Aint gonna get rich trapping this year!

[DiggerDirect]

Sold (some) of our first fur at auction this past Saturday, not gonna get rich this year!lol

2.25 for the muskrats tops with averaged out at 1.75

Beaver went tops at 20 dollars for only a select few, most in the 7-10 dollar range

Nice buck mink bringing 6-8 dollars, females about half that

coon from a dollar to 7 dollars tops

coyote at give away prices

Fisher topped at 28 dollars, many sold for 15

weasels a buck a piece

nice red fox in at 10-15

Beaver castor was in demand tho, 20 bucks & up per pound dried.

We always sell off most of the fall fur before christmas, as its always a gamble to hold or not to hold, thinking could have/should have held them awhile longer this season in hopes of it picking up. At least there is a market out there!

Oh well, ice on the water, snow on the ground now so trapping really gets under way, just have to catch twice as much :wink:

[nhlivefreeordie]

This is why my traps are still in the shed.
I watch the market carefully, and have prices in mind where it makes sense to trap. I could see we were headed for disaster, so decided to save gas and let the critters multiply, for better times.
These would be the minimums that would make sense to trap, for me at least.
Beaver $45
Muskrat $4.50
Coon $25
Red Fox $25
Grey Fox $20
Mink $20
Fisher $80
Marten $40
I never target Coyotes, no matter what the price, they are not cost effective in my estimation.
Those minimums represent a price that is half or lower than my best prices on these.

[DiggerDirect]

agreed prices arent what I'd like, but guess I'd do it anyhow just because. The bright side is with depressed prices might be a low take, driving prices up this spring or atleast next season. I have canceled the annual pilgramige to the mountains beav trapping this year tho.



Here the coyote and fox run the same path, so it could be either waitin for ya when you run the line, and the farmers would string up a rope if they heard I let one go, lol

Far as beaver go, most of my fall catch come from wco work, so the fur & castor price is really incidental, the rats, coon, & mink are perks as long as I'm running the lines, which are always different landowners and businesses year to year.

I follow the markets also, targeting whats hot, leaving whats not for the most part.

Might be just me, but I PREFER somewhat lower fur prices as the competition is low, when they spike or are high everyone becomes a trapper.

I think I can make as much money on a 3 dollar rat market in the marsh myself as I can in a 6 dollar rat market with several other trappers, in fact I know I can.

On a sour note, I set up three beaver ponds for landowners on a contract for removal this year, all three private,posted properties, I run a 48 hour check mostly and when I came back two days later 21 traps had been stolen, 16 330s, 4 mb750s and a bridger#5 coil... plus any fur that they held! :mad::mad::mad: Figure that was around a 400 dollar loss, luckily they were contract sites, (flat rate not per critter)

I secretly mark all my traps so now I'll also be facing more charges, fines and maybe jail time when I find them!:rolleyes:

Thats the skin game I guess.

[nhlivefreeordie]

Wow, I hate trap thieves. I trap mostly private land just because of this. Several years ago, I was checking traps Christmas Eve morning, only to find 11 traps missing. Called the warden, reported it, never saw them again.
Back in the 70s I was dealing with the high fur prices and everyone being a trapper. While trapping rats, my catch went from 20-30 a day to ZERO!!! For several days. I decided to stake out a section of my line that I could see from my car parked near a bridge. I waited several hours and eventually, the guy that was checking my traps for me appeared. When I confronted him, he got belligerant, so I threw him off the bridge into the creek....it was January. No one ever messed with my traps there again, but you seem to take a chance setting them, now I spend as much time being secretive ( checking traps from 2-5 AM) so I can do it out of sight.
In NH, I never lost one trap in 24 years, in fact, I never crossed another trapline or trapper.

[DiggerDirect]

Ha! Gave that fella a dunk huh?:D glad to hear it!

When mink are high I run a road line about 150 miles long give or take, (before the gas spikes) and I'd figure in losing 5 to 10% of my traps over the season on that line, just the way it was, only used 1 or 1 1/2 longsprings nothing real expensive. My dad was old school and I was taught to camoflage every set, dont leave much trail and what they dont know dont hurt me.

I caught a guy coming out of a swamp with a couple dozen of my traps years ago, caught him red handed, relieved him of them (never occured to me to give him a dunk! lol) did take down his plate number and stuff, called the game warden when I got home (no cell phones then) and give him all the info.

I knew the warden pretty well and Ya know they never was able to do a darn thing to that guy? They did charge him but he got off in court as it was a he said he said deal and I had the 'evidence'! I shot my mouth off in the court room and the judge threatened me with a contempt charge is I hollerd one more time! (It struck me he was an animal lover type)

As a rule I dont have many traps stolen, any given year I might have upwards of 300 traps out more or less and only loose a few, but it still burns my butt!:mad:

[nhlivefreeordie]

I never would trust a judge to do the right thing in that instance. You came out better on the deal, as you retained possession of your traps, ( that is why I prefer backwoods justice :wink: )
Heck a lot of game wardens won't even side with you, as they know nothing about trapping. Here in PA, my game warden in this area IS a trapper, but he told me, out of all the game wardens in this state, only a couple trap and support it, kind of telling ehh?
Longlining for mink puts you in a situation to lose traps, just the nature of the beast, as anyone who understands mink trapping knows where to look, and yes, most likely it is other trappers, not people just happening upon them. That is one of the reasons I bought a generic white truck, if I am out checking traps in daylight hours, I have a magnetic sign that advertises a survey company that goes on the truck, a few orange cones in the bed completes the disguise, nothing like unwanted visitors and 20,000 questions.

[DiggerDirect]

True that, the old game warden has since retired, we have a couple young college grads here now. They are ok fellas but as said they are not trappers. They are all bogged down in the environmental, polution and permit work, trapping is a real distant 20th on their list. Two eco officers were on hand for the fur auction to seal beaver & fisher pelts, one young guy and an older 'captain' that said he was retiring in a few years, and he had never sealed a pelt before. They were hard pressed even to make it there and I hear next year they wont be, you'll have to get them sealed on your own prior to the auctions. Last year I called the local guy but he was only issued a dozen beav seals and 3 fisher seals! He could get more but it was gonna take to long so me & my brother loaded up the pick up and headed down to the big city headquarters. Was a mighty fancy building for a couple of 'yotes in an old jeep to show up at packin bundles of fur, got alot of stares, 'specially from the pretty office secretaries ridin up to the third floor in the elevator with us!:D

I will say the guy that took care of us down there was thrilled, he didnt get into the field much if ever and knew little about trapping and such, all in all it was a good time.

[nhlivefreeordie]

Was a mighty fancy building for a couple of 'yotes in an old jeep to show up at packin bundles of fur, got alot of stares, 'specially from the pretty office secretaries ridin up to the third floor in the elevator with us!:D

I will say the guy that took care of us down there was thrilled, he didnt get into the field much if ever and knew little about trapping and such, all in all it was a good time.

You went to 29th street in the city with raw fur??....LMAO, I bet you did get some stares, that is beautiful man, hahahaha, I spent a lot of hours there getting advances on fur when I ran a route for Kubiak during the fur boon.

[DiggerDirect]

Nah, this was region 7 headquarters in Cortland, NY, down below Syracuse a ways. They moved from Erie Blvd. in Syracuse to a new building down there. But it was the same type set up, fancy building, carpeting everywheres, all suits & dresses walking around, bmw's and mercedes in the parking garage.

Yeah, it was a time, them people just stopped and stared, gave 'em something to talk about I bet. :)

[nhlivefreeordie]

Nah, this was region 7 headquarters in Cortland, NY, down below Syracuse a ways. They moved from Erie Blvd. in Syracuse to a new building down there. But it was the same type set up, fancy building, carpeting everywheres, all suits & dresses walking around, bmw's and mercedes in the parking garage.

Yeah, it was a time, them people just stopped and stared, gave 'em something to talk about I bet. :)

That is still beautiful man, thanks for the chuckle, probably did most of them a lot of good seeing the guy from the front lines of the business. If you ever get the chance, go up to FHA auction in Canada. Wonderful people and a real learning experience. I think every trapper should go at least once.

[DiggerDirect]

I'd love to attend one of them auctions. The Fur Harvesters had an agent pass through here abouts a couple years ago and several friends of mine bagged up some fur and consigned it, they did real well to and I wished I had done the same. Just something about handing over them pelts to somebody I didnt know and gettin paid later spooked me at the time, ya know? Alot of people dont realize the work one puts into this trapping business, you get attached to them furs!

[nhlivefreeordie]

Nothing like a full shed of fur. I almost shed a tear when I have to pack them up. I spent a lot of time in fur prep so as to get top dollar. Many times shampooing, drying, dusting in borax, and then combing and conditioning the fur. By the time it leaves my shed, I have handled each pelt a dozen times or so, so yes, you get attached.
Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay Ontario are wonderful people, I would trust them with my kids. Jim Gibb will make sure your stuff gets handled properly, jgibb@furharvesters.com you can even e-mail him to find out pick up times and to introduce yourself, everyone gets treated like a family friend up there.

[docsoos]

Love to read you guys conversation on trapping. It's a hobby that I've wanted to get into for quite a few years, but never had the time. Maybe next year, when I can afford to get my initial set of traps and equipment, maybe a few good books by Gilsvik or others that have been in the trade all their lives, and getting to know some local trappers that could give me a few "pointers" for an old man that's going to be a novice!

Occasionally, I see a few locals out running their line when I was out fishing at our local large lake (Taylorsville Lake), and that lake has a LOT of beavers, otters, and more coons than can be counted. BIG boars, too, from what I've seen nightfishing for catfish. They'll come right up into your boat looking for food, or right next to your lawnchair if your bankfishing, if ya aren't careful!

By my house (about 5 miles as the crow flies from the lake), there's a LOT of coyotes in the treelines (hear 'em everynight just about!), and shootin' 'em is out these days, due to the close proximity of new subdivisions and houses, but quite a few of my neighbors are complaining about their precious cats and pooches being "mysteriously missing" sometimes :) , so maybe trapping is the way to get 'em thinned out, without the firearms fears of the populace being stirred up. Neighbor of mine told me anytime I wanted to set traps, to feel right at home; I just may take him up on that this year.....

I've got a few #220 Conibears that I've used for nuisance trapping in the past (coons in the garbage, possums in the garden), but never any serious fur collecting. I also have a large Hav-A-Hart Coon Trap; used to catch a lot of coons near and in our dumpster where I used to work (White Castle Frozen Foods). Those coons LOVED the thrown-out White Castle burgers; They'd FIGHT over 'em! But a few sardines in that Hav-A-Hart was like a magnet for 'em!

Carry On, Gents!

DocSoos

[DiggerDirect]

docsoos, I spent three years down in Kentucky/Tennessee at Ft.Campbell back in the 70s and tied up with some boys from bowling green that were coon hunters. There are some really big, ornery coons in that neck of the woods! Ours up here seems to have a somewhat milder disposition, lol
A man can throw together a pretty decent outfit with just a small grubstake to get started, new traps have gone sky high but theres always someone selling their used ones around for a decent price, especially now that furs been down. Thats the thing, to get hooked up with one of them local guys there to learn the ropes. I like lake trapping beavers whenever I get the chance, I suspect ya already have the boat so you'd only need some traps, a pair of waders, some wire and a set of pliers, couple bottles of lure and your good to go, a few stretchers for the fur.
Theres alot of excellent books out there, I'd recommend 'Southern Trapline Methods' by G.R.Hunter and 'Coon come Easy' by Somonick & Wilson right off, but others in the field such as Marsyada, Russ carman, Tom Krause, Charlie Dobbins, Oscar Cronk, Dailey, Harding, Milligan, Nick Wyshinski, O.L.Butcher and the Leggett boys (Pete & Ron) just to name a few, all excellent reading material from guys thats been there done that!
Trapping them coyotes would be a great start towards gettin your education, I know what you mean about the "..firearms fears of the populace being stirred up.." I've done that a time or two. Have to get you a pocket gun in a .22 short to put them down after the catch, sound only travels a hundred yards on a quiet day from them.
Had some neighbors come by wanting me to come over cause (they said) coons were gettin in their garbage cans out front of the house every night, tipping them over and making their dogs bark like crazy but I was pretty busy so I lent them a couple traps, showed him how to set & fasten them, ect.. Well I never really gave it much thought but the next morning the lady come by just a hootin & hollerin at me, come to find out them 'coons' was 'SKUNKS' and didnt take to having their toes pinched, guess they cant even stay in their house for awhile till the air clears. Top it off the one kid come out to get on the bus, the dogs got out and went to scrapping with the trapped skunks...,long story short I dont think I'll be gettin a christmas card from them this year. :meeting:

Good luck with your trapping!

[docsoos]

Thanks for the info and the tips, Diggerdirect! I'll check out some of those books ya mentioned, too.

I agree with you, the cheapest way to get into trapping is to buy out somebody's equipment that's gettin' out of it. Don't see too much of that around here; even if they're "takin' a break" from it, most keep their stuff, so's as to be ready when they want to/can again.

Good Luck!

DocSoos

[nhlivefreeordie]

Another good source of traps is craigslist or E-bay, as with anything, you have to be cautious, as sometimes they end up going way too high. Garage sales and flea markets are another place I have picked up good deals.
Another idea to reduce your learning curve are a couple online forums, I have one at www.trappingisus.proboards.com that is small enough to get your questions answered, and not a lot of garbage to sift through finding the info you seek.
Even if I stopped trapping, I doubt I would get rid of my traps ( I have about 600 ) as they are a great source of food if SHTF. You could survive quite nicely on what you could trap.