Christmas Eve Fox

Doug Bowman

Doug Bowman

Well-known member
Got off work at 3 today for Christmas, so I hurried home so I could remake some sets(had freezing rain this morning).
Got through about a dozen sets when I looked up the hill and saw this ,the first fox of my season.
I have had a time this year ,been to warm, freezing rain every other day and some bad luck.

One thing I did was this year was I tried using under alls on my traps. They are a sponge like thing that goes under the trap pan to keep the dirt from getting under the pan. Problem has been the animals are stepping on the pan and the traps are not firing. So I removed the underalls and now things are working as they should.





Two mink from earlier this season.

Thats my size 13 boot in the pic

 
Good to see you back at it, Doug. Seems to me that a couple of years ago you trapped a horse sized mink that was also white. Who knows maybe this is some of its offspring. Very cool.

Looks like you pups are doing well.
Al
 
Good to see you back at it, Doug. Seems to me that a couple of years ago you trapped a horse sized mink that was also white. Who knows maybe this is some of its offspring. Very cool.

Looks like you pups are doing well.
Al
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thanks Al

Yes 2 seasons ago I caught a 8 1/2 lb white mink (escaped from a mink ranch up the road) This one was 6 lbs and also a escapey.

The labs are all lined up trying to get a look at the fox, the dogs know what they are and they do not like them at all. LOL
 
Looks like a very old fox to me. Brings back some memories. Do you have a mink farm near you. The only reason I ask is that those are some odd colors. Cool stuff. That white mink is an absolute monster.
 
Looks like a very old fox to me. Brings back some memories. Do you have a mink farm near you. The only reason I ask is that those are some odd colors. Cool stuff. That white mink is an absolute monster.
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Hi Tom

He is a old large male, probably the largest I've ever caught.

The white mink here was 6 lbs, I got one 2 seasons ago that was 8 1/2 lbs.
 
Doug,

Freezing rain is tough. Have you ever tried buckwheat hulls under your pan? They don't freeze up readily and might give you a longer active trap.
 
Doug out here in Eastern WA the red ants make mounds from very small sticks and other plant debris and this material is very freeze resistant for some reason? When I was land trapping we used that material as a layer in the trap bed, under the pan and as the first layer over the trap before putting on a trap cover and then sifting the local dirt back to conceal the whole set. You might look for a similar material/ant mound stuff/ if you have similar insects in your local. Worth a try and free if you find similar stuff there.
 
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I used to cut wax paper squares to lay over the pan, after I bedded the trap base, prior sifting it back in. I finally switched to large dry red oak leaves because the wax paper seemed to pick up scent-way too many traps dug out by fox and coyotes.
 
Doug,

Freezing rain is tough. Have you ever tried buckwheat hulls under your pan? They don't freeze up readily and might give you a longer active trap.
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Hi Pete

I use dry peat moss to bed my traps it works to repel moisture, the trouble is that the cover dirt when wet hardens like cement and has to be removed after its wet.
 
Doug out here in Eastern WA the red ants make mounds from very small sticks and other plant debris and this material is very freeze resistant for some reason? When I was land trapping we used that material as a layer in the trap bed, under the pan and as the first layer over the trap before putting on a trap cover and then sifting the local dirt back to conceal the whole set. You might look for a similar material/ant mound stuff/ if you have similar insects in your local. Worth a try and free if you find similar stuff there.
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Brad

I have the same ants here, I will try the litter from the hills , I've been using peat moss now to bed the trap then use a screen pan cover.
My problem is that the local dirt here that I use to cover and blend the set in hardens like cement after it gets damp. I can lift the dirt from the set like a plate its that hard.
 
I used to cut wax paper squares to lay over the pan, after I bedded the trap base, prior sifting it back in. I finally switched to large dry red oak leaves because the wax paper seemed to pick up scent-way too many traps dug out by fox and coyotes.
Click to expand...

I used to use wax paper too,but now use screen that I cut to fit inside the trap jaws,I had switched to underalls but They didnt work for me at all . I also take the plastic bags from the stores and use them to line the bottom under the trap so moisture cannot work up through to ground .

Problem is our dirt here is like cement after its wet, the dirt must be removed or I can dance on the trap and it won't spring.LOL
 
Nice Christmas catches Doug! Have you ever shipped those escapee mink to NAFA or FHA? Just curious as to how they would grade. I've caught two mink so far this year but they were just of the slender, dark brown variety.

I just started making a few land sets this year for a couple of weeks in late October and early November, focusing on coyotes. In the first week I caught a mangy coyote, a nice grey fox, and an opossum. I was using a set developed by a well known NY coyote trapper. His name is Mark Zagger and he had an article in one of the trappers' magazines explaining his "pipe dream" set that he uses in sod fields. If you haven't heard of it, he uses a piece of 1" grey PVC conduit as a lure/bait holder (hence the name). But more relevant to your freezing issue is the way he beds the trap. He cuts a 4" deep hole the same dimensons of the trap jaws and just punches in a shallow notch for the levers. He sets the trap in the hole and then tamps the ground around it so the trap is firmly supported (flush with the surface) by the levers and the soil tamped around the ouside of the jaws. He uses a screen pan cover and covers the trap with a thin layer of haylage (you could use grass) so water can run through the trap down into the hole. Between the pipe and the bedding technique he claims it is weater proof. This set functionned well for me, however I used it early in the season when it wsn't freezing.

Good luck!
 
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My late trapping partner was the yote expert compared to me and I remember him using imported dirt and/or forest floor duff (realizing there isn't much forest duff where you hang your hat nowa days :) with much less clay in it on some sets because of the same situation you are having. As long as the collected dry dirt was scent free the color difference didn't seem to matter to the targets and off course he sifted it over more of the set area than just the actual trap. Most of our line was in farm country where we could drive as close to the trap site as you wanted so hauling a 5 gallon can of dry dirt and ant mound with us was not a chore.

Just food for thought...good luck I envy you as the libs in our state have virtually eliminated trapping
 
Nice Christmas catches Doug! Have you ever shipped those escapee mink to NAFA or FHA? Just curious as to how they would grade. I've caught two mink so far this year but they were just of the slender, dark brown variety.

I just started making a few land sets this year for a couple of weeks in late October and early November, focusing on coyotes. In the first week I caught a mangy coyote, a nice grey fox, and an opossum. I was using a set developed by a well known NY coyote trapper. His name is Mark Zagger and he had an article in one of the trappers' magazines explaining his "pipe dream" set that he uses in sod fields. If you haven't heard of it, he uses a piece of 1" grey PVC conduit as a lure/bait holder (hence the name). But more relevant to your freezing issue is the way he beds the trap. He cuts a 4" deep hole the same dimensons of the trap jaws and just punches in a shallow notch for the levers. He sets the trap in the hole and then tamps the ground around it so the trap is firmly supported (flush with the surface) by the levers and the soil tamped around the ouside of the jaws. He uses a screen pan cover and covers the trap with a thin layer of haylage (you could use grass) so water can run through the trap down into the hole. Between the pipe and the bedding technique he claims it is weater proof. This set functionned well for me, however I used it early in the season when it wsn't freezing.

Good luck!
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Hi John

I skin and tan the furs I catch , haven't sold any raw yet.

I tried the pipe dream set this year and had nothing go near one , so I replaced them with dirt holes.
I've tried hay sets too with no luck.
 
My late trapping partner was the yote expert compared to me and I remember him using imported dirt and/or forest floor duff (realizing there isn't much forest duff where you hang your hat nowa days :) with much less clay in it on some sets because of the same situation you are having. As long as the collected dry dirt was scent free the color difference didn't seem to matter to the targets and off course he sifted it over more of the set area than just the actual trap. Most of our line was in farm country where we could drive as close to the trap site as you wanted so hauling a 5 gallon can of dry dirt and ant mound with us was not a chore.

Just food for thought...good luck I envy you as the libs in our state have virtually eliminated trapping
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Brad

I may try some waxed dirt next year,the dirt I use comes from a dirt pile left when the house was built.The ground where the sets are is mostly stone and rock so I haul 5 gallon buckets of dry dirt from the pile with me. LOL
The good news is that the temps are dropping back to normal so any precip that falls should be snow.
I have my best catches when the sets are covered by snow, the fox and yotes can smell the lure under a ft of snow.
 
Fun for sure.....every time you run the line it's like the anticipation of Christmas morning. Water trapping was my favorite..especially rat trapping through the ice.

I assume you have already tried Cal. Cloride (I think?) mixed with your dirt. The stuff they put in tractor tires if I remember correctly. We never did but some swore by adding it to dirt to prevent freezing.
 
Nice fox!
Back in the day, I used buckwheat hulls fro cover traps for dry land fox & coon trapping. staked & bedded the trap, covered with buckwheat hulls & then a light covering of dry dirt.
Ever try them? Wonder if the trapping supply places even still carry them??
 
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