New to trapping…

[Lil zeek]

Merry Christmas everyone! I have finished my trapping education packets a few weeks ago and I am just waiting on it to come back (hopefully passing). I have traded some turkey calls for a few footholds from a friend. And for Christmas I have got a couple dog proof raccoon traps. Any tips about trapping would be great. And if anyone knows someone who would buy raccoons, coyotes, fox etc.please tell me that would be great!! Thank you and happy new year!!

Edited December 26, 2024 by Lil zeek

[Robhuntandfish]

Thats great @Lil zeek.  I have my packet sitting on my desk to complete this winter.  I don't have any tips for you as I know nothing about trapping but I can wish you good luck!  I plan to trap for beavers on our hunting land and maybe coyotes eventually.   

[Wolc123]

Dry cat food works great in dog proofs for coons.  Peanut butter coated marshmellows work great in box traps.  They should be running good soon, with the warm temps that are coming.  The furs are worthless right now though.  I would recommend skinning them and freezing the raw hides.  
 

Maybe the market will correct itself, after world peace sets in around mid-March, and Russia and China come back to the buyers table.  
 

The only good coon is a dead coon.  They are a worthless nest predator  that plays havoc on wild turkey populations.  Kill all of them that that you can.  
 

They are very curious around flowing water and  can easily be taken without any bait, by wrapping the pan of a size 1-1/2 or 2 leg hold trap with tin foil, and placing it under shallow flowing water.  I know of no furbearer that is easier to trap.  
 

I’ve only trapped the “damaging” ones in and around my sweetcorn in mid summer thru early fall the last few years.  In NY state, a landowner or lessee may trap and kill “damaging” coons without limit and without any license, but the carcasses need to be burried or burned prior to the opening of trapping season.  When that’s open, you can just chuck them out on a fiend right feed buzzards.  
 

They don’t tell you how deep  you need to bury them.  The deeper you go, the longer it takes the coyotes to find them.  I often reuse the same holes after coyotes did them up.  
 

I imagine the younger coons, caught during cooler months, would be pretty good eating.  I don’t mess with them in the warmer months because of bugs.  Good luck trapping.  

 

 

Edited December 26, 2024 by Wolc123

[mowin]

@Belo.  I believe his first year was last season. Did good IIRC.  Maybe he can give some tips from someone that is basically starting out.  

Good luck. 

[maddie]

go to trapperman .com and they will help you with all your questions

[Mattypotpie8s]

https://www.gfwco.com/ I’ll be selling to these guys. I’m sure they’ll be stopping somewhere near you. They’ve got videos on YouTube of them buying fur if you’re curious how it goes. As far as catching fur, SET ON SIGN, can’t catch critters that aren’t there. Have fun & tight chains!

[Lil zeek]

Just got the mail and I passed the trapper course! Now I need to go get a license and I start putting traps out!!

[Water Rat]

Congratulations Lil zeek !

[Lil zeek]

I got into the woods a bit late today . I was late because I was setting up traps. I put out two raccoon traps. Both of them are very close to a few raccoon tracks. I put a few pieces of rotting deer with Caverns raccoon moonshine lure on it in the trap.

Last night we had 39 pictures of fox on one camera and he has been on it every night. So I found an old squirrel body from one I shot a few days ago and I put that next to the trap. It took a bit because one of the footholds wasn’t working great. I thought I was doing something wrong and watched three videos. Eventually I just tried the other foothold I had brought with me and I got that first try. I made a few adjustments on the way back in to hopefully direct the fox or coyote to the trap more. Ill check them tomorrow, put out at least one more foothold and touch up on the other foothold that’s already out!

[Mattypotpie8s]

May want to cover that bait up so you don’t catch a raptor

[Bucksnbows]

I have said for decades that becoming a trapper will also make you a better angler and hunter. In trapping, you are forced to become observant and look for sign created by the critters you are after. That power of observation translates to becoming a better outdoorsman.

I wish I had time to run a line, and I will again once retired although I will need to take the newer trapper ed course here in NJ if I stay because I took it when legholds were legal and snares weren’t used. I took my course maybe back in ‘78. Ran a line before school and often after ski team practice after school until college and then four late Decembers to mid January when home from college for winter break. But work has prevented me from trapping for well over 35 years.  To this day, every animal track I see or muskrat or beaver sign I see, I think of the best set for that location.  Did it yesterday walking in to my NJ stand with the ample fox tracks and raccoon tracks. 

[Belo]

Trapping is fun as hell and I believe teaches you more about the wilderness then any amount of hunting does. Your woodsmanship will level up exponentially.

I'm not sure I can keep this brief, but I'll try.

1. Get your license. (check), but this also teaches you quite a bit.

2. Be prepared for what to do with your fur. Even if you're just after predator control, I don't love the idea of trap and ditch. I'm not alone here, but I wont judge if that's your plan. You can process a fur for relatively cheap though and maybe a long term plan for a hat, blanket or something. You will need a way to hang your catch (you probably have a gambrel), you need a knife (you should be good there too), but I would consider building a fleshing beam and get a fleshing knife. There are places where you can mail your fleshed furs that will tan and/or sew them into a hat or whatever.

3. Join trapperman forum and read. I have found that after 1 season that trapping is really basic. Once you get it, there's not a lot to it. But the barrier is crazy. Like I didn't even know how to properly set my footholds and the lack of youtube videos out there surprised me. Then when you learn how to do it, it's so obvious and easy. Also I'm a big fan of Coon Creek Outdoors. His videos are exceptional for getting the basics and advanced stuff down. 

4. Be patient. Don't be afraid to try different things. Set on sign is something I disregarded as ideal but not needed, but it really is needed to improve your yield. Also know that a lot of guys will put out DOZENS of traps at once. I put out like 4 lol. It's fine to start small, but you'll obvious catch less, but also decrease your work load. 

5. I prefer a simple dirt hole for yotes. I'm also a believer in a backing after seeing how hard it is to get them to step in that little 4" spot. I used peatmoss without issue last year too, but am trying wax dirt this year.

6. For me to get fully setup with a bunch of nice to haves and everything pretty much new with a half dozen pan traps and a half dozen dp's was around $400 or so. I believe you can easily get into it for under a $100 buying cheaper or used traps and forgoing a lot of the nice to have things I got. I'm thinking of getting a skinning machine too because skinning dogs sucks and you can't convince me otherwise haha.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Belo

[Lil zeek]

The beginning of my trapping week was slow with nothing hitting my traps. Then two days in a row, out of one DP raccoon trap my bait was stolen. I was using old deer chunks from the carcasses in our field. Yesterday I switch to dog food. And it worked!!!! Third times the charm! Got my first coon this morning. Then checked three other traps with nothing. On my way back to the house I had to check on more trap which is a foothold. And it also had a raccoon in it!!!Im hooked I love trapping! I’m still in disbelief that I caught two in a day. I’m very happy that there is now two less nest raiders. And they where both males.

[Mattypotpie8s]

Way to go! @Lil zeek. Take your time skinning, you can get fast when you get good at it. Watch coon creek outdoors on YouTube for fur handling instructions. If they aren’t rubbed you can get something for them

Edited January 1 by Mattypotpie8s

[Mattypotpie8s]

Those boar coon also come with coffee stirrers