I had been thinking about trapping all hunting season, and when things began to slow down, I decided it was time to get after some fur.  The fact that it was my birthday the day I started trapping for the season made me feel a little less guilty about taking the afternoon off to set traps.  But that slight feeling of guilt turned into one of those ‘I must be crazy’ feelings when I reached the farm pond to set muskrat traps.  The hard blowing wind brought subfreezing air and moisture with it, and encouraged me to work a little quicker than I might otherwise have.

I’d trapped this pond before and knew it held muskrats.  It was pretty big as far as farm ponds go, probably 3 acres or more of surface area, but most of the ‘rats were concentrated near the dirt berm at the pond’s outlet.  This was the deepest area of the pond, and the muskrats had been digging den holes into the dirt berm for years.  That’s were I would place my traps.

I threw on a pair of hip waders and grabbed a bucket full of 110 conibear traps in one hand and a stack of lathes in the other.  Then I got to work.  The plan was to walk along the bank and feel around for den holes with my boots.  Wherever I felt a hole, I set a trap, secured the lathe onto the spring to support it, then anchored the trap in the run in front of the hole.

All trappers experience a time in their career when things seem to go just right.  With the storm front moving in causing the critters to be active, and perhaps a little birthday luck, I guess maybe my time had come.

I’d set four traps and was starting on number five when I heard something splashing.  I looked back as muskrat number one was already caught in a trap I’d set just a couple of minutes before!  Filled with excitement, I hurried to set the rest of the traps.  I got a dozen conibears set out and started working my way back to the truck.  I reached the muskrat that had been caught earlier and removed it from the trap.  As I placed it on the bank and remade the set, another splashing sound broke through the sound of the howling wind and I looked ahead to see muskrat number two caught in another trap!  To top it off, I walked back to the truck and had a third muskrat in the very first set I had made!

In a period of less than two hours that afternoon, I had set twelve traps and caught 3 muskrats.  That’s something that has never happened to me before, and it sure was memorable.  You can imagine my excitement when I returned during the snowstorm the next morning to check the traps and found seven more muskrats caught in the twelve traps!  Ten muskrats in a dozen traps in less than 24 hours.  Now that’s trapping!

As I sit at home by the warm wood stove and type, I’m already thinking of places I’d like to trap once this snowstorm breaks and we dig ourselves out.  In between other stories, I’ll start providing a few periodic updates from my trapline here on Trapping Today, just to mix things up a little.  Hope you enjoy.  Happy Trapping!

It was late fall, and this big rodent wasn’t wasting any time getting ready for winter.  The first objective was to build a home, which was accomplished by burrowing a tunnel and hollowing out a home under an island in one of the small riverside ponds.  After home was built, it was then time to establish a food base by doing what beavers do best: cutting down trees.

The tree cutting, in addition to plugging up the pond drain, was the main reason the landowner had asked me to take a look at the situation.  Sure enough, the pretty aspen trees that surrounded the pond were, one by one, becoming victim to this toothy engineer.

Since trapping season hadn’t yet begun, I spent my first visit to the site wrapping the remaining trees with chicken wire.  While the landowner had lost a number of cottonwoods to the appetite of castor canadensis, we were able to save a number of the remaining trees.  Now, if he decided to try cutting down the remaining trees, Mr. Beaver would have to chew through 16 gauge wire.

On opening day, I started up the truck and headed down the road.  I was loaded down with all of the necessities of beaver trapping, including 330 conibears, drowning rigs, cable snares, steel stakes, conibear setters; basically every imaginable thing Average Joe  trapper might need, and a little more.

I’d scouted out all of the beaver’s travel routes during my initial visits, and knew where I wanted to set traps once the season began.  So that morning, it didn’t take long to get four 330 conibears set up in travelways among the farm ponds, and between the ponds and the river.  I set up quickly that morning and headed off to work.  I was confident that I’d find that beaver in one of my traps the next morning.

Four conibears, but five trails.  That’s what I found out when I illuminated the previous night’s sets during my first check.  That gosh darn beaver had avoided all of my sets!  He had moved, though.  A trail that had been seldom used before now appeared like a major travelway.  It appeared as though the beaver had noticed the conibears and decided to avoid them.

I decided to keep the sets as they were and wait another day.

Next morning, I checked traps that hadn’t moved.  It was obvious that this beaver knew what was going on, and had avoided my sets again.  No problem.  I needed to make some new sets.

Instead of conibears, it was time to try something new.  I pulled a couple of snares out of the truck and started to set them up.  Two 3/32″ cable snares were hung two inches off the ground over trails that the problem beaver had recently used.  The conibears stayed where they were, and I waited another day.

On the third morning, I arrived at the ponds with great anticipation, but a bit of doubt resulting from two unsuccessful days of pursuit.  I neared my traps, shone the spotlight around, and saw movement.  There he was!  The problem beaver was caught in one of the snare sets.

I quickly dispatched the beaver and visited the landowner to display my bounty.  He was happy to be rid of the animal that was cutting down all of his trees, and I had a new valuable pelt to skin, flesh, stretch, and sell in the fur market.  I had also learned a bit more about beaver trapping.  When you’re going after problem beavers and conibears aren’t quite working, try setting a few snares.  You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Good trapping!

This season, I’ve decided to try using newspaper tubes for cubby sets on my marten trapline.  The tubes make for a great cubby, with the open end being the perfect size for a 120 conibear trap.  I got a great deal on 20 tubes and plan to set them up on my line before the season starts, but not without a little bit of modification.

I’ve drilled a series of holes through the sides and back of the tubes to allow for more air to flow through and carry the scent of the bait further from the set, potentially drawing animals in from a longer distance.

After that, I cut slots on each side of the tubes’ openings to fit the springs of a 120 conibear.

The 120 fits just right, and with the bait placed in the back of the tube, mounted on an elevated log or tree, it should make for a good set!

Lots of marten trappers in Maine and other states use these boxes at their sets.  They are light, stackable, and will last a lot longer than wood boxes.  You can buy them new from places like Continental Products and Rak Systems, or pick used ones up at your local newspaper distributor.

Alaska trapper and biologist Steve Peterson uses them on his line and wrote and extensive article on the subject.

You can find more ideas for marten sets by searching the topic at trapperman.com.

I like to support my small conibears by running a lathe through the spring and pushing it into the ground until it’s sturdy (something I picked up from an old Fur-Fish-Game video).  I find it to be the quickest and easiest way to support a 110 conibear.  I made this set with the intention of catching a traveling mink, but a muskrat beat the mink to the punch!

A simple 110 conibear set at the edge of the wall has resulted in my catching numerous muskrats and a mink this season.  Finding places to put in quick wingwall sets can certainly increase success on the trapline.

This was the first ‘coon I wandered upon, caught in one of the pocket sets.

The next coon was taken from my hotspot, the culvert wall cubby set.

Blurry pic of a coon in the bank hole set.

I thought the short line was really successful, and a great learning experience.  I also caught a number of other critters along the way, which I’ll share in later posts.

My first set was a walk-thru set, shown below.  Notice that the bait is smeared on a post jutting out from the grassy bank, and the stick further out is designed to encourage the coon or mink to walk in between the two ‘posts’ to investigate the bait.  The trap is placed between the two posts, buried in the muck.  I used a crawdad paste bait.

Next are a couple of pocket sets.  I simply dug out a hole, or pocket, in the bank and put bait and lure in the back of the hole.  With these sets, the trap goes almost directly in front of the hole, and dirt or other debris is piled on the sides to force the animal to enter from the lowest point and step on the trap.  Here I used egg shells and fish oil.

At the next location, I dug a hole in the bank using my trowel and put some bait and a squirt of fish oil in the hole.  I placed the trap in a few inches of water just below the hole and used the stake to force the coon to work close to the bank and step over the trap.

And finally, my favorite location.  The set below is located at the edge of a double-culvert wall where lots of critters travel through.  The bait is smeared on the concrete wall and also on the ground near the wall.  The rocks form an artificial cubby, which is guarded at the open end with a raccoon trap.  This would turn out to be my most productive set.

I also set some snares in well-used trails and made a couple of sets with conibears.  I couldn’t wait for the next few days of tending traps!

It looked like critters were traveling along this dry wash, and the culvert made a perfect spot for a set.  I placed the rock and some other sticks along the sides to funnel down the travel way, and set a 110 conibear with some bait and ‘magnum marten’ lure.  The next day, I was greeted by this guy, a good sized striped skunk.  Luckily he had already sprayed and was expired when I arrived on the scene.

Most of our sets consisted of baited leaning poles guarded with 110 or 120 conibears.  We covered the bait with fir boughs or cloth to keep birds away from the sets.

 We also made some cage sets with the conibears, as well as some vertical tree sets.

We set hard for two days and spent the nights in a cabin not far from where we were trapping.  On the third day, we ran through and checked all of our traps.  

After picking up a few marten, we headed back home, to return in three days and pull all of the traps. 

We had a great trip, only took six marten overall, but it was a lot of fun.  I plan on getting out after marten again later this winter.  Marten trapping’s always a blast!