Trapping was great today, a little windy out there but not much snow, thank goodness!  My goal was to just go out and check the traps as quickly as I could so that I could spend at least part of the day with Sherry.  So, when she headed for church, I headed west.

I bundled up for the cold wind with a sweat shirt and two thick flannel jackets.  Loaded the pockets with bait, tossed on the shovel, just in case, and headed off.  The 16 traps around Big Spring had nothing, not even a set off trap.  Just like my usual method of trapping I think I have caught everything that lived in that spot.  It’s probably time to move those traps.

When I plan on moving traps, the first thing I usually do is set that many or more the day before I pull the ones I want to pull.  So, tomorrow you know what I will be trying to do.

Proceeding along, the next few traps were either set off or had rats in them, including a colony trap that I was planning on moving down the line a ways.  I left it where it is.  One of the two traps I have set in the small areas was set off for the second time.  I am not sure why he is getting past the trap and not in it.  I maneuvered it just a bit in hopes that tomorrow it is filled with fur.

Continuing down the line my hopes were high as I encountered rats in traps or traps that were set off.  The set off traps are a bit concerning because I’m not sure what is setting them off and not getting caught.  Often times it is a rat swimming like a maniac down low in the run under the water.  So, most of them traps I turned slightly in the run to slow the rat down that 1/1,000th of a second.  Today empty…tomorrow fur.

Recall the conibear I set on the log where I should have set a leg hold trap the other day.  This is what I walked up to today:

That was a close call.

Today I was prepared and had a leg hold trap with me to replace this one with it and then I walked down the stream and set this coni in a nice little run.

Over on Little Spring the traps were much like on Big Spring, either set off and empty or filled with fur.  One of them had a rat that had been eaten pretty good and I figure it must have been a mink that munched on it.  I skinned it and it has three very big holes right in the prime fur on the back.  Oh well, it still counts.

So, by the end of checking I had caught 9 rats and had 7 other traps set off.  Close to a 16 rat day…but I’ll take nine!

Bob ended the day with two and he was glad.  It takes us each one to pay for the days gas.

Tomorrow is planned to be an early start day.

Bears Butt

Feb. 24, 2013