Outdoors Articles Library

In those days good local raccoon pelts sold for about $25.00, beaver $25.00, mink $30.00, fox $35.00, coyotes $40.00,and bobcats around $100.00, even the lowly opossum often fetched up to $5.00. A successful two week Christmas break trap line could fund lots of gas, pizza, movies, and outdoor pursuits for a focused teenager in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

I was fortunate enough to often trap with my grandfather. He was a master trapper, hunter, and outdoorsman in every sense of those words. He believed that the ability to target a specific intelligent animal and influence that animal to place its foot on the one square inch of all creation you wanted it to was an ultimate challenge. He often showed me a set he had made for a specific animal and would then also tell me exactly with which foot he would catch that animal. The vast majority of the time he was correct.

Preparation for trapping began in the summer. Traps had to be dyes and waxed. Baits and lures had to be prepared. Lures and baits come in three main types. One is a food base that draws on an animals feeding drive. A second would be matrix bases that appeal to the reproductive urges. The third is curiosity lures. A good example of curiosity lures might be catnip based paste that was used to attract bobcats. In summer I would float a flat bottom boat down one of the area creeks and gig a stringer full of carp to use as a component for food based baits.

Three types of traps were normally used. The first was a coil spring trap that closed by the power of compressed metal coils. A second was the long spring that derived its strength from v shaped metal springs on each end. Both had strengths, weaknesses, and applications where they excelled. A third trap was the live box trap. If there were any chance of accidentally catching a domestic animal the live box trap was opted for. It allowed you to catch an animal totally unharmed in a wire cage. If you caught Aunt Millie’s cat Tuffy then you simply opened the door and let him out. He had a great meal, a nice nap, and was none the worse for wear. We made our own box traps with mechanisms that allowed the door to close more quickly than any commercial model of the day.

The days of trapping may well have seen their setting sun here in the lower 48. I suppose time will tell. The memories of time with family, love for creation, commitment to conservation so my children may enjoy it also, these are the permanent things I walked away with. Although they may well never happen again in my life, I am thankful for a Grandfather who helped me grow up in “The Years Of The Cat”.

Connecting With The Outdoors,
Jason “The Fisher” Pence