wolf trapping questions & ideas of FNG

For all you experienced wolfers out there I am just getting going with this. Anyway, I have some ideas and questions.

Does anyone use MB750 traps during winter months with success?
Best way to keep traps from freezing down? I've been leaning towards wax paper? I do not have a snow mobile and even if I did it would be useless where I'll be trapping (no access). Which leads me to next question. Does anyone put sets in Snow shoe tracks?
Snares are out for me due to number of houndsmen. Does anyone else have to find ways around not catching hounds running cats? What sets do you prefer for that?

I have a couple ideas for being able to run sets without catching hounds. May be wrong, if so I welcome advice. Wolves being territorial I am thinking of using pee posts with wolf pee instead of a fox or coyote. Thinking the scent will deter hounds from approaching sets?

Hole sets with wolf poop on side of hole. Plan on digging holes so wolf has to step around some sort of little obstacle to see in it.

Hunted wolves in this area for quite a while. Know major travel routes so plan on running sets in those routes as well.

Is it productive to try and draw a wolf out of normal travel routes? Or pull them to a certain area? For instance, since I am using a MB trap that is not too good in snow. If I found a spot within a couple hundred yards of normal travel route say under a tree or something where snow does not really hit or get too deep is there any chance of pulling them to those places?

Sorry I don't have anything other than questions to contribute to this forum right now. If nothing else perhaps I'll have some antics to share later this winter or spring.

I can’t speak to anything other than my local knowledge with wolves, but…
Avoiding conflict with dogs will pay off.
I can and have brought wolves a bit from their usual routes to investigate and be caught using BIG bait piles. It doesn’t pan out quickly and I have gone back to setting where they are comfortable in their travels. I spent more time with labor in dealing with the bait piles than if I had just gone to where there was sign, and set there.
In dealing with freeze/thaw conditions my time is better spent using the bigger and stronger traps like the Koro or #9. The MB750 and SC 4.5 are weak in the shorts to perform, except in our tide sets. If I were in a dryer climate I would certainly give the beaver traps a run. They have caught and held for me, just not the right tool for the job here. Don’t care much for repeating disappointment.
Good luck and for what it is worth the Alaska Trapper Association’s wolf trapping manual is well worth the time to read, and re-read, see it pinned to the top of this page. It helped me tremendously in learning.

I have hounds, and hunt around my own traps and others at times. So I can address that issue. No, using wolf pee and crap will not deter the hounds, and I've not used or heard of many other trappers who have used a commercial wolf urine they have thought was good. Now if you are collecting wolf urine where they have urinated in the snow and using it in other places, that is good stuff, but it won't deter hounds from investigating and marking it. Nothing I know of will deter hounds while attracting wolves. Don't set where the houndsmen let their dogs out to empty out in the mornings is the biggest thing. Are the houndsmen walking also or is there a limited amount of access they can use to find a track and then turn the hounds loose? If they are walking with loose dogs it is going to be tough, if they are finding tracks off a snowmachine or pickup and then turning loose it will be much easier.
If you know some of the houndsmen, go talk to them. The first sentence out of your mouth should be, "I'm not setting any snares", truthfully snares without kill springs are much less dangerous to dogs than most people believe. But since you don't plan an using any anyways, it will go a long way to getting you off on the right foot with them. Be polite with them, explain you are going to be trapping wolves in there this winter and want to avoid conflicts, that you won't be using snares, and that you are using smaller traps that are easier on dogs feet and easier to release a dog from. (I've no idea if that had anything to do with your decision to use MB750s, but it is both true about them and sounds good). Most houndmen want all the wolves gone, if you are polite and explain you are trying to minimize conflicts, they will be return the favor and often will go out of their way to keep you informed on where they have seen fresh wolf sign. Don't try to run them out of there and they will likely work with you and be a benefit, try and run them out of there, well they aren't narcs, they aren't going to run and tattle to the law, they'll resolve the problem themselves.

The only way I reliably know to pull wolves those kind of distances is with large baits. And even that is hit or miss, depending on their mood.

Are you setting in dirt or in snow? In dirt, best way to avoid freezing down is to use wax dirt or waxed sand. In snow, wax paper under the trap and wax paper over the trap. Two seperate pieces, not one piece wrapped around the trap as I have seen demonstrated by a guy or two.

If you know their travel routes I would try to find places ON them to set rather than trying to draw the wolves off them, if at all possible.

If you purchase more traps, I would look at the Duke 850s, for the same price as the MB750, they are a much better snow trap, and about as easy on feet, while stronger than the 750s, they are much easier for nontrappers to release a dog out of than some of the other traps out there. I have used 750s in the winter with success, but they are my absolute least favorite wolf trap in the winter. They will require more maintenance, resulting in more disturbance of sets, than other traps. Now some of the guys who trap in the very dry cold with powdery snow and not dealing with freeze/thaw do well with them.

While I spent forever typing out a response, Mike made a lot of my points for me. He mentions the SC 4.5, I really want to like that trap, and in fact I do, in the early season in the dirt. It is better than the 750 in the freeze/thaw... and that is about what I can say about it. The big traps, the #9's are no doubt the ultimate freeze/thaw and deep snow traps, but they tend to not be nontarget friendly, so keep that in mind when setting them.

I will add, we all were new, at one point.

Ain’t nothing to it, get out and do it. You came to a good place with your questions. A good number of folks, with way more experience than me, will hopefully see and offer solid guidance.

I've caught some wolves with the MB, but I've had more misses with them. Crazy how they can completely freeze down and be rendered useless in fairly average conditions. (To be fair, I also had a failure to fire with a frozen down #9, but that was in a bad freeze/thaw cycle.) If you can make a set under a big spruce tree in the duff, those MBs will stay active for awhile. If you want a cheaper wolf trap for snow conditions go with the Bridger #5 Alaskan. About the same price as the MB. I know several trappers that use them almost exclusively with good results. Maybe Hankit will weigh in. They stay functional in adversity much better than the MB.

Most guys use wax paper above and below the trap, another option is that really thin foam packaging material that is between metal siding panels or snap lock flooring.

It's hard to pull wolves too far off their travel routes. As was mentioned, big baits can do it sometimes, but if you can find places to set on normal travel ways it usually will produce faster. If you can find a kill, they will often revisit that even years later. I've got a few bait sites that have caught wolves, but lately it seems like the wolves are leery about commiting to them, probably got them trained, lol. Keeps you on your toes to try new stuff.

I got a wolf in a Bridger #3 a couple years ago. That trap had been laying there undisturbed for weeks with a fair amount of snow coverage over it. Which is to say, anything will work if you are lucky enough.

Much appreciated. Hadn't seen the wolf manual. I will definitely be reading that. Your quote at bottom is pretty good.

Hey hey... Right on man. Some of the houndsman are kind of friends of mine. We know each other. There are lots of them running dogs. Usually they spend all their time fighting with each other. doubt they'll care about a peon like me. haha. I did not know that about the duke traps, I WILL be getting some of those. I've been guiding elk and deer hunters in this area for a couple decades now. I have zero intention of trying to run anyone out of anywhere especially on public land. I'll ba a few miles off any roadway. Most of those guys are just driving roads looking for track. Couple use snow machine and only 2 maybe 3 actually go walk. The walkers are the ones I know the best, one being a real close friend. Short story made long, thanks for the tip on how to approach the subject with them. It's been on my mind as some of them dudes are cranky!

Season don't open for me until around first of december. Floating open date depending on what the grizzly bear is doing. Have a bit of time to get traps in order. Most of my tapping won't even start until the cat season ends. the number of guys runnin hounds will drop a bunch.

Right on. Thanks for the tip on pakaging stuff. Just so happens I have piles of that junk I bring home for wife to use. I will be confiscating some for myself. Will be looking into the #5 as well.

Someone mentioned wax dirt. I have considered that, however, this deal is going to be lots of long walks in the dark type stuff. Ideally I would like to use the wax dirt, however just more weight then I wish to carry on my back. Hmm. perhaps in the sled (little kids rubber sled)? Maybe I will...IDK.. try anything once I recon..

OGorman talked about coal shale n the winter there in Mt.

My conditions have always been cold and dry enough to use the MB750W. But clearly the #9 is superior.

You asked about setting in snowshoe tracks. In my experience wolves will avoid snowshoe tracks like the plague. That is the last place I would set

I've had the same experience, wolves have no problem running on my snogo trail but will avoid my snowshoe trails. I have had them walk in my footprints though

Those snowshoe trails probably look like they were made by some critter he doesn't want to tangle with! Sasquatchosaurus or something.

Be a knuckle dragging Sasquatchosaurus where I am trapping.....

So snowshoe tracks may help divert to target trail then/ help funnel?

Un-expected flagging will scatter them. Don't think snowshoe tracks unhinged them, but rather cause avoidance.

I wear snowshoes setting at times when it is going to snow because their tracks will snow over much faster than deep postholed boot tracks. But I try to blur any sharp edges so a couple inches of snow will blend them and don't actually set in my tracks. Also wear them when walking down a not hard crusted snogo trail so I don't leave holes that will still be visible after I run over it, when setting in or beside snogo tracks.

But I also have had them walk in my boot tracks checking out marten sets. Tried setting a trap in my boot tracks last year after they did that at several marten sets, but they never came back by there.

Only time I have had a problem walking hanging snares is when I turn around and head back without walking through after hanging a snare or placing a trap for that matter. That alerts wolves immediately! Foot trails in my old area never were a problem.

When I am walking around setting snares in deeper snow I will pull a drag,like a round of firewood.It leaves a nice trail in the snow that the animals will use.

Good

Does anyone leave traps hanging in trees or stashed after season, then reset next season?

Yes, just about all of them.

I have done that. On a walk-in line I used to run, I had multiple traps hung/stashed at each set. Made swapping out traps with frozen marten easy. Coni's, of course.
Would rotate traps out in spring, along with line maintenance. Packing bait was work enough. Packing traps on top of that lasted exactly one year.

I'd be leery of it in this country with the price of wolf traps. Deer and elk hunters (and shed hunters) want every wolf gone, but they act like any traps they find in the woods are free for the taking. And that's when they're set, I can only imagine what they'd act like if they found them stashed.