Most of you know me and my trapping buddy. I thought it would be nice to start our own place to record what goes on up in Canada eh. I will add some pics later this week. But so far we have been off to a very slow start. I need snow to trap. not sure how you guys down south do it. But it does not work for me very well well until the water turns hard.
This weekend we plan on setting up camp and running lots of traps. But only time will tell how well that works out.. Our main goal is to set the marten and fisher traps. using geese and bear meat and beaver as the bait. Some traps will be using pans some wood pans some tin. some no pans.
I look at the forecast and it looks like i got 4 more days until it will stay cold ad maybe just maybe some snow. i can live without snow but not this warm stuff. i need cold. eh


this is my friend Matt


and this is me. hmm grouse over a fire. actually it did not taste very good at all. it was weird. it tasted like nothing. no flavor at all.. very weird.




i have had such a hard time waiting to go trapping this year that i even skinned a skunk. this is a first for me. And after doing one I will have no problem doing all of them after. they flesh really easy. and skin easy also.
i guess at this point i have 6 rats and 6 beaver. and that skunk.. lets just say i cant wait for that snow the weather man is saying we should be getting.

Thanks for starting off the journal...looking forward to more of it..

Waiting has indeed been hard - I couldn't do it and had to start a mini-line

yea i bought like 18 dozen traps this year. but i only have 6 set right now. not 6 doz. just 6.
i will start a coon line this week. we have been waiting for the corn to come off the fields. it is hard to get a coon to go into a bucket if he has a million acres of standing corn to chomp on. but it is all down now so let the fun start.

Hey Countrysmith are you going to NAFA Winnipeg's depo Open House on 12 Dec 09. The Alberta Trappera Assoc. Pres is doing a wolf presentation. Then someone from Ontario is coming to show first hand taxi prep for wolves.
You got enough down in your neck of the woods to come in a learn a little...bring in a few and you can do a Tom Saywer on them.
Mary Shelenberg is off all this week cooking some of her dishes, she is expecting a few Minn hungry trappers mouths to feed.

Where are u guys from?Not much marten up this way lots of lynx though.

i had not planed on it. but i really should try to make time for it. are you planing on being there? maybe i can finally talk to you in person. I have this weird feeling i all ready have met you in person and your just not telling me. did you hammer the geese this year? i got just enough to use for flagging at my sets.

Northmountian we are from winkler but drive about 1 1/2 hours to get to our trapping area. i got everything loaded up today and we are off in the morning to set up camp. we will also run 2 doz marten traps. this weekend we plan on finally setting all our traps. maybe some wolf snares also. i will update when i get home

Matt looks like a prickly kind of guy. Oh, ond his friend should show more respect.

ok you have to talk real slow alaska viking.. we are from canada and we dont get a joke easy. lol
not sure what your talking about.

For my Canadian friends.....Matt, with his right hand raised for introduction, is the porcupine! His friend shot him. No respect.
Guess I need to go check some sets. Sense of humor is getting a little ragged. Sorry.

ahh thanks.. i guess my brain is not working.. i thought thats what you where talking about.. lol
We got out today to build the floor for the wall tent. And to set a few traps we got 2 doz marten traps out. i would like some advice on how i set my marten boxes. it worked for me last year. but what do you think about setting like this?


we loaded up the argo and made down the trail to camp. it is still closed to argo's only. i really cant see anyone dumb enough to take a quad down my trails. and the argo handled it perfectly.




so the floor is done. the stove and all the pipe ect is in camp ready for the weekend.

cant wait to get back to my old trails to set for fisher... hmm well wait the last time i was on that trail it looked like this



but those trails bring you to some amazing areas.. .. ha ha fisher get ready.
i hope all the bears have gone to bed for the year. last thing i need is a bear wrecking my traps.

last thing i need is a bear wrecking my traps


Or joining you in your tent....lol

Country smith looks like your in for some fun this season. On that marten set you asked what we think. I think it looks upside down. Looks to me that you are inviting snow and non targets. But if it works....

whats wrong with the tent? nice and warm.. nice floor. and lots of furs what more can you ask for?

i agree with the snow.. i am only planing on running them until we start to get snow.. last year i just set them under large pine branches so the snow would stay on the branch.. this way you dont have to wire your bait into the box.. but we will see what happens.. it seemed to work really good for me last year. by non targets are you talking about birds? thats the last thing i need..

Yes your set is upside down. Rotate the picture 180 degrees and it will be OK.

Why didn't you make skids for that floor? That way you could pull it wherever you want it in the future

Question. why would i want to drag the floor?? if i want to put the tent up in a different area i can just build a extra floor. that might sound nuts but there is no where within miles of where i am that i would want to drag it to!.
And i will take your advice and put all my traps on leaning pole sets this next time i go out.
But i must say that last year i would say 80% of my catches where with this type of set.

Hope that porky made it into the boxes with out it pelt on. You should check around some of the buyers are looking for porky hides, salted.
The bears were halling in grass on Tuesday into their dens, so some are still around.
GET TO THE OPEN HOUSE, it's a long way to go to Alberta to get Klassens presentation on wolf snaring, you will be back to your camp by sundown with a full belly of Mary's chilly and fresh baking.
The particle board is not very good for durability, it blood soaks and really attracts the bears next spring.
You have to get the traps to fire and get away from the boxes so there is less mouse chewing on the critters.
You will see me at the open house; just ask ? Who is the guy that makes $ 51.00 average per red squirrel. And I will reveal the secrete.How to.

Smith, like I said if it works it works, If I thought that was the way to catch marten I would do it. You do not need to use a running pole just flip the box around.

$51 red squirrel?