For a long summers nap....

Trapping season is over for the year....traps cannot be set again until October 22. The totals for the year are:

Otter 2
Skunk 4
Mink 5
Beaver 11
Raccoon 13
Muskrat 15
Porkey 6

Awesome!!

We caught ourselves a 2nd otter!!!! I am limited out, each trapper is only allowed two a year. There are only 15 allowed in the entire area. I was #11 and #13!! My trappers ed instructor also maxed out this year he was #10 and #14.



Took my hides to another sale... this year total we have made $297.00. Much better than last year. Here is all the beaver I caught except for the one I have being mounted.

WOOOOOHOOOOO!

I just had a very good day trapping I caught two beaver in foot hold traps, which by the way is on accident. They should be caught in conabears. One weighed 48lbs. and the other 40lbs. I thought I was having a pretty good day right then until I went to the end of the trap line. I had a 110 set up for a muskrat and I was pretty sure I would have one in it. When I walked up on it I saw that I had a muskrat or at least I thought it was a muskrat until I bent down to pick it up and then I saw that it was a BEAUTIFUL MINK!!!!!!!!!! I have been trying to catch a mink all season and they keep making me look like a dern fool and now the first one I catch is on accident!

I have never been so excited on the trap line except for when I caught the otter.

A different kind of Otter...

My brothers and I went to check our trap line and my dad decided to come along. We were on the second to the last set and we had a beaver set across the eddie. My dad looked up and said "you guys, caught something....it looks like a giant muskrat." When we were able to get up closer we could see that it was an otter. I was so excited, where I live there is a quota of 15 otter per year and only 2 per person. It is considered as awesome as a bobcat!




They are a mandatory report and tagged with a special tag. we were number eleven of the year. Another trapper I know caught number twelve the same day.



We also went to a fur sale on Saturday. We didn't take all our fur just 4 rats, 6 coons and 2 ounces of porcupine hair and we were able to make $165! It is good because someone also stole one of my $18 traps and I need to replace it.

Otter

I FINALLY got my bloodhound. I have been wanting one for about a year and a half now. I named him Otter because his webbed feet and his silver/grey back remind me of an otter. He is 3/4 bloodhound and 1/4 mastiff. Those coons better watch out when he gets a little bigger!

A Sticky Situation...

My brother David and I were out checking the trap line. We were at a beaver set and he looked across the eddie and there was a porcupine sitting in a tree. Since I was wearing hip waders I crossed down stream about a hundred yards and trudged through the snow to shoot him.


Porcupines are a great catch because they are hard to get, usually trappers even pick up the road kill ones to get the guard hairs. In fact I have done it myself. They sell for $30 an ounce.

Cold Weather, More Beaver

We caught another 50lb beaver, we are getting this one rug mounted. Last week we were filmed by Jarred Scott out doors and for that video we caught a 25lb coon.

This is another 35lb beaver....


We got more than a foot of snow at our place over night. Made a lot of work out on the trap line.

But it also made for some pretty pictures.