Norman89 18/19 season

[Norman89]

Hard for me to tell honestly I'm not sure what to look for since this is my first one I'll be skinning it tonight after work and I'll see if it's "blue" but it appears very nice and thick

[Norman89]

Had to freeze the otter for lack of time he finally thawed out today and he is in great shape I skinned him out he is in the fridge and I'll flesh and take pics tomorrow. Picked up another kit Beaver tonight as well and why did I not get a opening cut knife sooner!!!??? Holy cow this thing is awesome!

[Norman89]

Over in Moses lake for the weekend and set out a few rat traps in a local Creek, some real good sign lots of cuttings tracks in the mud and fresh droppings on a root ball we will see what happens in the morning

[jasnt]

Good luck bud. I love catching muskrats

[Norman89]

Quick and easy to catch they are fun. One trap is in a perfect pinch point but the water is a little fast might hold the door open let's see what happens. There are otter toilets with in 50 yards of my muskrat traps and I only brought colony traps

[Triplej]

Nice work!

[Norman89]

Nice turn out for the trappers Ed class today, had a good time hanging out and talking with some new up and coming trappers. Came home and fried up some Beaver bacon burgers we're very tasty, just a little lean I think I'll use a little more bacon on the next batch but great flavor. Even my 2 and 4 year old boys loved it, they eat anything I bring home haha

[fatslinger]

Looks delicious! Yes, it was a great group today and a fun class. Next year you'll be teaching with us.

[Norman89]

That sounds awesome karren!

[Norman89]

Didn't get to reset my traps yet due to water still being high. But was finally able to get across the creek and retrieve the traps I had stashed away since the water came up over a month ago. Two big dams were washed out that I had been trapping near and the normally 2 foot deep Creek is still near 5 feet deep. I wandered the banks for a half mile either way before I found a suitable spot to cross and happy I did I found 2 other colony's of beaver one up creek in some very fast water with last night's chewings all over the place next to some vertical undercut banks. Pretty sure they have a bank den nearby. Then down stream the creek was blown out and going across the whole valley floor. Pretty crazy but I followed the sound of smashing water and found easily the biggest beaver damn iv ever seen! Had to be over 100yards wide. Very little fresh sign near by but that dam allowed me to get across and hike back up and retrieve my traps. It was so big I had to take 2 panorama pics to get most of it  very cool hike and lots of elk sign. But I'm not sure where the property boundry is so I'll have to call Hancock and see if I can hunt and trap in there. First 2 pics are the damn from the up creek side. Then a massive cottonwood tree the power company had to take down last summer courtesy of the beavers

[Norman89]

Hidden away deep in a back water behind the huge dam I found this lodge. All the water around it is muddied up and super deep so I'm not 100% that it's active, but whenever the water finally decides to come down I'll see if I can get into it and get a look again. More runs around the area then Bruce has traps I think

[3nails]

 You are going to be busy! Careful of those DEEP runs!

[Humptulips]

Muddy water often indicates beaver activity. Karen and I set up a place on an otter complaint. The guy said he wanted the beaver gone too. The only sign I could find was about 6 months old. Then the first check there was a very small amount of chewing on a small crabapple, like a mouthful of bark. Caught three beavers there so far, 2 checks.
Surprising how little sign you see and still catch beavers sometimes. Of course with the high water they are on the move so maybe we caught them just as they showed up.

[Norman89]

Good to know Bruce I kinda figured that was the case since there is no running water anywhere near the lodge that could stir it up, and I saw 2 perfect pinch points leading into the smaller pond where this was at my 12x18 would fit perfectly with very minimal fencing both spots with natural dive logs as well. If this water ever let's up and I can find the land boundrys it may be a little honey hole. A dam that big I would think would need a few beaver to maintain and the lodge is good size

[Humptulips]

Good place to snag an otter too.