First Weekend Trapping

[LucG]

Well with fishing coming to an end, it was time to move on to the next hobbie until I can get out on the ice.

 

For me, that is trapping! Didnt get to set to many traps on saturday due to the terrible windy weather, but I had a couple furbearing critters to show for on sunday. Not a bad start. One nice sized beaver, two marten and one muskrat. Throughout the winter I will catch my quota of 21 beaver, 15 marten, 2 fisher, and a number of mink, muskrats and foxes.

 

Edited November 2, 2009 by LucG

[crappieperchhunter]

Thx for the post. I found it very interesting. Trapping I'm sure is something that is in serious decline as far as the younger generation taking up the trade.

 

Do you eat any of those critters? The reason I ask. In 80 I was a JR in Kiosk...Algonquin Park. We had a trapper visit out camp and give us a little presentation about his craft. He was asked if he ate any of the animals he trapped.

 

He said with a sly little grin to a group of 17-19 year old guys that eating beaver was his favourite. We all laughed like hell and all the standard comments where trotted out. But once all the joking settled down we found out that he was indeed serious. He was an entertaining gentleman who clearly had a passion for trapping.

 

Nice to see others are still enjoying an honest outdoorsy trade. Good on you.

 

I'd love to see more pics of your passtime.

[Fang]

Very cool, We've been seeing a pretty big increase in the beaver and marten population on Temagami. Nice critters but a real pain when they decide to build under a boathouse or dam the creek leading up to the portage. Had a marten take an interest in me when moose hunting. He spotted me in my stand and thought he was gonna climb right in.

 

Hope the pricing stays good for you. You do anything with the beaver meat?

[LucG]

Thanks for the positive replys. After reading the post with the hundreds of coyote nailed on the barn, I was/am expecting someone to have negative comments. But that comes along with trapping.

 

I personaly do not eat their meat, however it is very common. I have even had a friends father ask me to keep him a smaller one so he can eat it. He sais once he has prepared and cooked it, it looks just like a turkey. (of course it does not taste like one)

 

I use the beaver meat as bait to catch marten, fisher and fox.

 

Last year the prices, along with the rest of the world's economy, werent that great. I'm not expecting it to be all that good this year either, but I do not do it for the money. Its a great hobby and a great way to get outdoors.

[Fishnwire]

I work with an electrician in the mines who told me that when he first hired on with INCO he debated becoming a fulltime trapper instead. He said that a decent trapper could make better money than a licenced tradesman at that time. He still traps as a hobby but says that he knows a couple guys who do it full time and he knows for a fact that he makes at least 10x what they make. It's a shame...what was once an important proffesion in this country is little more than a hobby with a ton of hard work involved.

 

Does anyone know if there's anyway I can find out who has the right to trap in the vincinity of my camp? I wouldn't mind seeing a bunch of the beavers that flood the road get trapped out.

[LucG]

It's a shame...what was once an important proffesion in this country is little more than a hobby with a ton of hard work involved.

 

Does anyone know if there's anyway I can find out who has the right to trap in the vincinity of my camp? I wouldn't mind seeing a bunch of the beavers that flood the road get trapped out.

 

You are very right about that! Prices are not what they used to be. This is what prices were like last year at one of the biggest auctions of the year.

http://www.furharvesters.com/results/2009/may09cdn.pdf

 

A good way to find the trapper in that area would be to call the Ontario Fur Managers Federation in Sault Saint Marie. Their number is 705-254-3338. If no luck with them, I'd try your local MNR office. They would be able to find out that info. Is your camp on crown land?

Edited November 2, 2009 by LucG

[fishermccann]

I would love to buy a few pelts to put on the cottage wall, how would I go about doing that without paying a tourist trap a fortune?

[bubbles]

Where do you sell the pelts?

How much does a good beaver go for theses days?

[misfish]

Thanks for sharing your hobby LucG.

Must be a blast,and alot of hard work.

Edited November 2, 2009 by misfish

[LucG]

I would love to buy a few pelts to put on the cottage wall, how would I go about doing that without paying a tourist trap a fortune?

I work for Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay. We own a trap supply store that sells everything you need to trap. We also sell dressed fur.

Here's a link to our catalogue, the dressed pelts are near the end. Let me know what interests you, and I'll see if I can work up a deal.

http://www.furharvesters.com/tct/pdf/catalogue.pdf

 

Where do you sell the pelts?

How much does a good beaver go for theses days?

I sell my pelts at Fur Harvesters Auction. It is one of two auction houses left in Canada. They sell pelts on consignment and usually charge 11% commission. A good beaver these days will usually sell for around $40-50 with the average being closer to $25-30.

 

Thanks for sharing your hobby LucG.

Must be a blast,and alot of hard work.

Your welcome! Its my pleasure. Trapping is alot of hard work. First you must trek through the forest to find the animals, then catch them, then skin and stretch them. But I love doing itjust as much as I like to fish. I will post my future catches and some of the nice scenery I get to enjoy.

[mpt]

Great post. Good luck trapping this year. Do you / can you trap wolves? It seems there are quite a few around Nippissing.

[trapshooter]

Excellent post! Thanks for sharing your trapping story... and please, keep em coming.

[LucG]

Great post. Good luck trapping this year. Do you / can you trap wolves? It seems there are quite a few around Nippissing.

 

Most trappers can trap wolves, but I cannot. My trapline is bordering Algonquin Park thus they are protected under that area. I sure would love to get a few, they really have an effect on the beaver and muskrat population. But theres not much I can do.

[Leecher]

Great report and pic Luc

Sweet reward for your efforts!!!

How long have you been trapping?? Looks like a fun hobby.

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

[Bernie]

Great post Luc.

I hail from Powassan and know a couple of your co-workers, Ken and Mark. One of my co workers is also a trapper, do you know Ivan?

Living in the north many of us here know the hard work involved but like you said the enjoyment of nature as well.

People forget that not long ago it was the way we all survived here. It is definitely the way nature works.

Be proud of what you do and ignore the nay sayers. Well done.

[Roy]

Couldn't have said it any better, Bernie.

[holdfast]

Most trappers can trap wolves, but I cannot. My trapline is bordering Algonquin Park thus they are protected under that area. I sure would love to get a few, they really have an effect on the beaver and muskrat population. But theres not much I can do.

 

Question on the Wolves found in Algonquin? Are they a Coyote mix that a licenced trapper had told me close to the Sand Lake Gate Petawawa area?

[young_one]

Very intersting hobby, thanks for sharing. I like abit of natural fur on my jacket.

Coyote and Bever Canada Goose Parka, very classic!

[ehg]

Interesting way to see the animals in the area. This way you can get a close look without getting bit or whatever.

 

 

 

We had a trapper visit out camp and give us a little presentation about his craft. He was asked if he ate any of the animals he trapped.

 

He said with a sly little grin to a group of 17-19 year old guys that eating beaver was his favourite.

That was a funny little story

[LucG]

Great report and pic Luc

Sweet reward for your efforts!!!

How long have you been trapping?? Looks like a fun hobby.

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

 

I've only been trapping 4-5 years now. One of my father's friends is a trapper and that is how I got started.

 

Great post Luc.

I hail from Powassan and know a couple of your co-workers, Ken and Mark. One of my co workers is also a trapper, do you know Ivan?

Living in the north many of us here know the hard work involved but like you said the enjoyment of nature as well.

People forget that not long ago it was the way we all survived here. It is definitely the way nature works.

Be proud of what you do and ignore the nay sayers. Well done.

 

Yes, they are both great guys. I pretty sure I do know Ivan as well.

If I am correct, you sold me my atv which I bought for trapping. With today's fur prices, I'll be trapping for 10 years before I can pay that off

Thanks Bernie, I am proud of what I do, and I try to tell as much people as I can about it. Too much people just don't know the whole story behind trapping.

 

Question on the Wolves found in Algonquin? Are they a Coyote mix that a licenced trapper had told me close to the Sand Lake Gate Petawawa area?

 

Most wolves in this area are considered a "brush wolf" because they somewhat of a mix between a coyote and a timber wolf. But there are still big timber wolves around.

[lunkerbasshunter]

hey i heard the the haliburton forest and wildlife forest/preserve was looking for trappers to supply them beavers for the wolves they have fenced in up there? you may want to try them to see if you can sell them some of your beavers? I have done there tour and you learn a ton about wolves. They have a pack of wolves fenced in up there. Very cool stuff

 

Cheers!

[cram]

holdfast....i believe the algonquin wolves are red wolves. Smaller than the timber wolf, and far more group oriented (pretty sure the timber wolves are often loners)

[Northhunter]

Algonquin wolves are the same as our other Ontario wolves. They travel in and out of the park. People seem to think that because we designated it a park that everything must be different once you go inside - the animals don't care for our invisible borders

[Musky or Specks]

Have you ever read the book Trap Lines North a true "diary" of 18 and 16 year old brothers trapping near Nakina in the 30's and absolutely riviting snapshot of Canadiana.

 

http://traplinesnorth.tripod.com/

Edited November 5, 2009 by Musky or Specks

[StoneFly]

Interesting,...by all means im not gonna start a bash here,...this is completely new to me. Im curious about a few things:

 

1) Your limit is 21 beaver? that seems like alot? is it that high becasue they are poor lumberjacks as they cut alot of trees down and dont use them and dont plant any?

 

2) What are the pelts used for? what market do they sell in?

3) Can Beaver be eaten? ( besides the obvious

4) what kind of traps?

 

Im not looking to get into your trade, nor am I criticizing it, Im just curious. As a River fisherman, I have had countless experiences with beavers. For the most part my experience has been their attempts at dams make great pools for steelhead, the houses make great cover for browns.

 

On more than one occasion I mistook a huge shadow in the water for a monster steelhead or salmon, soon to discover it was a beaver. Walking the river side it absolute amazes me how many trees these guys eat and never use lol.

 

I remember one of my first times ever river fishing,... in a pool behind a semi-dam that was holding about 100 salmon and a few dozen steelhead and I was drifting it all day. At the beginning of the day I saw this massive shadow move slowly from the bottom of the pool below the fish,..moved slowly to the side of the pool and the head popped up,..and it was a beaver,.... it took a minute of breaths and then slowly slid down below the fish for 30 min then repeated over and over.

 

Then again,...when beavers get ranbunctious and slap their tails all morning,..it spooks the fish lol. When they swim by you and hit your leg in the river, it gets a little nervy also...lol

 

So if you only get $20 per beaver and your limit is 21, it isnt hugely lucrative,...is this like a hunting thing? is there a satisfaction simliar to hunting or fishing for that matter? Again, not stirring the pot, just asking.

 

cheers,