A.M. March 16, 2012

As the trapping season is coming to a close for Bob and I, I thought this mornings report should reflect on some of the things that we encounter while out in the field.  These things don’t happen everyday of course, but you never know what to expect around the next bend or over the next hill.

As with anything dealing with water, anything can happen…just like my spill at the beaver dam a couple of weeks ago.  Bob has a special care he needs to be constantly aware of, his tracheotomy tube.  One dunk over the top of that and his will drown.  So he is extra careful while trapping and tries his best to hit the shallower areas.  One thing I have to say about him is he is just like the EverReady Bunny…he just keeps on going.  Here is a picture of him walking out of a swamp with a sack of rats on his back.

Notice his left hand is in a blue colored rubber glove.  He ran a phragmitie stick through it and has to keep it covered with a waterproof bandage and needs to take special care to soak it every day to keep the infections out.  At the time of this picture he could only use his left hand to pull up the pan of leg hold sets.  Other than that he could not use his hand for anything.

Other things we encounter is the wild life.  Daily we will see the birds.  Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Geese, Ducks, Killdeer, Sandhill Cranes, to name a few,  and the assorted smaller song birds.  All of the birds have their individual character that really spices up the sounds we hear in the swamps.

I had a chance to go Snow Goose hunting a few weeks ago, but they had not migrated down in sufficient numbers at that time and the hunt was cancelled.  Now that the hunt for 2012 has ended, I got to see what a Gaggle of Snow Geese really looks like and I took a few minutes out of the trapline to go and check them out a bit closer.  They sure are a raucous bunch when you get this many together at one time.  It reminded me of rendezvous.

We see other signs of animals as well while out and about.  Tracks mostly.  Coyote, Fox, Weasel, Mink, Rabbit and surprisingly enough on rare occasion a Bobcat or even a Mountain lion.

It’s all part of the adventure and fun to play in their yards.

Well, as for today:  After taking yesterday off, I have decided I have enough traps out on Club 41 for this year.  Bob had his floats and 17 traps out as of the day before yesterday and I suspect he set a few more yesterday.  He may have even run into a couple I set where he should be trapping.  My next setting of traps will be at Doris’ pond and over to Steve Petersons place, next week.

I expect 20 rats today.  And with a forecast of winds tomorrow that are expected to be sustained at 40 mph and gusting to over 60 mph, my new idea will really get the test out in the swamps.

Until later!

Bears Butt

P.M. Report

Sorry it’s so late, but again my butt is kicked.  One would think they would get used to it, but maybe it’s my age…kicked is an understatment.

It was a pleasant day out in the field today.  Not so windy that it was disturbing, not hot at all and actually a pretty nice day.  One to reflect on what was around you most of the day.

I met one of the cattle owners who shares the lease on the club property and talked for some time with him.  I am not one for remembering peoples names and so I can’t tell you who he is, but he lives in Perry and is a good friend of one of my friends.  Anyway, he didn’t have much of any idea about trapping and so I showed him some of the traps and how they worked etc.  He was appreciative of the lessons.  I told him I was hoping for a 20 rat day.  The next time I saw him I told him I had caught 15 rats and was less than half way through my line.  He was impressed.  I was a grinny faced happy trapper.

To say the least I was having myself one very fun day of trapping.  Good weather, lots of rats, few traps set off with nothing in them….life was/is good.  Then here I came upon a trap that should have had a rat in it!  I had to take a picture of it just for your viewing pleasure.

It’s hard to see, but the pan is pressed downward as far as it could go…what stopped it?  A piece of carrot that I use for bait!  WAHHHH!  That would have been another rat in the bag!  Notice his “droppings” in the forground.  OOOOOOOOO.

Carrots are good bait.  But from now on I am chopping them up finer.

I pulled 7 traps that have NEVER in three years of trapping this place, ever caught any rats….a place I call Dead Pond…. There isn’t any sense driving 1/4 mile out of my way just to check traps that never have any thing in them.  The place looks “ratty”, but there have never been any rats caught there in the 3 years I have been trapping it.  In future years you won’t see me setting any traps there…are you listening rats…I will never set any traps there.  (maybe they will move into there and I’ll catch them next year…hehehehehe).

I gave up 2 trap sets to Bob, as he saw them today and is welcome to entertain them while we are on this place.  Scratch them from my line and add them to his.  I hope he remembers tomorrow.

I called Doris and she is excited to think I am coming to catch the rats at her pond.  And she happened to be at Steves place when I talked to her and he is happy I will be trapping his place as well.  I told her that Tuesday was the day I will set both places.

Life certainly is good is it not?

Bob had a good day yesterday…he caught 12 rats!  While I was off playing.

Today, he caught 11!  Good day for him, but he is not happy about Club 41.  He thinks he needs a boat and lots of floats to adequately set his area of the club.   I agree.

Bottom line for me today 31.  A great day in any trappers book.

And as for skinner Brek, he had the 54 rats Bob and I caught the last two days, but also one rat that brother Rick tossed into the mix from trying to catch the Beaver down at Willow Creek.  Thanks Rick…I owe you a beer!

Bears Butt