Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i The Trapper

As we reach the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, it seems that the outlook for the fur market is getting worse every day. Reports are that China’s climate has not been especially cold, and that retail operations in China are slow. Many retail stores in China carry a lot of inventory left unsold from previours years, so that cash flow in the buyers’ hands is likely to be limited for this upcoming buying season. Moreover, ranch mink prices in the fall 2018 auctions revealed yet another slip down, meaning that things are going from bad to worse. In the mink farming community, talk is about how to survive, or about shutting down and closing farms. Prices for mink now have been under production costs for several years,…

A trapping logbook is a great way for trappers to keep track of animal movements, sets, lures and baits that work and don’t work, and an invaluable reference for future seasons. Not only are logbooks great references for future seasons, but they are also great to pass down to future generations of trappers. Whether they keep the books as keepsakes or use the information on their own trapline, they certainly will appreciate it. A log should include the date, time, weather conditions (temperature, barometric pressure and cloud cover), as well as the lures, baits, locations, sets and the results. Keeping a logbook has definitely made me a better, more successful trapper. It can do the same for you. For the past nine years I have recorded information on every single…

I’m a predator trapper. But while I like the idea of trapping coyotes, bobcat or lynx, they’re just not a backyard commodity for me. I own perhaps an acre parcel near a subdivision. According to the new litter of eager young realtors, I now live in the Philadelphia suburban sprawl. But, I grew up far away in Appalachia and I’m a mountaineer at heart. Where I live now, I do have a little spit of creek with a bantam piece of wildlife paradise. I have grown the vegetation high enough to have red foxes calling on me, but I still mow enough to keep the local constabulary from calling on me. In the early 1960s I caught my first fox — a gray — when Pennsylvania paid a $4 bounty…

Wild hogs can cause a lot of damage in a real hurry. In areas with high populations of wild hogs, several acres of land can be overturned in just one night by only one sounder of hogs. Imagine if you had several sounders in your area. Hunting can only do so much to control the hogs, and it will be almost impossible to eradicate hogs once they move in. All that can be done is to control the population as best as possible. One of the best ways to do that is by trapping. One trap can catch several hogs in a single night. Trapping wild boars and feral hogs can be as challenging as any outdoor activity. With several styles of hog traps to choose from, it’s not as…

For the folks that do not know me, I have been around the trapping trade for a long time. I have always enjoyed coyote trapping, from long-lining coyotes to working animal damage control. If I were asked to sum up a half-century of coyote trapping, I would simply say, “I have been there and done that.” What I enjoy most is working on and trying to understand these hard-to-call and trap-shy coyotes. Throughout the years it has really been a challenge. Fortunately, I live in a remote and wild section of Colorado where there are a lot of coyotes. This is my classroom where I trap and call. This month I’d like to address basic coyote trapping for the folks that are just starting out. The advice I give first…

“Do you really want to handle all of these beavers tonight Andy?” My buddy asked me this one night during the spring of 2017 in Saint Lawrence County. I replied, “No buddy I’d rather not, but I have to keep trapping them, it’s a fever in me!” That’s a conversation that many trappers have had over a night’s task of handling beavers. I was very astonished to be invited during the spring beaver, muskrat, otter and mink season of 2017 to the Adirondack foothill region of Saint Lawrence County. This is the same area that legendary trapper E.J. Dailey trapped and grew up in. I have taken some beavers over the years, but that doesn’t make me a professional. I always thought a professional was someone who thought about nothing…

My calling partner, Frank, and I were joined by another buddy on a midwinter fox hunt. Since Frank and I had both already hunted the area several times over the course of the season, we thought it best to have Steve handle the calling chores. Our thought was that a fresh calling style may trick an educated fox into responding. Well, Steve called — and he called LOUDLY! The sound was not only echoing, but banging, off the surrounding trees. I didn’t say it aloud, but I was thinking that our finicky fox would definitely not respond favorably to this. I was right, as no eyes were seen throughout the night. A subsequent conversation with Frank reaffirmed my thoughts that the volume level was simply too intense. There are several…

Beaver Kebabs | by Tim Paulman, Vermont INGREDIENTS: 2 beaver thighs, de-boned 3 medium onions 3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow) ½ pint cherry tomatoes 1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash 12 mushrooms (optional) 1 marinade packet (or substitute barbecue sauce, Italian dressing or maple syrup drizzle) Salt and pepper to taste 6 kebab sticks DIRECTIONS: 1. Soak your kebab sticks in water. 2. Trim off excess fat and cube up beaver meat into 1½-inch cubes. 3. Soak in marinade (minimum 1 hour). 4. Wash vegetables and cut them into 2-inch chunks. 5. Load the vegetables and meat onto sticks, alternating as you wish. 6. Grill slowly over medium heat. If you’re cooking over a campfire, wrap each kebab in tinfoil with a pat of…