Skunks: The Best Investment You’ll Ever Make (DVD)
The strong odor clues you in as you approach that perfectly crafted coyote set you put in the day before. Skunk! Darn it! The black and white striped stinker comes into view and you're disappointed, but perhaps you shouldn't be. Skunks are more valuable than most trappers think, if you know what to do with them. That's where Kyle Kaatz' skunk video comes in. In … [Read more...]
Dyeing Traps with Cold Dip
You can buy traps from the factory and use them without dyeing, but it's not recommended. They'll start rusting quickly, causing poor performance, likelihood of failure, and a shorter life span. Traditionally, traps were dyed with tannins from the bark and/or boughs of certain trees. They were then dipped in wax. The dye provided a thin layer of protection by binding with … [Read more...]
Kaatz Bros. Lures Unboxing Video
In The Lure Room DVD, with Kellen Kaatz
Lure making has always been sort of a mystery to me. When I learned to trap, I got into the habit of finding the right location, making a good set, and relying on lure from a reputable manufacturer to draw animals to the set. Making my own lure didn't even register as a possibility. Like most things we don't know much about, it's easy to fall into the assumption that it's … [Read more...]
Making Your Own Trapping Lure
Over the years of trapping, I've never though much about making my own lure. There were plenty of options available, they didn't seem outrageously expensive, and I didn't have the time or knowledge to make my own anyway. It's one of those things that you don't think much of, but when you start thinking about it, you can go down a huge rabbit hole you may not make it out of. … [Read more...]
The Alaska Trapline Twins
Miki and Julie Collins are twin sisters who decided to live life the old fashioned way. They inherited a trapline in the northern Alaska bush and never looked back. Here's a video and a book about their experiences. https://youtu.be/lkbaG1dh2VQ Click here to find the book, "Trapline Twins". … [Read more...]
Professional Fur Trapping Today
Reprinted from the January 2017 issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal Like many other trappers, a big part of my early trapping education came from the Fur-Fish-Game video library series on trapping. From 1985-1992, professional trapper Tom Miranda produced eight trapping videos geared toward educating trappers looking to get into the profession. It was a good time in the … [Read more...]