A Beaverin' excursion...

First, I would like to say that we have often been asked "How do you take Ada out in the cold?" It has been thirty below here lately most days. So, this morning, we prepared for the long snowmachine ride by having Sarah bundle up the Mooshkabear. What does Ada Moo look like when she's bundled up for a ride in the back of the snowmachine? She looks like this:


LOL!

So anyway, we saddled up and ran down to St. Mary's, where we would cross the Yukon and check four beaver lodges for a total of seven sets. The trip was actually horrible. Nothing but windswept ice (hardly any snow) all the way. We were actually worrying about the machine overheating it was so bad. Bumpy, hard, unforgiving ice, ready to throw you over on your side at any time. For 25 miles, one way.

The beavers started out by really not cooperating. The first lodge (two sets) was a goose-egg. Damn! Two sets set off, and one had a stick in it, so we should have had 'em. At the second lodge, nothing on the first set. Crap! Got to the fourth set, and, the trap was set off, but felt like nothing there, as we were pulling it up. Then, a head appeared and I struggled to get out the camera. The following scene unfolded:






WOW!!! He's freakin' huge! I thought. Sarah was kidding about falling down, but not entirely about the exhausted part. Once you shovel off the snow and re-chip the hole in the ice, it's work to pull out those piglets. Especially when they weigh 50 lbs! That's right, 50 lbs. Plus! :


That's a basswood fox stretcher he's balanced on for the weigh-in. It weighs no more than 2 pounds max, and that's on the high end. And as you can see, the scale says it all:





Awesome! It was a great day for memories, even though we got skunked on the rest of the sets. We came home with a lot of marten and lynx bait though, so it was productive. Another great day on the trapline. I will try and add more details tomorrow - it was a long day. Check back in for the stories, I will try and get them on in the pm if I can.....

The first sighting of a Yukon Delta moose...and more beavers...

December 13, 2009 was a good day in many ways. I awoke and started out on the trip to St. Mary's under a beautiful sunrise. There had been a night of dense fog immediately preceding this day, and every bush and tree and blade of grass was thoroughly coated in a thick sheath of frost. It made a branch look like a buck's horns in velvet (well, except for the white part ... :) ), and a bush would look like some underwater coral formation:


Riding around in such a winter wonderland is an awe inspiring experience. The views and the sights one experiences are like none other. It was the kind of day where you realize you are in a special place. Though my video camera does not capture it, truly, I thought the short clip below might give some resemblance of an idea. The movie has two parts - the first is the view of the valley below me and the Yukon river as I began the descent down into Muskrat Slough (that's pronounced "slew" - another of the English language's cruel jokes) I must admit though, to see it in person put this movie to shame. Even the truly great pictures never quite can convey the moment...though we, and they, can try. At any rate, the 20 mile ride to St. Mary's was all for the beaver trapping. :) I arrived and once Len got everything together, we headed out. And that is where the second part of this clip comes in. Not long after crossing the Yukon, we ran across a calf moose. Though he was a looooong ways off, he appeared agitated at our presence, and so I didn't even shut off the snowmachine, in order to not lose the opportunity to film him briefly - so, sorry about the putt putt noise, but when you only have seconds - well, it is what it is:



This under-ice beaver trapping is a serious undertaking. Just checking 13 sets at six different beaver houses will take hours to complete. At each set trap we experience the following: 1) Get to the set. 2) shovel the insulating snow off the hole. 3) remove the cardboard that was under the snow, insulating the hole. 4) Grab the ice pick and break through the ice, which thanks to the insulation, is not as thick as it was the first time... 5) break the set poles free of the ice. 6) Poke around under the water to find the beav, if there is one. 7) Once you find him, you keep poking to judge about where he is frozen to the ice (they float once expiring, and then freeze to the ice - on the BOTTOM side, hee hee...) 8) Shovel off the area of ice that you think is over the frozen beav 9) Then chip more ice in the outline of the frozen beav, dislodging him/her. 10) Pull the beav out of the water 11) Roll them in snow to dry them off (see last beaver post) 12) then, you get to reset, meaning the trap, then covering with cardboard, shoveling on snow, etc. 13) That's ONE trap checked, about 25 min. later...got the idea? :) ...and now you head to the next one. At any rate, what I am getting at is that it is a full day endeavor, and so this next clip is in the dark. It is the short and dirty of it though - just the 'removal of the beav' part, as I figured the rest would be boring. This is the moment you do all that work for - and in this particular case, it was a little beav after all. They do add up though - in Sunday's check we got 8 beavers from 13 traps. Not a bad ratio. Here 'tis:



Now, at the time of this post, we still haven't seen the Northern Lights yet, but on the way home Sunday Night, I got to witness a spectacular meteor shower - (blue-green, flaming, shooting stars is what I would describe them as) Truly a great day to be out in the Alaska wilderness. I couldn't help but smile all the way home as I thought, "..Most of the rest of the world is fast asleep, and here I am riding a snowmachine twenty miles across frozen lakes, sloughs, and tundra, under a spectacular light show, probably riding right past moose, lynx, etc - after a day of beaver trapping..." I could just hear Travis Tritt's voice in my head - "...It's a great day to be alive..."...

The Marten curse is GONE!!!!

Ha Ha! Today was an 'ice breaking' day for Sarah and I out on the line. We started with checking the only marten set we had out on this side of the river, as the travel across the Yukon was suspended after our deluge of rain last week. "Always a pain to walk to this set through the brush and snow", is what I was thinking as I approached it. But, I broke into the clearing and looked...."Yep", there's the flagging..."And holy cow there's a marten hanging!" I whooped and hollered for Sarah who was behind me in the thicket and she ran up, where we both proceeded to dance a little jig there in the snow. Yesss!!!!!!! It took me a while this year, but man did it feel good to get that first one down. Now we just have to get across the river and check the others we have out, along with stringing another 20 or so sets out. Hopefully tomorrow. Anyway, here's the pics:

Before:


And, happily After: Look at that Poofy tail!!! Primed up fur, Baby! Gotta love it!!!






Frozen stiff, Ha Ha!


We ended up putting out six sets. Three for marten, including the remake, because we had to take him home to thaw before removal from the trap. Two for mink/ermine, and then together we made our first lynx cubby!








It is set at the top of a creek bank (the creek is behind me in the pics, just out of sight). On the creek ice is evidence that the lynx are using it as a travel corridor. On both sides of the creek are thick willows and alder, good travel spots for lynx also, I am told. We hung the wing attractor high enough so it can be seen from on top of the bank on either side, and of course from up or down the frozen stream. A whole spruce hen is the bait, with lynx lure and then flagging as additional visual attractor. Covered the trap partially with wax paper and snow, then placed steppping sticks sround it and fenced in the cubby entrance/trap area with vertical sticks. I hope and pray we get an after picture from this one, baby!

We're going to try to get out and check across the river, which is now safe for travel again, and hopefully get some more sets out as well. We'll see what happens.

An unlikely story...

Last night sure didn't end up like I had planned, that's for sure. About two weeks ago, I made four fox sets. Didn't see any action except refusals. One was a post and three others were snowholes. On Monday (yesterday) I got word that there was a fox in a trap from the eskimos here in the village. "Impossible!" I thought...all of those traps were under a foot or so of snow, which was then rained on for THREE DAYS last weekend. We're talking slush and ice nightmare, everywhere. Not what you would envision as trapping weather. I even had pulled one of the sets, and left the others thinking they were so far removed from being functional that I could let them be. Not so. Last night S and I went to the location of the first trap after getting the news. I was thinking that I should have stayed home and watched the rest of the MNF game, when I saw a snapped off trap. Getting closer, I saw a few blood drops and a conveniently placed stick. Someone whacked the fox and removed it. "Okay, I thought, they'll probably leave it at the house or at work or something for me. But how in the HELL did that fox even get caught!!?!!?!?" Moving on. We arrived at the second set. Another dead fox, this time still IN the trap. Woohoo! the night is getting better. We then got to the third and final set and there, in all his glory, was a bouncing, cherry red, Red fox. Three for three! In the worst conditions I could have imagined. The snowhole sets WORK, Baby! Yesssssss!!!!!!!!!!

Here's the two I brought home - this pic is washed out and does them NO justice in terms of color, but there they are. Sharpen up the knives, folks!

Well, things have been slow here, mostly due to weather...and partly due to gas prices. A tank of gas in the snowmachine costs about $75.00. Gets you about 9 miles per gallon or so. Anyway it looks like I'll be working as a sub for the next two weeks, and so the action may be slight, because the weather for the next 24 hours is supposed to be INSANE! ..and now I'll be trapping nights and weekends only until Christmas break. Right now it's white-out conditions and 35mph+ winds steady. Roof is creaking on the house.....not stuff I'd like to be out in at night.

At any rate, I finally got out with the duo from TrapperMan: Family Trapper and Trapper Max:


Went out to harass some beavers with those two and man what a learning experience. Was a full day from 7:45 AM when I warmed up the machine and headed about 20 miles to St. Mary's to meet up with them, until I got home around 9:10 PM. Sideways blowing snow throughout the day, at times visibility was about nothing. Got some frostbite on my nose that I didn't feel until the ride home. The skin is peeling but not as big an area as the last time. :) At any rate, we kicked out some sets alright, even though I probably slowed them up with all my questions. Pitching in was nice though..felt good to be doing it right instead of not knowing, like my fall beaver exploits. We set entrances to the houses. Which may sound simple. It's NOT.

First, you find a beaver house that is active. (fresh feed visible) Then, you walk around the house hitting the ice with a pick/chisel/spud bar. When you break through the ice with the pick and a geyser of air/water bubbles forth, you have struck gold! The travel of the beavs from lodge to feed pile makes the ice thin in a line, and hence the easily breaking ice. Then you have to chop a hole in the ice big enough to get down under the water and find the entrance hole (s) in the lodge. That done, you set the trap (330 Conibear) onto a pole and lower it down, placing it over the hole.


Push slush into a mass all around the pole to hold it upright and in place, and do the same with blocking poles, if necessary due to the individual set.


Cover the hole with cardboard and then a layer of snow on top of that to insulate, and off you go to find the next hole and do it all again. Did I mention this involves a LOT of chipping ice/shoveling snow?... :)

To put it simply, the method is highly successful. Here's an extraction:

That's what it's all about BABY! Marten Bait extravaganza!!!

And the coolest thing about the catches is this: When you pull the beav out of his/her watery domain, you roll it around in the snow/cover it up:


The snow is so dry that it sucks up ALL the water off the beaver, and he is then BONE DRY!


Works like a magic trick. Cool Stuff! The results from 13 sets were: 5 Beavers and one Female otter! Put them back in and wait another two days... Back with more trapping when the weather breaks...

A lull.....

Well, the last two days have been slow, as I had to remove most of the traps that were out. The wind we've been having blew the covering/wax paper off them, which of course exposed the pan/dogs and jaws and caused them to freeze down. Worse yet, the tracks over several of the sets show me that had that not happened, I'd likely be skinning. I have pulled the traps and hung them to thaw, and will be back out with a vengeance, but not likely until Tuesday, due to our incoming weather. We are to get more snow and more 30 mph winds until then, so it's gonna be a little break for now.

In the meantime, I wanted to post a little something, even if I'm not catching. I got some pics, although not great ones, of the socks on that last fox - one from the double - and thought the markings were pretty cool - hadn't seen this before:


Also interesting was the fact that 'A', the hide was no longer blue once on the stretcher for a while:


and, 'B', I noticed how furry the little sucker's feet were. Must be how they deal with these wicked winters:


-30 below now for nearly a day. At any rate, hope to be back on Tuesday with set reports.

Got the Double!!!........But.........

Well, in case you don't remember the photo from the last post when I made the double set up by the rock wall, here it is:....


And here was a close up of the snow hole set - the one at right, in the above picture:


We got the new Ski-Doo Tundras (snowmobiles - but only call them snowmachines here in AK, or somebody will try and 'correct' you..)and brought them home on Tuesday night. This is what the scene of those sets looked like on Wednesday morning:

Notice how the fox is at the snowhole log up top there. And the post set to the left of that.....is GONE!
Mr. Fox was in the post also - I got my double - but he somehow snapped off the log under the snow and drug it away! Luckily I could follow the tracks in the snow, but definitely a surprise. All's well that ends well, but he robbed me of my picture of the double. I know how it worked out, and that's enough. :)

Here's a couple pics from one of the two fox, a nice cherry red:




Here is the last photo of the day:


Friday I am embarking on a journey and should get out more sets than I've messed with so far this season. Looking to make a few fox, a few marten, and a few lynx sets. Be back Friday night with a new post for "before" pics, and hopefully on Saturday with some "after" pics. :)

Bring on the canines!

Today was a huge goose egg on the existing two sets that were remade. This morning's check yielded an investigation of one set (the fox came to within 10 feet, but no closer), and the other had tracks of the two legged variety. Seems like catch circles attract humans around here as well.....

So, at any rate, I went upstream instead of the customary down. And, I found some great set locations. I ended up making four more sets. Two posts and two snow holes. One location has great potential for a double. It probably has a lot to do with the way I was taught, but I really kind of favor setting for doubles. This place just screamed double when I first laid eyes on it. We'll see. I also haven't ever really seen success on the first night of a new post set - but I have seen success on a post that was set double with a dirthole that connected. Nothing says "come on over here!" to a fox like another fox, if it's me you're asking, and I don't think I'm alone. :)

Anyway, here's a video of the action today - three of the sets are on this clip - and I tried to demonstrate what I've been doing with the "snow hole" sets. It may take a while to load because it is about 9 minutes long in total. Patience may be necessary once you click on it - sorry.... Above all else, watch for the killer location when I mention "not being able to pass this up" - it is maybe the craziest example of fox sign I've seen yet!



I simply will not get much sleep tonight, that is certain. Only minimal sets out, but there sure is cause for excitement! I am in Red Fox wonderland! In the morning I am off to St. Mary's to get one of the new snowmachines, and checking a few marten sets on the way home. But I am checking the fox sets before daylight (which is not until 9:30 or so) and then after I get back also, as I have seen activity right around sunrise many times. I am thinking my next post tomorrow will be full of pics and video! Can't freaking wait.....

Check #2.....

Well, yesterday Sarah and I went and pulled the trap at the bait station. Seemed like the general consensus was that it was a lower percentage set, and so we remade the set at the rock wall and went with that and the new post set just back from the bait pile. This morning there was a new face in the post-set steel.






The darkest red fur of the three so far, and seemed thicker too, but haven't skinned him yet and so not sure about primeness. I still haven't been able to rationalize any reason to wait until fur is prime - other than the fur check itself. If you trap an animal and harvest it (as opposed to a release) you are removing it from the resource. This resource removal is an indisputable fact, whether you trap it in October or in January. And so, my question is, if you are in it solely for the love of trapping or the enjoyment that being outdoors brings you, and could care less about the check at the end - what would one good reason be to wait? Though I can't say I know there isn't one, I personally haven't found one yet. Tight chains to all - the season's open boys!

A RED kind of morning.....

Holy Moly!

I'm a little stoked right now. I should begin with a little history. On opening day of trapping season, Tuesday Nov. 10th, we received a storm the likes of which we hadn't seen yet so far here in Pilot. Blowing winds with a mix of snow and rain, followed by blowing winds (30-40mph+) and freezing rain for two days. Aaaargh!!....not the best trapping weather. At least not when you are trying to learn the ropes trapping in snow. Undaunted due to my intense excitement, I made three sets anyway regardless of the forecast (that's three FOX sets - made other sets as well, but that's another story...) The three sets I made were a mixture of 1 post set, one bait station set, and one dirthole-type set. My reasoning was that I should learn a little something about trapping in snow before educating EVERY fox within a few miles - besides, it's still early. So, three sets it was. No more, I resigned myself, until I figured out a few things. Anyway, after making the three sets, I got the customary non-sleep in overnight, and checked the next day (Wednesday). What I found was disgraceful. Probably hundreds of fox tracks at all three sets, and three #2 Bridgers, seriously crusted over, frozen hopelessly into the mess. They literally stamp-trampled a hoedown over top of all three of the pans. The weather had created a nightmare for fox trapping. I covered the sets, checked some others, and then remade them on Thursday afternoon, with only nice, normal snow in the forecast....

Which brings me to this fine morning. :) I woke up today and set out at daybreak, not sure what to expect. 8 degrees and crisp outside. Immediately out the door, I stooped and checked the top layer of an area of undisturbed snow. Fine and powdery...Yessssss! Off I went. First thing on my way downriver, I noticed was that the sunrise was gonna be a nice one:


The first set I checked was the dirthole...uh, I mean ROCKhole set. Having grown up trapping fox in the fields of Pennsylvania, I thought this spot was particularly weird to put a fox set, really. The sign was there though, of some mice and possibly weasel using the immediate area, and the fox were definitely checking it out. The trouble was, it was a small ledge on a very steep bluff of rock. I figured, what the heck, setting on sign is setting on sign. I "flattened" the area and removed the snow from a hole within the rock. Within the hole went a gob of Asa's Nature's Call lure, appropriately covered with grass. When I walked up and saw the bouncing red ball, I had to do a double take. Here's a shot of the set from a distance, fox is laying under the ledge overhang, middle right:


A lil' closer:


And one last pic of my first Alaskan Red Fox:



Downstream were the other two sets, so after the dispatch and the finger warming, I rounded the rock wall to find...Another fox bouncing in the post set. Yessss!!!!!!!! A little smaller, but darker. Pics did not come out of him at the set, sorry, I tried. Following the dance with the attitude stick, I continued on, not really thinking as much about the last set as I was the first two. :) As I finally approached, I looked up.....and saw ANOTHER fox! Only, wait a minute, what the .... is he doing over there!? That's not right....hand begins to pull the .22 off the shoulder, and he is gone like yesterday's freezing rain. Dang! Looked to the set...nada. Hmmm... After walking over, I find this:


I couldn't believe it. Should have had three for three. Somehow the wax paper got flipped up or something on this third set and ended up between the jaws, allowing his foot to slip out. Hair on the paper and all told the story. If it was the fox I saw running through the brush, I don't know, but there is one that's a little smarter now. But it was not a day to be unhappy that's for sure. How could you be upset when you're taking pictures like these:



Best Friday the 13th I may have ever had!

Opening day.....

Well, been asking for snow now for weeks. And, we finally got it... right when it will be a setback.


Went out and got a few sets in, but decided against going all out because we are forecast to get 10-12 inches of snow in the next two days, as a HUGE low is settling in right now - 40mph wind and whiteout snow. And it gets worse. :) Freezing rain and then just plain rain to follow. The two fox sets I put in reluctantly will be one of two things...uncovered, or frozen in under a crusty mess. The marten are probably not moving - not sure much of anything would be out in this...didn't see any tracks this morning while out. Guess we'll just have to see how it goes, but likely not any new sets going in real soon........

When will Tuesday get here?!!?!........

Well, I can hardly stand this waiting, but at least I got out today to set up some marten pots. Of course, the season is not here, hence the title of this post, but I got a bunch of pots hung, along with some NOT SET traps and flagging, so that on the opener I can just power through them , slap in some bait, set the traps, and go...

This morning it was 19 degrees, dead calm, and a gorgeous day to be outside. Here is a pic of the now-frozen over Yukon (Though I wouldn't walk on it yet....), at around 10:00AM, not all that long after sunrise:


I began walking downriver (generally a Westerly direction) and headed for a nearby slough. Nearby is roughly 2.5 miles. My entire early season line will be on foot/snowshoe until the snowmachines arrive, and so not going too too far yet. At any rate, I went West, hoping to get some sets in at a location where Sarah and I had pre-scouted earlier last month, ending up at that slough. Scattered spruce, swampy areas, and ridge humps were my targets.

The first set was at the edge of a swampy, willow choked clearing right at the base of an uphill running ridge. Primo! (I thought) threw the pre-set in and was off. Uphill proved to be the wrong way, however, as I encountered brush too thick to utilize effectively. Back down to the river, not too much time wasted...as I was walking along the shrubs bordering the bluff of the river bank, I beheld a wonderful sight....Lynx tracks! Yesssss!!!! Note taken...

Those are fox tracks to the right, heading opposite direction...There were FAR more tracks here, but I was trying to move fast...can you say "travel corridor"?!

Another few hundred yards along, I sighted some more spruce mixed in with the birch, etc, on the hill above me, and I was going uphill again. This time it paid off, as travel was plenty good. I found a near-horizontal blowdown on the edge of a thick patch, bordered on two sides by open willow and birch. Decent sign here...Ended up throwing in this set:

So you can see, NO traps were set today...in fact, no wings hung or lure applied yet either, just wiring off and flagging:


On I went, making several sets while following the ridgeline overlooking the Yukon below in the distance. Did I mention it was a beautiful morning?

Another random set pic, this one near the edge of another swampy area with numerous spruce (distant background of photo is the swamp), and behind me as I took this, is more spruce: Not a real eye grabber of a spot, but the tracks were there...


After a few more similar sets, I made it to the mouth of the slough, where its outlet flows in (and out, depending) to the Yukon. Shortly after rounding the corner, I saw this on the ice and had to take a pic:

Lynx, Fox, and mink tracks all nearly on top of each other!!!! I am in a place like no other. It may not be the best area to trap, but it is the best area I have ever trapped. The sign that I would see along this creek/slough was enough to fire me up, even more, and that's saying something.

A little further along:

Again, multi species present, and a mink checked out a hole I did not put there, but will be setting on come Tuesday.
Here's a pic of the whole general area, at a bend in the creek near a beaver dam:


Notice how the mink highway goes under that snow cornice - and it does come out the other side. A little fencing, and a nice home for a conibear will be found. Also in this immediate area was this crossing log - do you think a guy could catch a mink here? :) Some of the tracks are also ermine, but not all:


Finished up with a few more sets, this one being the last:

Beyond, over that crest, is a good sized swamp, or at least it normally is - right now it is iced over, only the feeder creeks are flowing openly. The forecast for tonight is blowing and snow, with more tomorrow (40mph wind) and so hope to get more presets out and have more to tell, but we'll see...