Post by: TeacherMan on December 17, 2023, 03:20:53 PM
Post by: boneaddict on December 17, 2023, 03:35:36 PM
Post by: JakeLand on December 17, 2023, 08:05:37 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 17, 2023, 08:32:26 PM
Awesome!!! Can you set cat bucket sets with 220’s there ?
Yeah I have half dozen ready for later winter.
Post by: Humptulips on December 17, 2023, 11:21:57 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 17, 2023, 11:24:55 PM
I have tried the 220 bucket sets with zero success in the past. I did however come up with a conibear set that I used on run poles that was a very good set. So good in fact that if I were able to use it, it would be my only set I used for cats. I demoed it at the OTA convention. Unfortunately changes in the wording of the law makes it illegal in Oregon and of course I can't use it in WA. Too bad because it is freeze proof and dog proof.
You have any pics? Sounds like a great set. I’ve never got a cat in a bucket just talked to a few local guys that have said they have. I used 330s on poles in AK for wolverine and they did awesome.
Post by: Humptulips on December 17, 2023, 11:59:19 PM
I have a few pics of cats in them but nothing that shows the set. Perhaps a description would suffice.I have tried the 220 bucket sets with zero success in the past. I did however come up with a conibear set that I used on run poles that was a very good set. So good in fact that if I were able to use it, it would be my only set I used for cats. I demoed it at the OTA convention. Unfortunately changes in the wording of the law makes it illegal in Oregon and of course I can't use it in WA. Too bad because it is freeze proof and dog proof.
You have any pics? Sounds like a great set. I’ve never got a cat in a bucket just talked to a few local guys that have said they have. I used 330s on poles in AK for wolverine and they did awesome.
1st you need to find a bushy tree where you wish to set. Second growth fir trees abound where I trap, and this was my usual go to. About 5 feet up the tree you need a couple of limbs of a size to support the trap that the trap will set between and fit close to the tree. This is not hard to find as the limbs get wider going out from the trunk. I used a #280. Then you need to cut a run pole that is usually about 6 to 8 feet long (depends on the slope of the ground in relation to the tree) and about 2 inches in diameter. You need a small run pole as you don't want dogs to attempt to walk up it. Cats won't hesitate.
Nail or screw a bait about the size of your hand or a bit bigger to the tree between those two limbs you are going to set your trap on. I liked the piece between the tail and pelvis of a beaver best. The conibear spring go straight out and set on top of those two limbs with the trigger right up against the bait. Trigger back is best. Cut two short pieces of tie wire and wire the back leg of the spring tight to the limb it is resting on. Run pole goes up against the tree nailed or screwed so it won't fall off at about the right height, so a cat's head is trap height when the cat comes up the pole. I usually weaved a few branches around the trap to frame it.
Several points: the tree you choose is important because you want the limbs hanging down so the only way to see the set is by looking up. The set is hidden from birds this way. This was legal where I was trapping but one should check the language on exposed bait within the State you are trapping to find out the legality. I never caught a bird, and I sometimes added a few sprigs over the bait but very minimal. I was always cognizant of the danger of birds finding the set and chose my sets appropriately.
The dog proofing comes from the fact that a dog will not climb a small pole like described. They will go to the tree and maybe jump for the bait but if they do spring it the location of approach makes the trap push the out of the trap when it springs.
When the trap is sprung because the back legs of the springs are wired in place it will cause the trap to jump out towards the cat and they won't do much. I often found them with the bait in their mouth firmly clenched in their teeth. They spring the trap by pulling the bait and bang they are dead.
I will look for a picture.
Post by: Humptulips on December 18, 2023, 12:24:21 AM
Post by: JakeLand on December 18, 2023, 07:48:56 AM
Post by: Humptulips on December 18, 2023, 09:11:19 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 18, 2023, 09:39:09 AM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Post by: Machias on December 18, 2023, 01:40:51 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 18, 2023, 02:47:27 PM
Good luck, I'm going to try and get a few yote and beaver sets in over the next week or so. Are you going to set any wolf sets?
I mainly hold off on wolves until I see sign. I do plan on making one pee post setup with all the wood shavings from one of our kennels that have had a couple females Aussies in heat in. I literally plan on putting an entire trash can of used shavings in a sled and bringing them out to a spot I’ve seen sign in the past and setting them. It will be k9 scent overload 😂
Post by: TeacherMan on December 21, 2023, 09:51:07 PM
Side note, name this track 🤷🏻♂️ I’m about 15 miles from nearest house but on a logging rd. Size 12 boot.
Post by: JakeLand on December 22, 2023, 04:48:55 AM
Post by: bearpaw on December 22, 2023, 07:55:47 AM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Thank you for thinking of hounds, pretty much all of northern Idaho gets hunted with hounds. Good Luck! :tup:
Post by: snake on December 22, 2023, 08:27:42 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 22, 2023, 10:36:43 AM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Thank you for thinking of hounds, pretty much all of northern Idaho gets hunted with hounds. Good Luck! :tup:
I love the hound guys they keep my rds open for me 😂
At first I was think that track above was from a hound. But it’s just too big. Im thinking someone stopped with their bigger dog randomly close to one of my sets or I had a wolf trot past a cubby.
Post by: TeacherMan on December 22, 2023, 10:43:02 AM
could that track be a hind leg of a bear?
It would be a pretty small bear, I was thinking more wolf like. Either way I’m pretty sure my #3 Bridgers isn’t going to hold it no matter how modified I’ve made them 😂
I do have some Sterling 800s that I’m planning on setting sooner than later though that will hold anything that steps on them.
Post by: bearpaw on December 22, 2023, 11:09:24 AM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Thank you for thinking of hounds, pretty much all of northern Idaho gets hunted with hounds. Good Luck! :tup:
I love the hound guys they keep my rds open for me 😂
At first I was think that track above was from a hound. But it’s just too big. Im thinking someone stopped with their bigger dog randomly close to one of my sets or I had a wolf trot past a cubby.
In our area we make it a point to tell the wolf trappers where we see wolf tracks, sometimes they return the favor by telling us where they see lion tracks, we all benefit from sharing that info back and forth.
Post by: TeacherMan on December 22, 2023, 11:55:28 AM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Thank you for thinking of hounds, pretty much all of northern Idaho gets hunted with hounds. Good Luck! :tup:
I love the hound guys they keep my rds open for me 😂
At first I was think that track above was from a hound. But it’s just too big. Im thinking someone stopped with their bigger dog randomly close to one of my sets or I had a wolf trot past a cubby.
In our area we make it a point to tell the wolf trappers where we see wolf tracks, sometimes they return the favor by telling us where they see lion tracks, we all benefit from sharing that info back and forth.
You don’t think that’s a lion track do you?
Post by: Humptulips on December 22, 2023, 12:08:23 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 22, 2023, 12:31:15 PM
I think the bucket set is problematic because of its danger to dogs.
That set is pretty much the exact set I’d use for wolverine with a 280 or 330. Wasn’t ever worried about dogs in AK but definitely on my radar in ID. Last thing I want is to hurt someone’s hound.
Thank you for thinking of hounds, pretty much all of northern Idaho gets hunted with hounds. Good Luck! :tup:
I love the hound guys they keep my rds open for me 😂
At first I was think that track above was from a hound. But it’s just too big. Im thinking someone stopped with their bigger dog randomly close to one of my sets or I had a wolf trot past a cubby.
In our area we make it a point to tell the wolf trappers where we see wolf tracks, sometimes they return the favor by telling us where they see lion tracks, we all benefit from sharing that info back and forth.
You don’t think that’s a lion track do you?
It could be, but I'm not certain, I would have watched for where it crosses from side to side or where it left the road to see more tracks and make certain. I see toenails but sometimes you see cat toenails when walking with their feet opened up to stay up in the snow or keep from sliding. At first I thought the two front toes looked even like a canine, but I really can't tell for sure with that one partial track so I can't say one way or another with any degree of certainty.
If it is wolf I don't think its a big one, but it appears too big to be a coyote. A lot of hound guys will road their dogs a ways so they can empty out on the road and not in the box, some larger hounds can have pretty big feet, was there anywhere it looked like someone got out and walked around their vehicle in a couple spots? If it was a wild animal, somewhere it walked on and off the road, however that could have been at a bare spot under a tree?
Post by: lewy on December 22, 2023, 11:10:13 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 23, 2023, 12:25:38 AM
3 lobes, looks like a lion. Don't typically see claws tho, as said above i would have followed and found another clean print to be sure
My gut is saying higher percentage chance it's canine due to the way the leading edge of the heel pad appears to me, the placement of the two leading toes also appear fairly even, the nail marks and position of toes on the two outer or rear toes appear pretty even to me, and the toes are pretty rounded, I'm not seeing three obvious lobes on the rear and only seeing one lobe on the front of the heel pad, but I don't see an x in the track either, so I really can't say for sure one way or the other because we only have one partial track to judge and it's not all visible. So many times all these features are not exactly defined in one track and the feet and toes can vary a little on individual animals too, sometimes you sort of have to look at the overall appearance considering all the features at once while looking at more than one track, but in this case I think I see more canine than cat in the look of that track, I'm also leaning more towards dog than wolf or coyote, but again I'm not entirely sure and more or less guessing.
For anyone who doesn't understand the details we are referring too, this page is pretty good at explaining what we are referring to: https://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html
Post by: bearpaw on December 23, 2023, 12:41:55 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on December 23, 2023, 08:54:56 AM
How far off the rd are most of you setting sets? This one was like a rabbit hole I kept following and it got better and better. It’s about 300 yards down in but it’s loaded with sign.
Post by: JakeLand on December 23, 2023, 12:26:16 PM
Post by: UrbanTrapper on December 23, 2023, 12:42:10 PM
Post by: Loup Loup on December 23, 2023, 12:47:13 PM
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.
Post by: idaho guy 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.
Post by: TeacherMan 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 🪵
Post by: idaho guy 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!
Post by: TeacherMan on December 25, 2023, 09:15:52 PM
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!
Post by: Naches Sportsman on December 25, 2023, 09:48:32 PM
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.
Post by: TeacherMan 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 😂
Post by: JakeLand on December 26, 2023, 04:49:12 AM
Any cat or marten sign about ?
Post by: boneaddict on December 26, 2023, 08:52:05 AM
Post by: LDennis24 on December 26, 2023, 10:08:44 AM
Post by: TeacherMan 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 😂
Post by: nwwanderer on December 26, 2023, 03:20:36 PM
Post by: TeacherMan 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 😂
Post by: snake on December 26, 2023, 07:30:07 PM
Post by: TeacherMan 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 😂
Post by: X-Force on December 26, 2023, 09:22:48 PM
Post by: Machias on December 27, 2023, 09:43:56 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on January 02, 2024, 02:22:11 PM
Post by: JakeLand on January 02, 2024, 04:26:21 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on January 02, 2024, 08:15:36 PM
Post by: Machias on January 03, 2024, 02:26:03 PM
Post by: TeacherMan on January 27, 2024, 03:45:29 PM
Post by: redi on January 27, 2024, 05:06:42 PM
Post by: Mustelidae on January 27, 2024, 05:38:18 PM
Post by: JakeLand on January 29, 2024, 06:50:56 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on January 29, 2024, 08:42:15 AM
Gotten any marten yet ?
No marten, only real attempt I’ve made for them are leaning poles or boxes around my cat cubbies. Got their cousin, a fisher, along with every squirrel and ermine in the area 😂 Cat trapping is definitely heating up right now. Seeing lots of tracks of paired up cats. Wish I’d of put double cubbies or a scent post close bye at on all my sets. Next yr.
Post by: JakeLand on January 29, 2024, 12:24:59 PM
Post by: Machias on January 30, 2024, 10:25:41 AM
Post by: TeacherMan on February 07, 2024, 06:54:54 PM
Post by: JakeLand on February 07, 2024, 07:39:29 PM