The season is over, my fur shed is a mess, and I have a long list of things to get to that I neglected during trapping season. It'd be very easy to just wait until Fall to start thinking about trapping again, but for some reason I just can't. Well, you know the reason. Trapping may take place for only a few months a year, but being a trapper you're always a trapper. There's always something to do and some way to keep up the addiction.
I try to build into my schedule some dedicated scouting time each Spring. It's right on the heels of the season so potential trapping spots that I didn't get to this year are still fresh in my mind.
The biggest reason to get out and scout now is that everything hasn't bloomed yet. Once Spring comes in full force the woods will hide its secrets again, but now when the ground is barren it is so much easier to spot scat, tracks and trails. Sure, the animal patterns may well change quite a bit between now and Fall, but scouting now still yields a lot of information that will be useful when next season starts.
I'm mainly out looking for 'coon trails. With barren ground they are much more visible than they will be come Spring. Raccoon trails tend to stay active, and many trails I find in the Spring yield catches in the Fall.
Once I find a trail I just follow it as far as I can, and very often it leads to a den. Out comes my notebook, and I jot down the location. Many dens I know of remain active year after year, so once I find a good den I know the spot will be worth scouting again the next year. If I go into a new piece of woods I often start at the highest point or ridge-line, look for a trail, and follow it as far as it will take me. I'm always on the lookout for rocky overhangs and old piles of debris (concrete, railroad ties, etc) as these tend to be great den areas. When scouting for trails I often scan hillsides with thick grapevines, and look for high ridges with big hardwoods.
With the ground still barren 'coon sign is not hard to find. If it's there, you'll find it, but the best time is right now. When late April and May roll around the woods will hide its secrets again.
If you have any pics to share from last season I'd love to see 'em and post them here. Just click "contact me" in the sidebar and send me an email.
Happy trails!
Logging Roads, Lanes and Laminations
I was recently given the chance to view a new coyote trapping video released by Blackdog productions along with some trap modification footage as well. The video was shot in northern Wisconsin on public
land by Troy Erickson of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The trap mod portion is shot in Jason Dufresne’s shop in Minnesota.
This video is really not just another coyote numbers, "look what I caught" video. Troy goes into detail on how the animals in this big timber area are funneling and traveling through these areas and why they are moving the way they are. He covers traps, tools, sets, remakes, lure and bait along with some ideas that made me stop and think that even a water trapper like me might be able to catch a coyote by following his methods. Not to say that there is any earth shattering change to the coyote trapping world as we know it. but it is well put together and the information in it is as solid as it gets if you want to catch coyotes in the big timber or anywhere else they may be roaming. Troy is definitely a driven trapper who has no mercy on the coyote populations of Wisconsin!
The trap modification portion of this video is shot on location in the shop of the premier trap modification man in the business, Jason Dufresne. It shows the basic mods needed for animal comfort as well as trap speed and strength, turning your everyday trap into “a lifetime tool”. The finished products that Jason has been turning out over the course of the 2 years I have been acquainted with him are second to none. His work speaks for itself. This portion of the video is worth the price alone.
For more information contact Troy at www.blackdogproduction.net
Info@blackdogproduction.net
http://www.customtrapmodification.com/index.html
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