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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 8:45:20 GMT -6
Post by coydog on Feb 22, 2006 8:45:20 GMT -6
There has to be a level of dedication and respect displayed for trapping by an individual before Ill get to open with hard earned and learned information. Been burned by too much from lazy minded individuals.
Most "secrets" will be shared to and found by hard working devoted trappers, but for the lazy minded, Id just prefer to see them drive in reverse.
SHOULD experienced trappers give away ALL their knowledge? Does it help...or does it hinder the development of new trappers?
Knowledge is mostly hard earned and of high value to trappers who have worked hard to achieve it. Again it depends on the motivation level and commitment from the seeker.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 9:02:22 GMT -6
Post by Bristleback on Feb 22, 2006 9:02:22 GMT -6
Secrets, hummmm I truly enjoy helping others get started into trapping or helping them improve. I don't do it in open forum, more often via a PM, done that countless times. Just set a gentleman up last yr and his 10 yr old son for their first trapping weekend in OK, caught their first 3 bobcats and 2 coyotes, from some traps of mine, lure, bladder P...yes I gave them some bladder P from my bobcats. They bought 2 more doz traps this yr, I tricked them out for them and they just got back from their annual trapping weekend in OK...set Friday...3 doz sets, checked Sat, Sun and Checked and pulled Monday....caught 7 bobcats and 1 coyote numerous coon and skunks.......I couldn't wait for that dailey phone call for an update. That 10 yr old is our future the way I see it and anything I can do to help him be successful strengthens all of us via a common compassion...trapping.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 9:40:34 GMT -6
Post by primetime on Feb 22, 2006 9:40:34 GMT -6
Bristleback - I've noticed you doing that - posts that read "Sent PM". Or whatever. How many others do that? Is it a better way?
I see much satisfaction in helping out someone get started. BUT you need to choose those people wisely. You may be breeding competition, or making a friend. In your case you made a friend and you felt success when they succeeded and that is exactly what I was referring to in my earlier post.
I feel it really boils down to local vs. out of state or area. I have no problem helping out a guy from Iowa or New York. But make that my home town, and I may be a lot more reluctant. Can trappers co-exist can trapper A trap his area and trapper B trap another area and then at the end of the day discuss there success and/or failure? I'd hope so. Is there enough land and animals to go around?
On another note - beginners need guidance that only a local trapper can give. I had no idea how to flesh a Muskrat or Mink or put up a Coyote. You can read about it; see pictures; it's not going to help much. "I" was lucky enough to have a guy and gal show me the way - and I was very grateful for the demo. And I hope they realize how thankful I am for there help.
PT
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 10:18:31 GMT -6
Post by trappnman on Feb 22, 2006 10:18:31 GMT -6
I think they know...
PMs, I have to say that as a moderator, I dislike info being passed over PMs. If you post something, and someone wants a clarification, thats fine. But otherwise its a 1 way street.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 10:22:20 GMT -6
Post by 17HMR on Feb 22, 2006 10:22:20 GMT -6
I have shared all I know(or could think to tell) on yotes with a guy localy just gittin started a couple of years ago. He caught a little more than me this year and that makes me feel real good. We have a lot of areas that overlap and it dont bother me a bit. Also he is one of the best eye fishermen in the state so Im never with out some fish in the freezer.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 10:31:15 GMT -6
Post by primetime on Feb 22, 2006 10:31:15 GMT -6
17HMR - I'm guessing you have been trapping for many years before that. Did you notice your numbers drop at all? I just want to see if it confirms my thinking that trappers can co-exist and still catch the same amount of fur year after year and still get along.
Do you have other trappers in your area that you don't feel so good about? Ones that you'd rather not have around?
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 11:33:02 GMT -6
Post by mustelameister on Feb 22, 2006 11:33:02 GMT -6
So when is a "secret" really a secret? Is it a secret because you haven't seen your way of doing something in print, on a video, or discussed on a forum? Or is it a secret because you figured something out on your own that upped your catch percentage and don't care to discuss it with anyone for whatever reason. Maybe it's a technique that enables you to find your hidden sets without anyone else knowing they are there. I have two of those techniques I've never seen in print, on a video, or discussed on a forum. And I certainly don't think I'm going to share them, 'cause I feel comfortable right now in believing that these so-called "safe" sets are safe 'cause others don't know how to find them. Or am I just paranoid??? Hmmm . . kind of like those early 70s Air Force days in Thailand at the back end of the flight line . . . Maybe there's a thousand other guys making their hidden sets the very same way I am and each of us is thinking we've come up with the ultimate safe & hidden secret set and we're gonna keep it safe and hidden by not sharing that info with anyone else! I am a true experimenter. I can afford to be an experimenter because my primary source of income is a salaried job and my trapping money is my toy money, though in my early career years trapping money carried us through some hard times. My mission on this forum and others is to gather and share information. Maybe something totally different grabs my attention, and I'll toy with it for awhile. I'll even try it on the trapline, and if I'm successful with it, I'll tinker with it 'till I'm more successful. The more successful I am with it, the more I tinker with it. In my mind, there is no such thing as a final, best way of doing something. Example: the pipe set for 'coon on riverbanks. This got me real excited this fall. Best catch per trap ratio ever. Even a coyote in a #11 DJ. Kept monkeying with the pipe, but restricted myself to #11 DJ because of 'rats and maybe mink (but mink don't coax to a pipe with ground carp & anise too well . . . ) and they were all S-linked to drowner systems. I realize I handicap myself with the smaller trap, but that's part of the challenge. I kept tinkering with it through the season. Best one-night check was 24 'coon of 60 traps. That also included 'rats and a 'possum or two. Took the modifications I made to the set and posted it back here, and noted the comments afterwards. More mental tinkering, and I've come up with some new ideas for next year. No secrets there. But what if I came up with the "ultimate pipe set."? What if every time I set out 60 traps along a particular riverbank, when the 'coon are apparently in the water/on the bank that evening, and I score 40 to 50 'coon? Probably never happen, but what if? Will I post that final detail change that caused so many 'coon to investigate the set and place the front foot squarely in the waiting #11 DJ? I don't think so. Maybe that makes me less of a fellow trapper than I'd like to be. On the other hand, I plan on retiring in four years, and I'm hoping trapping will supplement my teacher's pension and what substitute teaching I'll do when something breaks. Will I be so willing to share the "secrets" then? When, perhaps . . . there's a chance that these "secrets" will give another trapper in the neighborhood the same edge I have, through no experimentation, time and labor on his own? Interesting question for sure. I will admit this though: I'm more inclined to share ideas and results on this forum due to the nature of the postings here and Steve's constant quest (or so it appears to me) to make better trappers out of all of us. Thanks for listening to my dribble . . . back to correcting papers! ;D
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 19:42:34 GMT -6
Post by 17HMR on Feb 22, 2006 19:42:34 GMT -6
Primetime, no my catch did not go down, but even if it did, all it would mean is that I was getting lazy. Im not that good of a trapper but I feel I am a very hard worker, willing to put in the time and the and the miles it take to get a respectable catch. I would guess I avg about 4 hours sleep a night for 2 1/2 months, and caught 1.6 coyotes for each yote trap I own. But after I tried to water trap a little this year I have a great deal of respect for the work involved in water trapping and I think I will leave that to others from now on. There is one trapper I have trapped alongside for the last 2 years that I am always trying to hide my sets from but not sure why.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 20:10:22 GMT -6
Post by NEPISIGUIT on Feb 22, 2006 20:10:22 GMT -6
Yes there are secrets. and yes i do keep some. Especially those that have been given to me in confidence.But i dont mind sharing what i have learned through my own efforts.Being in a locality for many years helps to educate a person on who can be trusted and who can not, and how much and what kind of info can be given out. I get a great deal of satisfaction in helping out a young trapper starting out. When i started trapping there was no way to receive even a small portion of the information i have seen given out on this site since it was first started.For all the persons who helped to set the site up and keep it going and have given freely of their time and help,I as a trapper thank them. All questions i have asked have been promptly answered.Secrets or not. YES I AM SWIMMING IN INFORMATION GAINED. cant wait for next year.
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ltd
Tenderfoot...
Posts: 30
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 20:12:24 GMT -6
Post by ltd on Feb 22, 2006 20:12:24 GMT -6
Secrets Man I wish I could type better. I have taught people things that I have learned the hard way and I can say that every time but once I have been durned by a friend. This is a very sore spot with me . I keep to myself, don't post much. I think that this site is the coolest site on the net. There are people I would love to talk to on this site but Iam afraid that thay will talk. Then everyone will no what I am doing in my home town. Normaly by the time thay no I'am done. Friends chose them wisley. I don't spell well eather.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 20:33:25 GMT -6
Post by bigbrad115 on Feb 22, 2006 20:33:25 GMT -6
I tell it like it is. If someone has a question for me and I can answer it, they get a straight up answer. Secrets, I think there are none,anymore. Maybe a few,but they soon get let out and it becomes common knowledge.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 20:55:26 GMT -6
Post by dj88ryr on Feb 22, 2006 20:55:26 GMT -6
With kids short attention spans these days, I think it is imperative that we do everything we can to reduce their curve, and get them to be as succesful as they desire to be, as quickly as possible. Through teaching, we can swell our numbers, THAT is one thing that will help save trapping.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 22:47:15 GMT -6
Post by dabrock on Feb 22, 2006 22:47:15 GMT -6
I'm among those who tell what I know, which is not much. I use to think I knew allot, but now that I'm pushing 70, I discovered most trappers know more than I do, even if I have been trapping for more that 60 years. Every season I learn something new. Have appreciated the advice and information shared on this forum, especially about snaring. Was not doing any good, but used info. found here and started hitting on fox and expect to tag a coyote next season. So keep up letting your secrets out ( a little at a time ofcourse) I'll be watching and sharing them.
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Secrets
Feb 22, 2006 22:57:32 GMT -6
Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Feb 22, 2006 22:57:32 GMT -6
My philosophy is not to worry about the competition.
I'd rather let them worry about me!!
Not that I'm that great of a trapper but I have more fun thinking about my activities rather than someone elses.
Competition forces you to become better is the way I see it.
Sharing has brought me far more joy than grief.
Joel
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 6:41:33 GMT -6
Post by trappnman on Feb 23, 2006 6:41:33 GMT -6
Perhaps the reason secrets aren't out there as common knowledge, is that they are.
I bet I could show on both land and water, at least a doz little things or thoughts, that would not be common knowledge and some might well be unique to me as I have never seen them in print or heard anyone talking about them. Most secrets are MANAGEMENT secrets IMHO
----------------------------------
Lets change this a little- in hunting and fishing, do you casually give away your best baits, locations, conditions for success, etc...?
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 8:23:40 GMT -6
Post by dj88ryr on Feb 23, 2006 8:23:40 GMT -6
I think I see where you are going. Case in point, back when I was a bait wholesaler/Retailer in the northeast, the answer about ANY of those activities would be NO WAY I told anyone anything. THAT was my livelyhood, trapping is not, but for those of you that are trapping as a way of life, or YOUR livelyhood, I can see why everything would not be out there.
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 8:32:33 GMT -6
Post by primetime on Feb 23, 2006 8:32:33 GMT -6
Most secrets are MANAGEMENT secrets IMHO
I think that says a lot. BUT those secrets would most likely not matter to Regina Phalange down in South Carolina who doesn't have the same conditions as you do. So they are in turn Local Secretes to make you a better, more efficient trapper. Those are secretes that not even a local guy trapping in Early November would really care about.
Those are also things people might do and NOT EVEN REALIZE they are the only ones doing it this way.
Hunting, Fishing, Mushroom Hunting..... I'm tight lipped. I ask a lot but don't tell much. ;D Typically with hunting you are dealing with just a few animals and any added disturbance can spell failure. And I don't fish much, but when I am successful I don't post about it at all the gas stations and super market. I may tell a few friends, but that's about it. Is it the right way? Maybe not, because who am I to hoard something that ultimately doesn't belong to me anyway?
And in that lies the question....
Later - PT
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 8:46:59 GMT -6
Post by Wright Brothers on Feb 23, 2006 8:46:59 GMT -6
If respect is earned, yes. Two instances. Took a local to a long walk in location that holds wild trout. The next spring half the town camped there first day. I didn't really care, but the land owner did.
Took a guy to the big river at my high water walleye spot. Heard later he was at bait shop bragging the fish and the spot. There is a people trail, camp fire ring there now.
That was a long time ago, niether fish with me today. Present day I notice this bragging effect on forums and see negative effects. That alone tight lipped a lot of folks. Not that these spots are mine, but I worked my tail off to find and secure permission. And if someone shows me a hard earned spot, I darn sure am not going to announce it to the world.
I try and share, it seems most know more than I do LMAO. Meaning, the more I read the info highway, the less I know.
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 9:07:07 GMT -6
Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Feb 23, 2006 9:07:07 GMT -6
If trapping was my living I'd probably withold some information.
Either that or I'd sell it and make a profit from what I knew.
Joel
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Secrets
Feb 23, 2006 9:08:56 GMT -6
Post by trappnman on Feb 23, 2006 9:08:56 GMT -6
Maybe not, because who am I to hoard something that ultimately doesn't belong to me anyway?
And in that lies the question....
But isn't all you are hoarding knowledge? And, as perhaps nothing else in the world, doesn't learned knowledge belong to that person? And if you want to make a point about learned knowledge being shared, lets shift it to earned knowledge.
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