The greatest part of the 70s was everything was worth something back then fox, cats, coons, mink, rats and coyotes all had value making it possible to make a living trapping good times.

Thanks Bruce T, I can tell by your pics you were pounding them. Such a good time from '74 - ''87......I would go back in a second and do it all again.

That coyote in the pic was the first anyone had seen around here..
.Showed that stinking dog off to half the county, Lol

Now we call them, trap them, pretty much shoot them on sight year round, but unfortunately they're here to stay.

My younger brother on the fox line -

Awesome.Nice picture of your younger brother ky-coyote-hunter

LAW DOG Not every thing was worth some thing The price you could get for an average coon or fox was high enough to create a lot of worthless trap and fur thieves The scum bags not smart enough to make their own catch had no problem stealing other trappers fur and traps And many where down right arrogant when it came to obeying the law I had farms where the land owner allowed me permission to trap but did not want me driving on his fields Other trappers without permission where driving those fields and checking traps I was blamed for it and confronted by the owner It all worked out the end but I spent time defending myself for the actions of the greedy lawless few that really did not care about the image they where showing others concerning trapping They strictly where just worried about making a dollar no matter what it took how it looked Where I was trapping there where some worthless in general waste to society that called themselves trappers In fact they where just hogs that came through the area and made a mess for others to cleanup We all would have been better off if the high price of fur had not left the stain those circus clowns had not created that problem

It was a race to get to your traps before other people back then for sure.

Absolutely Bruce T, still to this day set & check traps in the dark...Holdover habit from the fur boom, but it still prevents problems now as well.

Slide cables were a strategy....Slid many foxes caught right near the road down into ditches, or behind screening cover like brush piles.


Think it was Bill Nelson who used to wear a dress shirt & tie to throw people off...That's real clever.

Fox $60, yotes $35, Mink and coon $45, rats $6.50 it was wet in SD the mink were everywhere, caught them on the creeks and dry sets for coons. I’ll take those prices anytime.

Agree on the prices but it was some drawbacks that came with those pricesOnce the fur market returned some what I had years that some items where very good an others average or even poor If I focused on the best selling items I could have a nice check when I was finished for the year Some years I SOLD $25.00 MINK Others it was $30 COON OR $35 FOX Or beaver or rats would pay the way And coyote where very profitable at times For me I needed to improve my skills and catch critters that where in demand I did not always catch large numbers of critters but I had enough pelts that sold for good prices that I was smiling when I received my fur check And did not deal with the thieves from years ago .For all that posted pictures They indeed are some fond memories in those pictures

Pic from early seventies. Took time off work and paid for lots of Christmas presents. Very few coyotes in my area back then. Eventually coyotes took over and fox almost disappeared. Starting to see some reds again show up in coyote traps last several years.

Used to get 5.00 nose count on ‘possum early 80’s.

Even feral katz were showing up at fur sales. If it was real fur- it was worth something.

Nice.I remember well the $85 nose count on red fox did not matter when you caught them,Ocober on.

The photos from the old days are very enjoyable. Thanks for posting them.

In my area of Ohio, the first coyotes were caught in fall of 1976. A friend caught two. The Division of Wildlife denied they were wild coyotes, claiming they were coy-dogs, wild dogs, escaped pet coyotes, or werewolves. That was all political. Coyotes were sparse until the early 90s. By approximately 1996, the coyotes were well established. By then, red fox numbers were very low and gray foxes were nearly wiped out. In 1996, while coonhunting we jumped a gray out of a grapevine tangle. That was the last one i saw until fall of 2024 when a pair showed up on trail camera photos.

Great thread,I caught my first red fox in 1981 in a dirt hole,caught my first coyote in 1983.We still have a few fox around,it's about 70% coyote to 30% fox now.Thank's for sharing all the old pictures.

Pics of uncle Roger…..RIP. Single his whole life. The train dropped him off between The Pas & Pukatawagan for a few months every winter in the 70s and early 80s. They still do it for hunters but you gotta get dropped off far from any reserves and hopefully you don’t get bothered. All RTL up there so only hunting, trappings all spoken for.
Most of these animals are trapped near St Malo though.


He’s on the left.

I got some of Roger’s gear and books from the fella on the right. Sure wished I was a trapper while he was still alive! Could’ve learned a lot from him.

This kid is 56 years old now. If I didn't "jack rabbit" that truck could get 12 MPGs.

Well looking at my pic below I can tell we weren't very good photographers back then lol. But this is about all I could find without digging thru the boxes of old pictures themselves. Have tons of pics from the state fur sales back in the 70s and early 80's before most of us started shipping to the international auctions. There would be more fur on a couple of tables from 1-2 trappers back then than is handled on an entire auction sale day here in the state now.




This was '84. Happen to still "have" this fur. The story that goes with it is the reason the picture was taken. The fur boom wasnt over at that point but the market had drastically softened. Dont quote me but I seem to recall those reds only being worth about $35 then. Dad decided with the market weakening we needed to get mom something for putting up with us and the chaos of the fur boom years. Those reds were what was sorted out to be matched for a coat. I cant recall the details of how many went to be tanned and what number were used in the coat itself. Mom still has the coat and I have a number of the tanned ones in with the collection of all the other tanned stuff have accumulated thru the years.

Here's a question for those of you that caught reds back in a time when you didnt have coyotes and still catch some reds now---do you see any difference in the reds as far as size or quality? I dont target reds these days and most incidentals go free but occasionally someone wants one tanned. If I lay a tanned 2024 red next to a 1984 red its a world of difference. Curious if others have seen the same?

Awesome pictures everyone.

No fur check but fur DOLLARS!!! Paid in real money, big difference.......jk