Concrete wingwalls are common features at road crossings that can help you catch more critters on your trapline. Mink and muskrats are constantly traveling along waterways, and their paths tend to be funneled through bridges and culverts at road crossings. Below is a location where I noticed animals moving along a the concrete wall, and entering/exiting the water right at its … [Read more...]
Tending the Raccoon ‘Line
In the previous post, I showed some of the sets that I made on my early November trapline for racoons. Here, I provide some pictures of the results. I ran the traps for about 5 days and ended up with 8 coons and a number of other critters. Gas money and school/work kept me from expanding the line, and I ended up pulling before long. This was the first 'coon I wandered upon, … [Read more...]
Setting A Short ‘Line for Raccoons
About two weeks ago, before everything started to freeze solid, I set out a short trapline for raccoons, just outside the city limits in some of the canals. I made a combination of pocket sets, blind sets, and walk-thru's. 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 … [Read more...]
Skunk in a Culvert
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 … [Read more...]
A Mountain Trapline
A trapping partner and I planned an extended weekend trip into northeastern Utah's Uinta Mountains a week ago. We wanted to target pine marten, and this is the only area open to marten trapping in the state. We headed out on a Thursday morning, and were in the mountains setting traps by noon. Most of our sets consisted of baited leaning poles guarded with 110 or 120 … [Read more...]