Growing up my Family enjoyed both Hunting and Fishing together. So when I turned 10 years old, my allowance went toward buying my first trap, a Oneida Victor #0 longspring.
After school I tried to find muskrat sign in a nearby swamp and found a frog lying belly up on a log but missing it's rear leg's. Thinking it was left by a Muskrat, I set my small trap underwater on the log next to the frog.
The next day at school I couldn't wait for the bell to ring and when it did, I headed straight for the swamp.
Sloshing through one foot of water and two feet of mud I worked my way up to where I had my set.
No muskrat, but there was a Big Ol Boar Raccoon, who was not happy to see me at'all !
Not being old enough to pack a pistol, my only choice was to try and tranquilize him with a nearby moss covered log.
That didn't work, instead it broke in two on top of his head (and needless to say, it did not improve our relationship).
It wasn't until I returned with a strong pole (from solid ground halfway across the swamp), that things finally swung in my favor.
It was getting dark and I heard my Dad calling to see where I was. He shined the flashlight only to see his worn out Son dragging the prize behind him.
I remember him smiling in amazement but as we examined the Old Trap wise Coon's feet, it turned to shock as we both realized how close I had just come.
Two toe's were missing on each of his rear feet, and only one toe left on his front foot but that was still held strong by my little Victor Size #0.
Had it not been an underwater blind set, next to his "Frog on the Log", I believe this Old Trapwise Veteran would still out there.
Doug
