First Marten!

Finally got my first one. Tried all last year with no success, did a lot of refining based on tons of research including this site and got my first catch after 2 days.

Congratulations Bob! Looks like a nice male, huh? Way to go, man!

Jack

Nice. I want one of those. Can’t seem to find any down here in the sagebrush though.

Nice that's my dream

You'll be hooked now.Nice catch.

Way to go!

Very good! What kind of a set did you catch it in? Box with a conni or...?

Boco, I was hooked the first time I was hiking through 2 feet of snow in -5 degree weather as the sun rose and the wolves were singing. I didn't need to catch a marten for that.

IDTrapman, yes a box and coni set.

Congrats on the marten, I am hoping for my first marten or fisher, I set some traps out on my friend's farm in the M/F zone and am praying!

Congratulations!

Maybe next year for me...

Congrats! I'm still working on my first. Very determined this year!

Nice marten.Congrats

Great Job ! way to stay with it !!

First one is beginners luck, now it's a successful season!

Looks like you broke the ice catching that 1st one and you got her figured out now! Good for you.

How'd the put-up go with that 1st one? Any pics?

Way to go.Congrats

Great work Bob. I’m envious. I’ve always wanted to do that.

thumbs up buddy, great job

Awesome. We don't have them my neck of the woods

Great job!

Now you may want to try to hang them away from tree though. Avoid getting sap/resin/pitch in fur

But awesome job

Yes, starvalley, I have modified since this catch to get them to swing away, I realized the mistake when I walked up to this one.

Pulled numbers 5, 6 and 7 today. What a great year it's been!

Way to go Bob!

Good Job!

Great job Bob! I got my first as well this year, I was instantly hooked as soon as I saw that first one hanging there.

That's great 83401! I know earlier in the thread you said you were trying for your first this year, how long have you been trying for one?

Congrats

So,....was there one major change? Or a combination of many little changes? Inquiring minds want to know.

Circumstances: Last year we got hammered with snow and as I don't have a snow machine I was walking my lines, resulting in 2 lines of about 1 mile each. This year has been unseasonably mild, so I have been running lines closer to 15 miles on the ATV.
Bait: Last year I was using a commercial bait, this year I have been using meat (pork). I saw a couple refusals at the box last year, didn't see that this year.
Lure: I have always used a skunky lure outside and above the box, this year I added a sweet lure in the box with the bait.
Anchoring: I was kind of "hanging" the traps on screws, and the traps were knocked out a couple times. I made brackets for the conis this year.

Might be a few more things, but those are the ones that stand out.

Pork for marten bait; that's a new one for me.
You don't have beaver in Idaho:) Or, maybe pork is the new secret bait for marten; who knew?

I know a guy that traps over 100 marten each season,all he uses is butcher scraps from the local meat cutter.He picks up a box once a week.He prefers beef cuttings but uses everything in the box.

We have plenty of beaver in Idaho, it's just a little light right around me as I live in a pretty mountainous area without a ton of good beaver habitat and I have not been able to put the time in to catch a couple for bait. I ordered some "perfectly tainted" beaver meat online and it turned out to be more like "rotten", so not what I was looking for. Pork was the cheap meat the day I went into the market looking, so that is what I gave a shot.

Although beaver is the preferred bait by many for fisher and marten, as it is a lure unto itself, they are opportunistic hunter/ scavengers which prey on a wide variety of animals including hares, grouse, squirrels, birds and their eggs, berries, mice and voles and CARRION. Thus any bait, along with a decent lure to draw then to the bait, will generally work.

OK, I've gotten such great feedback so far, I'm going to put this out there. Here is my put up from beginning to end. I know it's tough to glean too much from a single phone pic, but please give me any feedback you have.

Many years ago a fur grader suggested I should wrap the back legs around the board edges. He said he wants to see fur only when he grades marten. This may not make any difference at the sale but if the grader likes the look of the pelt he won't look hard for defects. I have been putting them up this way for years and the finished product definitely looks good. I also use wire mesh on the tail and tack the split front legs to thick cardboard for quick drying. Wrapping the back legs around the board edge also feels to be a natural fit. Square off your butts and center your pelts better than the 4th to the right. You should also use a belly stick when boarding marten for ease in removing pelts

Your marten look good,one is a bit off center it looks like.
I pin the back legs on the belly side like yours.When you pin the back legs on the belly side,dont pull them down-that will thin the fur in the flank where the grader feels for weight.Pin them just where they hang loose.

Man, you guys have some great looking fur! Thanks for the feedback.

I will say Boco puts up some nice fur....it's an art, I don't have...yet....

Brushing or combing fur(lightly) helps with the presentation.If you ship to auction they drum fur before grading to fluff it up and show any defects.