Other Activities > Trapping
Mentor
Loup Loup:
Otters are tough for me. And coons aren’t much fun!
There’s nothing that compares to watching and listening to an experienced fur handler while they work.
I recommend you join WSTA, then contact your regional director and ask him or her for a mentor in your area. Come to the fur sale in March that I mentioned to barehunter. This alone will speed up your learning curve.
Story told to me at last years fursale:
Last year I picked up fur at the WSTA sale for transport to the Intermountain furharvesters sale in St Maries ID.
A young man consigned 17 or 18 very nice otter with me. He told me he had attended a WSTA demo by a Master Trapper on how to trap otter. Young man realized Hey, I could do that. And he took what he learned from the MT and started catching otter. The next year the MT put on a demo on how to put up otter pelts. The young man paid attention and put what he’d learned to work the next season.
So he brings me 17-18 beautiful otter pelts. Master Trapper also consigns 17 or 18 otters with me.
At the St Maries sale, MT’s otters were high otters at the sale. Young man’s otters were less than $2 average under MT’s. The difference in price was not because of handling differences, just different otters.
All the experienced trappers I know never stop learning from each other new tricks and techneques to produce the nicest end product possible.
3nails:
--- Quote from: JakeLand on January 04, 2025, 05:13:17 PM ---I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters
--- End quote ---
Nope. I'd smoke you! :chuckle:
JakeLand:
--- Quote from: 3nails on January 05, 2025, 12:27:40 PM ---
--- Quote from: JakeLand on January 04, 2025, 05:13:17 PM ---I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters
--- End quote ---
Nope. I'd smoke you! :chuckle:
--- End quote ---
ok
CastleRocker:
There is a reason that "real trappers" flesh their hides. It's WAY faster, and you have a higher value pelt. I used to trap, and have friends who still do. They ALL flesh their pelts.
When I say "real trappers", I don't mean to offend anyone. I trapped a lot when I was young; in the early '80's. I was never a real trapper. I'm using that term to describe folks that make a living doing it. A friend of mine up in AK processes several hundred pelts a season, and doesn't consider himself a Real Trapper, because he has a job, and doesn't earn a living trapping. I read about a couple guys several years ago that average 12k racoons a year...that's real trapping, not to mention a LOT of work! I can't even imagine that! My son-n-law sent me a link to a young man on youtube who caught 3008 'coon, and all the assorted incidentals in a season. People don't realize how much work that is. Putting up over 50 pelts a day, after running the line(s) would make most folks stop trapping!
Humptulips:
I clean skin beaver, rough skin and flesh everything else. I think beaver are about the only animal anyone clean skins. Gives me some ideas for demos for the future.
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