Re: To specialize or not to......

[Steve Gappa]

I think about it.

moneywise- I should trap coon 5 months a year HARD. I do it very casually for those 5 months- as a secondary animals on both water and land. But with the price of MN coon- a full time effort would put 600-1000 coon on the boards. My messing around gives me a couple hundred on up. And while I do like coon trapping- its methodical and it gets same o, same o.

And for a parttime effort- thats good. Maek my sets and forget about them. But coon doesn't excite me- sure, I like seeing a coon in the trap- and esp like seeing them on the bottom of slides- but "its good- a coon" not "Great- a coon!"

So they will continue as a secondary.

Coyotes now- I could trap them all season. Hell, I could trap coyotes all year in a low keyed way- and do- I love doing it and each season has its little subtle differences and tricks.

But coyotes beat me down. I hit them hard for 6 weeks, and I'm ready to stop. Its just so intense nad weathr related things can be very stressful with cnaines more so than anything else. But if I ever decided to trap one animal- it would be coyotes.

But I can't forget mink- and the money in mink is sickening- man, you would need 9 mink a check to make a $100. I mighht live in MN- but I don't have mink like that! And rats at $2.50 put up. But as I wore in the aticle- I just like mink.

So I compromise- I trap yotes hard, then mink hard- targeting coon along with both- then in Jan til seasons end I can relax and putter more- taking coon in warm spells and mink/rats steady.

[Stef]

I would say that it depends where you're trapping.

I believe that a trapper should stick with the species he can find the most on his trapline and the one he can harvest fast.
If a trapper has on his trapline a lot of coon and a lot of fox and he's good for trapping both and early fur reports are saying that coon will be at $25 and fox at $15, this guy should trap coon first.
Or let say coon price are at $20 and fox the same, He should hit the fox and taking care of the incidental coon catches in his fox sets. But if he prefer trapping coon.....go coon trappin ;D

If we talk now about a real wilderness trapper like our registered traplines here in Northern Quebec, I would say to trap all the species you can find on your trapline property.
You managed your land if you take care of it you'll be able to harvest a nice mixed furs collection, about the same quantity level every year. But there's always a wood company or two nearby ready to do some work on your land and they F...... all you territory.

What can we do?

Stef

[lynxcat]

Well...the answer is "two fold"...as for my ADC work...my two top $$$$$ animals are skunks...TON's..and TON'S of them...then beaver....never been much of a water trapper....but have learned FAST where my gravy is....lot's of "city" work for different cities on beaver. Skunks...everywhere...
As for my trapping...I've always been a cat trapper....used to not even set a trap till cat time...but now I trap cats,fox and coyote.....My primary goal is cats which I trap exclusively during cat season...but I've fallen in love with them little red critters...and we have LOTS of them here...if I would dedicate myself....a guy could EASILY get hundreds and hundreds...in a VERY short time(next year) problem being....ADC jobs mostly out of season and early season beaver.Kinda hard to run a good line when you're putting on 200mi a day beaver trapping for different cities in different counties. My coyote are incidentals...still get 50-60 while fox/cat trapping every year.
later
lynx

[Steve Gappa]

I guess inaway I am running my line like a registered one. That is, I have 99.9% exclusive use of my territory, and I know what this line will produce every year.

I delibrately set traps for beaver, muskrats, coon, red and grey fox, coyotes, badgers and coon.

But I have to distingious between land and water- I simply cannot do both at once for more than a day or two- I see what yo umean there lynx. Its just two complete different minds sets between land and water- even weather concerns and hopes are 180 degrees apart.

Last spring for a coule of weeks- I had a real crasy setup. From 7 in the morning until about 11, I was trapping otter. Then I met the coyote people and we check a small coyote line until 1- 1:30, then trapped pocket gophers the rest of the day.

This worked great as long as the weather was nice and there were no snafus- but throw in the unexpected or rain- yikes!

I was one confussed and stressed puppy.....

[dj88ryr]

When I lived in NH, you could say that I was a multi species trapper, the same locations( Beaver bogs) produced canines, beaver, fisher,bobcat, coon, otter, muskrat, mink, and the occasional weasel. You did not have to drive to different areas to do different species.
Since moving to PA, I focused mainly on water trapping the first season, poor results, no rats, no beaver, and to my surprise, plenty of mink but no money in them. The second season I tried to go back to doing both, same results on the water line, ( there just isn't the population magnets here like we had up there, and I struggled mightily with canines, my sets looked great, just like the ones I made in NH, there in lied the problem, " You aren't in NH anymore Dorothy! "
So this year I decided that I had to focus on just canines, I took two weeks off the begining of November, I put sets in like crazy, ( just like the ones in NH ) over a much larger area. First three days of the season I had recorded, 1 fox, 1 coon, 3 skunks, 20 grinners. WTF!!!! I thought I knew what I was doing!!! So a helpful friend offered to help me out. This sawed off, grumpy old mink trapper rode in to help me. The season turned around the next day. I was trying to catch PA canines the same way I had in NH, it don't work here. So, after a lot of work I am at 42 Reds, 3 Greys, 3 Yotes, not great, but hell and gone from where I was.
Then this dogman from Minnesota writes an article about how he loves to freeze his arse off trapping $9.00 mink. Got me thinking, so Next year it is back to multi species trapping for me, he was right, even though in my estimation, I had a decent year, I felt somehow robbed in the way I went about it. Next year I am back in the farm fields and out in the water. Sure do wish we had some more Beaver ponds here, they were a fur magnet up north.

[lynxcattrapper]

To "re-assess" my reply...I AM and will concentrate on skunks/beaver in my ADC business...BIGEST % of my buss...AND fox and cats on my personal line...TONS of fox..and high dollar cats. Anyone who would do other wise...WELL...nuff said ;D..Fun is goods BUT....Facts is....as facts is...
laterssssssssssssssss
lynx

[dj88ryr]

You guys are confusing the -hit out of me!!!! ;D

[lynxcat]

It's "OK" DJ...just breath in..breath out..take your Ritaline and go play on Acid Rain and the klingongayalator's site(Anti hit list site...I'm PROUD to be an NEW addition)....lol...fun is fun!!!
laterssss
lynx