anyone trapping ?

[jimbires]

if anyone on here is trapping , I'd like to talk over a few things . this is my first year back at it , since high school I think my season started out pretty good , and then just hit a wall around mid December . I'm not sure if I had too many traps out , and the animals got wise to me, or if things changed and my sets that were working stopped producing . I'll get in to the details if anyone is a trapper and thinks they can shed some light . I'm kind of stumped on this . thanks

 

[JD338]

I ran a couple cubby sets for bobcat but was unsuccessful this year.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

good looking cubbies , JD . I had a few cubbies out for bobcats too . I didn't catch during the season . I had caught , and released two before the season came in . they are all business . I had a couple guys with me on the first release . that cat took a swipe at us before he went on his way . the second one I was by myself , and the release was a lot smoother . maybe too many guys being there on the first release , had him worked up .


I'll tell you what's went on and see if you have any ideas . I started trapping mid October , when the season started . I thought I was doing pretty good with my catches . I kept things going through Thanksgiving . I pulled all my traps when I went to Kansas deer hunting . I had a few traps that had multiple catches , and must have got too smelly . they would get uncovered , and not catch or sprung . usually just dusted off , but sometimes flipped up out of the trap bed . so before I put the traps back out I boiled them all , and coated them again . I put the traps back in the same sets I was using before I pulled them . I had a few catches , but nothing like before . nothing was getting dusted off . nothing was getting the bait robbed . a couple of the early sets that were fairly productive , had tracks go right on past and never paid attention to the set . I'm not sure what happened , and how fast it changed . is there a time that a dirt hole set stops working ? I had mostly used the dirt hole set . I had some flat 3 hole lure sets . I used a few pipe dream sets . I had a bunch of different baits and lures , so I didn't have the same smell at every set .

our lease is 1800 acres . I had a trap line of just shy of 14 miles , is what my side by side clocked per day . plus I'd walk back in some places to check the traps I couldn't drive to . the trap line weaved around , I was probably only trapping around 1000 - 1200 , or so of the acres , and there were big gaps in places between traps . the most traps I had out at one time was 56 . did I over saturate the area with traps ? should I have put the traps out in new locations after I pulled and cleaned them ? I know things were getting wise to me . I started to get a few urine post sets going . after a few days I cleaned some of the original dirt away and put wax dirt in there , so I could watch for tracks and see what was using the post . heck I didn't place anything there and the wax dirt was all pushed around . it was like he was looking for a trap . so I know they are relating my wax dirt to a trap . the wax dirt must have a smell .

the weather is starting to break for a couple weeks , and I'm starting to feel better . I would like to get some traps out again , there's about a month of season to go . I'm just not sure if I wore the place out for this season , or if it would be worth while. if I can find a few good trails , I'll put out some cable restraints and see how that goes . I haven't had any cables out , so it would be something they haven't seen yet this year .


thanks for any advice , I appreciate it . maybe get me headed in the right direction .

 

[Vince]

I’m not a trapper but I’ll put my $0.02 in if you’ll let me.

I think the wiley critters are on to you and you have spread your scent too. If you want longevity in your trap line, ie; trap for more than a season, I would suggest not trapping the remainder of the season.

I don’t know if it’s legal but what about putting out bait during the off season to attract the critters to your area? That way they associate your scent with food.

Just my $0.02

Vince

 

[hunter24605]

Just ran my trap line. Few more pelts and I can make a marble bag. seriously though, I think they may be on to you. But I really haven’t any experience.

 

[jimbires]

Fellas , I agree 100% , they were getting wise to me . I can't believe how they just kind of flipped the switch and stopped playing . it's like , " I'm taking my ball and going home " I'll have to try and figure out if I'd be better off to use less sets and keep it going , or if I did the right thing by semi- smothering the place . I originally was planning on having 100 sets out , at the peak , but that didn't happen . I'm thinking on a good day , I probably couldn't have tended 100 sets . with the 56 sets out it was 3 1/2 - 5 hours a day to keep the line tended . I had a bunch of fun , and learned a lot . I know of a few things that I need to figure out fixes for , before next season . I have found my way through some problems that showed up fairly quickly this season . this is something I enjoyed when I was in school . back then we didn't have fishers , coyotes or bobcats . these added to the challenge .

if trapping wasn't so frowned upon , I'd post up some pics . this is the best pic I have to share .

 

[jimbires]

JD , I might be telling you something you already know . if you need to release a bobcat don't put the catch pole cable around the neck . get a front leg and neck to protect the cat .

 

[jimbires]

the snow and ice has melted down some , and I was able to get out yesterday. here's 3 of the cubbies I had out . I had a few more , but it was too icy to get down in there for pics .






this one I used an old trash can and covered it in with pine limbs we had piled up from trimming for a ladder stand . I had fox tracks in front of it , but that was it . I think the trash can might be too deep for them to enter .