Trapper Ron Stuff 2013 - 2014

[wolf1199]

Some great pics Ron. You have been very busy this year.

[trapp]

A few shots from up at the 6000 foot level on my Nevertouch Lake trapline. Good marten and lynx country but also lots of cut blocks.

I pick up marten in the leave strips between the cut blocks and lynx in the older grown up cut blocks. Some of the logging is now 25 years old and great lynx habitat.



This is Mount Moore and Jubilee Mountain both in the Greystokes Provincial park. There are four traplines bordering each other in the park and we all have Grandfather clauses allowing us to trap there on our respective lines with permits from the Parks Branch.



There is a nice band of old growth timber between the park boundary and the alpine which will not be logged as it is in the park.

[oldyote]

Beutiful country. Thanks for shareing

[trapp]

Finished up 20 double ender marten boxes today and 10 singles. Still have parts cut for more but with these, some plywood ones at camp, and several behind the shop I'm good to go.



My nephew works in a machine shop and made me up 4 wolf drags to go with my 4 new Bridger Brawn # 9 wolf traps. Just need 12 feet of chain and swivels for each. Then of course treat them. He is making me a set of trap setters for them also.

[trapp]

Got my 4 Bridger Brawn # 9 wolf traps boiled up, dipped in white formula 1 and the chain and drags added. I will put a touch of weld on each of the J hooks on the swivels and adjust the pan tensions. The second swivel is at 60 cm (2 feet) in case I want to solid stake them.

It has been snowing up on the line for two days. Not sure what to expect when I head up tomorrow as the snow line is down really low, just above town. Nine big boxes of butcher scraps, beef, moose and deer, in the truck ready to go.

[oldyote]

So what sort of sets will you use the traps on ? I am sure you snare at your baits ? They look impressive Is that drag made out of 3x3/8 flat bar with 1/2 " cold roll?

[trapp]

I'd have to measure the flat bar, I think 3" x 1/2". The round stock is 1/2" cold roll.

Our nephew is a machinist. I explained what I wanted and that is the drag he made for me. The round prongs have lathed points and where it is welded to the plate iron it is machined at a flat angle so all of the weld is holding. They are a bit of an overkill to what I asked for but sure not complaining. They should work great.

[trapp]

More on Wood Cutting.

A week ago we were at camp and I tackled that log pile. Back early summer we found a Husqvarna 288 chainsaw at a garage sale. Well it was not with the for sale stuff but the fellow said he was selling everything. I spotted it in his open garage and asked if he would sell it. He said sure but it had not been started for a few years. He brought it out, put gas in it, and a few pulls it went. Lots of compression, about tears your arm off when you pull the cord. he wanted $200 so offered $180 and he sold it to me. So there it sat in my shop until last weekend. Took it out and it started third pull.

I cut up the biggest log and the two next logs and it started speed up, slow down, and stall. Cleaned the air filter which was filthy dirty. Cut a couple more blocks and it quit, no way I could start it. Next morning it started right off and I cut the other logs with no problem. The one long pine log we brought in with it left to cut and again it acted up. The whole saw is filthy dirty but generally in good shape. Looks like not a lot of use. Our son was home this weekend and took it back home with him. It will be spotless and running like a dream when he is done with it.



So now to start splitting these big blocks. :shock: Out came the maul and I started to bust wood. Quite a few swings to split them in half. Then they split real well. Worked the rest of the day and man was I tired. Just split them into eight and will split smaller at a later date. Next morning back at the pile of blocks after cutting the other three logs into blocks. Picked up that maul and struck a block. Wow it was like electricity going through my left arthritic shoulder :evil: Not to mention I could hardly swing it. After a few swings it loosened up a bit. Now there must be an easier way. Got out my small maul, three hits with the big one, put the small maul in one of the cuts and pounded it a couple times with the big maul. Split right in half with little effort. Still about 14 blocks left to bust for another day. A good work out for an old guy for sure.

A few pictures of the wood splitting. Probably about a cord once split smaller and piled, so far.

[trapp]

Went to camp yesterday morning and back home in the afternoon.

Not what I wanted to see for this early in the season. There was 11 inches of new wet snow at camp and it just got deeper on the side roads to higher elevations. No way we could set up with the truck. I have never seen this much snow this early. So now it will be time to go pick up the new sled.





The main road may not even get plowed this year unless some logging takes place.

[trapp]

Finally it is here. Just picked up my new Scanic WT 600 Ace. I suspect thee is near two feet of snow up on my marten line now.

[trapp]

Well the season is sure not as planned. Right after my last posting we went back out to camp. The main road is not plowed and probably will not be. We pushed snow all the way with the bumper of the truck. So took all the perishables home and closed the camp up for now. Just too far to go by sled and then out onto the line by myself with my bionic knees. Could get into more trouble than it it's worth. Never have I seen this much snow this early.

So with 6 boxes of game scraps now almost two weeks old in the back of my truck and up to plus 8 in town it was time for a quick trip to our low elevation line to dump at my three bait stations. Snow and more snow but travelable still by my truck. This is where my bait station is:



Dumped my boxes and went to check one of my spots for otter. Snowing rabbit skins. Here is what it looked like:



And where the set goes in the culvert:



So a couple of days later and after the snow was gone from the trees and willows we go back out. Time to get trapping. First to the otter spot. Otter slides everywhere in the creek, missed them by not setting in that miserable snow and snowstorm. Got two otter sets, a mink box, and a marten set in. Headed for the main bait pile to set wolf snares. What do i see but a huge Grizz track there and a spot where he sat and munched bones. So pass on that till he goes to bed.

Yesterday back out to the line. The grizz visited my sets, smashed my boxes and had a bait snack. No otter.
Over to the bait station, now I'm not a happy trapper. Gonna set snares grizz or no grizz, if he gets in a wolf snare he be dead and reported as an incidental catch. Hope he does not return though. So now at the bait station and darn there were wolf tracks everywhere, looks like 6 or 8 wolves. Day late and a dollar short again. Dumped some more bait and got a few snares out. Two of my lynx cubbies were visited by lynx also but do not like to start on them till December 1st. Well I did set one lynx snare. To top it off there is a second grizz down lower on the line. Grizzly in this area is very rare. I reported my findings to the CO's.

Grizz tracks, they are as long as my boot print(size10) and about 2" wider:





So tomorrow it is out for the day to set more snares for wolves, maybe a couple of lynx cubbies. We will move back to the snow country marten line in December when my buddy gets back from his Northern line.

[oldyote]

Hope the griz go to bed and your snares are full of wolves great pics thanks. It a nice read for us that can't get out yet. Plus your line is way more exciting then in the farm land where we just grind away at only a couple species.

[trapp]

Been a while since an update. My marten trapping was a wash out due to snow conditions and access. Finally for some snares out and wolves coming to my sets. The next check after the Griz visited I found my only mink box and the marten box visited and smashed. Had an otter in my pink 280.



A poor catch on the otter, he must have been in a hurry going through that culvert. Also a long story associated with this and how I did not attach the trap.



got quite a few of my lynx cubies set up but so far no lynx. Yesterday however was a good day. Finally connected on the wolves. Caught two and had one chew out. Hate it when that happens. He just backed up and chewed out. My snares also were only about 6 " above the new snow fall. Snow is well over my knees.







Another otter in my pink 280. Much better catch this time.



Made a birch fleshing beam for a friend and one of our newest BCTA certified instructors. This is made from a clear birch board which we cut with the Alaska chainsaw mill.

[oldyote]

Great pics. Glad to see your connecting on the wolves.

[wolf1199]

Congrats Ron on your timbers. That pink coni seems to work just fine on those sliders. Good to see you catching fur after all that hard work in the summer.