2021 Mn Marten/Fisher Season

Well I am considerably more excited for this season than ones in prior years as I have been too busy this year to set a trap yet. Normally I have caught a handful of beaver, k9 and coon but not this year.

I also have three cages on the way along with a couple of dvd’s and some lure for cats. Pretty excited about this addition to our line and the possibility of catching our first cat!

One week from today we’ll be in the fur shed at the cabin preparing for the morning set!

One week from yesterday the young men from the metro area will be up to set up camp. I don't have a lot of my prep work done either, but I am setting great for bait. I will say that in the area we trap the marten/fisher sign is way down. Last year was crazy, so this will be a more normal year I think. Good luck to anyone going after them!
Jim

K9 good luck hope you guys can get a cat,work is keeping me busy this year,hoping to catch one or two cats close to home and maybe a marten.Think I will be able to get out this sunday and look for a little sign.Jim good luck to you and the young men again,330 was planning on coming up this year a few things changed God willing we will try to get 330 a cat and marten,I should have more time next year as well.Good luck trapper's.

I have been out looking for sign and have put in a couple of cubbies. Looks like we have a few fisher in the area this year and have found some pretty good size cat tracks. Going to try and get things prepared this weekend so it goes a little easier next weekend. Good luck everyone.

Home from work,heading out to see what cat sign I see might put out a couple of trail cams out as well.

I've caught and released 4 martin so far this year, all nice large males. Tough to keep them out of my coyote sets but probably won't be able to come close to catching one once the season opens. Been seeing some cat sign and hope to catch one here around home. Rick helped me catch my first one last year but hope to catch one solo this year. I put out two bait piles this week but not sure if anything will hit them with this warmer weather. Still going to make a good show of it though!

Has anyone in NW Ontario sold any marten to GFW this weekend when they are making the rounds; to see what the base price is ? (CND is 84% of USD now)

Checked the 3 baits I had out Tim the one that we had 2 cats on it last year nothing yet birds and a coyote,2nd bait had a fox,coyote,marten and a cat,3rd bait just birds so far.I put a trail cam on each one so I might get a photo or two of some critters,saw one place where a marten crossed the road 3 times in about a 150 yards,a friend of mine son might be interested in trying to catch a marten.It's within a mile of there house so it would be nice for him to check after he gets off the bus.Tomorrow i'm going to check my one and only coyote bait I have out been 2 1/2 weeks or more since I started it,might be a yote or two on it.

Things have been awful slow around here with little if any sign. Warm weather predicted this week probably won't help much. Checked out a new place today with some older cat and fisher tracks so hauled out deer carcass. With any luck I hope to see some action later this week. Had one of my cameras die on me so am relying on the old fashion way of telling whats going on.

Went back out today, checked three baits and surprised there is nothing on any of them. Found some coyote sign and put in a few snares. No new fisher or cat sign. Things have slowed down here also. Snapped the traps I had out in the open. They keep drifting over. Need to move back in the timber now.

Well I managed to catch a fisher in a mink set I put out yesterday. That's #6 so far this season. Murphys law will come into play next week when I'll be putting a few sets out for fisher and won't catch anything but fox and coyote. We need to increase the limit on them as well as extend the season. They are thick around here!

That's what I here a lot. There are more fishers in the farming area more than in the big forested area. Years ago I couldn't keep them out of canine sets. Now I am happy to find a set of tracks.

Getting my cat traps and weasel boxes ready. Putting out the weasel boxes and some beaver traps on Friday and then laying out all the cat traps on Saturday. Thinking it's going to be a good season.

Good luck K9man shares a good thread with his kids trapping each year,I will not make a bobcat,marten thread this year as I will have the smallest line out ever.Hope everyone will post there success on this thread,looking forward to some great adventure pictures,6 days and counting!!!

Well, I did a check tonight and we have 4 baits being hit hard by cats, and about the same number hit by just marten so far.

Found a road kill deer that made it back into the brush. The cats have found it also and looks more like mama and kittens. Probably will Stay away from that but keep an eye on it to see if a bigger cat shows up.

Think I will check the trail cams thursday,only one bait is getting hit by a bobcat,only 3 baits out.Trail cams are almost as fun as trapping.

Friar, that’s good news!

Rick, I agree with you on the cams, We run a good amount of them for deer and I get a lot of satisfaction from getting the pictures of mature deer!

I will definitely be running cameras next trapping season when I can get a few baits out.

Getting closer guys!
First load ready to haul to camp Thursday.
MB alphas, drags, Snares, 120 boxes, 160 boxes, 120 belisle, and 160 belisle.

Looks like FUN Jim,you and the young men will have a blast again.I was able to get around this evening an check trail cams one bobcat and a fox on one,nothing on the other two yet,saw 4 marten tracks in my short little loop.

Warm weatherdown here has all but melted our snow and kept the critters holed up for now. Still nothing on my bait piles but not giving up hope. Jim, hope you and the boys have a good time up there again this year. Looking forward to seeing lots of catch pictures.

Here’s a few pictures and a very hot crossing fox bobcat otter and a marten

Rick, your killing me.....

No cats on your cat location from last year yet,1 coyote so far that lone wolf has'nt showed up there like last year.Guessing one of those cats will be there sooner or later with the ravens making noise.

Well the sleds are loaded, tomorrow loading traps and bait then hitting the road early Friday after doughnuts with dad at the elementary school

Love the look of that sled K9man! Hope we get some fresh snow. Good luck, and post pics.
Jim

Looks good safe travels really looking forward to the adventure pictures to come,here's to orange throat patches,those silver tipped hairs and those spots.3 days to trap setting,good luck to all the trapper's and all the smile's of the younger kids and the adults.

This was purchased from a builder as a partially assembled kit and then shipped to us, we finished the assembly.

https://northerntoboggan.com/products/the-box-freight-sled

Well an exciting and fun trip is almost a guarantee, I’m not liking the weather forecast for us as far as expecting great marten/fisher movement.

Good thing is I know nothing about bobcats and have no idea what to expect with the weather forecast and their movement

John's shop is 4 miles from my place,John and his kids are great people and have been making great products since the 90's.

Well, the young men and their father made it up and set up camp today.
Another year is about to begin. We will be looking at the baits and hanging a few more if we find more sign. As the years go by it is rewarding to see them wanting to try some new things, some of which I have tried with little success but I try to bite my tongue and let them experiment. Some of their ideas are something that I never thought of and I get to now learn from them.
I hope everyone that is traveling tomorrow has save travels, and enjoyable trapping.
Jim

Good luck to everyone safe travels mine will be very short 4 miles to the bobcat location 3 miles to the marten location and 2.5 miles to the other bobcat location if they start coming to the location.Hoping to break in one of the Jake's on a bobcat or two.

I am hoping to see how the alphas perform. I really enjoy setting them.

Those Alpha's should be a good cat trap,I have 3 marten boxes loaded 155's and bait and a couple of Jake's with 10' chain and Sabertooth drags.Lure,waxed dirt,leaves wax paper etc.all ready for my long line this year.As of today only one bait out of three has a cat on it,I'll keep bait at the other one and see if a cat shows,about 3.5 miles to the cat bait being hit and 3 marten locations are 3 miles and 4 miles the long line this year lol.Hope to break in the Jake's on a cat this season,I have 2 set for coyotes as we speak nothing for the first two checks there at the one and only coyote bait I have out,birds found the new bait that I put out two days ago so with thi colder temps the coyotes should be back by this weekend I'm guessing.Should be able to check the long line in 1 hour or less the coyote bait is the other direction and about 3.5 miles north.Good luck to everyone,hope you guys see spots and orange throat patches and those silver tipped guard hairs.

We actually made good time today and got to the cabin early enough to get one otter set out and Jacob got one weasel box out.

Breakfast sure is going to taste good tomorrow, I love opening day!

It must be a sickness, but still after 40 years, I have a heck of a time getting to sleep the night before Opener!

A sickness for sure 43 years here,but it's a good sickness pass it on!

Checked my baits stations today and found coyote tacks by one but it looks like they where chasing deerand showed no interest in the carcasses. Will set up the ol' Olson mind field around it tomorrow in hopes that if the cat doesn't come by then maybe a yote or two will. Fishers have been a real pain in my butt this season having released 6 so far this fall. Bet if I put out a few boxes for them I'll still catch them in a coyote set. Hope to put all that information Rick taught me last year to good use and see if I can score a cat this year!

Good morning trapper's it's time for breakfast then go play in the winter wonder land,good luck to all the trapper's take a kid if you can and pass it on.Tim thinking you'll find those southern spots this year.

Well, caught my first legal fisher for the season this morning in a coyote set. As thick as they have been this year I am convinced that if I want to catch a fisher I need to make a set for any critter other than fisher, guaranteed to catch one then! We got about an inch of new snow last night but the only tracks I found where deer, turkey and squirrel. I set up the Olson mine field for cat's and coyotes today using an Alpha in a cubby and 8 snares by one of my bait stations. I had originally planned to put out 4 fisher boxes but decided to only put out two since I have already met half my quota for the season. I'm like you Rick in only putting out a short line this year mostly for cats and coyotes.

Got out setting up my long line this morning at 10:30 after I was done with work.Set up one bobcat location with 2 Jakes on a blind trail set heading to the cubby and one Jake at the entrance of the cubby,plus three marten boxes I did hang a couple of coyote snares today as well.Guessing I will be able to check the long line in an hour or less,with catches it will be over an hour lol.The bait station I had out for coyotes produced today two came through and one stayed behind the other one refused a snare about 40' from his dead partner.When I got home a little after noon I put a deer roast in the crock pot,another hour and a half it will be dinner time.Hope everyone had a good day setting up their trapline today,here's to some catch pictures over the next few days.

Well it happened. Caught my first legal fisher of the season in a coyote set this morning. As a result I didn't set as many fisher boxes as I had originally planned. Set up my Olson mine field around one of my bait stations in hopes of scoring a cat or coyote. New snow last night didn't show much for sign but they'll be back and I'll be ready!

Here’s a few pics from today,hope there are some catch photos tomorrow

Had a great experience today, not because of anything I did, but because of another trapper that traps in the same general area. As the years are going by, the young men that I trap with are doing more and more by themselves. Over Thanksgiving they came up and put in a few baits. When they told me where they had set, I told them that they would have to move one of them, because it was too close to where another trapper usually has a bait. Even though he had not placed any baits, I asked them to move it so it would be open for him.
Fast forward to this afternoon. I had to leave the woods to get ready for church. I received a text from them happily telling me that they ran into that trapper shortly after I left and that he gave them some more beaver for bait. Without knowing it, he reinforced for them the need to work with those trapping in the area instead of working against them!
Lots of cat sign today, and got a few cat sets in, and a good amount of fisher and marten sets in.
Jim

It’s always good to work together!

We got a late start this morning after breakfast, only got one spur of the line set today. So far we have 2 weasel boxes, 2 fisher sets, 3 otter sets and 4 marten sets out.

Will set the next spur tomorrow and do our first check on Monday. There are three sets that we can check on the way out tomorrow that I’m sure we’ll peek at

I love this thread. It exemplifies all of us that insist we don't trap for the money.
Of course we like to follow our pelts through the process, and hope for a good price, but that is really a very small part of the whole experience.
With all due respect to those that actually depend on trapping to make ends meet, the recreational trappers know the joy of success, the heartache of dis-appointment, and the sleepless nights thinking of the next check.
Good luck to you all!

Morning temps got down to -10 last night,but warmed up during the night 7 above now.A few hours from now we will see if the bobcat returned and see if any martens are suitcased.Along with a few coyote snares that i put out to see if they came down any of the their trails.Good luck to everyone look forward to seeing a few catch pictures later today and camp fire lunches.

Bacon is frying and I got the heat on in the boathouse warming up today’s trapping supplies and drying gloves. Excited for today’s set, have never caught a marten on the line we are going to set today and excited to try and change that. We are expecting to set 2 weasel boxes, 2 fisher sets, 3 cat cages, 3 otter sets and 7 marten sets

Good luck to all that are checking today! Yes pictures please!!!

Alaska Viking, not sure how many people in the lower 48 still trap to make ends meet but it can’t be many, this is a passion of mine that I got my father and kids into and I hope my children keep the tradition going long after I am gone. We can’t risk losing this part of Americas past

Well said,I finished up my short work day now I can go see if there is a bobcat,marten or coyote waiting for me on my long line lol,no new sets will be put in today.Good luck again to everyone thats out and about,hope to share a picture or two later.

Nothing moved last night for me other than a few wolf tracks,we are getting a little snow now tonights going to be a little warmer so some critters should be out and about.Will do a qiuck check tomorrow early then I have to go to Grand Rapids and spend the night,be back early tue to check the long line.Pictur's too come in the next few days.Hope other trappers had some movement last night.

Nothing here and very little moment here as well. Went for a long walk today looking for sign but again no sign. Did put out one more trap and a few more snares. Stopped by a farm I had planned on making a few sets for cats but found out the place has been sold and the new owners have politely declined permission for now but said they would be in touch. Unlikely to get in this season. Hope others had better luck today.

Nothing here and very little moment here as well. Went for a long walk today looking for sign but again no sign. Did put out one more trap and a few more snares. Stopped by a farm I had planned on making a few sets for cats but found out the place has been sold and the new owners have politely declined permission for now but said they would be in touch. Unlikely to get in this season. Hope others had better luck today.

I put out a dozen sets yesterday morning. First time going for marten and fisher, so we'll see if anything connects.

I saw fresh marten tracks near one set, but aside from that one location my hopes are pretty low.

There sure doesn’t seem to be the marten there used to be. Fisher seem to be up significantly. We had fishers on 40 plus bear baits this fall and maybe a dozen marten. Usually it’s the other way around.

I saw zero marten and fisher sign setting out two dozen sets. Lots of mountain ash and hare sign is plentiful. The snow pack hardened up from the inch of rain had so travel should be easy with the dusting of snow we had there should’ve been sign. I’ve been setting in some spots for over 30 years.

Seems to be no shortage of trappers local and non-local.

Our fisher number's are down,but I think it has more to do with they have been extending their range,sound like plenty in central Mn and ND has had a season for maybe 10 years already.Back in the 80's I would release 5-10 caught in fox/coyote sets,the marten started to show up about 1995 from the east,their number's a fair at best the last 3 years.Bobcats really started to make a good strong hold here about 2005,the last few years the numbers are down a little.

Off to a slow start, but we are having fun. Tracks were almost non existent today, but we fortunate enough to break the ice with a big pale buck marten. I never mind not catching much when there is no sign of movement, it's when they are running all over and I strike out that hurts.
Good luck all and have fun.

Well the day sure started out good and then went to crap in a hurry when I made a stupid mistake. I had my eye on a large clear cut that’s about 4-5 years old and they left a buffer of about 100 yards along the creek that ran along one end of it. Well the clear cut is growing back nicely with thick young brush and it’s loaded with bunnies, we put in a cat set in the centers of the one cut and then a fisher leaning pole by the creek. Forgot the safeties on the 220 at the leaning pole but didn’t remember until we were at our next set.

At our next set we unhooked the sled from the snowmachine and I went back for the safeties while dad and Jacob set the next trap. Being in a hurry to get back I was driving faster than I should have been and hit a slope and started to tip and the natural instinct to put your leg out to stop the tip cost me a banged up knee.

I have a compression bandage and ice on it now but can’t bend it at all or walk very good. Needless to say I’ll be at least waiting in the truck if not the cabin for dad and Jacob to do the first check tomorrow.

Good thing I have a expert fire builder with me

I’ve caged quite a few northern bobcats since the Lynx zone came about. You need to get that cage back in a bit of cover and camo it up.
I haul peat moss in coffee cans and use that inside the cage it give good eye appeal.

Sucks about the knee. Heal up.

This is my first year targeting cats and the cage was the obvious choice as I didn’t want to deal with a warden and a lynx in a trap. Not much for info on caging cats in the north woods however I took everything I learned from the western trappers and tried putting it to use. I mean a cat is a cat is a cat. I’m not asking for big numbers, just one stupid one would be nice, haha

There will be lots of experimenting in years to come.

Glad you didn't break anything! It also looks like you gave the lad a pile of good memories!

I never caged a cat but a lot of guys here did for studys with MNR.Lynx will go right into a cage for a chunk of beaver,no different than a walk thru cubby.Bobcat likely the same.

Fresh snow on the ground today, should’ve had the critters on the move. Tomorrow looks like up to 4 more inches inland of Superior. Perfect movement weather.

Ton's of deer, squirrel and turkey tracks but little else this morning. Had a flat tire out in the middle of a swamp and had an interesting time changing it. Took it in to get fixed and stopped counting at 5 pin holes so had to buy a new tire. There goes this years trapping money.

Get a set of General Grabber ATX 10 ply. Best tires I’ve ever owned. Bee. Running them about 11 years on my trucks. Tough tire.

trappers 2021 auto correct used on this post

Best of luck everyone to the remaining part of the season.

My truck has 200K on the clock and I can't justify spending more on tires than the truck is worth.

Interesting day,,,, only made one catch. As I was approaching the box I couldn't figure out what we caught. Turns out we received a gift from one of the other trappers in the area! I laughed for miles after that.


It is a racoon squeeky dog toy!

Friar its good to see you guys all have a good sense of humor and get along with others in the area.

Well today was interesting, we were successful on our first trap checked and then nothing after it. We checked 3 otter sets (2 were froze in so we pulled them) 4 weasel boxes, 2 fisher sets, 1 cat set (wind must have blown door closed) and 7 marten sets.

Took less pictures today as I was confined to the sled or truck depending where we were.

Snow coming tonight/tomorrow so hopefully we have more to report tomorrow!

Friar, Hopefully you are friends with them, I’m too chicken to try something like that with another man’s traps, too many places to be buried in the north woods. Ha ha

K9man,
Everyone that is in this area is like trapping with friends. They know when we hit this spot and I am sure it was placed shortly before we got there so they wouldn't hurt our trapping a bit. Actually I was really happy to see that they were that at ease with me so that they felt comfortable giving me a laugh!

Good evening finished work at 7:30 this evening relaxing in the motel heading for home at 5:30 am.Bobcat hasn’t returned yet didn’t check the 3 marten sets this morning,will check everything tomorrow no coyotes in the few snares I have either.Have a good night been a long day,heading to bed.

Friar, that’s good stuff. I know exactly what you mean, I have four other hobby trappers back home that would do the exact same thing. We all take predator trapping pretty serious the few weeks we do it when we get to do it but could definitely see one of them sticking a stuffy into one of my traps.

I might have to beat them to it!

Good afternoon checked the short line today,had 1 marten in 1 of the 3 boxes I had out,no return on the bobcat now for 3 nights,thinking a Jake will grab a hold of him tonight or tomorrow he's due back,I did pick up a yearling bobcat today in one of my few coyote snare's I have out about 3 miles from the one cat location I have set up,you never know whats going to come down those trails.I will post pictures later today,gotta run now.

Here’s a couple pic’s had 1.5” again last night

Heading over to a neighbors to help him set up a cubby behind their house,I have'nt been back there since last year might catch a marten,fisher or a bobcat.A few weeks ago he thought there was a marten on it,we'll find out shortly,I hope it a fisher they have'nt caught a fisher yet.He's been too busy this fall and winter working like myself,he wants to catch a fisher and an otter and a beaver then he'll have everything but a mink and muskrat to displayed tanned,next year we will have to try for the last 3 critter's if the fisher does'nt happen in the next few days it will be 4 critters.

Got 8-9 inches of snow today. Now the wind picked up. Have a few boxes to check after work. I love checking traps by headlamp with a fresh snow.

Nice catches Rick! Glad to see someone finally connect!

Got about 3" of fluff this morning and not much sign of anything moving. Did find fisher tracks along the river but it never came close to my fisher box. I wasn't entirely skunked today as the last snare I checked held this nice red.

Just got back from the neighbor's place,fresh marten tracks and maybe snowed in cat track mixed in with the deer tracks.That patch of woods would always produce a fisher ten plus years ago,we will see what happens wishing for a fisher for him,but guessing he'll catch his 2nd marten.Great looking fox Tim,heavy and decent color as well,hope we start seeing a few cats being caught on here,Have a great night everyone I think I'm going to take in a HS hockey game in this evening.

So far 4 days without seeing a single fresh cat track, so we are definitely getting closer! The young men caught another big male marten to keep them excited.

Nice work guys, loving the fur pics, checked all the traps today and only had one marten. Very few track in the new snow we got this morning/afternoon 4”-10” depending on where you were. Pulled my last otter trap as it was completely buried under snow.

I’m not feeling very confident the line my boy and I are running is going to produce (never has but gotta try) it’s more fisher territory so hopefully one of them will be waiting for us tomorrow.

Great pictures,went to the hockey game the boys looked sloppy they won 3-0 they beat some really good teams this year,but theyll have to play better than last night to keep their winning streak going 8-0 for now.Hope that bobcat came back last night he's been MIA since season opened he's due back soon.Have a great day everyone and good luck on your traplines.

4th night the bobcat has'nt returned he'll be back tonight or tomorrow night I bet.Picked up a real ugly darker coyote today,hope to see some nice catch pictures later this evening.

Set one more Jake in a blind set today originally I made it for a snare it’s about 25’from the cubby

Was out this evening. Absolutely no fresh sign anywhere. Hopefully things move in the next couple of days. Have Friday off so want to spend sometime in the woods between beaver put ups.

Today was a pretty boring day on the line if there is such a thing. No fur in the traps other than a shrew in a weasel box. We had two refusals (one marten and one mink) must not have wanted to climb the tree. I can only hope the marten was a female then our system would be working. Not sure why the mink refused, they climb trees in Canada all the time. We pulled one whole line and only left seven easy to get to sets out in case dad has to pull alone after we leave.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

My sons birthday is today and is always extra special since it’s at trap camp!

Good ole cake compliments of DQ

Rick, I’m ready for your cat to show back up, hopefully tonight!

Nice,congrats on your daughters limit,happy birthday Jacob.Me to on the cat return I need to break in those Jake's,The marten thawed out so I put up the marten and bobcat from yesterday,yearling went 33" looks like a little fur ball.I will donate that to the MTA Tanned Fur Project along with the marten and some coyotes.Have a great night everyone.

Happy Birthday Jacob! What a great way to spend a birthday!
Great catch pictures MOTR! Bet it'll take a month of Sundays to get that grin of your daughters face!
Caught another coyote in a snare today and seen the tracks of another close by. Might have been a sibling and hope it's waiting got me tomorrow in another snare I have close by. Found fresh fisher tacks by the river thus morning so set up a fisher box under a bridge. Would be nice to close out my season with two, then I can work
my at cat.

Rick/Tim Jacob says thanks.

Tim yote looks heavy

Good luck on today’s checks!

My gut feeling that the cat would return last night was WRONG,another 1.5" of snow last night.Never saw a fresh track this morning,but it was still snowing at 7:30am so there was'nt much time for them to make fresh tracks before I got around.Tomorrow is another day,maybe it will be a Christmas bobcat this year.3 more nights to get one more Marten out of the 3 sets that are out.

Well we just checked our seven sets and had nothing. Going to make two more sets today in a new area.

The lack of squirrels and grouse has me concerned. Hare population is way down too. I guess it never really clicked when I wasn’t hearing red squirrels barking at me while I was setting traps. Usually we see hundreds of squirrels or their piles of chewed up cones but this year nothing. I wonder if they died from disease?

K9man, I spent most of the evening picking burrs out of that butt sniffer and it payed off as he looks good on the boards! Sad to think he may only be worth $15-$20 so will probably send him in to get tanned or donate him to MTA's tanned fur program along with some other furs I have for them. I scored my second and final fisher today and of coarse started seeing all sorts of fisher sign while pulling up all my fisher traps.

Rick, I'm surprised as you for not connecting with that cat yet! As much action you've had earlier I as sure you would have connected by now but then that's trapping for you!

Think I may have found some cat tracks but could never find a clear track to make a positive ID. Was going to make a few cat sets on another piece of property but when I stopped in to touch base with the LO discovered the place had been sold! Nice people but they declined me permission this year since they had just moved in. Had a nice chat with them, gave the dog and their kids a treat (not the same treats mind you) and left them my card. I trap pocket gophers on that farm and offered to continue to do so in hopes of granting permission next year.

As regular as he was before season I thought within 3 days I'd have him,but like you said that's trapping and cats are cats.You cant catch them when they don't come back,he knows there food there he'll be back when he's ready,maybe he wants to be a Christmas cat????????????It's close to home so he will get a ride in the Chevy this year or next year lol.The other location where you got your cat last year,still nothing,but I'm keeping bait there it's a matter of time there too.No traps there yet,that might be a next year cat I'm thinking.

The big bugger finally come back through!!

It took him quite a while.

Yay!! Congrats on a nice looking fisher!

Good deal,like seeing trapper's have success,next catch will have spots,,,,,,

What an interesting week! We started very slow with day after day of no cat movement. Yesterday morning the transmission went out in the young men's truck. Even though the day started out on a sour note, they came onto a bull moose in the forest which made their day! Today was their last day, so we pulled all the marten sets and the farther cat sets. Today was a great day to end with. They landed their 3rd marten and got two cats! They were a couple happy trappers. I left a couple closer cat sets that still haven't had a fresh track since Opener.

Here they are with their father and the two cats.

Congrats Friar!! It is funny how things change so fast.

Maybe somebody else caught it.

That's possible,but I know the other trapper's in the area and they have not caught a cat either.Plenty of wolves around so they could have killed the cat,I've seen that once before.Good news for the young men and their Dad,not the truck problems.Enjoy the rest of the evening.

Rooting for you, as well as the other trappers trying.
Hope everyone has a successful season..

WTG! What a store for those young men to tell around the campfire for years to come!

The bobcat returned turned out to be a female no kittens guessing 21-22lbs last night low temps were in the high twenty’s this morning it was 34 perfect night to catch her I was able to release her added more bait and pulled the traps.So I was able to break in a Jake had her by three toes so no foot damage,hope she can find a mate and make some kittens in the future.

A couple more

That's pretty cool!

Normally it's too cold frozen feet to release female's,so it was the purrfect night for her return -5 for a low tonight.

Merry Christmas to all the trapper's out there,two more nights to see if another marten will show up.

Merry Christmas! My martin tags have been filled and working on catching a cat but nothing yet. Empty traps this morning gives me more time to spend with family today. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas to you all!
I have pulled everything but 3 cat sets that were red hot but not a single track in a week now.

One more night to try to get that 2nd marten,I will keep and eye on the other bobcat bait a week from now and see if a cat finds it.If one shows up if we don't get too much snow I will set that up after the 1st of the year as of now the forecast is -20 with highs of 10 wed to sun.Have a great Christmas afternoon,heading over to a friends place to start making some pepper sticks.

Santa was good to me this morning, #2 Fisher, boxes are all pulled.

Nice I hope you can get one of your cats to come back through,never cut a fisher track this year,but the line was really short this year.

Way to go, every day is like a kid's Christmas, you never know what you are going to get until you look under the tree!

Way to go backroad, nothing like holding out to the last minute!
Well said Friar!

Had a cat check out one of the other fisher boxes. Stepped all over in front of the box but never stuck his head in for the bait.

Merry Christmas everyone, really happy to see the fur pics! Dad pulled traps yesterday morning after we headed home (another skunked check) had another refusal that didn’t want to climb the tree so we left 4 tags unpunched which is fine. We also ran less traps this year than we ever have, mostly due to my knee.

Next year is another year to get after them again.

Now I can try to thin out a few yotes around the farm

Been a real slow and weird year. We are three short of a limit. We’ve only not filled out two other times since the 80s. Ran less traps as well trying not to go over the limit. I actually put out 4 new sets in a area as a last hurrah. Did notice another trapper must’ve thought the same thing and set up on a road we already had set up.

Hoping to get the last 3 tomorrow it’s been done before.

Hoping you do, good luck!!

Mink - those pics of your daughter are two of the best trapping photos!

Yeah

Thank you! She’s been going since could walk. She loves marten season.

These two today made it 3 out of 4 for the wife and I.

Good job Eric!

Jeez what did the big one weigh? Congrats

Way to go Eric! It's almost always good to see something in ones traps.....

Big one was 12.4 lb. So not bad but the small one was tiny at 6.1lb

Good way to wrap up the season Eric I had 3 boxes out this year had marten by all three had two refused one on a tree other one on the ground so I ended up with only one for the MTA tanned fur project here’s a picture of the refusal today hope to see a cat or two posted on this thread later I will check my one bait in a week to see if a cat has found it

Added to all my baits this weekend and we are suppose to get some measurable snow in the next two days and colder weather. That should kick start the baits.

Crows found one of my baitsso hope the coyotes clue in on that and start working it over soon.

Tim and other's hope a cat finds your baits,pulling for you and other;s that have some cat sets out.I'm probably done for this season it all depends if a cat finds the one bait I still have going.It's been a good year for my little little line I had out this year 5 coyotes,2 bobcats released the one and 1 marten thats what the MTA Tanned Fur Project will get so far this year.

Thanks Rick. Checking traps today will be difficult as we have whiteout conditions this morning. 8" of new snow last night and 30 mph winds makes seeing the road somewhat difficult. Buried my truck in the ditch once this morning. Fortunately my neighbor came along with his tractor and pulled me out. Home now and will wait til the plows are out. Be safe everyone.

Checking my few coyote snare's I got stuck once today looks like we ended up with 5",we'll see if tonight the coyotes are on the move,I think they will be -7 is what there forecasting,my forecast is two coyotes lol.After this cold spell is over,next mon,tue I will check the bobcat bait east of the house if nothing shows by then I think I will be done with cats for this year.

I drove the 4 cat sets that I left out and not a single track.
However, I did get some good shots from the trail cam at my hunting land. I built that cubby when I opened up a shooting land and it has been good to me. I hope to get it set tomorrow.

Jim,I hope you get him a guy needs to catch a cat a year just for the fun of trapping them,good luck.

Well got the two marten skinned and on the boards, both healthy males. Will post a pic after they are turned. The one is the lightest colored one we have ever caught.

Thanks for the ride along again,took my marten off the stretcher yesterday yearling bobcat gets two more days.Do'nt have much fur this year to donate to the MTA as of now 4 coyotes,1 marten and 1 bobcat never set a ermine box this year normally I will get a few red fox in the coyote snare's to donate.

Make that 5 picked one up this morning in a blind trail set with a Jake

Have an interesting development at the hunting shack. I will try to get it across without too many pictures, but I ended up with a pile of pics. I have a Bobcat coming regularly to one of my brush pile cubbies that I have made, and a Coyote also. As I was scanning through the pictures I realized that they were there at the same time for a good long time. First picture is the cat standing in the front of the cubby.

Second picture is the Coyote at the lower right, and if you look just left of the opening of the cubby you can see the eye of the cat peeking out.

The next one has the Bobcat coming out of the cubby with the Coyote's eyes to the right.

And then one of each of them in the daylight.


Enjoy!

By the way, the cubby has a couple MB Alphas now!

Nice picture's is that a 160 box left of the cubby,look forward to see the Alpha on that bobcat,I ordered some yesterday just what I need more traps!!!

Yes, that is a 160 box, but not set, with the butt sniffer there, I want the cat alive and able to fight!

Interesting how that cat steps foot to foot in the prints already in the snow.

Jim what is the height of the entrance of that cubby 24"?Does it have two entrances?I need to build a few cubbies 30" tall 20"wide 3 to 4' long maybe next summer!

I would say about that. When I clear a shooting lane or road, I find two trees that are spaced right, cut them off at 2 foot or so and notch the top. Then put a log spanning them and just pile all the brush and small trees over it. There is no opening on the back. I would say that the opening tapers down to the ground back 8 foot or so. I put all my deer carcasses in them and have a couple trail cams that send the pics to my phone. When I start seeing a good cat moved in I set it up. They are good for a cat each year.

Teach them a bad habit and make them pay for it....right on Friar

Thank's Jim do you ever hang a few snare's or footholds in trails to catch them coyotes circling around the brush pile cubbies?

No I just catch them when temptation gets the best of them and they crawl in! Here is that same coyote almost completely inside a cubby 100 yards from the one above.

Interesting pictures Friar, thanks for sharing.

X2. I love that cubby.

When it warms up next week I will check a bait that I have out for cats to see if one has found it yet,when I got home today I had a package from MTP I broke down and got some Alpha's really did'nt need more traps.I will have to break them in next fall.

In the middle of fleshing and work. Should be done in a week. Then will have to try and get to my baits after the 16plus inches of snow we got.

Well after that last blast of snow we got I decided to pull the pin for this season. No action at any of my baits or much for sign and no good reason to keep checking empty traps. Got the last of my snares and beaver traps pulled today and am one tuckered out old man. Snow was 16"-24" deep and snow drifts over 3' at times. Had the local LO plow out a road for me to get to my sets and then had to use snowshoes to get the rest of the way. Did manage to see a bobcat and two kittens on the edge of the river bottom while I was pulling my beaver sets. I've never seen a live one in the wild and today seen three, how exciting that was! Will keep this in mind for next season as the snow is way too deep for me to properly set and tend traps. Rick, I'm sure you will like those ALPHA's. I bought a dozen this fall but lost 4 of them to the plow, might just have to buy a few more. Maybe not as good as Jakes or Sterling's but a good trap for the money.

Anybody have any cat sets out during this cold spell?Tue I think I will check the one bait I have out for cats,if nothing shows by then I'm done for the year.I'm planning on catching two more coyotes by wed thur then I'm done with them also,need to get some fur for the MTA Tanned Fur Project.Forecasting -34 for tonight don't think any cats will be on the prowl,but you never know.

Happy New Year to all the MN cat trappers -32 to start out a new year,spring is coming only 90 days.

Happy new year Rick, got to go dig the two sets I have out. Should be under close to 20 inches of snow.

I hear you 2 days ago the one location I walked the trails dragging my feet because the snares were filled 1/4 of the way up,should have grabbed a beaver to drag the trails with that works a lot better and leave a scent trail also.Some of the snare's are almost in semi u shape tunnels we will see what happens with that location.I plan on pulling everything later this week so a few more checks to go.

I pulled my snares a few days ago due to the snow being too deep for my truck. Most where buried and one showed fresh tracks from a recent refusal. Snow had drifted in to knock down my blocking and the coyote walked around the other side of the tree. I would have remade the set but since I don't have access to a snowmobile was forced to use snowshoes. Way too far for this old man to be working that hard for a $15 coyote! Off to finish smoking venison sausage we made up yesterday.

I need to get the tracks on my atv. I should be done with fur this next week so I can dig out stuff and check baits. The coyotes should be on them now with deep snow and cold. If so it should be easy picked I would think.

Been slow going, only one cat over the last two weeks.
Had most my traps on fresh tracks when I set. Almost no tracks since.

Nice belly!
I sure know what you mean about great tracks then nothing.
I am staying stubborn on the last 4 sets that I have out.

Yes,very nice belly,Jim when it warms up I bet you'll have a cat or two by wed.

Happy New Year guys, Friar I’m excited to see the pics of your cubby catches

Truck is plugged in -30 last night warmed up to -15 now heading out in a half hour to see if any coyotes moved last night.Warming up starting today might get to 0 today for the high.-5 tonight 10 above tomorrow,your cats will be back soon Jim.Look forward to see the Alpha on their foot,should be a great cat/coyote foothold.

Great thread guys.
Great pics and congrats on all the fun and success.

Ive never trapped fisher or Martin but I think I'll give it a go next year. Whats the best trap that will work most efficiently for both. 155 or 160? Thank you

i like the 155's nice combo BG for fisher only the 160's are a good choice,if your dealing with just marten 120's I've caught male fisher's in 120's before,but you will have more refusals.Fisher's you will do better on the ground leaning pole sets work well for marten and you seem to catch more male's in the leaning poles.

Thanks for the info Rick

Was hoping for a picture of Jim and his bobcat in one of those new footholds maybe tonight!Where I released the bobcat earlier there's a fox camping out o n it now,he/she is eating well.

This is turning into a crazy year for me. I set the cubbies at the hunting camp, and nothing has shown up so far. The sets up here are stone dead, but I am more stubborn than them so I hope to prevail!

When it comes to body grips, it is amazing how random it sometimes is. I had a mink refuse a 120 belisle in a box, and 2 days later a bobcat squeezed its head into it. Go figure. Then I can't count how many times I have caught a flying squirrel in a 220. I am guessing that they are landing on the pan, but you would think that you would have more misses with that small of a critter.

You'll get him/her this week is the coyote still hanging around?

Just a question,it seems like this later season now 3 years has really changed movement even light snow years along with more common snow depths.I would have thought the bobcats would have been easier to catch because of being more hungry and out looking for a mate.Have'nt noticed much change with marten and fisher movement,any other takes on this?

Way too much snow and wind the past few weeks to see much for sign unless it's really fresh. I pulled everything right after that last blast and glad I did as even keeping snares operational would be an extreme challenge. I'm too fat and old to be snowshoeing in this fluff!

I went for a drive yesterday before we got this last snow last night. The areas where I was seeing cat tracks and coyote tracks there was no sign what so ever. The cats were working a road kill that crawled back in the willows in this area and there was nothing. They got to be finding something to eat somewhere.

The little longer fisher/marten season has paid off for me as most of my catches the last three years have all come the last couple days

I agree the longer season for marten/fisher has helped,but I don't understand why the bobcats are not more responsive to the free big baits that are out there for them.I know the prefer to kill their own food,but when it gets tougher on them you would think they would camp out near a big bait and conserve energy.They are expert hunter's and stay on rabbit pockets but you would think some would be like a democrat and stay on the easy meal.When the season was late November to early January,Dec 20 to 30th was usually when I would get the most cats???

Starting next week Tuesday it warms up 0 to 20's thinking that will get the bobcats moving more,I'm done for the season after this weekend coyotes,pulled my only cat set on the 24th when I released the female,good luck to anyone that still has a few cat sets out.

Pulled my cat sets today, except for the cubbies at the cabin. The forest roads are not plowed and it was getting sketchy.
Good luck all!

Took a drive today in the big woods about a 75 mile loop,I was let down for the amount of tracks I came across fresh snow two days ago.5 different area's with wolf sign a few fox tracks fair amount of deer sign,never cut a cat track or a marten track.Last year that same loop I saw 10 to 12 marten tracks 2 bobcat tracks 1 lynx track and more fox sign.I hope I was just in front of them making tracks,usually I will come across 2 to 4 moose tracks as well.Jim I hope your cabin cubbies gets you a cat this year,I would like to see one of the Alpha's on the bobcats foot.I bought some so I will have to get a coyote or two in them and possibly a cat,normally set Jake's,Sterling or 3N for bobcats.

Interesting year. I drove by the sets that I pulled and not a single track. These were all sets that were super active up to the time to set the traps! I am starting to wonder if bobcats avoid frozen meat or something. I felt like I had it down pat until the season was shifted. I understand the move, I just need to relearn I guess.

Yesterday I had a crazy event. I went to the cubbies by the cabin and this guy was waiting for me.


He was standing right in the opening just looking at me. My first thought was that he somehow fired the alpha and got himself caught. When I approached he ran back deeper into the cubby. Then when I was making sure everything was ready to go trap wise I was bent over right in the opening, and the marten was in the back of the cubby snorting and growling at me the whole time. I guess he has claimed ownership of it!

Cool picture Friar. I like the looks of your cubbies, going to busy this summer. Frozen bait, I have taken beaver quarters and rubbed them down with salt and let them soak it up a bit. The bait stay fresher longer and doesn't freeze up as hard. IMO

Nice catches.

Finally got back to couple of sets that got buried with snow. Snapped the foot holds and gathered the snares. My surprise there is absolutely nothing working any of the baits I have out. I thought with this amount of snow there would be packed trails. There some birds on them, at least they are getting fed. Snares in the cat tails were buried in snow up to my waist. To much for this guy to try and get around in.

Noticed the same thing around here the past few weeks. I pulled everything right after that first big snowfall but went out last week to look things over. About the only tracks are birds and deer

No sign in the open fields either. Figured it would be easier out there to get around. Seen a few deer, still look pretty good.

Not much movement up this way either,never made it back to one of the baits because of the deep snow I did'nt feel like walking back into it,about 300 yards to get back to it.The other bait where I released the female earlier I kept plenty of bait their a fox is camped out on that one.In my travels I'm seeing a fair about of fox tracks,wolf tracks lots of rabbit tracks and some marten sign.Our deer are doing ok for now 35" of snow since November 12 now I see tomorrow we might get 3 to 5" more so come Feb,March depending on snow and thaws they might feel it,so far it's all still fluff in the woods.As for the bobcat's it's going to be tough on the yearling and kittens.

The move, as I understand it, was to reduce conflicts between dogs and bobcat sets. Maybe the grouse hunters have benefited some, but here is what I have observed. The late season and deep snow has made a lot of remote locations inaccessible. About 1/2 my old locations on private land, accessed by field road or pasture, are out. The less used logging roads are closed, concentrating more of the trapping activity near the main roads. Dog owners still like to exercise dogs in winter and tend to do it on less traveled but plowed township or forest roads. These are the same roads trappers are using to access public lands.