# tripped traps



## chasesdad (Jan 3, 2007)

im new in the world of trapping and cant seem to get the animals to get caught. when i check them various ones are tripped but no animal. what can i try with only a few weeks left. my wife is getting upset that i spent the money on traps and they are not paing for themselves yet.


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## cya_coyote (Aug 31, 2005)

what are you trapping? what kind of sets are you making? what bait or lure? what kind of areas?

you have asked a very unspecific question, so it will be impossible to answer without some info. also, when i buy traps, i usually plan on 2-3 years payback on them... unless you bought a dozen or so it is sometimes difficult to pay for them in 1 year, or you are a great trapper.

cya

:sniper:


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## Mongojoe (Nov 2, 2006)

Chasesdad, you really need to look at it like this... Anything worth learning takes time to learn. No one starts in and is immediately an expert over night making big bucks. If that were the case everyone would be trapping... My first year trapping I caught nothing but possums, skunks and a couple of the more "mentally challenged" *****. And my second year I only caught possums, skunks, a few ****, and one or two coyotes, and, if I recall a rabbit or two and a field rat... Like anything else worth learning, it takes time, work, and experience.... A fella has to put in the time, actually want to learn, work at it, and, in short, "pay his dues"... As you go along, and time passes, you will get better.

Let me suggest that if you are serious about learning to trap, you join your state trapping association, and then go to their meetings. You can actually see various sets being made, learn proper skinning and fur handleing methods to get the most money for your furs, pick up tips and tricks, purchase things you need and equipment, and ask questions.


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## carp_killer (Nov 24, 2006)

it sounds like the only reason you guys trap is for the money not also for the fun of doing it


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## Mongojoe (Nov 2, 2006)

I don't really believe you completely read my post when you said, "you guys". I didn't refer to "trapping just for the money" anywhere... I simply responded to Chasesdad's original post... But, I trap...or I did trap, I am physically disabled now due to an accident at work ... because I enjoyed it. However, it would have been foolish as well as wasteful, to simply discard valuable pelts... The fact that trapping could add a few bucks to the family kitty certainly didn't hurt anything either.


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## chasesdad (Jan 3, 2007)

i as well do not do it just for the money --thats nice-- it gets me to the great outdoors where i am truely happy


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## smitty223 (Mar 31, 2006)

trapper_2 said:


> it sounds like the only reason you guys trap is for the money not also for the fun of doing it


Where do you come-off making a statement like that? :roll:

I've went through & read some of your past posts. I'd be interested in hearing some of your backround in trapping.

Smitty


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## younghunter (Dec 17, 2006)

trapper_2 im gunan have to agree with i do it manly for fun and pride that i caught someting the money is jsut a bonus plus at the end i just buy stuff for next year or if a good year a new gun its mainly just pride taht i outsmarted the smart.


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## cya_coyote (Aug 31, 2005)

i trap for a lot of reasons... #1, it opens up hunting opportunities in a lot of posted land around here... a farmer is having problems with raccoon in hay or livestock barns, or coyotes and fox taking their ducks, geese, lambs, etc... i go out and trap the problem animals, call the coyotes and fox, and alleviate the problems for them. as we get to know each other, and when they see that i am not going to dis-respect them or their property, it will open up a lot of opportunities for hunting as far as deer, turkey, squirrel... with more and more land around here beign leased for hunting, it gives me a little foot in the door to get on some land that i otherwise would not be able to hunt.

#2, i love the time outdoors. i really hate exercise, but i love to hunt, trap, fish... anything outdoors. that is where i prefer to be, and traps out gives me an excuse to get out even when it is miserable.

#3, i love animals and don't sant them to get the different diseases... mange swept through a few years ago, and the coyotes i saw made me sick. if you have never seen the suffering these animals go through, you really need to see. but you better have a strong stomach, and don't eat first... it aint pretty.

#4 i am one of the people that likes to work the fur... i really enjoy the time i spend in the fur shed... brushing out a fur, hooping a beaver, getting a good looking coyote or fox on the stretcher and making them look as full as you can... i really enjoy the feeling of doing the job right.

#5 the money... no, it is not a lot, but it helps take care of some bills... upkeep on my trucks, gas for the boat come summer so i can fish more, possibly a new rifle, shotgun... a lot of smaller stuff that the work paycheck just usually doesn't leave money for.

so, yes, i do look forward to the fur checks, but there is a lot more to it. the feeling is something that you have to experience for yourself... if i didn't enjoy it i sure would not go out in freezing weather, snow and ice, chop through ice on the lakes to set traps for beaver and rats and everything else that goes with trapping, just to collect a check that is not anywhere near what i get for a 40 hour week. i put in a lot more than the 40 hours a week into my trapline, yet i get a lot less pay to do it. but since i enjoy it so much, i really don't care. if i can cover my expenses, it is highly worth doing, for me and the animals.

cya

:sniper:


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## smitty223 (Mar 31, 2006)

I've yet to read a reply from Trapper_2 or 62, whichever one he's going by.

How old are you? How long have you been trapping? Share some of your catch totals, post some pics, what trapping associations are you a member of? Share some wisdom with us, please......

You're answering other posts, why not this one?

Smitty


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## Wld Fowl (May 29, 2006)

Well to get back to the problem at hand. chasesdad you might want to make sure that you are bedding your traps really good and packed.

Then make sure you are not bedding them to close or to far away from your bait hole (if you are using bait hole sets).

Last but not least make sure you are not setting your pan tension to lite (the traps fire before the foot is in a proper placement).

I hope this helps a bit. But by not knowing what you are trapping for and the sets you are setting it is hard to tell you what might be wrong.

Later and HAPPY Trapping,
Ryan

trapper_2 like a few of the guys said yes the money is nice but if you add up all the hours on the line in the shed you don't even break even most years. But if you trap you would know that.


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## carp_killer (Nov 24, 2006)

sorry smitty i aint looked at this post even since my last reply but i am 64 years old and have been trapping since the late 40s early 50s for yotes fox rats **** weasel mink and beaver i can remember when we use to get 100 rats a day sometimes more fox i can remember 40 or so a season 20 **** a day which i can still do on occasion never got many weasel or beaver but got a few 3-4 mink a day was average unfortunately i dont own a camera to show pictures but i could ask my trapping partner if he has any i dont think you all are taking what i said the way i ment it to be it just seems to me the younger generations trap mainly for the money not for fun i am a member of the mn trappers association and the national trappers association


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## smitty223 (Mar 31, 2006)

Then I sir will publically apoligize to you. :beer: I did misunderstand your statement.....and had every intention of having alittle "fun" at your expense. Again, my apoligies.

Smitty


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## rifle6 (Jan 7, 2007)

If i'm in it for the money i'm in deep.......powder river.....
if you count traps,bait,lure. GAS, goodies.... time in the sub frezzing desert.
well i'm way in the hole. but that's not what it is about for me!


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