Trappers. Got your gear ready?

backwoodsman · #1 10/02/10, 10:41 AM

Anyone sitting on go yet? What about starting another thread thingy about certain crittters and preferences etc?

gunseller · #2 10/02/10, 04:38 PM

I haved looked at my stuff but the season does not start here for another month. I will not get to set anything until a week into the season. Am ready when the time gets here.
Steve

backwoodsman · #3 10/03/10, 11:56 AM

Ours opens Nov.5th again. We're a month away too. We cage trapped a few groundhogs but the season ended. Why they put a trapping season on them I'll never know? Got some good meat, trapping bait and leather out of them though. Ive got a pile of traps to clean up and adjust too along with a few a fellow asked me to do but finding time for everything seems impossible. We've got probably twice as much ground lined up then we'll be able to set I imagine. Grabbed all the water we could with the prospect of high rat prices again but I keep hearing the markets falling fast on them? Got a longer road/interstate line planned out for coon, red fox, skunk as the 3 targets but we'll probably get our share of possums and yotes too. I was surprised by how much water is just over the horizon from some of our highways and interstates here. Our rat population is down here so if we can catch 150 I'll consider us very lucky.

oth47 · #4 10/03/10, 01:05 PM

I haven't trapped in 10-12 years,but I still get the fever.Always loved to trap mink.Saw a coyote last night,never tried to catch one.Hit'em hard,guys,but make sure the fur is prime in your area..Charles

backwoodsman · #5 10/04/10, 09:51 AM

Mink are my favorite too. Canines arent as hard as some lead people to believe. Our fur primes later then some others but its a trade off. Wait and the ice is on and population is lower or trap/hunt earlier for less prime fur but more of it.

Oldcountryboy · #6 10/04/10, 10:05 AM

Here in Oklahoma our season doesn't start till Dec. 1st. Which is a bummer cause by the time we're just start'n to catch a few the northeners are already selling theirs. Which drives the value down and leaves us southerners holding a bunch of cheap skins.

Yet we can't start any earlier cause the hides are too green since it doesn't get cold till December. They do allow us to hold our skins over till next year to sell. That helps a little bit.

Swamp_walker · #7 10/04/10, 10:30 AM

As an ADC trapper, im always ready!

Our fur season starts mid november i believe but i usually wait and target fox late december or january. Took two weeks last season to trap mink in iowa and may do it again. I also want to head west for cats but i havent got a game plan yet.

fishhead · #8 10/04/10, 03:54 PM

How do you treat rusty snares?

Swamp_walker · #9 10/04/10, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishhead

How do you treat rusty snares?

Throw them out...lol. If snares have surface rust then they most likely have internal rust...which means it wont take much to break. Recycle the wammies, swivel, and lock, but replace the cable. I know folks who boil there snares in baking soda and they say they will rust internally because they removed the oil by boiling so they need used fast. I only snare beaver but i dont do anything to my snares. I'll pull them thru some dirt or mud at the set to knock off the shine and thats it. I have alot of yote snareing friends up north that do the same thing with no problems.

Haggis · #10 10/05/10, 08:29 AM

If I have rusty-ish fox snares (1/16" cable) I throw them out or use them for hares/rabbits, if I have rusty-ish coyote snares (3/32" cable) I use them for fox snares, if I have RUSTY snares, I save the swivels and locks (if possible), and the remainder goes in the bin.

Season for long-haired fur trapping comes in here toward the end of October, but I don't bother until after deer season, then I set my snares. The season for marten and fisher be quite short, so I make and bait my sets well in advance, then add an X type trap very early the morning the season comes in.

whiskeylivewire · #11 10/05/10, 11:59 PM

DH attended a cable restraint class in order to trap that way this year(have to in MO). He's also gotten some bait and lures and is experimenting with making his own. Hopefully, the price will be better this year so we can make some money. Our season doesn't start until Nov 15th and it's truly a family affair here. We lost some of the furs from last year when our deep freeze quit in 100 degree weather in the middle of August and we didn't notice. He had 2 awesome bobcats and a gray fox in there. Also, his first beaver. DH has ate coon before, I haven't but I'm willing to try so I hope he catches some!

cowboy joe · #12 10/06/10, 11:01 AM

Just about 3 weeks before the season opens here. Dug out my gear the other night. Good thing. Didn't do a very good job of cleanup last year. Probably spend some time this weekend cleaning, making repairs & adjustments. Not certain how much trapping I'll do this year but I do have my eye on a certain coon that's been getting a bit too close to the ducks & rabbits.