The beaver and its valuable fur pelt played a key role in the settlement of North America. Mountain men were fur trappers first and foremost, and they scoured the American West through rough and rugged territory looking for beaver. Their trapping exploits gave them the experience and local knowledge to help guide settlers through mountain passes and over the safest routes to … [Read more...]
What’s the Best Bait for Trapping Beaver?
Whether you're looking to catch a single problem beaver, harvest a few beavers for their fur or meat, or trap large numbers of the rodents, using the right bait is critical to beaver trapping. Like many semi-aquatic animals, beavers feed on a variety of food sources and not all are created equal. In addition, the type of vegetation a beaver prefers can vary depending on … [Read more...]
What is the Best Bait for Coyote Trapping?
Coyotes are one of the most adaptable species in North America, and their diet and food habits can vary drastically throughout the year. If you're interested in finding a good bait to attract coyotes to your traps, it's important to consider naturally available foods in your area as well as foreign types of food that coyotes are attracted to. Natural Foods The coyote is … [Read more...]
Best Coyote Trapping Lure
Having the right lure to attract a coyote to your trap set can be one of the most important aspects of making the catch. While there is not 'magic' lure, some formulas certainly work better than others. Let's go over some basics on the different types of coyote lures, and then I'll give some recommendations you can try out. Types of Coyote Lures There are three basic … [Read more...]
Habitat Matters When You’re Marten Trapping
Habitat drives populations. One of the first things you learn as a fur trapper is to spend time in the habitat that best supports the species you’re pursuing. Abundant water and young aspen draw in beaver. Cattail marshes are muskrat magnets. Coyotes like open spaces and the forest/field edges. Marten need mature forests. As a marten trapper I learned early on to look for … [Read more...]
Two Weasel-like Creatures Vying for Forest Turf in the Northeast — Furbearer Conservation
Jeff Traynor over at Furbearer Conservation put together an excellent piece on marten and fisher, their distributions and interactions with each other and the landscape, and how this relates to us as trappers. As a marten/fisher trapper myself, I'm always fascinated by where I see these guys out in the woods, and my observations here in northern Maine are fairly spot on with … [Read more...]
Beaver Trapping Rules Tweaked for Jackson Hole WY Streams (jhnewsandguide.com)
Source: Beaver trapping rules tweaked for Jackson Hole streams | Local | jhnewsandguide.com … [Read more...]
Walter Arnold on Otter Trapping
The otter is a fascinating furbearer. Both playful and fierce, this water-dwelling, fish-eating mustelid makes long circuits through its home range, typically over the course of several weeks. Its long range movements combined with varying habits can turn otter trapping into a game of low percentages. But with enough practice, the patient and intuitive trapper can master otter … [Read more...]