Hard to believe that Nov. 1 is on Sunday! Will give it a couple more weeks to get a bit more snow, then start hitting it! Here's to full traps to everyone!

Can't wait got the last of the marten boxes done last weekend been building snares every night after work got the snowmachine tuned up ready to hit it hard, about got the wife drove nuts with my nonstop pacing and trapping supplies all over the cabin, hope every one has a good season

I here ya guys been chompin at the bit,now just trying to decide where to go with these weather conditions.cause there's no getting to where we want to trap till freeze and snow. But I'm gonna snap somethings toes some where on the 10th

I am SOOO ready to get with it. All I have left to do is sharpen my skinning knife.

shoot, I still have to wait till december.....I will be ready though!

Northway, I have been waiting for this Sunday for months. I WILL get my first cat and hopefully wolf this year. Sign everywhere I go. Good luck Northway, I hope your traps stay full all year! I'm so excited I'm giggling like when I trapped my first muskrat in Oregon when I was 8.

DHAHN, Same to you! Sounds like your way more prepared than me. Now I'm a little nervous. I have a lot to do, crap, I forgot about........ and ...... oh man...

BUMMER, still got tons to do!

Bamm Bamm Im sure when I load the truck and head out I will forget somthing knowing my luck it would be the food box gas cans or the wood stove for the tent, it seems murpheys law gets me all the time

I know all about Murphy. I would like to meet him someday. We have a few things to discuss. I'm packing a lunch and bringing back up just in case he's REALLY big! That guy has a lot of fun with me!

I have a trapping shed I am borrowing from a guide a few miles from site. All kinds of old traps and gadgets. Two weeks of beaver trapping and setting 330's by hand SEVERAL times a day and I finally realized, those two steal flat bars in the shed with a notch on the ends and acted like giant pliers, YA, they work very well on 330 springs. Son of a.............. My hands hurt a lot less this week. I can actually hold and write with a pen today!!!!!

I know all about Murphy. I would like to meet him someday. We have a few things to discuss. I'm packing a lunch and bringing back up just in case he's REALLY big! That guy has a lot of fun with me!

I have a trapping shed I am borrowing from a guide a few miles from site. All kinds of old traps and gadgets. Two weeks of beaver trapping and setting 330's by hand SEVERAL times a day and I finally realized, those two steal flat bars in the shed with a notch on the ends and acted like giant pliers, YA, they work very well on 330 springs. Son of a.............. My hands hurt a lot less this week. I can actually hold and write with a pen today!!!!!

Don't ever hit the back arrow and resend. It made it the first try!

I hear ya there those 330s are a real pain by hand especially if you got a big beaver in the trap and it never fails loading and unloading the tongs end up in the fur shed when I am runin traps

I am ready just not sure where exactly I will be. Weather plays a huge part in my season opener. It will either be on foot chasing a few land critters or in a skiff chasing otter mink and a few more beaver.

I have NOTHING ready. Crap!

same here

I got everything set for the muskrat and ermine long line when you get here...

Bait is ready, snowmachines are ready, lures should be here this week BUT my area lakes are still wide OPEN and I can't get to my traps at my cabin. Thank god Kusko helped me out by selling me some traps! Looks like I will be back to road trapping for the first 3 weeks of season. Wonder if my old cubby where I caught 4 cats is still there......

I have a beaver lodge that I can trap and i DId see some mink sign, but until everything freezes im SOL.

Mike,

I can't get up to Anderson until next weekend due to kids hockey, and ballet. Family first! I won't start getting serious until right after Thanksgiving anyway. I hope you have a productive season, and hope to see you at the Trappers Fling!

Ted

Can't freaking wait!!! ...this place kinda looks like what DHahn described - trapping stuff in nearly every room, me pacing all around it...wife going crazy...

Not enough snow yet to go get the machines, so to start it will just be fox and marten - and that elusive first Ermine...

Have enough ready to get started on Sunday, Took Monday off Going to just set up on marten this weekend hopefully I can get enough sets out to catch the cream off the easy acess areas until we get alittle more snow and the cat season starts

I won't be doing much until lynx opens, hopefully we'll have snow by then.

I am just about ready, just got my new track in for the sno-go, Traps boiled and waxed, triggers all adjusted, extension chains, and swivels all completed. I have a far supply of ducks & Grouse carcasses, however I always wish I had more. The lakes are still open, only 3" of snow so far. However I have already seen several sets of Lynx sign close to the house.
Good luck all.

Bearbait, are you going out to the Lodge again???

Oh, and I've been messing around getting a few things ready. Fox aren't prime for about a month and I won't be able to access cats for a while.

Welcome back Grey Ghost, haven't seen you here for a while. Working on the duck carcass situation while I'm here. I made it to Homer in one piece with the boat and minor oil loss from Soldotna to home. I still gotta dye some traps and always buy more. Hopefully I will get that snow go from the chief. Anyway, I'll be up there the 19th after work regardless.

Ted,

Best of luck to you too! We will be at the fling this year! No kids playing at the state tournament! Kids and wife were thinking about going to the Nutcracker over Thanksgiving. Not sure of the schedule though.

I'm ready to trap but it's looking like I'm going to gear up a 4-wheeler to start with unless something changes here pretty soon.

Ted,

Can we see photos of you at ballet?

I almost went to the Nutcracker. One of the springs on a Power-Ram slipped while I was setting it. Close call but I did in fact give thanks.

Raring to go! The rivers here are froze enough to cross but no snow so starting out on a cold 4-wheeler in the morning.

Really ? Man this river isn't crossable. Lots of ice running but still water out there too.

Ballet? Huh. Don't even want to think about one of our own in a tutu!

It's the Takotna/Innoko rivers Wh17, I just cross them, still a few open leads but nothing a bravo can't handle.LOL

I didn't realize you crossed the Innoko. You may as well push it all the way to the Yukon.

I don't think the few Ruby trappers would like that, we have a nice 15-20 mile space between us.

You're no doubt correct !

Pete,

If you saw some of my daughters instructors, you would go to ballet too.

Ted

We need pix

Can't wait! Did some scouting today and now just waiting on the 10th to get here. oh yeah...a LITTLE snow would be nice too.

I am heading out in the morning on the pretense of caribou hunting. Actually, I'll have wolverine buckets in the truck and set Alaskan's wolverine line before he does!!
All the roads are open here. Should make for some interesting scenarios.
mt

All my traps are ready, still. I did make up and boil a bunch of cable extensions which should prove useful.

I'll have to go make a couple of sets today while I keep an eye on the Ol' Blister. She has to cut some more dry wood while she can still get the truck close to it.

Made a few sets today, need a bit more snow! Good luck all, and remember to take your cameras out w/ you! We want pics!

Kusko, I'll be trapping closer to home this year and spending lots of time calling lynx.

I set up a couple of bait stations with about 150 lbs of hog guts. The ravens were circling before I even got my sled unloaded.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the bears are still out. They might find that bait pile.

That would not be good. At least a bear would spread the scent of the bait pile around.

Maybe you could eliminate a moose muncher and get some winter's meat too.

the bears are or were still a week ago around here hup and i saw some fresh tracks when we were rabbit hunting..kind felt alittle under gunned with a .17 hmr. that little bullet sure does some damage to a bunny with a head shot.

martentrapper... how far off are the caribou now? sure hoping they come down this way. they havent been as close as when we had them across the river. sure was nice, was able to see them from my steps during the night. that was like 2-3 years ago. they been stayin up above koyuk since.

Well, spent Sat. cutting 8 cords of firewood and then a trip up the Taylor Hwy to find a caribou on Sunday, but no luck. Looks like trapping will be put off for another week or two!

Set a little for marten yesterday. 8 flower boxes and 2 leaner poles with a lot of sign. Stretched out about 5 miles. 8" of snow on the ground makes it tough for 4 wheelers but it's fun to try. Pulled the last 4 beaver sets. 2 froze in overflow and the other two had marten, mink and ermine sign around and between the jaws so we are resetting with 110's and 120's on the beaver lodge. Traps have only been set for a day and it was hard as @#$? to not check them tonight. I know we have a marten!

Two months ago we had seen 3 different lynx with 2 bunnies and a parkie within a 1/2 mile of the house. We would see at least a couple bunnies a day, then they dissapeared for two months. It snowed and I have hundreds of bunny tracks around but I have yet to see one. Wolf, Lynx, Wolverine and marten tracks every place I go. Thought this year would have lower numbers but it's looking pretty darn good so far. Lynx pics to follow if I can figure it out.

Holy cow I figured it out. Here are some summer time lynx pics on the hunt. We followed him on a 6 wheeler hanging out the doors and he didn't care at all. AS he walked down the road he/she let us follow for a hundred yards or so.









Of course these are set up backwards but oh well.

Man that is one ugly cat! Is that a bunny in its mouth ? Cool pix though !

Man I gotta go with White on this one. That lynx will not win any beauty contests.( At least not this last Summer) But that said, I think this winter he will look much better when he is hung up in an MB 750 wolfer.

cool pictures though.

I am also curious what he has in his mouth.

Parky squirrel. The lynx dove off into the ditch, 3 seconds later back up on the road with dinner. Yes it is a summer time cat, not to good looking. In December he will be a rug!!

BB, looks like you are the first to post a score on here, congrats on the marten.

Thanks Smalltimetrapper (man thats a long name), we are pretty excited, it's only been three days since we set. A little worried it's to early for fur conditions but we'll see. Flower pot set, 1 of 11 sets in that area. Lastnight we set another 10. In two days our temps went from -2 to lastnight 38 and today was 40 something. Bummer!! No camera tonight because we are idiots and it sucks since I figured out how to post pics.

Yeah I had 18 below two days ago but this morning it's 15 above.