Who’s ready for trapping?

[JMF]

Picked up a decent male coon on coyote dirt hole set the other day, he looked real good to me so I called the local fur buyer and he said a touch to early for coons yet. So ya, you’re spot on FishFinder. Just ordered a couple saber tooth drags online, thinking of trying them once the ground gets super frozen instead of trying to drive earth anchors in... anyone have good or bad stories about drags? For what it’s worth, generally where I set there’s pretty heavy cover nearby, I definitely won’t be using them in the middle of a harvested bean field.

The drags will work good as long as you have some cover. A dog definitely helps for tracking the ones that do make it off aways.

 

[lazyMlazyK]

I didn't think we could use drags in ND? I'll have to dig out the guidebook & read up again...
Have really liked the four-coiled MB-650 cast-jaw traps I've got. Come up quick through frosted ground and hold like a son of a gun!

 

[BP338]

I want to get into trapping. I love calling varmints and I think that trapping could be fun for me and my boy. I have a lot of homework to do though...plus finding a land owner to work with might be a challenge.

 

[Wildyote]

The easier easy way is with a concrete mixer and a weed burner, also use granulated wax, it doesn't cost much more than the blocks.

Definitely way faster with cement mixer and weed burner. Have done it that way for years. Dirt lasts forever if stored right. It is not fun setting traps this year.

 

[JMF]

I didn't think we could use drags in ND? I'll have to dig out the guidebook & read up again...
Have really liked the four-coiled MB-650 cast-jaw traps I've got. Come up quick through frosted ground and hold like a son of a gun!

They are legal on footholds, but you cannot use them on cable devices.

 

[lunkerslayer]

Anyone trapping rats and what is the price

 

[wjschmaltz]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5344486

Anyone talk to their fur buyer yet?!?! The AK Frontier Trapper Association releases a statement tonight. I’m very interested to hear what buyers have to say since the majority sell through NAFA.

 

[eyexer]

how do you set for badger

 

[JMF]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5344486

Anyone talk to their fur buyer yet?!?! The AK Frontier Trapper Association releases a statement tonight. I’m very interested to hear what buyers have to say since the majority sell through NAFA.

There are lots of markets outside of NAFA.

- - - Updated - - -

how do you set for badger

What kind of trap do you plan on using? Any coyote set will catch a badger.

 

[eyexer]

Ya what kind of trap. Do you bait em if so what do you bait em with. I know absolutely nothing about them but a buddy of mine is sick of them tearing up his fields

 

[JMF]

Ya what kind of trap. Do you bait em if so what do you bait em with. I know absolutely nothing about them but a buddy of mine is sick of them tearing up his fields

Your best bet is to find somebody who does know what to do, or watch some Youtube videos.

 

[FishFinder97]

Anyone putting up some fur yet?

 

[Trapper62]

I love using a bucket with a 220 set back in it, stinker the bait the better. I don't purposely trap them until late winter early spring when they are getting active, because our badger are not prime in the fall and early winter, they seem to prime up after they den up. If we get nice weather mid-winter and I see an active den I will set then as well. Just watch as you drive around in the spring for dens that have been opened, most of the time they return to them when they first come out and they are easy to spot against the snow and I have yet to have a landowner deny permission at that time of year.

 

[Deep Forks]

Question for the experienced coyote trappers... so today I was checking traps and had a sprung one, upon closer examination it appears I ‘had’ a coyote in it. (I’m fairly new to this and haven’t caught a coyote yet). It was approximately 20 hrs between checks, I normally check more often than that but a change in work schedule wouldn’t allow. There was blood all over my trap, a little bit of fur and blood on the ground in the immediate area. The whole area also reeked of that coyote smell. I followed the spotty blood trail down a game trail which went into a massive cattail slough. I guess my question is- is this common with coyotes? If you’re not on top of them shortly after they’re caught? Or could this mean something else like a toe catch or something else that maybe I’m doing wrong that I don’t even know about. I’m using number 3 Bridger offset coilspring that I dyed and waxed before season.

 

[shorthairman]

No expert trapper by any means...and definitely not with coyotes, but I would guess toe catch. There are sooo many variances in trapping from one trapper to the next that it would be hard to say if you were doing anything wrong...meaning what one guy might say is wrong another guy might dismiss as nothing to get too concerned about...we have a mandatory 24 hour check, but some states I think have 48 hours (maybe SD?) so I would guess you would be fine at 20 hours with a good pinch on the foot instead of just a toe or two...

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in...

 

[roosterfish]

Anyone trap rats anymore? are they worth anything? I used to when i was a kid and got up to 5 bucks. I have been hearing up to a hundred a yote in Bismarck.

 

[FishFinder97]

Question for the experienced coyote trappers... so today I was checking traps and had a sprung one, upon closer examination it appears I ‘had’ a coyote in it. (I’m fairly new to this and haven’t caught a coyote yet). It was approximately 20 hrs between checks, I normally check more often than that but a change in work schedule wouldn’t allow. There was blood all over my trap, a little bit of fur and blood on the ground in the immediate area. The whole area also reeked of that coyote smell. I followed the spotty blood trail down a game trail which went into a massive cattail slough. I guess my question is- is this common with coyotes? If you’re not on top of them shortly after they’re caught? Or could this mean something else like a toe catch or something else that maybe I’m doing wrong that I don’t even know about. I’m using number 3 Bridger offset coilspring that I dyed and waxed before season.

I'm also no expert but sounds like a toe catch. It's happened to me before, try setting your pan tension heavier that way the coyote has to put more weight on it to set the trap and should catch the pad instead of the toe.

 

[Deep Forks]

Thanks for the input... sucks that he got away... sucks even more that now he’s educated.

 

[FishFinder97]

Anyone catch anything cool this year or have something to share from trapping? For me I caught my first badger in a 220.

 

[Deep Forks]

Caught a Fisher in a coyote dirt hole set. Had to release it cuz it was about 2 weeks before Fisher season opened over here (Mn)... and couldn’t re-catch him in actual Fisher sets once the season was open.