Prior to Dean Sr building the #9's was Steve Titus from Fairbanks. I had never met him before this week. I called him on the phone and asked if he could identify some of the tools and jigs from Dean Sr. He agreed and came right over. Steve, Jim Masek and I BS'd about #9's parts, tools and history for 3 hours. What a day.... I took Steve in the house to show him my #9 collection. As we walk in the door, Steve pauses and says "looks like a museum in here". Jim and I laughed and said that's what Al Wright said. I am currently working on a display of AK #9 history from start to current. Will be doing a story on it for the magazine also.In this pic, I am am holding a #9 Blued and welded open for a Trapper of the Year Award for next year and Steve is holding a #9 that I built.
Yesterday I received my prototype parts for the #9 from the new company in ND. I called Masek and had him come over and supervise. I quickly put together a #9 with the new parts to confirm prints are correct. Little polishing and she'll work. Be placing an order for parts for 500 traps today and back building 9's this fall. Dang does that feel good. Been a stressful 8 months in search of a new manufacturing company.
Now it's time to go take care of some grizzly bears. Got a couple killers from Minnesota coming up today and hopefully head out tomorrow. You all have a safe spring.
All sorts of great news happening for you, JR. All smiles in those shots.
What beautiful traps. And the folks who came to visit you , surely felt as treated to enjoyment with such an appreciative trapper, as you were with them. And more special art to add to your collection....that last #9 , by Dean himself.
Your new manufacturing source is all set. You're off at a gallop.
Now to put the RESPECT back in a couple of bears soon...I am reminded of Aretha Franklin's song on that one.... be safe, JR.
Great adds to the collection JR! Looking forward to the article on the history of the #9. Glad new manufacturer is working out. Good luck with the grizzlies and stay safe.
Hello Trappers. Made it back from the mountains without the cabin raiding bears. We didn't even see any bear sign until the last day when a young sow with yearling cub meandered down the river. Not the same sow but only a few miles upstream of the cabin. Weather was great with only a couple days of rain but many day of wind. Cleaned up Eric's camp and mine getting a lot done with my two Minnesota guys. High water had us camp bound for a couple days but utilized our time effectively with camp work. Temps high in the day and low at night freezing on us 3 or 4 nights. Those freezing nights really bring the water levels down and slow the runoff in the mountains. Once the river came down to a workable level we started covering ground looking for sign. Without any bear sign, we changed tactics to antler hunting and that we were successful at. This one was grown right into the tree Lots of time glassing from the ridges and other way was just to grid a draw or valley up and down. Found this unique looking rock cluster on one of the hikes. Any ideas? Most of the antlers were older and only found a few fresh ones from last season. Only cut one wolf track on the entire adventure. Saw a few sheep which made me very happy. Didn't see a single moose and only a few fresh tracks. Most of the moose in my country head for the flats in the spring but usually I have a small resident population that hangs around. Always check the rub trees.....
We ended up picking up 39 shed antlers and deadheads. We left a few of the really old ones. It is really fun to run around the country with guys that appreciate it as much as I. Hopefully the guys will come back in the near future and we can fill a couple bear tags but just couldn't get it done this year. Got a couple more airboat hulls to straighten up for guys and off to work. Hope everyone has a safe and successful summer.
What a great time finding those sheds and glassing the country. How pleasant to find a sitting spot just right for as long as one desires. Just enjoying every minute and detail. I would have had just as much, if not more enjoyment doing those activities, as I would on a hunt.
I knew that one mountain , straight away….with the Stoney Ridge . Looking forward very much to seeing it in living colour. Definitely as beautiful in spring as it is in winter attire.
A lot of needed, good progress accomplished in work , that will make future visits there a pleasure.
I'm glad to hear you have another supplier to get parts from !
As for the bears as you said it was a great adventure for all of you it's interesting how things sometimes work or don't work .
What a collection of sheds ! Thanks for the pictures of the ride along , hopefully someone will get a shot at the camp destroyer bears during hunting season before they can cause more problems .
Good morning Trappers. Been a busy summer and got some great news yesterday. My new parts manufacturer for the #9 parts finished the order and shipped yesterday. Am very excited to get back into production and to be working with this new company. On a bad note, my spring manufacturer doubled the price on my springs so I am currently working with another outfit to make my springs. Tell you what, it is getting harder and harder to keep doing building the #9's in house. I don't do this for the money but truley enjoy building them, keeping them Alaskan built, dealing and talking traps and trapping with fellow trappers and supporting American made products. Made a couple trips down to Minto Flats fishing this summer. Working iron this summer down in Healy and really enjoying that. Heading back down tomorrow. Not sure how long I'll work but probably until trapping season starts. Had some time off in September so went out and guided a caribou hunter on the trapline with Hunt Alaska. Hunting was a little slow this year but did manage to harvest a few respectable representations of the species. We just didn't see very many this season. Moose hunting started off slow also. Had a couple early snows and pretty wet season but everything went pretty well. Saw one wolf track and very little bear activity while I was out there. Got some work done around my cabins and just enjoyed being there like usual. After guiding, I took ATA President Randy Zarnke down to Minto Flats moose hunting. Well, really we didn't do a lot of hunting. I worked him like an old borrowed mule trying to level up a buddies cabin.. Gotta put in your work before you get to come out to my special spot to moose hunt even if your the President. Hopefully next year he can do some hunting. Always fun to hunt with someone new just to compare tactics. ATA monthly meetings starting next month and the General Trapping school the 3rd weekend of October. Trapping season is coming up fast so hope you all have your traps prepped, sleds serviced and started gathering bait. Remember Trappers, If you are not a member of your local and or National Trappers Organization, join today. The Anti's are trying to take our right to trap ever single day and if you don't join the fight to support trapping. We will lose this opportunity to do what we all love to do.
Seasons Greeting Trappers. Haven't forgot about you all, just been working iron this year making some money so I can support my trapping habit. I have been putting together #9 parts but cannot complete any traps as I did not receive all my parts. A bunch of my parts were lost in shipping and no one is fessing up to who is responsible for the lost parts or money. Pretty frustrating for sure. I was really excited to be back up and running building traps. Flying down to see my family in North Dakota for the holidays and will swing in and introduce myself to the people that made me the parts. Hopefully get this straightened out. I hate being behind on my orders more than I hate waiting for someone else. My springs should be here when I get home too. Will get out and start trapping when I get home. Happy Holidays and be safe out there this season.
Flying down to see my family in North Dakota for the holidays and will swing in and introduce myself to the people that made me the parts. Hopefully get this straightened out. .
After you "discuss" the problem of the lost parts and who might be responsible... be sure and let us know if you need bail or anything!
Good morning and Happy New Year Trappers. Back on task building traps and even doing a little trapping. Went down South for the holidays visiting family and met with my new stamp company. Thanks for the offer of bail money Pete but didn't need it. Went rather well but still haven't seemed to get the who's responsible for paying for the extra made parts yet. Clean operation for sure but the shipping side of it sure could use some tightening up. Back up and running in the shop though putting in 10 hour days. Did make it out on the line and got a little gear out. For some reason my get up and go got up and went not allowing me to get much gear out. I was kind of glad as we had some serious winds for a few days and would have put a bunch out of commission. Was happy to see lots of moose, caribou, grouse (Spruce, Ruffed and Sharptails), ptarmigan and good pockets of hares this year. Followed a big wolverine all the way up the creek. Seemed to be just covering country and not really marking or hunting. The wolves were doing the same thing, just covering country, no pee posts or splitting up hunting, running right down the creek. Left some pee posts out for them and hung a few snares. Didn't see much for marten sign at least not as much as I expected after not trapping them very hard last year. 1st shed of the season on the trail to Pee Post Pass. Saw a couple bulls still carrying antlers. Not a lot of snow but deep in some places. Like here for instance where I spent the better part of an hour digging out . Picked up this wolf pup the pack killed in the flats. A runt of the litter right on the trail. Thought it was a coyote at first until I saw the size of the paws. The first check yielded a coyote caught in two snares. His partner was pretty savvy and chewed up of a snare. Had a few days of beautiful weather and was able to work on the trail a bit. Ended up picking up that wolverine in the Catch-all set with nothing but a Kill-Squeak for bait. Same set as I caught the 3 lynx on last season. Caught a lot of fur of this set but this old boy tore it up more than all the critters I'd caught combined, 31# old male wolverine. Real nice color for my trapline but pretty short hair. Weather was getting bad so I bailed out of their. Wind picked up and drifted that new snow into some inconvenient places. Happy to get out of there and back to the truck. Tanana crossing was great. Got the ATA Fur Auction and Fling coming up quickly so starting to prepare for that . It is the Alaska Trappers Association's 50th Anniversary this year. It ought to be a good one for sure. Gonna start selling my blood, maybe some guns and some other stuff to get moneyed up for the Fling Auction. We have some really nice items this year. You all be safe out there this season
Great to see you back on the line and producing #9's again! Starting the trapping season out with a wolverine isn't a bad start. Those soft deep pockets that swallow your sled are no fun at all.
Good luck selling blood and renting yourself out to raise funds for the fling auction items. LOL.
Welcome back JR., you catch many coyotes out there? I would think the wolves would keep them in check. How is that coyote fur? I caught one once years ago outside of Fairbanks and the furbuyer said they weren't worth anything because Alaska coyotes fur is to coarse. We don't have coyotes out where i'm at so just wondering what folks are doing with them and if they're able to sell them.
That's a great looking wolverine JR. What kind of a set is that ?
The ol' arm stretcher set.
Glad you are back out there. We found a dead wolf in the middle of the trail a couple years back. It got chewed on pretty good. Figured it was on the wrong end of some misunderstanding in the ranks and had to be eliminated.
What is the best drop off point for auction furs now that the Tannery is no more?
I've looked at a couple of the new #9s that you make, including one you donated to the F4WM auction at the Wolfer Summit last year (Thanks for your support!) but don't recall if the ones you are making are center swiveled or not? I've got three older ones that were made before you owned it and one has been modified center-swiveled while the other two have the chain off the end of the crosspiece opposite the dog. Those are actually nicer to bed, but I had a moose in one of them a couple weeks back and it bent that crosspiece so that I had to straighten it (Not a big deal, since I wasn't resetting it, might have been a bit more difficult on the line but I'm sure I could have managed).
Smalltime.... I will be the receiving agent for all the furs and antlers for the ATA auction
Bearcat2.... All my #9's are center swiveled. It can be a pain to bed with the swivel right in the center but seemed to have the best results if they get tangled up. Just have to dig your beds a little deeper. The old connection is pretty hard on feet with a solid anchor and harder on the frames with a moose.
Victor#0... I have quite a few coyotes out there. Pretty cagy critters and really hard on the sheep population. Pretty blessed to have good fur on almost all my critters and they sell very well at our ATA auction. $40-$75 raw and $100 tanned. They stay high in sheep country when the wolves are around the valley but I catch them on the cameras around the cabins and baits pretty often.
white17... That is my Catch-all set. Just a open root under a big spruce tree at the base of a ridge on the creek. The past couple years I just put a Kill-Squeak (battery operated squeaker) in the root, no lure or bait. Seems to work.
White17.... He hung himself. Climbed the tree and jumped over a limb
Victor#0... They seem to last most of the season but they freeze when it's colder than 25 below. Then they thaw out and work again when it warms up. Kinda like my trail cams. I did have the squirrels pack one off but I found it 15 yards away still squeaking. The coyote has looked in the cubby but hasn't approached within the danger zone a few times.
Dean loaned me one of his squeakers. I put it too close to a kill and it didn't work for me. That was many moons ago and I learned how to deal with a kill since!
Greetings Trappers from a balmy Fairbanks AK. Our little cold snap broke and she is plum hot out now. In my defense, 30 above is 80 degrees hotter than the minus 50 we had last week. Came back from the mountains yesterday with a little fur. Guess I'll back up. Last week I picked up this 101# male in a pee post a couple miles from my cabin. He looked good in the sled but looks great on the board. The caribou numbers are up in the flats and the wolves left a path of destruction. Would love to leave some blind trail sets but the caribou fill up the trail. Picked up a few antlers while breaking trail into the higher country. Heavy overflow this year and imagine I will be chopping traps out next week. Ended up catching a bull moose calf in a #9 held fast. Momma was creating quite a problem so I went to town to re-tool. The next day with the right tool, the release when pretty well with all parties involved leaving mostly unharmed. I try my best not to put gear where the moose and caribou travel and these stump and rock pee posts work great. The problem is, if they are on a bend or a curve, the moose and caribou may cut the corner and get caught. These stump or log posts that I have been using for years are now starting to sprout and grow. The moose like those succulent new shoots growing up. Still learning.... After the release, I was pretty beat and believe a good stiff drink was in order at the cabin. Got a fire going and decided to run up and get water for the cabin. Being half way to Pee Post Pass, I decided to run up there and check. Wolf #2 was waiting for me. Missed on the other 2 posts. One post they seemed nervous by and the other they came in from the top. 98# male. Put a Skidoo trunk on my Expedition this year. Built a rack for the top. This is a big box and you can put a bunch of gear in it. Makes it a lot harder to pick it back up on to it's track when tipped over. Putting the 2nd wolf and a lynx on the board today. Hope everyone is having a productive and safe season. The ATA 's 50th Anniversary is this year and the annual Fling is coming up fast. Hope to see some of you there. Should be a good one.
Good deal on the release of the moose! Always hate messing with them when they get hung up, glad momma was still there to! Nice looking wolves! Hope you get a few more!
Good deal on the release of the moose! Always hate messing with them when they get hung up, glad momma was still there to! Nice looking wolves! Hope you get a few more!
Funny, I had to release one this year, and I was very glad momma WASN'T still there. Those 9's will really hold anything they grab, you need to be careful where you set them. I got a couple strictly as deep snow traps, with the intention of only setting them in the deep snow where the game has moved down, but of course this year we have had less snow than we have for over twenty years and I got antsy and set one blind in a trail where I hadn't seen any game sign for a couple weeks.
Nice wolves and nice catches. I know what you are saying about big boxes, I've had to unload mine before to be able to flip the snowmachine back on its track by myself.
That was a decent trap check with a couple good sized wolves. Glad to hear you were able to free that moose and you survived the incident unscathed. Hate doing the moose rodeo! Darn caribou sure like to mess up great ideas on wolf sets.
Good stuff JR. Glad the moose rodeo went alright. I hate those. Had one pop out of a snare this year while I was contemplating my release plans. Thanks for posting.
Good evening Trappers. At home building 9's and loading up to haul some freight this next week. Crazy weather has put a lot of gear out of commission. Ended up pulling a lot of gear this last week. Had a lot of gear melted out and hope I didn't educate too many wolves. Even my white traps melted out in the mid and high 40's above zero especially with 30- 40 mph winds. Lots of chopping gear out of the overflow this trip. Some I retrieved, others Just tripped and pulled up and will pick up later this spring after they melt out. I used to just cut the chains and take the trap. Got some mineral rich overflow and the caribou seem to love this stuff. Ol Dave MIller comes over quite regularly to play cribbage and keep me in line so I took the opportunity to make my already big wolves look huge.... Fur Rondy is going on in Anchorage and our ATA Fur Auction and Fling is coming up quick. I don't have much fur this year but lots of antlers. Temps are suppose to be dropping this next week so hopefully I can get some gear working again. Good luck and be safe out there and remember if you are not a member of your local and or National Trapping Association, join today. I need some ice cream ....
This is the first time I've seen that melted froze over snow look everywhere . A frozen ice base for new snow to coat. The colours on the overflows always have me fascinated, especially that red one. Seeing your rig resting on them catches my breath . Stay safe, Iron Man.
Thank you, ST. No matter what the weather, the mountains will be wonderful.
I am ready. And quite happy in excitement to go. JR will take good care in keeping me safe.
I have wanted to attend the Fling for some years . I'll have some original art to donate to the auction also.
I want to help tow the line and not be too much of a tourist ... well, a little tourist , but a lot of helping. All fun for me. I feel the time is going to fly way too fast.
I snoozed too long on tickets and the fling is sold out. Some of you folks will have to share some pics! I'll try to get to the auction, might see you there.
Now that is a froze down trap! Sounds like you're dealing with our weather, I'm usually jealous of the cold, dry snow you get to deal with. Not of the overflow though.
Thats a huge change in weather for you all and a big pain in the arse. I feel for you chopping all those traps out of the ice. I always forget to pull the goggle down before starting to chop.
Never seen so much colored overflow like that. I only run into small sections of it.
Good evening Trappers. Hauled a couple loads of freight out to the mountains this past week. My Expedition was still down with a fuel sock issue so I borrowed my buddies. 23 Expedition 900 Turbo. Stupid power but he had about $4000 worth of shocks and springs on this thing. It rode so plush, it made my machine feel like you're riding a Elan. Crazy smooth. The Turbo is crazy loud and ridiculous power. Weather was great when on the way out there but dropped off pretty quickly. What little gear I had out wasn't very efficient. Lost a wolf on the same post I caught the last wolf on . Froze in I imagine and fired slow. Missed on several others. And then I caught well almost caught my wolverine..... Caught his bait we was packing off. Man can they haul off some bait. The wolf snares were 2 feet off the ground after the high temps a couple weeks ago so he was able to walk under them. Ended up pinching him in a MB750 in a cubby which held him for a little while but boy howdy did he get smart quick. Saw a couple different wolverine tracks this trip. Not sure where the big wolf pack went but didn't see sign of them and the moose were happy about that. Spent a lot of time in the cabin when it got cold. Ended up picking up my female wolverine across the creek from the cabin. Just about lost her. She chewed that 1/16" cable up. First one I had chew like this after I started using the Senneker triggered kill springs. She turned out good on the board. Been working around the shop getting caught up on some projects. Time to weld up the skags on my sled. Put a rail around the top of my trailer for tying stuff down. Probably haul that out this weekend. Guys are slowly dropping off fur and antlers for ATA auction. Going to get busy next week. Sharon gets in on Friday and we will probably head for the trapline Saturday. Weather is looking pretty good. An old trapper buddy of mine stopped by this morning and gave me a couple of his Newhouses off his line for my collection. That will put a smile on your face. Hope to see some of you next week at the Fur auction and Fling.
Small world..... while I was in your shop last night, you were brandishing the new rails for your "crap wagon!" And those NH DLS's were right there on the bench! And now first thing I see on T-man this morning is these pictures!
Sounds like a lucky gulo you have slinking around out there. Maybe Sharon will be your luck charm. Funny he didn't pause to recover the bone from the snare, might have spooked him I guess. I had a couple misses on wolves last week too, I guess it happens to you pros as well!
I might have some antlers to add to my ticket, will see how next week goes. Good luck out there!
Boco.. that is a coyote the chewed that 1/16" cable. I have caught wolves in those snares accidentally but killed the quick with a triggered kill spring. My coyotes seem to be real chewers though....
Gotcha Howler,thanks for the response. I had a bunch of beaver snarepoles stacked(not set up for anything) behind the outhouse at the camp and heard a ruckus one night,went out to check and there was a young wolf tangled in the brush with 3 beaver snares on his feet and a couple long poles all wrapped up,lol. One fellow here was experimenting with 1\16 1x19 with kill springs for wolf,but he lost too many.I tried the same with 5/64 and was not happy with the results.We did not have the senneker style triggered springs back then just the amberg coil spring and wedge lock. Went back to the 3 32. Some guys still like the 1/8.
I've had FAR more issues with coyotes chewing snares than with wolves doing it. I have surmised that wolves just concentrate on pulling away. Coyotes are more devious and will try ANYTHING to get loose!
Greeting Trappers from a Hot and Dusty Fairbanks. Came off the line yesterday for the final crossing this season. Loosing snow fast and the Tanana had a lot of water on top of the ice. Got done doing a freight run for some friends and pulled the rest of the gear. Well wait, better back up.... Had Sharon out on the line with me before the Fling and Fur Auction. We ran back out after my auction duties were finished and some awesome weather awaited us. Had a great time with her. She had a unique interest and fear of the overflow. With a little help and education of the what, when's and why's of overflow, she was running around on it like an ol Pro.... I left her on the sled when I went up closing up snares on the Kill Ridge. She is sitting on the Expedition at the bottom of the glaciering creek. The wolves were trying to get caught but my gear was froze fast. Lots of that, super frustrating. They went up to the bait station but didn't go in and then made a kill right on the trail. Didn't set any snares due to the warm weather. We went up into the high country looking for sheds but there was still a lot of snow. Riding was awesome even riding double. Thought this was the perfect snare but the stopped a few yards short of wearing a necklace and ending up on a stretcher. With a day of rest and relaxation, Sharon went to work doing what she does. Her art is incredible and it was really nice to see her in her element. In short order she had drawn the ridge across the creek from the cabin. I will pick up a little frame and it will hang at the cabin along with a wolverine print she did for me a couple years ago. We found a caribou shed on the trail heading for the truck Got Sharon back to town and on a plane home to go back to work. Thank you Sharon for a wonderful time and was glad to share some of the Great Land with you as someone who appreciates the land in all her beauty.
Took a buddy of mine out the next day after Sharon left to haul some freight. 50 degrees and a little wind was making the snow leave fast. After the freight was delivered, we went playing. The trail was leaving fast on this end and the Tanana was a little sketchy. Didn't stop to take any pics of it though. Will fly back out and close up the cabin next week if it stays this warm.
The snow went fast this year. I pulled the rest of my gear Saturday, it was a sloppy mess by the time I got back. It looks like you had a good parade on the way in!
I had a wonderful time, JR. Thank you for your kind invitation. Sure enjoyed meeting so many good people , and enjoying all the events you helped me to attend. It was fun to be a bit of a tourist, as well as helping to take up the slack.
I would not change a thing , except the time went way too fast. Thank you for watching out for me, that I was kept safe enough , without injury, whilst still enjoying the pace of life lived to the full. A bit of speed driving is good for the heart
Flying back, I was put in the worst seat on the plane. I couldn’t see anything out the window. After all boarded, I saw a seat that would be perfect . I changed seats and happily observed the Alaskan Ranges in clear, full sun all the way down. The dimensions and valleys, the vast ice fields went by all too fast. I couldn’t believe so few passengers didn’t give a hill of beans about enjoying the mountains out their windows. I felt I was the only one on the plane watching below, with exception of the pilots.
! hope all is well man! I'm rotating shifts this week, was hoping to stop by with Adam but it sounds like he beat me to the punch at the meetin.
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Got a little bonus seeing this pretty little blonde griz sow taking advantage of the long fall feeding on some blueberries ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2018/12/full-20036-431144-img_7960.jpg)
Ok back to Homer..and the Kings.. oh the Kings. I'm not much of a fisherman but it sure was fun trolling for salmon with a couple good guys. Learned a lot on fishing and putting them up. Thank you Len and John. I'll be back.. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2018/12/full-20036-431145-img_0986.jpg)
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Finally loaded the Jeep on the ferry and on to Kodiak. Spent a lot of time down there but always flew out remote and camped. This time I planned on bowhunting the road system for deer, Mountain goat and Brown bear. The ladder of the three on registration permits. Deer season closed so I concentrated on goats and bears. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2018/12/full-20036-431148-img_8374.jpg)
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My wolverine had some sort of rub or something going on. Pretty disappointed when i noticed this ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2019/01/full-20036-435442-img_1529.jpg)
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Decided to spend another day at the cabin and get everything peeled before heading to town. Not much fun carrying whole wolves through the overflow. Skin them when they are thawed is my motto. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2019/01/full-20036-435473-img_1470.jpg)
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Snared a cross also and the hips were already rubbed. On down the trail and caught this goofy looking little guy in a Bridger #3 protecting a cat cubby. 72 pound male pup. This is why we have leash laws in Alaska. Threw the collar in the woods and put this German Shepard on the stretcher. Pretty odd colored pup. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2019/02/full-20036-437627-img_1664.jpg)
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Got some work to do on the Tundra and heading back out on Wednesday to try to catch a few more dogs
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Found a wolf kill right by the cabin. Figured they must have killed this in December before I got out there and the warm sunshine thawed it out for the ravens.![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2019/03/full-20036-2781-img_1962.jpg)
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They wanted nice but not too fancy so this is what I came up with. Been working on a few little stoves for guys but haven't had the time to finish them.![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2019/11/full-20036-22187-img_2676.jpg)
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Ran down stream checking and putting out more gear. Riding the Expedition 900 and loving it. Missed on a couple sets but not as much activity as expected. Headed for the truck and arrived at 5:30 pm and home by 6:45. 108 miles on the truck and 122 miles on the sled round trip all in the daylight. I love the spring. My buddy came in at 2:30 the next morning. Got the wolf peeled the next day and took it with us out to the cabin to put it up. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/03/full-20036-41917-img_3144.jpg)
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The overflow was rising fast in some spots so had to chop out a few #9's. I always wait a day or two too long.![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2021/01/full-20036-77610-img_4115.jpg)
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Met some really great people and learned a lot of their culture. Weather was very cool and 38 degrees was cold up there with the wind and moisture off the ocean. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2021/07/full-20036-102211-img_e4724.jpg)
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Broke camp early the next morning and headed for the truck. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2021/10/full-20036-109918-img_5532.jpg)
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One would always be looking out for danger while the other was feeding. The only danger I was seeing was other marten pairs coming in. Got the marten all put up and getting ready to head back out. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2022/01/full-20036-124583-img_5871.jpg)
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He tried his best to get into this pee post but the 4" crust wouldn't allow it. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2022/02/full-20036-125807-img_5913.jpg)
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17 pound female young of the year. By far the smallest wolverine I've ever caught and she makes the 5th female I've taken. That doesn't make me happy but unavoidable for sure. I seem to have quite a few wolverine on the line this year as I cut 3 more on the ride out to the truck. Left a couple MB750's in good locations for them. Looked to be a couple big males. Speaking of male female ratios, I have taken 7 female marten of the 25 total I have caught so far this season. After talking with Gulo and White17 for a bit, I was thinking maybe it was because of all the snow making my pole sets closer to the ground. Maybe the ice layer in the snow is not allowing the marten to go under the snow to hunt and they are out of options. One thing I know is I don't like catching those little females marten or wolverine. That is kind of ironic since I don't care if I catch a female wolf or coyote, the fact is, I'd rather catch a female wolf and coyote. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2022/02/full-20036-125829-img_5920.jpg)
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The Tanana pack came back in and missed on one post somehow... ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2022/02/full-20036-129714-img_6013_2.jpg)
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Be placing an order for parts for 500 traps today and back building 9's this fall. Dang does that feel good. Been a stressful 8 months in search of a new manufacturing company. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-20036-178579-img_0396_1.jpeg)
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Got the ATA Fur Auction and Fling coming up quickly so starting to prepare for that . It is the Alaska Trappers Association's 50th Anniversary this year. It ought to be a good one for sure. Gonna start selling my blood, maybe some guns and some other stuff to get moneyed up for the Fling Auction. We have some really nice items this year. You all be safe out there this season
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Guys are slowly dropping off fur and antlers for ATA auction. Going to get busy next week. Sharon gets in on Friday and we will probably head for the trapline Saturday. Weather is looking pretty good. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2024/03/full-20036-210781-img_1454.jpeg)
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We went up into the high country looking for sheds but there was still a lot of snow. Riding was awesome even riding double. ![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2024/03/full-20036-213110-img_1624.jpeg)
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Got Sharon back to town and on a plane home to go back to work. Thank you Sharon for a wonderful time and was glad to share some of the Great Land with you as someone who appreciates the land in all her beauty.
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