Fun Friday........NOT!

[davidlt89]

My beaver trapping buddy and I had some big intentions friday. We had time chipped away and were going to get more serious and get some more beaver sets out. Right now we are only trapping on one pond and have two traps out. there is another house on that pond and there is a pond right before that one with another house on it, and a muskrat house!!! Down the road there is also another colony of beaver and up he skidoo trail on the river is a colony of beaver. We had BIG plans of getting some traps in these places!!!

thursday it managed to snow a foot and a half in my area and some got 22"!!! deep snow means hard traveling!!! I borrowed a snow sled from a friend which is on loan till april, but it is not made to get into deep powder, so, the colony down the road and 300 yards through the woods was out.

So we decided to go down the skidoo trail and try the river. maybe get two traps out, one by the house and one on a known run. We got our stuff together and headed on down. got out the shovel, axe, and chisel, and started at the ice. We got a foot and half down, then went six more inches with the chisel and decided that might not be the best place for a hole:yes:. we went further out on the river but the ice is was just as deep. Also my friends wife sprung surprise plans on him and he only had an hour and we just about burnt it up trying to make a hole.

Sooooo, we got back to his house and I was thinking of changing our conibears out for foothold traps and mix it up a bit since the beaver are "on" to the conibears. I decided to take the sled down and make a trail through the snow, turn around on the pond, and come back to the house before my friend left. I headed it toward the pond and got on, made a nice loop, and headed back to shore to hook onto my trail when the sled starting sputtering and the temp gauge lit up!!! I shut it down and it smelled liked something burning so I look under the cawing and it was hot!!! I also noticed all the annti freeze was gone.

Now it has been a long time since I have driven sled. when I went to pick it up I looked for the pull cord!!! apparently they dont have them anymore. I also noticed it was a four cycle which I had never seen before. I certainly did not put two and two together and check the anti freeze.

So I head back to my buddy house on foot and asked if he had any anti freeze which did and I walked back the 200 yards to the pond. I filled the sled and commence to check out traps that were set. Now, the new foot and a half of snow had pushed the ice down and there was a good 6" of water on top, so I was wading through the snow and the new slush. it was also getting dark and my glasses were all fogged up. I somehow managed to set off all the traps chiseling through the ice since and axe would of gotten me wet.

then to top things off, when I got the sled started it did not move in the slush so I had to leave it there for the night!!! we did mange to get it out sunday and back to my friends house only to find out it has an anti freeze leak somewhere!!!

So, had big plans setting more traps and ended not only not getting them out, but set off the ones we had out!!!!!!

Sunday i did have a chance to reset them though!!!! we have also had some very warm weather for this time of year and for now it looks as it might be here to stay!!! lots of water on the ice and some open spots on shore!!! not sure if we will get some more sets out with good ice. BUT, I did rig up my first snare pole and will put that in a hole we currently had a trap in. Hopefully by this weekend we might get one more!! i hope so because the ice is melting!!! we may be doing some drowning sets before long.

Here is a pic of my first snare set. God bless.

[gitano]

NOW yur talkin' trappin'!

It'll get better... and worse.

Paul

[davidlt89]

NOW yur talkin' trappin'!

funny you say that!!! I was talking to my dad a couple weeks about my trapping and he stopped me, and said, "you know your not really trapping right now". I thought for a minute and said, well dad, were putting traps in and getting beaver aren't we. He replied back saying, "you can't call it trapping 200 yards from someone's house". which traslated to me that I was not 25 miles up in the woods and 1000 yards of the road wading in waist deep snow just to get a beaver. I conceaded:bowdown:.
   it looks as though we are going to have to change strategies. hoping the ice recedes from the shore line fast now so I can break out the waders. this will give us an opportunity to drop some conibear right in there kitchen now. We are also aloud to trap muskrats at this time and some are coming out of the water now. just ordered a couple colony traps to get started. There must be around 4-5 muskrats house around that pond, not to mention the other pond. there going for 12.00 a rat right now, not to bad!!! also going to have to order some drowner slides, should be able to use them in three weeks!!! once we see them coming out of the water, should be able to nail them. God Bless.

[gitano]

$12 for muskrats is really good! I've never seen them above $5.

Sounds like a lot of fun is in the works.

Paul

[davidlt89]

$12 for muskrats is really good! I've never seen them above $5.

my friend who fleshed your bear skin out went to a fur show over in montreal a couple weeks ago. He said the fur prices are "high" right now. He says he would not be surprised to see more trappers next year!.
  personally, I would like to get 15-20 beaver before it is said and done. that would allow me to recoup some money for my trapping supplies, put one down in my hunting room, and get some gloves and hats for me and the family!!!! kind of in a rock and hard place right now. Pulled my traps that were under the ice today because there are open holes popping up. Don't feel like falling through with 6' of water under the ice!!! seen where a beaver already came up on shore in the last few days. Got himself a few sticks and cut a small tree down and took it back with him. Lots of activity and I am chomping at the bit to throw something at them!!!!! Any tips you may have Paul are certainly welcome!!!! my colony traps will be here monday. the rats are coming out also and at 12.00 a head, we might as well see how many we can get!! God Bless.

[gitano]

Don't feel like falling through with 6' of water under the ice!!!

Then yur not trappin'... (to quote your Dad.)

I have fallen through the ice two times while trapping. Once when setting beaver traps and once when setting martin traps along a creek.

In the martin 'event', I only fell in up to my waist, but it was about 40 below. I had on heavy wool "Malone" bib coveralls or I would have been in trouble.

The beaver "event" was actually worse, but it was "only" about 25 below at the time. I wasn't paying attention, and walked right in front of the lodge between it and the cache. The ice there - no matter HOW cold the air is - is very thin. I fell through like having a trapdoor sprung. The water was WAY deeper than "me" and I went in well over my head. When I finally got out - a story maybe I'll relate at another time - I was about a quarter mile from my truck. By the time I got to my truck every stitch of clothes on me was frozen. When I got home I went straight to the bathroom and got in the bathtub, clothes and all, filled it with as hot a water as I could stand and spent the next 2 hours 'contemplating my mortality'.

Trappers earn their money.

I don't have any "secrets". There are a lot of folks 'out there' that are better trappers than I am. I just kept it simple and used what worked for me.

Paul

[davidlt89]

Then yur not trappin'... (to quote your Dad.)

I can see falling through the ice in the middle of winter, it happens. did not take me long to realize the ice is "thinner" near the house and over the food source. We went from a foot of ice to 4" of ice quick. These are unusually high temps right now and stuff seems to be melting fast. There are two open spots right by where we had one of our traps. But it is one thing to "happen" upon thin ice and "know" there is thin ice you can fall through. Common sense tells me to pull up and not walk on it!!! we have had one guy drown earlier this year from beaver trapping, I prefer not to test fate when I "know" the ice is thin and is getting thinner every day. There are a myriad of "open holes" now!!!!
    the "old timers" also say that your not a trapper until you get yourself stuck in one of the traps! as much as I would like to join their ranks, I would prefer not to get stuck in a #4, or better yet have a 330 go off on my arm!!!!
    ice has receded so much in one spot, I could literally set a drowning set there right now with a pair of waders. I will probably order some drowning wires tonight or tomorrow.

I just kept it simple and used what worked for me.

I hear ya!!! not looking for any secrets, just never really set a drowning rig before. Although, it looks easy enough. God Bless.

[gitano]

or better yet have a 330 go off on my arm!!!!

I had something close to that happen.

When conibears first came out, a fellow trapper and I bought some. We were completely unfamiliar with these 'new-fangled' contraptions, and decided that it would be better to get familiar with them in the comfort of our living rooms than in the winter's cold. While our wives were in the kitchen, (there's significance to that seemingly insignificant detail), we commences to get to 'fiddling' with the 330s.

Of course, the most significant "thing" to do with a trap is set it. We had a pair of setting pliers, but weren't sure how to use them. What we realized pretty quick was that you had to open the traps a little bit in order to use the pliers, so we figured we would both 'get hold' of one jaw of the trap and pull it open between us. That worked fine until we looked at each other and started laughing. The more we laughed the more difficult it became to hold the trap open. The more the trap slowly closed the more we laughed. Neither of us could let go because it would have meant breaking the other one's hand! In pretty short order both if us had our hands firmly "caught" in the trap!

Here's the significance of our wives in the kitchen: With both our hands firmly - and painfully - held in the trap, we had to call our wives to 'rescue' us. You can bet we went a VERY long time before being allowed to 'forget' that!

Paul

[JaDub]

Funny story Paul................    sounds  like something I`d get myself into.   I`d guess I `d have to pay a pretty steep price to the girls for freedom.
 
           Flowers ?    We CAN do better boys. 8-)

[davidlt89]

I almost got my fingers on one on friday!!! I was resetting it and did not notice one of the spring safety's had come off. the trigger let go and for some reason it kept coming down even though I had a firm grip on it. should of had my safety on it!!! I slowly let it down the rest of the way!! had both springs been ready to go, the story would be different!!! God Bless.

[gitano]

the story would be different!!!

Very painfully different!

330 Conibears are serious business.

Paul

[Paul Hoskins]

My bear guide who now lives in Pa. has been trapping this winter & tells me muskrat brings 15 to 17 dollars. Last trapping I did back in the early '50's, muskrat only brought about 2 dollars. Grey fox fetched a whole 25 cents. Red fox was around 75 cents to a dollar & twenty five. Large mink were around 15 dollars. My friend said he sold around 6,000 dollars worth this year but gas took half of it. ......David,  I designed a cable trap using a bungee cord instead of the spring several years ago. I used it for coon & it is much easier & safer than spring powered snares. Bungee cords don't work too well when they get wet & freeze. Locking cable snares are illegal in Kentucky. .....Paul H

[davidlt89]

Bungee cords don't work too well when they get wet & freeze. Locking cable snares are illegal in Kentucky.

we are only allowed to use "cable traps" on beaver and bear. In fact, that is all you are allowed to use on bear. The bungee cord will be a lot easier to reset. my only beef with the spring is having to reset it, it is like pushing the spring on 330 conibear, but a little bigger, and there is no tool to help. I got snapped once last year pretty good!
     I would not use a bungee snare for beaver since all snares have to be under water. I believe they can work well enough just attached to a pole, but then again, I have never caught one with a snare yet!!!! I have left the snare pole alone for two days, maybe that is what it needed!!!

muskrat brings 15 to 17 dollars.

my friend down the road tells me fur prices are "real good" right now!!!! I wish I had made up my mind to trap beaver earlier. I missed the first 3 months!!!! God Bless.

[Paul Hoskins]

David, I agree the spring cable traps are a pain to set. I have one that I bought in Belgrade Lakes area many years ago.  They're scary to set. For the bungee cord "spring" I drive a piece of rerod in the ground & leave a foot or so sticking up & slip a piece of plastic water pipe down over it about 4 feet long. You can hook the bungee cord to the top of the pipe. Makes things a lot easier & safer. A bear cable trap spring can break your arm or kill you if something goes wrong. .......Paul H