Rewind Arc. 2

I can well remember the first time I ever boiled traps. I had a five gallon bucket propped up on two concrete blocks, a pile of kindling, and the enthusiasm of youth. After several hours and several thousand sticks of kindling, my walnut soup popped and sputtered a few times, I considered the task completed, and vowed never again to boil traps.

Like so many other youthful promises, I had to break my vow against boiling traps. But I did learn to do this job faster and more efficiently. A bigger kettle helped a lot, but I still use wood to fire my trap boiler. The difference is that now I get more heat out of less wood.

Hanging a kettle over an open fire to boil has been a tradition as long as people have had kettles to hang. The problem is that most of the heat escapes around the outside of the kettle. That's the way my trap boiling went for a while. I'd prop up the big kettle and start a fire under it, and dodge the smoke and soot, and sometimes the fire itself when a gust of wind would blow it out from under the kettle.

I didn't really become enlightened, until I started working with a friend who wanted to go into the maple syrup business. Here you boil away 35 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup -- that's serious boilin'. The traditional method was to boil the sap in a low pan supported by a brick firebox called the "arch". The pan fits snugly into the top of the brickwork so that no heat or smoke escapes except through the chimney.

The following season, I gathered up some bricks from around old home sites and built an "arch" for my trap boiler. Since then, I've refined the concept a little but I still follow the same basic idea employed by the syrup boiler.

This arch doesn't have to be fancy. You don't even have to use mortar to lay up the bricks. Just lay the bricks out in the shape of the kettle, one layer at a time, overlapping joints as you go. Doing a neat job, and snuggling the edges of the bricks closely together will improve the efficiency of the firebox. Leave an opening for a door using a half brick if necessary to complete a row. Build the wall up to the desired height. Heavy iron bars laid on top of the brick walls can support the kettle, so the firebox can be as large as the outside of the kettle. When the kettle is placed on the supports, a final row of bricks tucked tightly against the sides of the kettle will help to seal in the heat.

There is no real need to make a chimney but you may want to leave out a brick or two on the top rows opposite the door. With the kettle in place, cut a piece of tin slightly larger than the door opening, and bend it into whatever shape necessary to make a door that fits reasonably close. The door can be held closed with a brick or a leaning piece of wood. Add water to the kettle and build a fire in the box. When the fire gets going, you can put in some good size pieces of wood and close the door.

Another item that can increase the efficiency your trap boiler is a lid. A lot of heat escapes from the surface of the water, and a lid can help keep it trapped inside.
Unless you did an extremely good job in building the box, or you actually did use mortar, there will be enough cracks in the brickwork to vent the fire. But most of the heat will be concentrated on the bottom of the kettle before it escapes, and the wood will not burn up as fast as it would with an unlimited amount of air. This not only cuts down on wood consumption, it also cuts down on the constant tending usually associated with a wood fire.

There are some things to note when building these brick fireboxes. When scavenging bricks for a firebox, try to get old fashioned solid bricks, the harder the better. The high temperatures are hard on bricks and many will crack. The harder bricks hold up better. Concrete products, bricks and blocks, are the poorest choice and the least fire resistant. Try to get bricks which are all the same size. Laying up assorted sizes is almost impossible. Replacement bricks will be needed for the broken ones so it is a good idea to have extras on hand.

Don't use round bar to support the kettle. It could roll. A steel fence post or the post from a discarded bumper jack would be a better choice. Build the fire box on a level area. If necessary, cut away the sod or dirt and level a spot with a shovel. Round fireboxes are the trickiest to build. If you have a sawed-off 55 gallon drum for a boiler, it is often helpful to lay the drum on each course of bricks to act as a pattern while you tuck up the corners of the brick in that row. If you know you have a good fit on the top row, you can forgo the support bars and set the drum down on the bricks.

Fast Forward -- In my latest design for a brick firebox, I invested in true "fire brick" to build it out of. These bricks aren't necessarily cheap, but they do not crack and break under heat like ordinary bricks do. I've established two semi-permanent fire boxes in a round configuration to hold half a fifty-five gallon drum. (I use two kettles in boiling traps, one for the initial boiling to remove dirt and crud, and a second barrel that I "rinse" the traps in when they come out of the dirty water.)

It doesn't take very long to build a simple brick firebox for a trap boiler. This little investment is easily regained in time saved at the trap kettle and in the wood yard. And, at the end of the season, this outfit can be dismantled, and the bricks stored in small square pile. If wood is your choice for boiling traps, you can boost its efficiency, and your own, with this little innovation.

For dye, wax, and other trap care products visit the "Traps & More" department at the Supply Line

The body-gripping trap is a relative newcomer to the field of muskrat trapping. Only for the last quarter century have trappers had this tool at their disposal. Before that time, most muskrats were caught in foothold traps. The body-gripper has proven itself well on muskrats, and it has edged out, and in some instances completely replaced, the foothold on certain muskrat lines. There are some in the latest generation of trappers that have never used anything but body-grippers on muskrats.

Fast Forward -- This article was written in 1990, so the time frame has changed some. What has also changed is some of the terminology. The term "bodygrip" has become the most widely accepted to describe the lethal square jawed trap, and this article was written before I personally adopted that term. I do think bodygrip is a better term than body-gripper, after all we don't call foothold traps foot-holders or foot-grippers.

Those of us from the previous generation know a little bit more about trapping muskrats with foothold traps. I'm not here to argue against the effectiveness of body-grippers or say that I don't make wide use of them on a muskrat line. However, I still find that a properly set foothold trap is no less valuable in taking muskrats now than it was before the invention of the body-gripper.

In the days before body-grippers, muskrat trappers followed one cardinal rule: ALWAYS DROWN YOUR CATCH. Muskrats have a very weak bone structure, especially in their front feet, and can not be contained for a long period in a foothold trap. But if that trap is rigged to drown the muskrat, chances for escape are reduced to nearly zero.

How much water does it take to drown a muskrat? On a pond, lake or slow moving stream, twelve inches of water is sufficient to drown most muskrats. In faster moving water, a shallower depth will drown muskrats because they have to fight against the current. The problem with footholds is getting the 'rat from the depth where you can catch it by the foot, to the depth at which you can drown it.

Sometimes this is no harder than extending the trap chain and stake out away from the bank. If the bank falls away sharply so the muskrat can not get to shallow water, or the current is sufficient to hold the muskrat away from shore, it will drown in a short period of time. But these conditions do not always exist, and more often than not the set requires some added drowning features.

There are all manner of drowning set-up's you can use. They don't have to be elaborate because muskrats are one of the easier critters to drown. The simplest system is to use an extra long stake and wire the trap chain tightly to it. The trapped muskrat will circle the stake, and wind the trap chain around it. If you need to extend the animal farther away from the bank, a second long stake (called a tangle stake) can be inserted beyond the first stake. Now as the muskrat circles with the trap, it will encounter the deep water stake and tangle up there. You can gain further extension by adding extra chain or a strong piece of steel wire to the existing trap chain.

While drowning slides are a little elaborate for muskrats, they can be particularly useful in shallow water situations. An extended wire can run the catch over quite a distance to get it drown. Another little trick with slide wires is to fasten the slide lock at or very near the trap. This leaves no slack in the chain, and the 'rat is unable to surface for air.

The guard type, or stoploss, foothold traps are sometimes employed in situations where drowning conditions are questionable. The guard does give them some added holding abilities, but it is not a substitute for a good drowning set. They can be beneficial in holding muskrats; however, they are not intended as a dryland muskrat trap. The body-gripper has rightly taken over as the trap of choice in a non-drowning situation.

Since all foothold traps set for muskrats should be rigged to drown, trap size in not critical. Any #1 trap in good condition is sufficient to hold a muskrat. For years, the #1 longspring was the standard muskrat trap, and some trappers even used #0 traps on muskrats with good results. However, coilspring traps are just as effective, and today they are lower priced.

Some trappers prefer a larger size trap like the #1-1/2 because the heavier trap will drown the muskrat faster. There is another added feature of a heavier trap in that it will completely submerge the drowned muskrat, hiding it from the eyes of predators, both animal and human. Sometimes I use my dirty fox traps on a muskrat line. If I lighten up the pan tension, they work just fine, and this gives me a chance to soak some of the dirt off of them.

Before body-grippers came along, foothold traps were used to make all kinds of sets. While most trappers today would conveniently use a body-gripper to set up a run or channel, in the past a foothold trap was, and still could be, used. The body-gripper is more convenient because the 'rat swims through the trap to spring it. With a foothold trap, the 'rat must be forced to fire the trap with the swimming action of its back feet. One method for accomplishing this is to build up a spot in the run with a piece of sod or some other material and place the trap on top of it. When the 'rat encounters this high spot, it will glide up and over, and use its back feet to push off the hump. Another method is to place the trap directly on the bottom of the run, and place a stick or other obstacle across the run to force the 'rat to dive. Again when the muskrat's feet touch the bottom, it will push off.

Foothold traps are also effective at den sets, but again they have largely been replaced by the body-gripper. The best place to set a foothold trap is just outside the mouth of the den (check your local regulations). There is usually a slight depression, or a clean spot where the muskrat gets a final push with its hind feet as it leaves the den; this is the place to set your trap.

There are other standard muskrat sets that still call for a foothold trap. Most notable among these is the feedbed set. A vertically standing body-gripper would look very out of place here. When foothold traps are set in these and other types of shallow water conditions, the trapper must decide whether he is going to catch the muskrat by the back foot or the front foot.

When a muskrat swims to a landing, it does not put its front feet down until it is ready to start walking out of the water. At this point, the muskrat puts down its front feet, and its back feet also sink to the bottom to assume a walking mode. If there is a long shallow approach to the trap, the muskrat will probably walk into it like any other critter. However, if the approach is more abrupt problems can arise. If the muskrat is not walking when it gets to the trap, the trap must be placed so that when the muskrat drops its feet, either front or back, it will land directly in the trap. If the muskrat straddles the trap, it may fire the trap with its chest or belly.

When I use footholds against a sloping bank, I usually dig out the trap bed so that it forms a small step into the bank and try for a front foot catch. This step gives me a short flat surface to set my trap on. I make this about two and no more than three inches deep where it meets the shoreline. The trap is set close to the vertical wall. The muskrat will swim over the trap and put its front feet down to climb out on the bank.

Another way to get a muskrat to drop its feet and start walking is to insert some sharpened "poke" sticks over the trap. These sticks are set in the mud at an angle over the trap so they will poke the incoming muskrat in the chest. The muskrat will drop its feet to get around the obstacle. These sticks should be about an inch under the water, and should actually protrude out over the trap. The muskrat's feet will fall almost directly beneath the poke sticks when it encounters them.

The depth and position of a foothold trap set for muskrats is important, but the most common cause of sprung traps among muskrat trappers, as it is among all trappers, is improper bedding. Traps need to be set so that they do not tip and rock if the muskrat steps on them improperly. It is usually helpful to scoop out a trap shaped depression for the trap so that is does not stick up above the surrounding surfaces. This further reduces the chances that a muskrat will get against the side of the trap and knock it off line. Muskrats are short legged animals; therefore, traps should always be set so the muskrat comes between the jaws and not over them.

The fact that the body-gripper trap is a very good tool for muskrats can't be argued. But versatility is one of the keys to successful trapping, and foothold traps in some instances work as well or better than the body-grippers. Trappers who have a limited number of body-grippers may be able to extend their lines by using some footholds that they usually reserve for other animals. Trappers may also be able to take advantage of incidental encounters with muskrats when they have nothing but foothold traps in their basket.

Footholds for muskrats are not as popular as they used to be, but they are still a viable method for harvesting these critters. Of course the cardinal rule must still be observed, and the trap must be fastened to drown the animal. But whether it's dead in a body-gripper or drowned in a foothold, it's all the same to the muskrat, and it's all the same to the fur buyer.

For muskrat traps and more visit the "Traps & More" department at the Supply Line

It was a cold day in late January near the end of the regular furbearer season here in Ohio. A red fox hung from my skinning gambrel, and I was busy peeling off its pelt when a non-trapping friend walked through the door of my fur shed. "Burrrrr," he said as he walked over to the stove to warm his hands, "it sure is cold. I'll bet the fur is really good now," he said with a motion towards the fox I was skinning out.

But in fact, this fox was not a particularly good specimen. Along each side of the animal was a worn spot in the fur where the fox had used its hind feet to scratch bugs, burrs, and what-have-you out of its pelt. While my friend was under the assumption that the extremely cold weather would bring the animal's fur to this height of perfection, I was making the determination that it was time to pull up the fox traps because pelt quality was declining.

Anyone who has sold fur knows that there are two main factors involved in determining the value of a pelt -- the size of the pelt and the condition of the fur. The size factor is easy to understand. For two pelts of the same species with the same class of fur, the smaller pelt will bring less than the larger pelt. Judging the condition of the fur is a somewhat more complex matter. Basically it breaks down into two categories. The quantity of fur is one factor, and the quality of that fur is another.

The general public, and even some trappers, never quite seem to understand the seasonal changes that an animal's fur goes through. Some folks look at an animal, see that it has fur, and assume that this fur is an unchangeable covering for the animal like aluminum siding on a house. But in real terms, an animal's protective covering of fur is constantly adjusted to meet the changing conditions of its environment.

It should be obvious that an animal needs more fur in the winter than it does in the summer. That's why trapping seasons are relegated to the colder months of the year. The anti-fur propaganda that depicts baby animals orphaned by trappers is doubly stupid. First, trappers don't (and are usually prohibited by law) trap during the whelping season. And besides, the thin pelts of the animals who have shed their extra fur to cool down for summer are basically worthless in the fur trade.

As fall approaches, an animal's fur begins to thicken to prepare for a season of cold weather. The process that triggers this thickening, or priming, of the fur is not fully understood, but it is influenced by more than the cooling temperatures. A quick early cold snap in the fall will not cause animals to become instantly prime, nor will a warm spell in mid-winter cause them to start shedding their fur. There is reason to believe that this priming response is a reaction to the diminishing hours of daylight, associated with the fall season. This light factor has proved to be an influence on the movement of migratory birds also.

If it were simply a matter of daylight, a trapper could determine when certain animals would be prime simply by consulting a calendar. Some trappers do this, in effect, by assuming the dates established for the trapping season directly correspond to the quality of pelt. But there are other factors involved which cause slight variations in priming time from season to season, and it is also understood that not all furbearers become prime at the same time of the year.

For example, fox tend to be early primers. They are above ground critters with an extended range, and they need their fur early to protect them from the cold temperatures and winds of winter. Beaver, on the other hand, are late in priming up. Their aquatic habitat does not cool off as rapidly as the surrounding land, and their shelters provide them with added protection against the cooling weather.

The goal of the trapper is to catch the animal when it has a full coat of fur. This does not happen overnight and actually extends over a period of weeks or months, thus giving the trapper a time frame in which to operate. But animals harvested before they reach this fully prime state will be downgraded in value. These pelts are rated under various terms in the industry including, flat, thin, or blue. Flat refers to the lack of a good covering of the glossy guard hairs which give the pelt its shine. Thin simply means that the fur is not thick. Blue is used in reference to the color of the leather on the dried pelt. Unprime animals have a dark colored leather which thickens and turns a light brown or cream color as fur growth progresses.

As noted, the animals put on this extra quantity of fur to protect them from the cold. This is what led my friend to assume that the fox I had caught during the bitter cold temperatures of mid-winter would have an extra good pelt. The pelt does continue to thicken on an animal for a few weeks, but it usually reaches its maximum density just as the coldest temperatures are approaching. It maintains this density through the winter months and then restarts the cycle by shedding hair as the weather warms. Animals caught after the middle of winter may already be in the shedding cycle.

But a bigger problem that is encountered with late season fur is damage to the pelt. The animals get new fur coats every fall, but they don't take very good care of them. They drag these coats through the mud, the brush, the briars, and in and out of holes. As the season wears on, the coat wears out. All pelts undergo a cycle of normal wear, and this can be expected to become more prevalent as the season progresses.

The fox I described above had probably been scratching fleas all winter long and had worn a spot on the side of its pelt. The fur was plenty thick enough on the rest of the pelt, but these rubbed spots on the side would clearly downgrade the pelt. This is a common problem with late season canines. Late season canines also tend to harbor a lot of burrs that have become matted in their fur, and they may show small bare spots on their sides and shoulders where they have chewed some of these burrs free.

Other animals, like coon, can wear out their coat by crawling in and out of a favorite hole all winter long. Late coon are notorious for having a rubbed spot over their shoulders where they have squeezed through a den hole day after day. Late mink sometimes exhibit a condition know as "singed" in the fur trade. The tips of the guard hair become curled as if they were brought too near to a flame. This comes from the mink sliding around through small holes and rubbing and stretching the fur. You can see this for yourself with one of your own hairs (if you have any to spare). Pinch it tightly between your thumb and index finger, then using the other hand grasp the hair between your index finger and thumbnail and pull the hair across your thumbnail. The piece of hair will curl up like a hog's tail.

Another type of damage that occurs mainly in muskrat and beaver is actual cuts in the pelt from fighting. Beaver and muskrat tend to remain prime later in the season. Just as their watery habitat tends to provide a heat source in the fall, it tends to hold in the cold, or may even be icebound, when the rest of the land is warming up. Spring 'rats and beaver may still have a fully prime coat, but it may suffer from slashes incurred in the territorial and breeding squabbles that occur during this time of year.

Somewhere between growing the new coat and wearing it out, a critter offers the trapper an opportunity to take a marketable pelt. Pelts taken at their peak condition are of course the most valuable. A trapline that is organized to take advantage of the peak primness periods for each animal will usually be the most profitable; however, other factors can be considered in deciding when to trap.

Competition is a big factor in waiting for early season pelts to become fully prime. In areas of heavy competition, a trapper might sacrifice a little extra primness just to make sure he gets a fair chance at the animals. But if there are no other trappers working an area, or you have exclusive rights on say a colony of muskrats, you could wait until the pelts are in top shape.

Another consideration that influences the primeness factor is the time and territory that a trapper has. If you are allotted a certain vacation period from your regular work to trap, that pretty much determines when you will be trapping. And you might want to trap several different critters, none of which prime up at the same time. The same conflict arises when a trapper is operating in a certain area, and does not intend to come back to the area as each species becomes prime. He may concentrate on hitting one species at its peak, and take the other animals on a bonus basis. Even if you were to concentrate on a single species all season long, you would not be able to do all your trapping at the ideal time, unless you have a very short season.

Of course, the weather is always a factor in deciding when to trap certain critters. Fox trappers like to operate before the cold rains of early winter set in, and most muskrat trappers concentrate on the 'rats before the ice forms. Trapping in the early winter does produce some of the best pelts, but it also produces some of the toughest trapping conditions.

For those who trap only in the fall, the main concern is when is it best to start. But trappers who operate all season long, or who do some sort of late season trapping, also have to decide when to stop. Just like the rubbed fox I caught in January, not all pelts are good just because the weather is cold. As the pelts degrade over the winter, some of these animals become more valuable as breeding stock, than they are tacked on a stretcher.

A trapper has absolutely no control over the primeness of the pelts he harvests. Primeness is determined by mother nature and not man. While we set trapping seasons to generally coincide with the primeness of the animals, within this framework the trapper must decide when the proper time is to catch these animals. Understanding the factors that go into generating and depleting a prime pelt will help you decide when this time is right.

Traplines that take full advantage of quality pelts are usually the most profitable. They also provide maximum value for the resource. Both of these should be of concern to the trapper, and in determining how and when we trap, they should be considered as the prime factors.

For fur handling supplies visit the "Fur Handling" department at the Supply Line

A lure is to a trapper, as a glove is to a baseball player. A glove will help a player catch more balls, and a lure will help a trapper catch more fur. But in the same manner, if you don't have any experience with the game, using either the glove or the lure can prove somewhat confusing. The best glove in the world won't make a star out of a baseball player who hasn't mastered the fundamentals, and the best lure in the world won't insure success for a trapper. Like the baseball glove, lure is meant to be an aid in helping you play the game.

There once was, and still is, a great deal of mystique that surrounds trapping lures. For a time, lures were the carefully guarded secrets of individual trappers. Now there are literally hundreds of lures on the market, and the formulations are the only secrets still retained by the makers. The lure business has always been very competitive, with some outrageous claims being made for these products especially in the early days of the business. As a result, some trappers expect nothing short of a magical trapline genie to appear when they uncap their lure bottle.

In theory, lures provide a smell that an animal will find attractive. Yet some trappers harbor the belief that a lure will have an overwhelming and mesmerizing effect on the animal, causing it to cover great distances to investigate the set. In practice, lure is most effective when used at sets made very close to the animal's natural line of travel. An animal is much more likely to investigate a smell that is close by than one that is far off. Lure is not a substitute for reading animal sign or knowing animal habits.

There are times when a trapper cannot get a set exactly on location, or the area may be too broad to pinpoint the animal. Under these circumstances a strong smelling "call" lure, usually containing skunk musk, can be used at the set to help attract the animal over a distance. A strong lure can give potential to these off-line sets. If you have a choice between this and no set at all, then it is time to fall back on the lure.

For an animal to be attracted by a lure, first it must smell the lure. That is a rather simple statement, but this is one aspect that many trappers fail to consider when making sets. The smell of the lure travels on the air currents. If there is a steady air current or a prevailing wind, an animal traveling on the upwind side of a set will not smell the lure. You can experience this effect yourself when you are in the vicinity of a campfire. If you stand upwind, you cannot smell the smoke. But if you are downwind, you may be able to smell the smoke long before you see the fire. Whenever possible, get your lured sets on the upwind side of the animal.

It is not always possible to judge the air currents at the trap site. These currents may change from morning to evening, or the air currents may be shifting with the weather patterns. Here, it may be advantageous to make two sets, one on either side of the travel way. In hilly country, air currents generally shift from morning to evening. During the day, the warmed air will rise up the hill, and at night cooler air will follow the slope of the hill downward. Since most furbearers are nocturnal, lured sets should be placed uphill from the expected line of travel so the descending air currents will carry the smell to the animal.

Quantity is also another factor in successfully using lure. Most lure makers recommend that a certain quantity of lure be used at a set. The lures are tested and formulated using these quantities, and these recommendations should be followed. The manufacturer knows your repeat business depends on how successful you are with this lure and recommends the quantity to be used at each set accordingly. Using more, or extra, lure does not necessarily improve your chances. As a general rule of thumb, it is better to be stingy with lure than to be overgenerous. In some cases, too much smell may offend an animal's nose and keep it back from the immediate area of the trap. Too much lure may also give a "gut pile" smell to the set and cause an animal to roll on the trap site, springing the trap without getting caught.

Lure quantity and aromas also need to be adjusted for temperature conditions. As temperature decreases, lures give off less smell, and lure quantity should generally be increased as temperatures dip. During very cold and freezing weather, mild smelling lures may completely lose their effectiveness. At this time, the loud skunk type lures can be used directly at the set.

To have a thorough understanding of trapping lures, you must first recognize the three basic types--gland, food, and curiosity lure. Gland lure is made from the glands of a target species. It is used to simulate the presence of another animal and entice the quarry to investigate. Gland lure is the most widely used type of lure and is a good general purpose lure. Since it simulates the presence of another animal, it is attractive under a variety of conditions. Different species of animals are often competing for the same resources. Lure made from the glands of one type of animal may be attractive to other animals that sense the opportunity to pick up a leftover meal. Coon are often attracted to fox lure, fox can be attracted to mink lure, and so on. However, it is usually wise to select a gland lure that matches the target animal.

Gland lure also plays on the territorial nature of most furbearers. Most furbearers establish a home range which they protect from intruders. The smell of an animal that is not a member of the family group will give cause for investigation. This also works in the reverse because a trespassing animal will investigate the smell to determine what other animals are in this range and which ones to beware.

Food lures are self-explanatory. They simulate the odors of a food substance that is attractive to the animal. There are three basic categories of food lure: meat (including fish); fruit (or vegetable); and dairy products or eggs. Meat type food lures are the standard fare for predator trapping. Fruit type food lures also include other sweet smelling substances like honey or molasses, and aromatic flavorings like mint. These lures are attractive to the non-meat eating furbearers, as well as those that are omnivorous. During the early season even animals that are generally considered carnivorous can be attracted to fruit type lures. Other food lures are made from egg or cheese, both of which can be attractive to a wide variety of animals. But these lures are usually not as popular as the meat and fruit type lures.

While all lures incite some type of curiosity in an animal, the "curiosity" type lures are not specifically directed toward food or animal smells. These lures provide an intriguing, and possibly unidentifiable smell to the animal. Gland or food lure may cause the animal to investigate an intruder or an opportunity for a meal respectively, but curiosity lures elicit a response of, "What the heck is this?", from the animal. While curiosity lures may have a gland or food base, they also contain smells that are completely foreign to the animal.

Call lures might also represent another class of lures. These lures usually have a gland or meat base, but are singled out because of their very loud or strong odor. In general, most call lures contain a portion of skunk essence which is well known for its powerful odor. In fact, skunk essence alone can be used as an effective call lure. As mentioned earlier, call lures can be used to attract animals over a distance, when the set can not be placed on location, or the path of an animal cannot be accurately determined. Call lures are ordinarily too strong for use directly at the trap site and may overpower or offend an animal's nose. They are usually used in conjunction with another lure which acts as the specific attraction for the animal. The exception may come during very cold weather when call lure may be the only type that will give off any odor at all.

Understanding the different types of lures, can help you choose which lure or lures to use at a set. For example, a set that represents a dining opportunity for an animal would be most enhanced by a food lure. Sometimes a combination of lures can prove effective at a set. A gland lure used in combination with a food lure can give the impression that another animal has either left, or missed, a meal at this spot. However, using two gland lures, or two food lures at a set may not provide any added attraction.

How and where you apply lure at a set is a function of the set itself. No standard rule can be given for all sets, and exact placement of the lure at any given set is often a matter of debate. In broad terms, the lure should be placed at the set so that an animal trying to investigate the smell will step in the trap. At a dirthole set, lure is placed very near to, or down inside, the hole. At a flat set, lure is placed on or under the backing. With a pocket set, the lure is most often placed back in the hole. If a combination of lures is used at a set, it is a good idea to apply them at different points in relation to the trap. This will give the animal more than one point of odor and more than one source that it must check out, thus increasing the chance it will step in your trap. Mixing the lures all in one tiny spot jumbles the smells, and gives only one point of attraction.

The strong smelling call lures, as previously noted, are rarely used in close proximity to the trap. Instead, the lure is used to call the animal to the set area where another lure or bait will draw the animal's attention to the set itself. Call lures are often placed some distance, ten or twenty feet, from the set on an elevated object such as a branch or weed to give them better air dispersion. Some water trappers use a call lure above and outside of a pocket set to call the animal's attention to the pocket. It is preferable to have the call lure on the upwind side of the actual set so the animal will find the set while coming to the call lure. However, even if the call lure is on the downwind side of the set, the animal may be able to pick up the different smell of the set when it reaches the call lure.

How lure is applied at a set also has a bearing on its effectiveness. Some trappers simply pour out their lure on the ground; however, many use some type of absorbent material to hold the lure. This might be a wad of dry grass or weed fluff. Cotton balls and sheep's wool are also popular lure holders. These materials tend to soak up and hold the smell of the lure. If lure is being applied at or below ground level it is often helpful to take a stick or extra trap stake and make a small hole to hold the lure.

Dispensing lure can be a problem. Thin lures are often just poured from the bottle, but this can be messy. Many trappers replace the regular bottle cap with an eyedropper cap and use the eyedropper to place the lure. Thick lures are usually dispensed by taking a stick or other like object and dipping it in the lure bottle. The stick method can also be used when the lure has to be placed in an awkward position such as the roof of a pocket set. In this particular situation, a cotton swab makes a good lure holder.

The plastic lure capsule is a rather recent introduction in the field of applying lures. These small capsules are equipped with a lid, and are usually stuffed with an absorbent material to soak up the lure. They can be prepared in advance by the trapper, and carried with the lid closed. When a set is constructed it is a simple matter to open the top of the capsule and push it into place at the set. These capsules have the advantage of protecting the lure from the elements, and they can be retrieved and reused when a set is abandoned.

The problem of selecting a lure for a specific trapline is one that is not easily solved. Some may discount the effectiveness of a lure, when the fault may lie with the trapper himself. Many of these folks will go off in search of the "holy grail" of trapping lures trying to find the one perfect lure that will fill their traps. But most successful trappers will concede that lure plays a secondary role in their trapping. Any reputable lure in the hands of a skilled trapper will likely produce results.
This does not mean that all lures work equally well for different trappers in different localities. Judging the effectiveness of a lure is dependent on your skill in using lure. A good starting point is to select a popular selling lure from a name brand manufacturer. When you feel you are using this lure to its full potential, then begin to experiment. Most trappers carry a battery of lures for different animals in different situations and don't rely on one single lure.

It is often advantageous to have two different brands or lines of each type of lure. Sometimes an animal will not investigate a set or may become familiar with certain lure and no longer be attracted by it. In a worst case scenario, an animal may escape from, or be frightened off by, a snapping trap and learn to associate the smell of the lure with danger. Having a second lure as a back-up could draw the animal again to your sets.

To discount the fact that lure is a valuable asset to a trapper would be foolish. But it would be just as silly to think that any single or specific lure can assure success on the trapline. Lure is a tool of the trade, and as such, the result it produces depends on the skill with which it is used. Learning to identify, select, and apply lure is an acquired trapping skill and is no more or less important than sign reading or set construction. Lure is not a shortcut to success, but it is on the route that is followed by most successful trappers.

For lures and other scent attractors visit the "Lure, Bait, Urine" department at the Supply Line

by Hal Sullivan
(This article first appeared in the "The Trapper" November 1989.

I stood gazing up the old logging road and studied the situation. The fox were using this road--so were the hunters seeking easy access in and out of the forest. I decided that a urine post set would take the fox yet escape detection by the human traffic. The problem lay in deciding which of the many sticks, stumps, and rocks that bordered the road would make the best post. The solution was simple, although somewhat unorthodox. I knelt in the road, put my elbows on the ground, and took a "fox's eye view" of the scene.

Too often, trappers neglect to consider their quarry's viewpoint of the environment. Because we walk around on our hind legs, humans have a much wider range of vision than most other animals. We can easily see over objects that are taller than the animals we are trying to trap. Furthermore, our height gives us a different bird's eye perspective of objects that might be eye level or above for a furbearer. A baseball size rock might not look like much if you are standing over top of it, but if your nose is only a foot or two above the ground, it becomes a much more prominent object.

When I took a low angle view of that logging road, I found the object I needed for a post set. It was a stub no bigger than a broom handle and only three inches tall. From a standing position, I saw only the opposite side of the valley when I looked across the road. But with my eyes closer to ground level, I found that the edge of the road was silhouetted against skyline. This small stub stood out like a lighthouse on a beach.

Taking an animal's eye view of the surroundings can be very helpful in choosing the exact spot for a trap. Since the animal's visual world is much smaller than our own, nearby individual objects take on a greater significance. For example, a picked corn field bordering a creek might offer a good location for a set, but from your vantage point it seems like one big sea of look-alike corn stalks. Putting your eyes closer to the ground, like those of a coon or fox, will change this scene. You will find that you can see only a few rows into the field, and tangles of stalks or an individual stalk within the immediate vicinity will seem to stand out from the rest. Other seemingly featureless terrain like pastures and hay fields can benefit from this low level examination.

view1
From a standing position, this pasture field looks nearly featureless... but watch at the arrow

View2
At the level from which a fox would view it, a sun-bleached weed stalk appears above the grass and could provide the focal point for a set.

Another advantage to adopting the animal's viewpoint is in determining the most likely route of travel and approach to the set. This applies to land as well as water trapping. From where you stand, a thicket might seem like an impenetrable wall of brush, but a down-to-earth inspection might reveal trails that run underneath the canopy. This method might reveal a ground level short cut through a brush or log pile.

These low level observations can also be very helpful in water trapping. That is why wading a creek will reveal more locations than walking the bank. If a trapper is eye level with the bank, he is getting the same view as the critters that travel there. There are certain sets like undercut banks and holes through drift piles that can only be seen from the animal's perspective.

Duplicating the visual perspective of a mink is probably the most challenging feat. Unless I wear chest waders, I end up dunking my duff in the creek when I'm squatting down trying to get a mink's view of things. I have even gone to the extreme of crawling along a creek bank in chest waders and gauntlets trying to get a mink's perspective. This may sound funny (I'm sure it would look funny), but you'd be amazed at the number of nooks and crannies that can only be seen when your nose is a few inches above the water.

It is important to know just what an animal can see at a certain location, but it is also helpful to know what the animal can't see. Take for example a dirthole made next to a fence row. Most of us would set for the prevailing wind, but if the wind shifts, we would be left with only the visual attraction of the set. While you may be able to see on both sides of the fence, the low grass and weeds growing along the bottom of the fence may completely obscure the set from an animal of shorter stature. This phenomenon could also occur along a creek bank, where a log you barely notice could completely hide a pocket set from any animal that couldn't see over it.

One of the keys of successful trapping is understanding the animal you are after. And in many instances, it is easier to determine what an animal will do if you know what it will see. Taking a look at the world from where the animal sees it can give you a more educated view of how to take that animal. The only negative aspect of seeking out the animal's viewpoint is the dirty knees and elbows, and the funny stares you might get from assuming some unnatural positions as you look over your trapline.

(Posted for July - Aug. 2001)

Waxing Traps -- Risk, Reliability, and Results

Waxing is the traditional method for protecting traps from the elements and lubricating them to speed up their action. Although the new cold dip solutions are gaining popularity, there are many old fashioned guys like me who cannot take the mental strain of dipping a fox trap in gasoline.

Fast Forward -- I must add here that many trappers are successful using cold dip on their canine traps. And I use dip myself on my bodygrips and large beaver traps. But I still prefer the wax for my smaller traps and my canine traps.

I prefer my petroleum distillates to be solid at room temperature like paraffin, which is the main ingredient in trap wax. Getting the solid wax into liquid form and on the trap is a critical and potentially dangerous operation. The methods used to achieve this vary in risk, reliability, and result.

The least satisfactory method, but the safest, is to melt the wax on the surface of a boiling kettle of water, immerse a trap, and when it is hot, pull the trap up slowly through the melted wax. The hot wax will stick to the hot trap, but water trapped in the pores of rust will keep the wax from adhering to the metal. The trap will show white spots of loose wax that will sometimes flake off even before the trap is set.

The results of waxing a trap are greatly improved if the trap is immersed in a container of pure, melted wax. But in its liquid state, wax is similar to its petroleum-based cousins, gasoline and kerosene. If exposed to a flame, spark, or very hot surface it will burn furiously. One relatively safe way to melt wax is in a water bath. The wax container can be placed in a kettle of boiling water to melt the wax. This will give satisfactory results, and the water will catch any wax that might escape from the wax pot before it reaches a flame or heat source.

When waxing traps in pure wax, they should be completely dry. If wet or damp traps are immersed, the moisture is turned to steam which creates bubbles that pop and spatter wax out of the wax pot. This phenomena can lead to trouble in the final and most hazardous way to wax traps--applying heat directly to the wax container. Even dry traps have tiny specks of moisture trapped in them. Heating wax to slightly above the boiling point of water will drive off all traces of entrapped moisture and give the best seal of wax to trap.

However, this method calls for extreme caution. The usual cause of accidental fires, is wax slopped out of the pot or blown out by a steam bubble. Make sure the traps are dry. On a sunny day, a freshly boiled trap might dry completely in an hour. Under adverse damp, cold, conditions a trap may have to dry indoors overnight. If the wax begins to pop and crackle like oil at a fish fry when the traps are immersed, the traps are not dry enough. To avoid slopping out wax during the dipping process, use a big container. A two gallon metal bucket with its wide mouth makes a good container. It can also do two fox size coilsprings at once which cuts the time and exposure in half. A galvanized bucket will work. The temperatures involved in waxing traps should be far below that which will attack or melt the galvanizing material.

The methods for the direct heating of wax vary, but one is definitely unacceptable. Wax should never be heated over an open wood fire. If wax is to be melted with a wood fire, the bucket must be placed over a solid iron plate that is supported by brick-work which completely isolates the wax from the flame. This is unhandy and allows little latitude in temperature adjustment. A more conventional way to melt wax is with a gas flame or electric hot plate. Here again the large size wax pot is a safety factor. As long as the pot is large enough to completely cover the heat source and leave a safety margin to keep dripping wax from catching on fire, the risk is greatly reduced.

Never, never, never, try to wax traps in a building or the kitchen. Better to burn up something in the middle of the backyard and look foolish, than to burn down the house and look for another place to live. But you can use a common kitchen appliance outdoors to wax traps. A deep fat fryer of sufficient size can be used to wax traps. This self contained unit is shielded on the outside making it safer and the heat settings are adjustable. But most will do only one trap at a time. Cost is also a factor because a fryer used for waxing cannot readily be returned to kitchen use. Used deep fryers might be available at garage sales or flea markets.

This is the set up I use for waxing traps. The two gallon metal bucket completely covers the burner on the camp stove. In case of fire, I keep the metal lid (lower left) handy to smother the flame.

My own preference for a heat source is to use a portable camp stove. One filling of the fuel tank will wax dozens of traps so the cost is not prohibitive. I support and level the stove on a low platform and set my two-gallon metal wax bucket directly over the main burner. The burner is small on these stoves, and the bucket overlaps it quite well. I turn the burner down low and keep it that way. Trying to hurry the melting wax along is not a good idea. After the wax melts, I test it with a trap. If I see a string of tiny bubbles rising from the trap, I know the wax is boiling off the water. If the wax begins to smoke, and the boiling increases, I turn the flame down. This I do when there are no traps in the bucket. Adding a wet trap to the pot and reaching down to adjust the flame could earn you a face full of blinding hot wax.

To place the traps in the wax I use a piece of wire. I make a bend on one end of the wire and twist the other end around one or two traps depending on size. I lower the traps gently into the wax and hang the hooked end over the edge of the bucket. In a couple of minutes, the steel in the trap is heated to the same temperature as the wax, and the bubbling subsides. The traps are then lifted gently from the pot and allowed to hang still and drain for a few seconds. Shaking the traps at this point could throw wax on the heat source. When the traps are drained, they can be given a gentle bounce to eject the last drips of wax and be swung away from the bucket before any more drops collect. I then remove them several feet from the fire, give them a vigorous shake, and use the loop on the wire to suspend them from a nail until they cool. By using several of these looped wires, you can rotate taking wires off cool traps and wiring up unwaxed traps while you wait.

If the wax pot does catch fire, don't panic. The flames can be smothered with a flat metal lid. Sealing off the top of the container causes the flame to consume all the oxygen and go out. For this reason, wax containers should have a completely flat top. The bucket I bought had ears that stuck up above the rim. I removed the handle and bent the ears down flat. Then I reshaped the ends of the handle to fit. The handle no longer stays on the bucket permanently, but I can still use it to pick up the wax. I take the handle off when I'm waxing and keep a metal lid from a 5 gallon bucket handy as a fire extinguisher.

If the wax spills, or the fire becomes too intense, you may need the help of a genuine fire extinguisher. However, the main thing to be concerned about saving in this instance is yourself! If you can extinguish the fire safely, that is fine. If you can't, let the whole mess burn up while you watch from a safe distance. It is easy to place dollar values on tools and materials, but it is a sure bet that the pain and suffering inflicted by a severe burn exceeds this many times over.

This emphasis on safety is not meant to frighten any responsible person away from waxing traps. But attempting this task without considering these possibilities would be both foolish and foolhardy. This is not a task that can be relegated to children, but it is not beyond the capabilities of a mature trapper if they will follow a few simple rules. First, remember melted wax is extremely flammable--like gasoline! Second, work in an open outdoor area away from combustible materials. Third, make sure your heat source is shielded from dripping wax, by using a large container and a small heat source. Fourth, don't be afraid to protect your body with gloves and safety glasses or goggles; you don't have to be scarred and blind to be macho. Finally, if you do have a fire, don't panic. You may be able extinguish it easily with a smothering plate. If not, you can walk away with a good story to tell.