Hey guloboy, Nice pictures and examples of sets.Do you have a preferred bait for wolverines?

Man I wish I had some input to add about wolverine but I've never caught one so................. I'll just live threw yall!

Guloboy please explain your screen name to me!

- Clint

AkCajun-

I take it the package hasn't arrived to your location yet? Your gonna get a good laugh!

Jeff

Cajun, Gulo Gulo is the genus and species for the wolverine. Which might shed some enlightenment on your dilemna.

I have caught wolverine with rotten beaver, fresh beaver, sheep scraps, caribou scraps, moose scraps, caribou heads, caribou backbone and herring. You know what I found works best: whatever caught the wolverine that day.

Last year I caught 8 wolverine. I had beaver in about half the sets (10 total), caribou scraps in about 5 sets and caribou backbone segments in about 5 sets. Four of the wolverine were caught in traps baited with backbone.

Funny thing is, this goes against the concept that big stinky baits works best with wolverine. I tried to rationalize that caribou backbone was a good bait because where I trap, that is probably what wolverine frequently scavenge. Who knows though? I will tell you I am going to use caribou backbone again next year, but I am also going to use beaver and whatever else I can get my hands on.

More important than bait is location.

Here is a pic of a wolverine that fell for caribou backbone. Another good thing about backbone is ermine, mink, marten, shrews, etc. can never steal the bait.

Martentrapper : The set is as weatherproof as one is going to get. The downward incline also helps to keep snow out , but as you know, weather is weather. Yes, I consider prevailing wind for scent and southern exposure for softening bait resulting in a bit more scent. But it doesn't seem to matter that much . I experimented one year with no lure and did just as well. In essence, if you set on the tracks, your will most likely get the animal. I prefer the round buckets because the ears hold it very tight and additional wire secures it even more. I agree with gulo , big piece of beaver or whatever they are used too. I do well on moose also ( permit - which reminds me - be careful about saying scraps. It's hide , viscera or bone unless you have a permit . I mentioned scraps once with F@G and was quickly corrected ) . Anyway, Don't have to worry about human scent ( IMO ) trapping wolverine. Just give them a big piece of meat. Also agree with Gulo regarding getting rid of the chain on the 330's. I makeup 3/32 ( no swivels ) cable with swaged loops on both ends. Cable to tree and your set. My trapping is also mostly wolverine, as my mode of travel does not allow much time for anything else. As I have said before, they are a unique animal and a genuine prize. Great thread.

Nice pictues Corey. I like using wood boxes myself even though I can only haul a handful of them at a time. They seem to protect the trap better and stay working longer in deep snow and
chinook conditions.

That second to last picture of yours, with the nice colored wolverine in the stick cubby. Is the trap already taken off him? If not, he must have really tucked his head when the trap snapped for the front trap jaws to miss and the rears catch him at mid body? You'd think caught like that though, he'd destroy that whole area, unless it broke his neck.

Good pictures


Pete B, I hope life's treating you well this winter. Aren't you out of the fire business yet?? I miss those days only slightly.

nice
just wondring how many wolverins do u guy chaght a year

I'll second that sentiment on the chains. I had a gulo pull out of a 330 this year and the chain ring was pulled oval. Other than that, I managed to keep a 34 year record going this season of NEVER having caught a wolverine in a bucket. I had 5 refusals and the one pull out. I'll sick with footholds as I can make them work.

Nice pix. good info.

hey 9'er; We expected to see you stop by for a vist this year.

Was in the plans until the pneumonia hit. Would have loved to do it though. Hopefully next year.

Posted by Martnetrapper
Len, one of the more successful wolverine trappers in Unk. told me he often just uses lure. A strong smell without the sight of the source gets wolverine moving around an area. He tramps a trail around his lure spot, then sets snares in his trail. Tramp the trail purposely by some stout trees/willows to use as an anchor for the snare. Put the lure 4 or more feet off the ground.
You might try using the topo maps to help pinpoint possible spots wolverine might cross your line. Or look for spots close to your line that might be likely wolverine travel spots.
Around here I regularly set the mouths of small creeks where they come into a larger drainage.
Good luck on the wolverine.

Posted by Takotna
ftrapper, simialr to what mt said, I'd just drag my feet through a tight spot here and there off your trail a little and in sight of some of your marten sets, when they first hit my trail they follow quite aways investigating everything, it's quick and no bait to pack along, at least till you know the area where they come to or exit your trail and you can make a baited set where it will do the most good.

F.T.: Like M.T. said, small creeks where they enter larger valleys or flats, Willow/alder choked drainages and steep ravines where they intersect larger open areas, sloughs and rivers that they are following looking for kills, the usual beaver houses , etc. I'm a believer in a big hunk of bait to temp them in. If you cut a track, set a bucket and you will get him, if it's constructed right. If you like snares or footholds - that's fine to. White's foot holds in front of tree set seems to work well and Tokotna sure does well with snares. I just prefer finding them suspended and frozen, since I sometimes can't check as often as those on a machine due to weather. Plus , other than to rebait, I dont have to stop if nothing seen as as I go by. A good stinky castor/skunk tinxure lure has always worked real good for me also. Give us one more cold weather critique ( no heat ) on the wiggys bag. I never have believed his claims as you know. Good luck.

Posted by martentrapper
A 3 in. spruce should handle a wolverine. They will chew, but mostly around the anchor. They pull away from the anchor. Tie the snare up high as best you can. As the animal spins and the cable kinks, he will lift himself off the ground. I had one once, a female, that hardly fought at all. She was on a real long snare and hardly kinked it. It was anchored high.
I was suggesting placing the lure 4 ft. or more off the ground.
I think Kens set with elevated bait with traps would be a good one. Also his wolverine pole with a snare.

question asked by Kusko
Question for all of you Lynx and Wolverine guys. Would it pay for me to make a few sets even if we haven't cut any tracks yet. We know there are some in the area, but with the blowing snow conditions, finding tracks has been hard

Reply from Piperniner
Kusko : It pays to set even without tracks, especially the pinch points and areas mentioned in recent posts to F.T. on the subject ( wolverine ). The odds are alot less than setting on tracks is all. Also, even though you are open until March, I found they often have busted guard hairs ( rubbed ) by end of Feb.. My preference was to cut off by then and save them for following year. They are traveling alot more by then though. Dont have much lynx experience, but would think same applies as to setting.

Posted by Martentrapper
After 3 months of trapping season, I finally have something to brag about, or at least show off. Caught our first (notice I said "first", meaning more to come) wolverine today. Got it in the official western Alaska version of the white 17 wolverine pole set:


Seems to be an older male. Good sized, but not real long fur. Good enough for now tho. Lots of tracks now. Got out more sets and feeling pretty confident we'll catch more

There are 2 poles on that pole set. Hard to find a 6 in. pole around here, so usually use 2.
The wolverine was hung and dead. Twisted the snare up good tho. A before pic would be almost identical, Takotna, just without the wolverine and the snare hanging about 2 ft. from the bait. The snare was a snare shop wolf snare like you use.
mt

Posted by Family trapper
A side note
Here are the fallopian tubes from the female wolverine I got last time. If you didn't know they have a delayed implantation. They were bred last summer and the egg implants now. Or something like that. I was curious to see if anything was going on and had a look. You can see three bulges in the tubes. I am presuming that it is three young beginning to form. There was nothing visible in them when I cut them open. Just fluid. I guess the area is getting ready for growth however. Dusty!!! Need some input here. Caught around first week in Feb.

[/quote]

response by guloboy
Those balls are the early stages of the development of three fetuses. Wolverine breed anytime during summer (primarily May, June and July). They do have delayed implantation, which typically occurs in Jan or February. The gestation period is about 6 weeks. That means the female wolverine you caught was going to give birth to 3 wolverine in about 5 weeks from the date you caught her, based on my guess that implantation occured about a week before you caught her.

Well, I least that is what I think.

Posted by Dusty

In my ever-so-limited experience, there are two types of wolverines to trap. About 99 out of every hundred get hung up in the first thing they come to. Sounds like you have the other kind. A clean trap (CDR, #9, MB750, etc.) bedded at the edge of your snogo trail with a LITTLE lure or a couple drops of fox pee behind it should pick him up. If you can tell you set a trap there when you're done it's too obvious.

#4LS are a great wolverine trap. You'll probably even get to keep your pan. I've caught a few in #3 Bridger (coil) and really like them. The disadvantages are jawspread - get a few inches of snow on top and you're probably not catching anything - and coming through crust (they won't).

Posted by Martentrapper

I know wolverine have this big rep for being tough, but I've caught them in plenty of traps like 4s and 3s.
The other official white 17 set is the 3 ft high bait with 2 exposed traps bout 8 in. back ( I think) from the tree. Hang the bait with an old snare. When the wolverine starts working the bait, standing on his hind legs, he forgets the traps and ends up in one.
Never been big on fish for wolverine. Never know. Might work. Bite the bullet, Len, take a beav carcass out there and use it. If the marten aren't cooperating, might as well spend some extra time on the wolverine. At current marten prices, takes 4 or so marten to equal a decent wolverine.
mt

Posted by martentrapper

What is the point of swivelling a wolverine snare? By the time he pulls it tight, he'll have 30 in. of cable between him and the swivel, and will wrap around a tree and kink it anyway. If it's an elevated snare, even more reason you don't need a swivel. He'll expire from hanging before he breaks the snare.
Yes, Len, mine are loaded. The key I think is having the snare 18 or more inches from the bait so by the time his nose touches the bait, the snare is too tight to back out of. Loading obviously helps. I do find it harder to get a good load on the 1/8th, 7x7.
I prefer the snare to be 90 degrees to the pole. You can't do that with a swivelled snare, unless you use wammies. Crimping the snare directly to #9 wire allows you to hang the snare at an angle, to some degree.
Make sure your leaning pole isn't too steep, but have the bait high enough, the snare too, that he is left hanging once he jumps off.
mt