I've got some lengthy ones involving specific animals but here's a few short ones.
I was trapping a series of beaver ponds several years back and had a swim-through set below a dam in a spot that didn't require hip waders to get to. I got three big black-pelted beavers in three days and then somebody started checking it for me
a set of 13 size boot prints provided proof for my theory.
I considered pulling the trap and moving it out into a different pond but then I decided to trap the person. I took about 45 minutes wallowing out a huge hole in the bottom of the dam by digging with my short shovel and shifting peeled sticks. It was about 4' deep and 3' wide
then I disguised it with weeds and reeds. Perfect deadfall.
It snowed about 2" that night and I came back at about 0700 before work. To my elation, there were a set of bootprints just like before
I walked along the dam until I could see the scene... there was a huge area splattered by mud and black water and hand prints and boot prints when my unseen animal thief had scrambled out of the freezing muck and headed back without taking the 50 lb beaver in the trap
I then moved the trap and continued to catch beaver.
Another time involving a jack@$$ person:
I caught three beavers in my first spot and left them in the cattails while I walked down the dike to my mink sets. About twenty minutes later I was a half mile down the dike, headed back with a bucket full of mink and muskrats. I saw two duck hunters stop and look down at the spot where my beavers were
their dogs were down in there sniffing out my furs. I wouldn't have minded all that if they hadn't shot up my catch before walking down another trail
I considered payback options. None of which included confronting two people with bad judgment and 12 gauges. I finally landed on removing the castor and smearing it all over the inside of their truck door handles and dropping them through the crack of the window into the backseat
