More Young Trapper's Tales
My First Skunk
By Arvid Pellicer
It all started when I was getting ready for school. I decided to check my box trap that was on the way up to my bus stop. I had made a box trap set for a raccoon that I had baited with some muskrat flesh, bacon grease, apple, and some of Buckshot's raccoon lure. I had made the set with a box trap that was given to me by an old retired trapper that had caught a lot of skunks in it. The set was made underneath our bridge that goes over the creek. I had made the set so the raccoon would swim up to the set and climb on in. I had seen a lot of raccoon sign in the area and I was very anxious to catch my first coon.
As I was heading up to my bus stop, I went to check the set. When I neared the set, I heard scratching, thumping, and I got really exited. I had the bright idea of picking up the box trap and trying to carry it home. When I was half way home with it, I smelt the familiar odor of SKUNK! I kept on going because I thought that it was only the box trap that had caught skunks for years. When I was almost home, I finally denied the possibility of it just being the trap. It smelt so bad that my dad smelt it 200 feet away when he was in bed.
I'm only 11 years old and this was the first animal that I had caught (besides squirrels) so I did not know that I was suppose to leave it there and put the trap in the creek to drowned it. Anyway, my dad stuck his head out of the door and said "go get your older brother." So I ran out to our new house where my older brother was trying to get his precious sleep so he could check his trap line "early", well his kind of early. So I woke him up and told him that I caught a skunk and I didn't know what to do with it. So he got up and came out to help me dispatch him. I carried the trap back to the creek and he showed me how to drown it. And that was the end of the skunk. I smelt pretty bad and I had to take a bath and be brought to school by my mom. That was a very exiting and fun time and I will always remember my first skunk.
My First Trapping Season
By Anonymous from Maine
I first became interested in the sport or art of trapping by the tales told by my dad and great uncle of large catches and full stretchers. As a younger child of seven or eight, I often asked my dad about his old trapping experiences. One sunny day in mid July at a yard sale, there was a box of 7 old rusty traps. My eyes lit up at the opportunities. In the old wooden crate there were three #1 jumps, five #1.75 coils and one #3 jump. The crate of traps cost $20.00. I had $15.00 in my pocket and the nice old man went down to the $15.00.
Knowing little about traps of trapping I brought the small box of steel back to the house. The next day I bought the current issue of Fur-Fish and Game along with a copy of "The Trapper and Predator Caller." Luckily there was an arcticle on "trap preperation" in the Fur-Fish and Game.
After lots ofridicule from my father for buying the traps,(for fur prices weren't good and dad thought that it was too much work for the money) I started to ask about some ingredients for a home-made trap dye(not knowing about speed dip, of course.) I was told to gather; cedar and hemlock tips, maple and alder bark and some beechnut hulls. Dad finally began to see that I wasn't in it for the money and started to help me out a little. We built a brick fireplace on the lawn and searched the attic of my grandparents garrage for any surviving trapping supplies. We mannaged to come away with a pair of elbow length gauntlets, a dirt sifter, a trowel, some antifreeze and 12 victor #1 jumps. I was beaming with pride as we loaded the equipment into the back of the pickup. On the way home we stopped at the local hardware store and purchased a carbide skill saw blade. When we returned to our house we got a 50 gallon drum from down back and cut it in half to boil the traps in. After lugging pails of water and starting the fire inside the brick fire pit. The thin broth slowly turned into a black thick goop. We boiled and waxed the traps and hung them on the cloths line. Mom was not too happy about this "little stunt."
Now it was time to order a few supplies for muskrat, coon and mink. Duke Trap Supplies was the best supplier for my budget. (you don't make too much haying.) I ordered six muskrat stretchers, two coon and fox stretchers and one mink board. The shed was cleaned and ready to roll.
My plan was to trap a small meadow, a brook and a hardwood knowl down behind the farm. My birthday was on September 22. One of the gifts given to me by my parents was my very own "Old Timer" jack knife. The day after my birthday I went to cutting slide poles and building coon cubbies. All during bird season I scouted for sign. Two weeks before trapping season began I started prebaiting my coon cubbies on the hardwood knoll. My bait of choice was fish. It took the coons four days to start eating the fish.
The big evening had arrived! The night of Nov. 2nd was the night before trapping season. Since I knew that there would be no pressure down behing the farm, I waited until daylight the next morning to start setting traps. My alarm clock rang at 5 a.m. I was out of my bed like a rocket and dressed just as fast. I can't say the same for my father. After getting ready and my dad grabbed his deer rifle. (Nov. 3rd was three days into deer season here in Maine.) Grabbing my pack loaded with traps and supplies, we stepped out into the cold yet refreshing morning air. We stumbled our way down behind the barn into the enveloping woods. Coming upon the first coon cubby we found that the fish head had been eaten. Carefully putting on my gauntlets I selected a #1.75 coil spring and set it in the enterance of the cubby. Next I re-baited the cubby with another fish head. I looked at my watch and found that I had spent 45 minutes on my first set. If felt good to finally have my first set completed.
By 3:15 p.m. I was on my 10th set. This was a set under an overhanging rood in the stream for muskrat. By 5 p.m. I had all of my sets out. Making the seemingly long treck back to the house, three deer crossed the toat road right in front of us. Unfortunately dad had his rifle unloaded. We arrived at the field below the house at 6 p.m. Dad dug his flashlight out of his pocket. Finally we were back in the warm comfort of our kitchen with a nice dinner on the table. After eating we went straight to bed.
The next morning I woke up at 7 a.m. Dad woke up a little later. Dad had cautioned me that I would probably not catch anything and not to get my hopes up. The first and second coon set were empty. The third held a large male ringtail. I was so excited! Dad showed me how to dispatch the coon with my .22 rifle. After re-setting the cubby we placed the coon in my pack. Boy did that thing get heavy! Later we found that we had caught one muskrat.
After returning home we skun, fleshed and stretched the two pelts using my new oldtimer knife. My mom and dad were extremely proud of me. That season I caught six more coon and 12 more muskrat. No mink were caught however. At the end of my season the fur check totaled $46.50. Even though it wasn't much, I dug out the supply catalogs and started preparing for the next season. The memories of my first trapping season will be stowed away in my mind and room will be made for many to come. If there was one thing I learned; it was that trapping isn't about the money, it is about the love and respect for the great outdoors.
A Big First Catch
By Brian
I've got a good story for you. I first began trapping when I was 5. At first I went with my dad and uncle. One Christmas my grandmother gave me a #1.75 victor coilspring. I wanted to catch something with it really bad. January first I took it along with with my dad and uncle beaver trapping. Dad thought it would be too small but reluctently set it anyway. I was beaming with pride. I had set my own trap! Two days later we came back to check the sets. I had caught a 55lb. beaver in a #1.75 coilspring! My dad could'nt beleive it, I had finally become a true trapper. It was the biggest beaver I had ever caught since. We brought the beaver home and skun and stretched it.
At the end of the season we took the catch over to the local fur buyer. When we told him the story he was shocked. I was very impressed when I took the $45.00 home. That $45.00 went right out in the mail the next day for more traps. Since that year I have extended my line and now have a drivers license so I have an auto line as well. Last year I caught 3 otter, 6 fisher, 3 raccoons, 3 red fox, 3 beaver and 12 muskrat with my dad. With another line with a friend I caught 39 beaver, 2 otter, and a few muskrat. These are my memories of trapping with my dad and reaping the benifets of the great out doors.
Used Traps Still Catch Game
By Kenny
I started trapping after hearing a story about my neighbor catching a fisher in a box trap. My mother and I were down to their house one day on our way to town to ask if the older couple needed anything at the store. Roy, my neighbor took me out to the barn where laying on the back racks of his three wheeler were two big fishers and one mink. After ogling over them for a minute I asked how he had caught them. He showed me all sorts of his basic equipment. Roy let me watch him skin, flesh and stretch the animals telling me the step by step process. I started asking more and more questions. After my first educational course in the art of trapping it was time to go. However, before leaving Roy handed me a stack of four "Trapper and Predator Caller" magazines. Before I left Roy said to me, "In order to be a good trapper you must think like your prey." That phrase has helped me a lot in my two years of trapping. Boy was I ever tickled. I couldn't wait to get home and start indulging myself with the knowledge. A couple of years ago Roy passed on but with me will always be the knowledge from him and those four magazines.
After talking to my dad about what Roy and I had done in the shed, dad informed me that he had once been a fairly good trapper himself back in the day when fur prices were quite high. I also learned that my great uncle and great grandfather helped support their families on the money that they made from trapping. All throughout out that winter and spring I saved every cent I could get my hands on. By June I had saved $65.00. This was enough to buy my first dozen traps. Dad advised me to get #1 victor coils since I would probably be trapping 'rats my first year. It seemed like those traps would never come in the mail. One hot spring day I had walked off the bus to see a cardboard box setting on the deck. I was jumping out of my sneakers when I got inside I started opening the box just like it was Christmas wrapping paper. Sure enough there were my traps. Dad took one out of the box and thoroughly inspected it. Then with the greatest of ease he set the trap on his knee and set it. "He didn't even need to use his feet" I thought to myself. Now after lots of practice I too can set traps on my knee.
During that summer I joined my state trapping association. I also got a job haying for the farmer down the road. This haying money would be plenty for the small number of supplies I needed. I had planned to trap an area behind the house. This area contained a hardwood ridge, a stream and a large meadow. I had planned to trap with just the dozen traps I had but one day during my brother's "newspaper studies" in school he read that there were used traps for sale in Newport. I could hardly wait for my mother to get home so that we could go check them out. It just so happened that I had $43.00 in a jar from the left over haying money. Finally mom pulled in the dooryard and I was in that Bronco like a jack rabbit. We made our way over to where the man said he was located. Arriving at the barn where the traps were held I noticed two men lugging of an armload of #110 conibears. My heart kind of sank but I wanted to get in there and see what the man had. Stepping into the barn a nice old man greeted me. I asked if he had any #110's and he told me that those men had taken the last of them. I came out of there with 12 #1 jumps, 4 #4 jumps and 6 #1.75 coils for my $43.00. Mom bought me two coon/fox stretchers and 6 muskrat stretchers. Gathering up all of my trapping supplies I de-scented supplies and boiled traps and gauntlets.
Finally the big day was here. Father and I were all ready to go. Traps were waiting out by the door step and our licenses were in my dad's pocket. I thought I would never get to sleep. Finally I caught just a small wink and awoke to country music blaring in my ear. My feet pitter-pattered on the cold floor. It was hard waking dad up. We wolfed down breakfast and headed out into the frosty air to begin my experience of a lifetime. On our way out our mom saw us off, dad tried not to act excited but he was just as excited as I.
Stumbling down through the pasture with our packs on we suddenly saw a pair of glowing green eyes in the flashlight. It was a red fox! We went to the corner of the fence row and made a dirt hole set there. We used old tainted deer meat for bait and put a splash of urine on the top. The dirt hole set took about half an hour to make. Next we sneaked through the woods to a nice natural leaning log. Dad took the hatchet out of my pack basket and notched a flat spot in the tree. We put a little deer meat on the tree for bait and set a #4 jump and stapled the chain to the bottom side of the log. There was two sets done! And only 7:30. Next we made two coon sets with the #1.75's. When we arrived at the brook we went to our pre-scouted spots and set 7 sets for coon, mink and muskrat. Making out way to the meadow we jumped a deer. That jumped the heck out of us, seeing how we almost stepped on it and all. At the meadow there was abundant muskrat and coon sign. We made 10 sets around the meadow in den holes and on feed beds for muskrat. For coon we made four sets in trails.
We arrived at the house at 4 that afternoon. We were both bushed and after peeling out of our waders we both hit the couch. Dad and I conversed about which sets he thought would be the most productive. The next morning we dragged our soar and aching bodies out of bed to check the traps. The first set held a nice boar coon. After dispatching him with the .22 we re-made the set with a clean trap and moved on. The fisher set was empty along with the next two coon sets. On the brook we picked up two muskrat. While re-making the muskrat set we noticed fresh mink tracks in the washed up sand. We were very optimistic about this set. We picked up 3 more muskrats on the meadow. I was so happy, I couldn't wait to get home and start skinning. At home I was able to use many of the techniques that Roy taught me and pick up some new ones from dad. It took us about two hours to skin, flesh and stretch all of the animals. The fur check totaled out to be $67.00 all of which went right back into supplies.
Trapping has become one of my favorite past times. I have had many memorable experiences (good and bad) like the time I rolled the canoe, that would be a bad experience. Or the time I caught my first mink, that would be a good experience. Trapping is an excellent sport for the "true" outdoorsman. Remember, "in order to bee a good trapper you must think like the prey."
Justin's Tale
By Justin
My first year trapping I went trapping with my brother and dad. They both like trapping fox, coyotes, fisher and otter. This was the first year that they had ever used boxes, we were just trying them out. They told me that I could set one whereever I wanted. When we were driving down the old camp road one day I saw black bear cross the road. I said stop! This looks like game country. I wanted to set my box there worse than heck. My big brother showed me where I ought to set it. We were in a thick softwood grove. I stuffed the newspaper box under a log. The log was close to a big ol' spruce tree. We set a #120 conibear in the entrance of the box and baited it with stolen chicken from the coop down the street. (They think they have a coon problem and I get to trap them too.) (Just kidding)
The set was all camouflaged and stapled to the tree. We had seen lots of fisher sign. There was a big turd in the trail (maybe it was the bear's but I insisted that it was fisher) along with lots of tracks. We went on the rest of the day setting up more baited cubby sets. By the end of the day we had 13 sets made for fisher and mink.
The next day we went back to check. After two empty sets we came upon my set. By golly we walked up there and saw the hugest male fisher we had ever seen. The fisher weighed 8 lbs. We took it home and skun it out and I got $45 for it.
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