Early Beaver (NDR)

Steve Steffy

Well-known member
It's been a while since I set any traps for beaver. But, with the way this year has gone so far I figured why not? Besides, I still need to acquire some bait for fisher trapping. Here's one of my new found spots...

IMG_6506.jpg


Found a nice run coming out of the bank here. You can barely see my trap right in the run underwater.

IMG_6510.jpg


Pulled a muskrat out of this set this morning...
IMG_6505.jpg


And I hate it when this happens, but a catch is a catch. I ended up up catching this beast by the tail. Of course this only happens when you don't bring your trapping gun with you and you're a long ways from home.

IMG_6513.jpg


First time Christine has got to see the beaver traps in action. No, I didn't have her try to squeeze that hawg into her packbasket. I don't think he would have fit. I carried him out in mine and she carried the tools. (Yes, she is a licensed trapper).

IMG_6516.jpg


Steve
 
Very nice. Are the pelts already prime?
How?s price?s these days?
 
Hey Carl...Prices? You mean somebody actually paid for these things at one time?! It has been a long time since beaver has been worth anything. We're talking blanket beaver selling for $10-$20 if you're lucky. The castor is worth more than the fur these days. This one is getting there, but not quite fully prime just yet. I set these traps more to get some bait for fisher and bobcat trapping next week. I do plan to make some hats, mittens and possibly even a cozy blanket with this years catch. I see no point in giving my beaver catch away, but I don't want to not trap either. It's like duck hunting, once that bug bites you its tough to get rid of.
 
Thanks Matt...There is a lady up in the Adirondacks that makes them. Marcia Waligory (sp) I believe. She does fantastic work. I hate to take them in the swamps, but that's what I bought them for. And they look great in the living room after the season is over.
 

Steve,

Are you trapping in PA, or NY?

There are good populations of Fisher and Bobcat in our area, but no season for trapping yet. Also a very healthy Mink population with a season.

There are many trappers in our area, and much like you they do it cuz they enjoy it, not so much for the $$$. Like hunting & fishing it's a way of life, and time spent outdoors. Good trappers know where the fish and game are. More tight lipped than the old grouse hunters.[;)]

Winter has arrived here, and I must say it is beautiful. Bright white and blue light.


Best regards
Vince
 
I hear yah. Back in the day, we were getting $50-100 for beaver, $10-12 for muskrats. Ah the good old days!

If I was back north, I'd probably still be out there as well.
 
We're only allowed to catch one fisher here in PA Greg. I do plan on trapping Maine next season though. I'll keep ya in mind if you haven't found any by then. If you need some sooner I'm sure I could locate a a few for sale. If you need them quickly let me know.

Matt...I agree. Those baskets look much better after hauling some fur through the swamps. They have some stories to tell! Mine already has some stories to tell.
 
I'm only trapping PA this season Vince...I was supposed to go to Maine, but my truck is still stuck in Massachusetts. (So much for that $300 license.) I'm actually heading up to Mass to pick it up my truck tomorrow, it's finally done after nearly two months.

NY opened a season for fisher in western NY. It's ridiculous what they did though...the season is in later october before the fur is prime. They want to make sure trappers have a good chance to catch a "trophy species" as I understand it.

Carl...I kind of like the low fur prices better. Less competition, less trap thieves, less stress...more fun!
 
Thanks for the report and photos Steve. They brought back lots of memories of my own beaver trapping exploits going back to 1976.
 
Hi Steve-for some unknown reason, I thought you were trapping in the Adirondacks, where I believe fisher is and has been open for trapping. My nephew whom lives up that way has a friend that has been trapped them in the past in that area. I understand they are starting to show up in northwest NJ also. I have always wanted a sable hat like the one Lee Marvin wore in the movie Gorky Park, and the fisher is pretty much the North American equivalent.
 
Steve Steffy said:
Thanks Matt...There is a lady up in the Adirondacks that makes them. Marcia Waligory (sp) I believe. She does fantastic work. I hate to take them in the swamps, but that's what I bought them for. And they look great in the living room after the season is over.

Get them now if you want them. With emerald ash borer, an invasive insect, on the move north, ash for pack baskets is getting scarcer and scarcer. Pack baskets and other ash baskets are both culturally important and big business for some of Maine's tribal communities. EAB is now found in several parts of the state, and I suspect we'll see ash here disappear as it already has farther south over the next decade or so. I have a fishing buddy who has a family farm in Virginia that has lost its last ash tree. Ash was once the preferred wood for baseball bats, which are now almost all made out of maple due to shrinking supplies of quality ash.
 


Ya Steve the Fisher trapping season is Oct.25 - Oct.30, no bag limit.

The ones that I see are while trout fishing, not when hunting. They are in the areas that I hunt, but tend to be more elusive or just the fact that the daylight is much less during hunting season than Spring & Summer. Don't know the reason for the "trophy" idea but the ones that I do see are very healthy it appears.

Mink where everywhere, until I let some trappers where to go. On certain streams when the DEC would stock trout, it was like the dinner bell for the Mink. I'd wait about 10-15min. after the stocking, and watch the Mink go to work. Truly amazing how many trout mink can catch in a short amount of time. I don't fish when they stock, it's far better to watch and see what happens. Most times fishing I see many more mink than groundhogs, squirrels, etc. on stocked and wild trout waters. I appreciate trappers hard work.

Bobcat are becoming more common in our area, and a problem that trappers can have with no season, and one in the trap.


Hope ya get yer truck back soon and get back into action.


Best regards
Vince
 
Good point Jeff...You think that's why they break so many bats these days? We watched a game this past year and two consecutive batters broke their bat. Wonder if they were maple?
 
Greg...No Adirondacks trapping for me this year. I opted for the Maine license instead...and unfortunately never got to use it. So you mentioned Lee Marvin's sable hat. You would probably be wanting to go with Pine Marten, not fisher. That is the US equivalent of Russian Sable. Though both would make some awesome hats. But yes, both fisher and marten are open for trapping in the Adirondacks and Maine. Fisher is an unlimited bag in the Adirondacks, marten you can harvest 6. Maine is 25 of either species.
 
Morning Vince...

What unit are you in? I thought you were closer to me than that, or you must be up off of the southern tier a wee bit? Hopefully they will expand the season on cats in your area if trappers are catching that many of them. They catch them down here out of season all the time and have to release them. Sure is fun watching mink work a pond or stream. They are so slinky in action.

Got my truck back yesterday!! Wooohoooo. 15 hour round trip drive to Mass, but I got it back finally. Looks and runs like new...Trapping season can finally get fully underway.
 
Steve Steffy said:
Greg...No Adirondacks trapping for me this year. I opted for the Maine license instead...and unfortunately never got to use it. So you mentioned Lee Marvin's sable hat. You would probably be wanting to go with Pine Marten, not fisher. That is the US equivalent of Russian Sable. Though both would make some awesome hats. But yes, both fisher and marten are open for trapping in the Adirondacks and Maine. Fisher is an unlimited bag in the Adirondacks, marten you can harvest 6. Maine is 25 of either species.

I was going to chime in about the sable/marten, they are a cool animal that we have lots of around the house in ME. It's fun watching them chase red squirrels in trees, but even though the squirrels are the devil I root for them to escape. The martens are incredibly quick, from what I've seen they get the squirrel more often than not.

If we move up there full time, I'm going to run a trapline. Just like being a kid again, you learn something new about the critters every day. And it always reminds me of the Ernest Thompson Seton book Rolf in the Woods, required reading for dreaming young trappers when I was a kid.

The downer in Maine is that the general trapping season closes 12/31. Yeah, it gets wicked cold and snowy but that's part of the fun. Catching beaver through the ice is OK, but I love water sets for mink and otter along stream banks. Something about the running water in the winter.

For those looking for fur to buy, Glacier Wear in Greenville has an awesome selection. We were told they have the most fur in the lower 48, not sure if it's true but it could be. Every animal you can name, both wild caught and farmed, in every color phase. I've spent a couple hours in there on several occasions, you can learn a lot.
 
Back
Top