Post by trappnman on Jun 22, 2022 7:49:44 GMT -6
I knew someday, I'd stop trapping coyotes. I always assumed that the reason would be advancing age. Might be that assumption was wrong. Is this the season? Maybe. don't know yet.
I knew the market was going to be bad last fall. I had no illusions about that. But I was expecting a bad market.....not a pretty much no market.
I quit longlining water, both for the prices, but more so that the numbers aren't here anymore for the mainstays of my waterlines. Coon are a fraction of what they were with distemper seeming a regular occurrence- and the creeks have been altered so much (all in the name of TU) that where rats and mink flourished, not anymore.
But water was almost all public access- I had no real ties to the land or the water- I miss it, but not horribly. And I've puttered in water since and that satisfies.
But coyotes? I love everything about it- including my ties to the land and the farmers. I'm in a way coyote trapping 365- I'm continually scouting, noting changes and things I missed before- all contributing a piece to the puzzle.
But holy cow- Last fall I put on over 5,000 miles trapping coyotes. Had another $700 in lure, peat, urine. Plus all the misc expenses.
I kept 8 coon- out of the maybe 12 I caught (I used to take hundreds of coon on these land lines years ago, they paid the expenses)- and those 8 were as good a coon as you can get...3X, clear color, prime, full furred......$4 each green.
So coon ain't paying for nothin'
On a Monday, I called my buyer- he told me things were bad, he would be embarrassed to make me an offer- but up to me. So figured ok- went through my coyotes, and pulled out any off colors (the reds, the darkies) and anything with rubs, etc.
Tumbled those, and on Thursday loaded the truck. Just got done, and got a call from my buyer telling me things had deteriorated, and I might want to reconsider.
Hmmmn. What to do......... Figured well, I don't need all these coyotes, so what the heck...and we went and culled them once again.
So my best- fully furred, decent color, etc.
$10 average............
Far less than a good week of gopher trapping. Which was bad enough- but I still had a shed full of coyotes.
So I picked the best 12, along with my fox (got them tanned last year and sold them for $50-75 ourselves so decided to do that again) to get tanned, and still had a bunch- those with rubs, etc we were (and are) going to try home tanning. My grandson came to visit from WY, and I gave him a bunch to take to try to tan.
So......... what to do this year. My 1st thought was well, just trap the top places- give me the highest % so less traps, less supplies, etc....but the "rub" is that those places are the far flung ones- and all the others fill in from here to there- so do I drive by all those spots- really not more expense but more coyotes- and if I want that, and I'd only want that if a market...then I'd trap as normal.
My tentative plan...... If there is ANY market for me- in other words, a agreement for nose count coyotes from my buyer...albeit a low price, I'll treat it as a vacation and not a vocation. Start 10 days later (which puts me more in danger of snow but better fur) and change my lines from 3 to 2 (splitting the 1 line, adding to the other 2) and running harder for less time to minimize miles.
and if no market? Well, I don't hate coyotes and I'm not going to just throw them in a ditch.
Thoughts or comments?
I knew the market was going to be bad last fall. I had no illusions about that. But I was expecting a bad market.....not a pretty much no market.
I quit longlining water, both for the prices, but more so that the numbers aren't here anymore for the mainstays of my waterlines. Coon are a fraction of what they were with distemper seeming a regular occurrence- and the creeks have been altered so much (all in the name of TU) that where rats and mink flourished, not anymore.
But water was almost all public access- I had no real ties to the land or the water- I miss it, but not horribly. And I've puttered in water since and that satisfies.
But coyotes? I love everything about it- including my ties to the land and the farmers. I'm in a way coyote trapping 365- I'm continually scouting, noting changes and things I missed before- all contributing a piece to the puzzle.
But holy cow- Last fall I put on over 5,000 miles trapping coyotes. Had another $700 in lure, peat, urine. Plus all the misc expenses.
I kept 8 coon- out of the maybe 12 I caught (I used to take hundreds of coon on these land lines years ago, they paid the expenses)- and those 8 were as good a coon as you can get...3X, clear color, prime, full furred......$4 each green.
So coon ain't paying for nothin'
On a Monday, I called my buyer- he told me things were bad, he would be embarrassed to make me an offer- but up to me. So figured ok- went through my coyotes, and pulled out any off colors (the reds, the darkies) and anything with rubs, etc.
Tumbled those, and on Thursday loaded the truck. Just got done, and got a call from my buyer telling me things had deteriorated, and I might want to reconsider.
Hmmmn. What to do......... Figured well, I don't need all these coyotes, so what the heck...and we went and culled them once again.
So my best- fully furred, decent color, etc.
$10 average............
Far less than a good week of gopher trapping. Which was bad enough- but I still had a shed full of coyotes.
So I picked the best 12, along with my fox (got them tanned last year and sold them for $50-75 ourselves so decided to do that again) to get tanned, and still had a bunch- those with rubs, etc we were (and are) going to try home tanning. My grandson came to visit from WY, and I gave him a bunch to take to try to tan.
So......... what to do this year. My 1st thought was well, just trap the top places- give me the highest % so less traps, less supplies, etc....but the "rub" is that those places are the far flung ones- and all the others fill in from here to there- so do I drive by all those spots- really not more expense but more coyotes- and if I want that, and I'd only want that if a market...then I'd trap as normal.
My tentative plan...... If there is ANY market for me- in other words, a agreement for nose count coyotes from my buyer...albeit a low price, I'll treat it as a vacation and not a vocation. Start 10 days later (which puts me more in danger of snow but better fur) and change my lines from 3 to 2 (splitting the 1 line, adding to the other 2) and running harder for less time to minimize miles.
and if no market? Well, I don't hate coyotes and I'm not going to just throw them in a ditch.
Thoughts or comments?
