What a fantastic day…not only was it a gorgeous day weather wise, it was a great day in every way…Late this afternoon I called Weasel to come and help me take down the rats that were still on stretchers in the trapping shed.  He came about 4ish.  That was a good time because first off it was the warmest part of the day and secondly I had finished what I was doing in the house…readying for paint….

I told Bob we needed to get together for a picture which I plan on sending into the Fur-Fish and Game magazine for their “End of the Line” pictures.  I wanted a picture of all the rats sorted by size and all the trappers and helpers in the picture.  A great year with lots of help and fun had by all.

Weasel showed up about the time I was talking to Bob, who was working hard on his raspberry patch…no time for taking time off.

And then I took a short video about how the sorting was to be done and how it was going.  Of course this is a “You Tube Video” and the whole world will be able to see it…Weasel was most welcome to be the star of the show.

Once the rats were sorted by size, I took several pictures of the piles…literally piles…of rats of various sizes.  And just as I suspected the majority of the piles were LARGE or BIGGER!

I threatened to sort out the damage from the non-damage, but because the nicks and bites were so few, I decided not to do that…a total waste of time…we figure we have around 4% damage of some sort or another and any of the graders would sort what I would call “slight damage” as “bad damage” etc. so why waste my time.  Yes, I admit we do have some “bad damage”, but the total lot of any sort of bite marks and tears is so minimal it doesn’t matter.

What I like most about this years catch is the size of the critters we caught…over 85% were large and up….You will see from the pictures of the piles.

There are only 7 small rats, that is rats that measure between 9 1/2 and 11 inches from the nose to the hip or saddle of the hide, not the tip of the tail portion.  We had no rats the measured under 9 1/2 inches.

Just as the sign says, 76 medium sized rats, 11 to 12 1/2 inches long.

380 rats that are large, 12 1/2 to 14 inches.  You might be asking yourself right now “How can a rat measure 12 1/2 and be considered a large when it was the top end of a medium size”?  When you look at a 12 1/2 inch rat and are deciding which pile to put it in, medium or large, you have to consider the width as well as the weight of it.  After some sorting, and it doesn’t take much, you get a feel for the rat you are holding in your hand and can quickly make your decision.  Of course if you are a buyer, which pile do you think you would put it in?

Extra Large…now those are some nice looking rats right there.  The sign says 269, but in reality we miscounted and the total is 268…our bad….These rats measure 14 to 15 1/2 inches long.  Rats this size can take your leg off if you aren’t careful out in the field.

Extra Extra Large…47 of them guys and they measure 15 1/2 to 17 inches in length…17 inches!  Those guys will for sure take a leg if you turn your back and this is the reason we all “pack heat” when we trap.  If 47 of them came at a trapper at the same time, you would be reading about his demise in the paper.

And look at these two fellas…Triple Extra Large!  In order to be classed in this bracket they have to exceed 17 inches long and these two guys almost go 18 inches!  I really think these guys were cross bred with beavers and some how made it out to our trapping area.

When you lump all of this size grading down to numbers, out catch this season was 89% large or bigger rats!  689 out of 780 rats!  This catch deserves at least $10 average with today’s prices.

So hear are the guys that made this catch possible…well one guy is missing, Cole, Breks brother.  Does this look like a crew that could catch and process 780 rats?  YES!  From left to right, our Skinner Man, Brek, Bob (sitting),  Behind him, none other than Bears Butt himself, Weasel and Wapiti (sitting)…little Abby is by Bobs side as she was the entire trapping season, in the field or at home in the shed.  A hearty THANK YOU to Savanna (Georgia) for taking this great picture of the crew and the catch.

Now all the rats have been placed in sacks, marked by quantity and size and are ready to either be sold or frozen…buyers decide.

Bears Butt

April 5, 2013