day 1

[musher]

Left the house at 6 and go home at 5. Just enough time to clean up the dogs and feed them in daylight.

The goal was marten with the obstacle being moose hunters still in the bush for the last week end of the season. No problems with the hunters but we were careful of where we went. The main drag was the only road traveled. We actually came across a moose that had just been shot and was blocking the road.

The hunter was a gentleman of 80 years and it was the first moose he had killed in 22! I'd say that he is a little more patient than I am. He was going to his hunting spot and the small buck was on the road. We had to drag the moose to the side so my truck could get by. As we were there his family showed up and he didn't need any help. This past summer I had run across the gentleman and his son (whom I knew) and the had a lawn mower with them on their ATV. I had asked why and the son had whispered to me that he mowed his fathers trails so that the old man wouldn't trip!

I hope that I am as healthy and well surrounded by loved ones when I'm 80.

Chatting up moose hunters can get you onto some fur you might not know about. I got plugged into a few fox, beaver and a mother lynx with 4 young. The norm is two kittens with 3 occurring from time to time. This was 4 and I saw the photos to prove it. The tracks were still in front of the trailer where Mrs. Moose Hunter stays while hubby heads off.

The end result of day one is 60 boxes waiting for marten/fisher. Tomorrow is another day where distances between locations will be greater. The goal is 35-40 more with some mink sets if there is time.

Now I'm off to to reload the truck, eat and have a cold one .

[musher]

Got 41 sets for marten/fisher in as well as a few mink. Way easier day in that take off time was 6:45 because the line was only 10 minutes from the house. A wet snow fell all day which was o.k. but would not have been missed if it hadn't.

More moose action was to be had: We were going towards a location following a set of moose tracks. Suddenly the tracks skidded and veered into the bush where we stopped at a location. Partner and I were wondering if we had jumped it. About 5 minutes later 2 shots were fired from a little distance away. We didn't go see but I think we pushed a moose for some one. Further on we came upon another fellow and his wife that had just bagged a big cow.

The last day of the season is tomorrow.

I learned something regarding how I store my bait. I use moose scraps in my boxes. I have a butcher that I know where I can usually pick up all I want.

Not this year.

Due to the prices everyone and their cousin is now a trapper. Hunters are leaving with their scraps. Moose trimmings were hard to come by.

My garagist saw my empty buckets and, having just brought his moose to a butcher I didn't know, gave me a hot tip. New butcher was overflowing with scraps ...

I went and as I got there the butcher was on the phone. He was arguing with an outfitter that was supposed to pick up the scraps but who hadn't shown up. I asked him for the scraps and he said , "Take it all!"

My truck couldn't take half. The guys yard was a stinking, fly ridden mess of moose scraps, legs, and skins. He had more in his cold room.

I took the cold room stuff and the guy told me to take moose quarter hides to cover my buckets. This way, he said, flies could not get to my scraps and the meat would stay cool because of the fur insulation. I did as he suggested and stored it that was in an old chicken coop at home.

Meanwhile, my regular butcher came through and I had enough bait.

Yesterday, I used the old butcher bait. It was fine as usual. Today I had to use the new butcher stuff. Freakin' disaster. The hides were slipping, the meat is liquid maggoty and my chicken coop almost needs a good fire to clean it up.

The bottom of the buckets were o.k. but the top sure made a fellow queesy. I hauled and dumped the rest. I might need to make a bait run but marten is fairly set so we'll see by the middle of the week. I had revisited the new butcher twice after my first visit and he was empty both times. Lots of trappers out this year.

Tomorrow partner starts on the beaver and I start on the fox and wolves.

[trappnman]

close I could come to that was when we lost power, and were gone for 3 days and didn't know it- a freezer full of rotting meat is something I don't want to experience again

Good luck B= make sure you post some pics

[musher]

I had the camera today but was too busy to take photos. I set on a nice shiny wolf turd that was photo worthy! I almost turned back once I remembered I had the camera!

[musher]

Yesterday started off with this.



At one spot the snow was ankle deep and the highway was crap getting there. Lots of people without the winter tires yet. So at the end of the day this looked pretty good.



Wet snow down the neck, making dirt holes in snow, snaring in the snow and estimating how much more will fall or melt., the lakes freezing/slushing up ... All crap that is o.k. in a few weeks but not yet.The only good thing about the snow is that it saves from going to a stream for water. A packed bucket gives you maybe 2 inches of water. Enough to wash your hands!



This was rather nippy this morning. The styrofoam seat made all the difference. my flashlight light bulb burnt out while I was finishing up. I just didn't estimate snare heights!



It's 2013 so the obligatory selfie is required, My buddy Marten is with me.



The fur isn't rolling in yet. Hopefully the woods being empty of hunters and the snow will get things moving. Saw lots of lynx tracks but they aren't legal yet. Not much tracks of anything else.

[jim]

Nice selfie, I had to use the internet to find the meaning of it. My spell check doesn't know the word it has it underlined right now.

Jim

[musher]

I'm all about educating the masses, Jim!

Here's another selfie with my gal Red. She trying to do the duckface. That's kind of tough when you're a fox.



And here's an old school for you with Ratface. We all know what that is. We tolerate them because they help pay for the gas.



Wifey came out on the line. I was able to get this photo of her. She is wearing her "Take your stupid picture" face.



I picked up a nice cross. It is fairly dark.



And a scenery shot of a very pretty location. I have a mink and a marten set there. I've caught lynx there also. My biggest catch was my thumb in a 280 mag. That experience stopped my otter trapping there. It's about 30-35 km. In the bush off the highway. There are a set of falls just off the photo that make quite the roar.

[musher]

Beaver run today.



Here's a nice dark one.

[TrapperRon]

great pictures and stories there musher. Enjoyed them, keep posting. At least I'm not the only one with early snow.

[musher]

I don't know if others have this. They are spring creeks in the bush where you can get fresh water.





I had a BAD open today and it did so flawlessly.



BUT IT OPENED ON A WOLF AND I LOST THE FREAKIN' THING!!!! I've used BADs in the past, with success, but the experiment is now over for me. Moose have their problems and I have mine. I gave everything a good Irish blessing and have removed several from my snares. Wolves are too much work for equipment failure It's old school for me from here on in.

This was the second snare hassle I had this season. The first was the day before where a double strand of #12 wire broke. It was a fox set but I figure a fisher got caught.

The wolf must have been a brute. It made quite the fight circle. At least it left with no wire on it. But boy, what a bummer.

[redsnow]

Beautiful scenery. About the piped spring water, we have several of those around here. And lots of little "spring seeps" back in the mountains, just enough where a feller can get a drink. What a nice beaver run, that'd take a feller a while to skin, and probably a 12 pack. Boys that would suck about the BAD opening up on a wolf. Think maybe it was hip caught? Well, at least now you've got plenty of bait for the marten boxes.

[musher]

The beaver are dog food! I bait my marten boxes with moose scraps.

I don't really think the wolf was hip caught. There isn't much chewed up at the catch circle.

[TrapperRon]

Had that happen to me last year. The snare was straight out and the wolf was gone. Straightened the BAD. I like them as they keep the snare straight and it works better. Now mine are all silver soldered. Take that Mr. wolf.

[musher]

Here are a couple of unusual catches (Thanks goodness!) The first is a marten chewed by a fisher. It was one heck of a large marten. Hopefully the fisher will come back and try for the bait.

The second is what I believe you guys call a dink coon. By dink i'm guessing that you don't mean "double income no kids." I do not catch a raccoon every couple of years. this one was far from any road and I haven't a clue as to what it was doing in the bush. It was caught in a mink set. It was quite lean and I'm hoping for two dollars.



Here is a deer scrape. The rut is on and they have been traveling a lot. I saw a huge buck a few days ago but it was gone before I could get the camera out of my spare boots which were right behind the drivers seat. I saw it for well over a minute as I grabbed and threw everything around the truck cab. It left right after the camera was out of the case ...