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...]
Trapping Today Podcast #44: Setting out Marten/Fisher Boxes, Part 1
In this episode, Cole Porter and I talk marten and fisher trapping as we head out to set boxes out on my line. We discuss plans for the upcoming season, marten/fisher interactions, and habitat types we look for when setting traps. Enjoy! … [Read more...]
Lynx Exclusion Devices on the Maine Marten and Fisher Trapline
Sometimes politics get in the way of trapping and wildlife management. It’s just a reality that trappers in some states have to deal with, and such was the case with marten and fisher trapping in northern Maine. After a long battle in the courts over incidental trapping of ‘Endangered’ Canada lynx, Maine trappers were required to use newly approved - and specifically designed … [Read more...]
Reintroduced in late 1960s, Fishers Fare Fine in West Virginia
Source: Charleston Gazette-Mail | Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news | Reintroduced in late 1960s, fishers fare fine in WV … [Read more...]
Lynx Exclusion Device for Marten and Fisher Trapping – Video
This video shows an example of a Maine- legal (as of 2017) cubby to exclude lynx for Marten and Fisher trapping. … [Read more...]
Fishers: Rare, Recovering and Everywhere in Between
The Fisher (Martes pennati) is a large furbearer in the weasel family found in northern climates across the U.S. and Canada. Fisher populations are common and healthy in many Northeast states, and the species has shown incredible recovery after reintroduction in Pennsylvania: Fisher Resurgence: Once extinct in Pennsylvania forests, a big active predator is on the … [Read more...]
Small Time Marten Line
It isn't always about putting up numbers on the trapline, and Tom Chapin and Dan Hertle are a great example of how much one can enjoy small time trapping. These two old veterans get out on foot during Minnesota's very short and limited trapping season. Most trappers these days drive their traplines, hopping out to check a couple of sets here, a couple there. Chapin and … [Read more...]