Trapping section

I have trapped since I was around 10 yrs old. Trapped professionally for the gov't for close to 15 years. I have trapped everything from weasel to coyote. I have gotten to experience a couple of fur "booms", and now experiencing the worst of worst with the current coon prices. Enjoy trapping coyotes and cats the most, but like most in the upper Midwest coons have always been the bread and butter. Best coyote day was 11, best coon day 33, best muskrat day 99, caught 367 beaver in just under 6 months..........I hope to get back into it a lot more now that my kids are almost all out of high school.
 
I'm just a beginner but enjoy it. During the off season I worked helping the lack of turkey's on our properties by trapping coons this spring.
 
I grew up trapping muskrat and mink in Iowa, I've also trapped WI, MO, NC, CA and AZ. My best day on Bobcats was four and I did that on back to back weekends in CA. I've also trapped a Bobcat in NC. In one season in AZ I trapped 50 Bobcats when they averaged $125. Best day on Coyotes was 10, and best day on fox was 16.

In MO my last two coon averaged $6, so I've retired my traps.

I'll add that I unknowingly trapped in Mexico, because I never saw a sign or a fence. :-o I knew I was in Mexico when I saw the small village of Ranchito about a half mile away. I'd been trapping up a large desert wash and was inside the wash, so I was never seen and made it back across the border without incident.
 
I had the opportunity to trap a couple southern plantations in the spring for quail and turkey protection but I never took them up on it as the pay was only so so and it was a short term gig. It is an addictive sport, never know what is going to be waiting in the next trap! Downside is it is very time consuming and depending on the type of trapping lots of fuel costs can make it impossible to break even $$ wise. Best money years of late was about 5-6 years ago when I could get close to $400 for a nice bobcat. Caught 4 big ol' pretty toms out of a short section of plum thickets on our own farm over a couple of weeks time. That was a nice fur check! Used to swear that finished coons would never drop below a $10 average. :(
 
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Ive always admired trappers and have dreamed of doing it myself. I did some as a teenager but didnt have the guidance i needed for handling fur, etc...
I allow a guy to trap my 40 after deer season. He does great on beaver and otters.
Weekend trapping on my distant 40 just doesnt work for me right now. I would very much like to learn snaring techniques for coyotes.
I love pics of furs tacked to the barn or stacked in the shed. Wish guys were getting paid enough to make it worthwhile.
 
I still have 20 coons, a coyote, and probably some muskrats in the freezer from last season. I am going to have to sell this year if I plan on catching anymore. Always just done it as a hobby, my goal is to never catch more than 5 coons a day!
 
Best day was 5 hogs. Also had a 3 coon day but i was just giving the coons away so only excitement was the hope for turkeys the following year lol
 
I love trapping coons. Haven't done it for a couple of years because the population was low, but it's rebounded so I will start again this year. Most I've ever caught in a night was 8.
 
Love to trap but until the fur market stabilizes I won't be setting. Most coon end up in Russia and with the low price of oil and political issues things don't look to get better anytime soon.
 
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