Hey! I love to meet new trappers. I may have responded more simply had i seen this sooner but now that the season is upon us, I want to share some words of encouragement. Or perhaps a word of advice I am having to remind myself in real time: Continue to set goals and make targeted efforts. They will often lead to victory but may take longer than hoped for. The goals should be rooted in sign. Never let a predetermined goal stop you from trapping mindfully. Day by day, follow the sign, follow your instincts, and don't prevent yourself from recognizing sign that exists right in front of you from various other fur-bearers not on your radar that you'd perhaps also love to catch. Goals are great but sometimes I get distracted by a visualized outcome that is not rooted in the sign that exists before me. And sometimes the outcomes I get by following sign is far better than whatever abstract goals i visualize for myself in the pre season. Unless you're out west in cat country, Bobcat sign is not always easy to detect and their behavior is kind of all over the place. For many years i trapped this location oblivious to the fact it is a bobcat hot spot (on CERTAIN years and at CERTAIN times). I'm still figuring it out and would love to catch another there this year (i am seeing fresh tracks). I firmly believe there is no mold or best way to catch X, Y, or Z, no best set for a species, and instead advocate that a trapper motivated by his or her own observations & experiences, whose goals are guided by what is predictable as demonstrated through fresh sign and logical reasoning within the context of their own knowledge of the local environment -- this trapper is going to do better than someone who reads every book one could possibly read on the subject. Reading and watching from experienced trappers is definitely helpful. But the forest is your ultimate data source, and your ability to spend as much time out there as possible is key. Most of all FOLLOWING the fresh SIGN will be the time best spent. Wherever it takes you. I caught my first grey fox in a poorly secured weasel set who got away with my trap on his foot. It was snowing heavily but i could see its tracks in the snow and despite unlikely odds I made the decision to follow its tracks before they were covered permanently. After about a mile it led me to its den site. I was able to re-catch it a few days later, trap on both feet. I caught many more foxes there, always left some, and it produces every year i set it. I have that resident grey fox family patterned entirely now and there are always grey foxes occupying it, following the same patterns as the grey foxes that came before them. Moral of the story - don't get discouraged if things don't go as visualized, and every failure is the best opportunity to learn something profound. Be adaptable and let your own curiosity guide you. You will discover things about these animals that have not yet been written or discussed by other trappers. Good luck on your first full trapping season - make it count!
Just found your channel, nice video! Awesome bobcat, I would sure love to trap one someday. Hoping to dabble with a little ADK beaver trapping next year myself!
Wow looked up your channel at random hoping to find your old one, and here you are creating a new one years down the road! Is your old channel still activated?
The foot hold on that beaver damn was a belly snap you need to move it over 3-4 inches just under the water I was making the same mistake and changed it but at the time I set about 5 more traps thinking I’d fool him nope I moved them all over and went back son I had a job because 4 out of the 6 traps had beavers all on caster mound sets near the sacandaga
The bobcat had killed 11 of my dad’s chickens one night after breaking into the coop. I make garments with the fur, return the meat carcass to the wild to be enjoyed by ravens and scavengers as carrion. I follow the lawful means of doing so and participate in data collection for the state environmental department. Don’t expect everyone to understand let alone appreciate trapping but I appreciate you for asking a question rather than jumping to conclusions
@@johnbitzer2311 Hey John I'm working on a video where I explain this more in depth. This was a blind set. In late winter / deep snow conditions they greatly restrict their movement and form trails / tunnels that they use consistently. I caught it's breeding partner a few weeks later with a grey fox leg as bait. For me it's more about finding where they are than choosing the right bait. Where are you trapping?
