mmwb I think you could make your cubby's a little taller, maybe 5 feet tall, to give your cats a little more room... Mine were 4 feet when we started trapping this year, but they're pretty spacious now after the wind storm!

Also I hang my bait on the ceiling of the cubby and place the trap near the entrance with guide sticks and slightly snow covered.... Steve places his #3 DLS pretty much out in the open inside the cubby and does well! I don't think the #3's do well covered and I know they won't work when drifted over. Thats why I went with bigger traps...

Lure, lure, lure... I lure everytime I check and smile when I smell a cubby way before I see it! I also snare off my back trail, and the lynx do walk my trail as you can see in the pics above! Although I've only caught 1 Lynx this year, I am convinced that if a cat walks down my ridge he will be there when I check.....

Steve used to make sets under a spruce tree with wings hanging from a branch and bait wired to a tree. He had cats that would walk all around those sets and didn't connect until he tried the cubby set! I do a few different style cubby's, one that is a walk through. One that is a traditional style cubby and one that is butted up to a big spruce useing the over hanging branches as a roof and simply fencing off the sides about 5 feet away from the tree. This set tends to look more natural and I am excited to find out which one connects more often as I have all 3 on my line.....

If you can use foot traps I think you would have better success, with the trails snared off for good measure. Just my $.02!

- Clint

I never realized Clint that the cubbies had to be that big. I might have to call [I'madork] Proenneke and get some cabin making hints. I made mine big enough that the cat's whiskers wouldn't touch the sides, but not nearly that big. I might have to make my next one a little bit bigger. I'm pretty anxious to check tomorrow.

5ft tall, but how wide????
I try to make em around 15 in wide at the base. I like to use an alder that is forked and use it for the opening, which is about waste high...I might even get pictures developed thisweekend.

Lynx cubby should be big enough that a lynx can turn around in it. Dusty gave the best piece of advice, put your foothold way out front, anyone who traps lynx can relate to lynx approaching only so far without committing. Also lure up front of cubby as well as bait and lure back portion. Doesn't hurt to hang a few snares on the sides or back of cubbies either. When rabbits are plentiful and you know where lynx are hunting them put your snares right on the runs. The height of the snare allows a rabbit to run under but will catch a cat. You have to put out lots of snares though if you want big numbers.

I would not overlook martentrappers comments. A general rule is lynx become less interested in cubbies as the season progresses. I get way more walkby's in mid to late January than I do in December. Modified dirtholes, snares, and pee post's seem a little more effective late season. Make a visual mess (dig down into the dirt and spread it around), try something different to get their attention. Dusty is right too with bringing the trap out from the cubby, that can never hurt as long as you do not have rabbits everywhere. That still does not help with walk-bys though, you know, the ones where the lynx does not even stop.

Here is a pic of some trapped and snared lynx from earlier in the season.




It is all part of trapping.

GREAT photo Guloboy, where in AK are you at?

Different strokes for different folks I guess! Looks like guloboy has the lynx thing down this year.....

- Clint

guloboy,

WOW!!! Whats that 8-9 Lynx? One check? What part of the State you trapping in? If I had to guess your trapping Dillingham/Bristol Bay area. Also like the Wolverine pics on the 330 Bucket thread.

AT

I think there was 12 there (8 in front, 4 in back on the right hand side), It was 2 1/2 weeks (3 checks) worth. I just let them freeze for a week or two hanging like that to kill the fleas. I don't mess with raid and stuff like like.

Lynx are not all that common in the Dillingham/Bristol Bay area.
I'm trapping the Copper River Basin area.

Dream a little dreammmm of meeeeee (LOL) Nice lynx!!! I was wondering if you guys up there ever used snow pads? It is a product made to go under and over a trap to keep it from freezing down. I have a large inventory of them. To Alaskacajun,...I saw a picture of your DLS. Do you NOT laminate your trap jaws???

Picked up some MB 650s for use on the cats, and they look smaller than my #3s I used. Hope they fire thru snow better, anyone have experience w/them? Also going to use the MB 750 for Lynx, but the beaver addition, NOT the wolfers.

I REALLY recommend the one handed setter for these if you have the old style. WAY easier!!!

victoria I think you will find that very few modifications happen to traps up here especailly things that add WEIGHT. Weight = $$$ lots and lots of $$$ sometimes. I have several hundred traps and the only laminated jaws among them are the ones that came that way some wolf traps.

Arctic trapper the lynx pop in Bristol Bay is very poor for the most part especailly when compared to elsewhere in the state. I have trapped 2 in 25 yrs and haven't seen a lynx track in something like 7 or 8 yrs. I have a friend who has grown up trapping here is about 45 yrs old and he has only ever gotten one and he shot it.

Here in the states, most of us modify our traps. Ask any real big fur trapper and I bet most would answer yes. Laminated jaws are a big part of that as they displace the power and add to the holding. However I've seen Wolves held in 1 and a half long springs, same with arctic fox,.... but that's a trap I'd use for muskrats. Personally I own over 700 traps and all my foot traps are laminated, even little # 1's. So to each their own I guess.

Awright just for clarification's sake I'll state for the record that the reason behind my large cubby size is the amount of snow we get up North. By the time we are pulling sets we have to crawl on our belly's to unhook the trap!

Here's one of mine that "was" pretty big when we started, but seems to be just about right, now!


Here's another one on my line....


Here's one of Steve's "rabbit" cubby's...


Here's Steve with a double, Ermine and Rabbit, you go Steve!


One rabbit stew comin' right up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg
Run Away.........

These are my boys, they were wore out after a long day on the road and walking the line!


This is what it's all about right here!


Victoria Vixen, I barely rust 'em much less laminate 'em.... I pretty much set my traps off and reset every check as they tend to get blown over several inches each week anyway! My MB 750's are laminated from Minnesota Trapline Products...

Alaskan Steve has a few MB 650's and loves them! But I LOVE the 750's more!

- Clint

Thanks Clint, nice to see how others do it. Keep up the good work! I have trapped in Arctic conditions (mostly in northern Manitoba). They didn't do anything special to their traps either. They never even heard of dying or waxing traps. When I brought out my traps they just looked at me funny like I was from another planet. Down here (lower 48) they have the BMP's. They tell us a trap should have this or that...Canada's doing the same thing on their traps(who knows?). Anyway, nice to hear from you guys up north. Keep catchin' the GOOD stuff!

Thanks Clint, nice to see how others do it. Keep up the good work! I have trapped in Arctic conditions (mostly in northern Manitoba). They didn't do anything special to their traps either. They never even heard of dying or waxing traps. When I brought out my traps they just looked at me funny like I was from another planet. Downhere (lower 48) they have the BMP's. They tell us a trap should have this or that...Canada,s doing the same thing on their traps. (who knows?)Anyway, nice to hear from you guys up north. Keep catchin' the GOOD stuff!

Laminations slow traps down and freeze in. The only trap I run that NEEDS laminated is the Manning #9. It breaks more legs than I would like even with the laminated jaws, but it doesn't freeze in very often.

The only way thicker jaws hold better is by not breaking legs.

I'd sure like to see a picture of a wolf in a 1 1/2....

Hi Corey!

I think laminated is great. Less tearing of the skin. Less likely to break bones. I can see it might freeze in a little more.
Hard to debate whether traps NEED laminating. Probably they don't in most cases. It's a matter of preferance.

I suppose then, the trick is to learn how to keep traps from freezing down. I learned long ago from the Inuit people just how that's done in snow conditions that exceed minus 60F (Check out Re: HELP!!DONT KNOW HOW TO TRAP IN SNOW! in the Land Trapping Archive). I used the Manning #9 back before it was called the Alaskan #9. I found the jaws way too thin for my personal taste. It reminds me of the Victor #2 square jaw... too thin jaws that damage feet and legs of your target. Personally I laminated every foot trap I owned. Ask Craig O'Gorman, probably one if not the best coyote trappers in the lower 48, his view on laminating jaws. He stated he didn't have time for anybody who wouldn't do it. That speaks volumes to me. I can personally say I have never toed or footed an animal in my adult life (after modifying all my foot traps). That's over 10,000 fur bearers (red and grey fox, coyote, wolves, Arctic fox, beaver, otter, mink, badger, skunk, civet cat, possum, raccoon, and bobcat. Not to mention several thousand muskrats and a weasel or two). This of course, is just one person's opinion but if you ask most long line trappers here in the lower 48 you'll find almost all of them modify their traps to some degree.

I would probably laminate the #4's if they didn't fire so slow when they get drifted over. Those 750's have absolutely no problem rising to the occasion though!

- Clint