one strike or two?

[musher]

I've been reading Noonan's fisher book. I've always been a one strike kind of trapper as opposed to suitcasing them. The 120 mags have been efficient. However, Noonan makes a lot of sense with his 2 strike reasoning.

Any opinions?

[lumberjack]

I cant say for Fishers or 120s, but I always liked a one jaw strike across the neck for mink, which is hard to get consistently with 110s.
Most all weasel family members are built kinda like a roadcone and a jaw back around the hip area would not let the jaw around the neck area compress enough, at least to my way of thinking.
Ive had a few mink actually pull their head out of a 110 jaw because the rear jaw was opened up much wider across the back/hip area.

[Furhandler]

Over the years musher I must say I noticed alot less struggling and less fur damage from the suitcase strike. They seem to be able to wiggle less if not killed intantly, hence less pelt damage.
The damage is mostly a rub in the neck area when they don't die ASAP. FWIW

[musher]

I catch most of my fisher in 120 mags, because that's what I set the most.

Once in a while you get a "spinner." That occured more with the old 120's.

What I found interesting, in Bob Noonan's observations, was the location of the windpipe. A lower neck strike might not be ideal.

[Furhandler]

That's right the ones that seem to die the fastest with no struggle is just behind the ears on top and just behind the lower jaw bone on the bottom. I killed most of mine in #120 Super X and I'd choose that over a #220 anyday. Noonan likes the #160, but his comments on the #120 pissed me off and made me lose a bit of respect for him. They're is a way to nab every Fisher that sticks his head in one, Noonan just hasn't figured that one out yet.

[musher]

I think that he was using old 120's. He does make a point of stressing trap life. Springs weaken over time and 20 years is a lot of time! Leaving them compressed for months at a time doesn't increase their longivity either.

I can't see anything pull out of a 120 mag.

I bought a dozen Rudy 160Plus last fall. They have a strike jaw on one side. They are also fisher and coon legal. New laws come into effect this year. I didn't punch a fisher in them.

They work well on marten!

What do you think of his coon as bait remarks?

[markymark]

An to think there is an article in the TP&C this month about using 120's for coon.

[Furhandler]

musher said:

I think that he was using old 120's. He does make a point of stressing trap life. Springs weaken over time and 20 years is a lot of time! Leaving them compressed for months at a time doesn't increase their longivity either.

I can't see anything pull out of a 120 mag.

I bought a dozen Rudy 160Plus last fall. They have a strike jaw on one side. They are also fisher and coon legal. New laws come into effect this year. I didn't punch a fisher in them.

They work well on marten!

What do you think of his coon as bait remarks?

I'm not a coon man,so whenever someone talks about them, I just tune them out - sorta like when my wife talks. LOL

[Stef]

They're is a way to nab every Fisher that sticks his head in one, Noonan just hasn't figured that one out yet.

I've read your article before Dan..LoL

BTW.. if my marten boxes are longer then yours... Do you think I shouldn't do your tip? (need to make them)

If I go your route.... I know what to do but do I absolutely need to wire the bait on the back mesh?

Thanks

Stef

[Furhandler]

Yeah you gotta have the bait anchored to the back so they struggle some to pull pieces away from it. You don't necessarily need to wire, but pushing a wire screen in to hold the bait or having a seperate compartment will also work. You don't need the short box if you've got Fisher only, but with Marten you do as it sets them up for that perfect strike. Also, Fisher seem to hesitate less when the bait is close to the mouth, especially early in the season when lots of feed is available. IMHO

stef said:

They're is a way to nab every Fisher that sticks his head in one, Noonan just hasn't figured that one out yet.

I've read your article before Dan..LoL

BTW.. if my marten boxes are longer then yours... Do you think I shouldn't do your tip? (need to make them)

If I go your route.... I know what to do but do I absolutely need to wire the bait on the back mesh?

Thanks

Stef

[Furhandler]

I've received a couple PM'S on how my set-up works, so here's a couple pics.

The triggers must be 4-Way and pushed way over to the side straight up and down, my boxes are only 10" deep so with a 2"slot for the springs you have 8" behind the trap. I overhand the top a few inches and the back bottom a few also for ease of nailing and the front to keep snow away. I often run a #14 wire from spring to spring over the top of the box to stabilize the trap, Fisher sometimes will paw at the trap or box when they are finicky so this helps to hole it solidely - no need to twist just hook one end and pull through and tighten with hook in wire on other end.





This is a typical catch, suitcased and still laying in the box.





My best season on Fisher (19) , never missed any and took 72 Marten. Since switching to this system with my partner we have taken over 70 Fisher without a miss (Empty snapped trap by a Fisher) and the Marten are waiting also when we get there

[mac]

Thanks for the information.
Scott

[musher]

Thanks, F.H.

If the fisher/marten don't swing loose, don't the mice do a little clipping?

I've been thinking of making a few swing poles. Any thoughts on that?

[Stef]

Ok thanks Dan.... Where I'll trap next fall its Marten country.

Stef

[Furhandler]

It's a damn if ya do and damn if ya don't situation in terms of trap height. If you set to high, I find I get too many refusals and when set on the ground I do much better. When I did it full time, I found that with 4 day trap checks was ideal. I would get the very odd mice chew, but caught more marten at the end. Anything longer say 6 to 7 days, then the mice chews go up quite a bit. On a 4 day check I usually ended the year with 2 to 4 chews, but had 8 to 10 more marten to show for - so I was ahead, at least I thought so. The ideal set would be to set on the groung, but have the catch raised off the ground once the trap springs - then you have the best of both worlds, but that's extra time if you got a lot of sets. What worked best for me was a leaning tree about knee high, close enough to the ground and high enough to keep them off the ground 90% of the time. Snow doesn't put sets out of commission and fisher love to run these poles in terms of seeing and hunting as there up some.

A neat trick I learned if you set directly on the ground is to set the box "UNDER" a fallen tree that has just enough clearance under it to wedge the box in.the tree must be at least 7" to 8" in diameter with a #120 box and you put the box parallel with the tree. You will always find a fallen tree when you step into the woods and somewhere along that tree you'll find the right high to wedge the box. What makes this location so good is the bait is on the ground and easy to locate, #2 is it doesn't snow under a tree that's that close to the ground so it stays functional, #3 you wedge the box so the set-up is solid for Fisher that sometimes get finicky around bait in the early season. This set-up with a swing or weight pole would be my ideal set.

P.S. There was also a study did in Ontario a few years back that confirms that the best catches on #traps over # of trap nights set was best with boxes on the ground, which re-inforced what an old trapper had told me back in the late 80's - early 90's and he was quite a Marten/Fisher man.

musher said:

Thanks, F.H.

If the fisher/marten don't swing loose, don't the mice do a little clipping?

I've been thinking of making a few swing poles. Any thoughts on that?

[Furhandler]

Stef: Where's this line you've been talking about?

I haven't confirmed the acceptence of the offer yet, but I maybe moving to Northern Ontarion in early July for good. The company I've been working for the last 3 winters has put an offer on table and I'd say I'm 99% of accepting. So If your not too far maybe I could assist you some weekend, even if it wasn't in trapping season - scouting or whatever. I'm about 2 hours from R.- Noranda in the Abitibi Lake area. I plan on driving up between the 30 of june and 2 of july taking the Mont Tremblant/ Park Lanaudiere route to V.-Dor then R.-N. into Ontario.

stef said:

Ok thanks Dan.... Where I'll trap next fall its Marten country.

Stef

[frenchman]

Pierre Canac-Marquis, the guy in charge of trap testing for the Fur institute, confirmed to me that either right behind the skull, or double strikes are best for marten and fisher.


gotta go, but more later

[JWarren]

musher said:

I've been thinking of making a few swing poles. Any thoughts on that?

swing poles are easy for marten but the weight of a fisher may complicate it. The pole would have to be much heavier. You could slip the chain over a headless nail to hold the heavy pole down but with those fancy magnum traps they might be dead before the dislodge the pole.

[thebeav2]

I'm no marten trapper but I did help In the seasons total of 86 one year.
My friend In Ontario places all his boxes about 2 1/2 to 3 feet off the ground. They are placed In the vertical position. All of his boxes have wire mesh bottoms In them. He figures the birds will hang on the wire and peck at the meat and beaver fat. The pieces they drop on the ground attract mice and voles In turn attracting marten. He has very few If any fisher on his line.
I never saw him place a box on the ground or In any other position except vertical on a tree. Most of the marten we caught were suit cased.

[musher]

Jw: I've been thinking about that. I think the best way would be for the firing of a spring to get the chain off the headless nail so that the pole would swing.