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Author Topic: North Idaho Trapline  (Read 11653 times)

Offline idaho guy

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #30 on: December 23, 2023, 01:23:25 PM »
Your tracks a dog.
You’re obviously scouting a road system that houndsmen are hunting. You have to decide where you want to trap and not lay in bed worrying about should you have set there. It’s not just catching dogs and pissin off your fellow outdoorsmen, it’s also havin a cat in a trap and the hounds baying it up. May not have a cat when you return.
Back when hounds and traps were legal here, I caught a good number of bobcats. I never caught a hound or lost a cat to a hounds man.
I caught my cats where houndsmen would not turn out hounds.


good advice. I run hounds and trap. I trap the places i dont want to let my hounds loose 😂. Anywhere leading into a big roadless drainage is not likely to get a lot of dog traffic. I had good success trapping bobcats last year,  close to the road , but leading into bad country to let hounds go.

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #31 on: December 23, 2023, 07:07:58 PM »
Your tracks a dog.
You’re obviously scouting a road system that houndsmen are hunting. You have to decide where you want to trap and not lay in bed worrying about should you have set there. It’s not just catching dogs and pissin off your fellow outdoorsmen, it’s also havin a cat in a trap and the hounds baying it up. May not have a cat when you return.
Back when hounds and traps were legal here, I caught a good number of bobcats. I never caught a hound or lost a cat to a hounds man.
I caught my cats where houndsmen would not turn out hounds.


good advice. I run hounds and trap. I trap the places i dont want to let my hounds loose 😂. Anywhere leading into a big roadless drainage is not likely to get a lot of dog traffic. I had good success trapping bobcats last year,  close to the road , but leading into bad country to let hounds go.

Pretty much exact country I hit. We definitely have gorgeous area in North Idaho. I know most the hound guys in my area pretty well. Best advice one of my hound buddies told me was set near the hwy, I won’t let out in a spot my dogs may chase across it. Right now the dozen sets I have out are all into heavy deep drainages with no rds backing them or within couple hundred yards of the main hwy. (It’s a crazy busy hwy too, like 1 log truck every 10 min on it it 😂). Third year trapping in Idaho, 37th trapping and have yet to pick up a hound, knock on wood 🪵
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline idaho guy

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #32 on: December 24, 2023, 11:48:22 AM »
Your tracks a dog.
You’re obviously scouting a road system that houndsmen are hunting. You have to decide where you want to trap and not lay in bed worrying about should you have set there. It’s not just catching dogs and pissin off your fellow outdoorsmen, it’s also havin a cat in a trap and the hounds baying it up. May not have a cat when you return.
Back when hounds and traps were legal here, I caught a good number of bobcats. I never caught a hound or lost a cat to a hounds man.
I caught my cats where houndsmen would not turn out hounds.


good advice. I run hounds and trap. I trap the places i dont want to let my hounds loose 😂. Anywhere leading into a big roadless drainage is not likely to get a lot of dog traffic. I had good success trapping bobcats last year,  close to the road , but leading into bad country to let hounds go.

Pretty much exact country I hit. We definitely have gorgeous area in North Idaho. I know most the hound guys in my area pretty well. Best advice one of my hound buddies told me was set near the hwy, I won’t let out in a spot my dogs may chase across it. Right now the dozen sets I have out are all into heavy deep drainages with no rds backing them or within couple hundred yards of the main hwy. (It’s a crazy busy hwy too, like 1 log truck every 10 min on it it 😂). Third year trapping in Idaho, 37th trapping and have yet to pick up a hound, knock on wood 🪵
 

perfect 👍 have a great season!

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #33 on: December 25, 2023, 09:15:52 PM »
Christmas is always one of my favorite days on the trap line. We do presents and our family dinner on the 24th and go enjoy the outdoors on the 25th. We slept in this morning and hit the rd around 10am. One of the very first towns we cut through on our way to my trapping area we saw a giant turkey right on the white line. It’s not uncommon for us to see 100 plus birds a day but this one was special. It was a butterball 🤣 Someone had lost a perfectly wrapped turkey and it was right on the side of the rd. We left it in case they came back lol.

But remember how I said Christmas is one of my favorite days on the line. Today was no different. I had a first in over 30 yrs of trapping. I picked up a super nice fisher! We came up on a cat cubby and I could see we had something because of the catch circle but I couldn’t see the cat? I started looking up in the tree since my sets are on cables then noticed a big set of eyes from inside the cedar and hemlock bows I’d made the set with. He was gorgeous. At first I thought I had a small wolverine. He was about the size of a young fox and had golden broken tones on his bottom side. He was snarling and making a chattering sound. My wife said it sounded like a ringtone 😂

I quickly cut a Y shaped cedar branch that we could use to pin him down. My trapping partner pinned him down and I reached down and released him from the #3 Bridger. The OS laminated jaws didn’t even leave a visible mark. It was amazing at the size of its feet. Figure the outside jaw spread of that trap is 6.5”.  I took the stick, told my partner to back up and I released pressure on him. He looked at me for a second and I started talking to him and said “you better turn and head the other way now buddy” lol. After a second he turned around and had the perfect weasel like bound off through the timber. Completely made my day to see such an incredible animal and be able to release it unharmed since I wasn’t able to harvest it.

Side note I’ve combed the regs in pretty good detail and don’t see anything saying I have to report it right away since he was released unharmed. If anyone else knows differently shoot me a message, thanks!
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline Naches Sportsman

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #34 on: December 25, 2023, 09:48:32 PM »
They’re pretty feisty creatures. Caught one in a live trap last year in one of our work center buildings and she never came back. 😂

If you were on fed ground I’d see if the local biologist wants a waypoint. They run hair traps up there and fisher sightings seem like a hot commodity to a lot of the Northern Idaho Bios. 

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #35 on: December 25, 2023, 09:55:09 PM »
They’re pretty feisty creatures. Caught one in a live trap last year in one of our work center buildings and she never came back. 😂

If you were on fed ground I’d see if the local biologist wants a waypoint. They run hair traps up there and fisher sightings seem like a hot commodity to a lot of the Northern Idaho Bios.

National Forest. If I would’ve realized I’d of clipped a chunk of hair off his leg for DNA when I released him 😂
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline JakeLand

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #36 on: December 26, 2023, 04:49:12 AM »
Great catch !!! Next time you check you could grab some hair if you really wanted too from the area as I’m sure he left some 😂
Any cat or marten sign about ?
« Last Edit: December 26, 2023, 06:20:23 AM by JakeLand »

Offline boneaddict

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #37 on: December 26, 2023, 08:52:05 AM »
One of my favorite animals.   I'm glad you were able to release it unharmed without too much of a scuffle.   What a cool experience for all involved. 

Offline LDennis24

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #38 on: December 26, 2023, 10:08:44 AM »
Awesome animal! I love all the weasels. I haven't ever seen a Fisher but Pine Marten are fun to watch play in the woods. Saw a group playing one year near Tillicum Campground North of the Indian Heaven Wilderness. They were going nuts like little kittens who just maul each other, tackling each other off the tree trunks and wrestling. I heard recently that there are a few areas they are considering allowing Fishers to be kept in Idaho. Anyone hear anything like that?

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #39 on: December 26, 2023, 10:49:38 AM »
Awesome animal! I love all the weasels. I haven't ever seen a Fisher but Pine Marten are fun to watch play in the woods. Saw a group playing one year near Tillicum Campground North of the Indian Heaven Wilderness. They were going nuts like little kittens who just maul each other, tackling each other off the tree trunks and wrestling. I heard recently that there are a few areas they are considering allowing Fishers to be kept in Idaho. Anyone hear anything like that?

I’d heard the same thing, as soon as I was in cell service I was looking up to see if I’d let him go when I could’ve kept it 😂
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline nwwanderer

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #40 on: December 26, 2023, 03:20:36 PM »
His cousin thanks you

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #41 on: December 26, 2023, 06:52:17 PM »
His cousin thanks you

He ran across in front of the truck yesterday in his white version 😂
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline snake

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #42 on: December 26, 2023, 07:30:07 PM »
 I had a lot of Fischer's hitting my bear baits this spring.  really neat you got to see one up close.  Was is pissed off when it saw you?

Offline TeacherMan

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #43 on: December 26, 2023, 09:01:09 PM »
I had a lot of Fischer's hitting my bear baits this spring.  really neat you got to see one up close.  Was is pissed off when it saw you?

It was super pissed at me. My wife on the other hand is an animal whisperer and it didn’t snarly at her at all 😂
If you shoot the first one you will never get that true trophy.

Offline X-Force

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Re: North Idaho Trapline
« Reply #44 on: December 26, 2023, 09:22:48 PM »
Awesome. Glad you got a clean release on him. Rare experience for sure.
People get offended at nothing at all. So, speak your mind and be unapologetic.

 


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