Trapping in MD

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  • foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    Since the coyote thread turned into a trapping thread, I thought since there is interest, that there should be a seperate thread just about trapping.

    To start, here is the list of furbearers you can trap in MD:
    -red fox
    -grey fox
    -raccoon
    -possum
    -striped skunk
    -coyote
    -fisher (2 per season, must be tagged)
    -muskrat
    -mink
    -beaver
    -nutria
    -river otter (up to 10 per season, must be tagged)
    -weasel

    I've caught all but nutria, fisher, weasel, and coyote. I also used to nuisance trap, so I know how to trap groundhogs. I have extensive knowledge on trapping red fox, raccoon, mink, creek and pond living muskrats, beaver, and otter.

    The pics: 1st is 2 foxes caught in the same set. The hay set uses 2 traps, and these 2 jan lovers both hit the set at the same time. 2nd and 3rd are the same otter, 2nd pic shows what I saw on approach and shows the set location and type, 3rd is the otter after I pulled it from the water. 4th is a raccoon caught in a blind set along a culvert/bridge abuttment. 5th is a mink caught in a blind set 110 set under a root overhang along a stream edge. 6th is 5 catches out of 9 traps I had set the day before along a small section of the same creek. 7th is an early nov fox double using hay sets.
     

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    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    Thanks for the pics FoxTrapper!

    I used to do a little recreational fur trapping and in the 70s actually made some ammo money on reds. Most recently, I've only gone after problem animals when necessary.

    I've successfully trapped muskrat, nuisance beavers, raccoon and fox. Caught a grinner now and then. Not many skunks in the areas I've trapped, though I did screw up and shoot one with a .22 Hornet one time. Live trapped the coons in the old Tomahawk box traps and sold them to a local hunt club for their catch & release festivities and starting puppies.

    Only seen one fisher in my life, out in Garrett County on the edge of a hemlock thicket in about 1973.

    Mink were seldom seen and had probably been trapped out of the few water trapping areas I worked. I do see a lot more of their tracks around, but in areas where trapping would be awkward due to (illegally) free ranging pets. Otters are much more common than they used to be, but don't seem to hang around any given area long enough to target.

    Nutria...I just blast nutria and they are actually ruining a lot of good muskrat habitat.

    As I had mentioned in the other thread, I know of some spots where coyotes are becoming plentiful enough to trap, but likely too hard to hunt. I need to get a few larger traps and will likely take your advice on the MB550s. I have a few #4 double long springs I used for drowning sets, but they're too cumbersome for land trapping.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    So how do you kill the foxes? Bullet to the brain or baseball bat?
    We've always tapped them on the bridge of the nose with a stout stick, which knocks them out cleanly. Then put a foot on the ribs to prevent breathing and humanely suffocate it while it's out.

    Reckon I'd brain a coyote with my trusty .22 pistol, vs going hand-to-hand.
     

    foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    #4 dbl longsprings probably exceed the inside jaw spread regulation for land trapping( something like 5 3/4"). Interestingly enough though, the #3 softcatch has an inside spread right at about 5.5", so is legal.
     

    joemac

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2010
    1,561
    West Point Va
    I've pretty much made up my mind I'm going to get started at this, this year. I'm working a little extra to buy traps and supplies.

    I'm thinking I'm going to target grays, raccoons, muskrat, potentially a beaver and skunks. I'm fairly certain the gray fox/raccoon/skunk will come to the same set in my area. There seem to be plenty of them cruising around.

    So, if I have assumed correctly I am going to need 1.5 coil spring traps for most of it. The 110 conibear will work for muskrats. Are conibear traps allowed on land?

    Correct me if anything I say is wrong or doesn't make sense. I'm learning as I go. I'm planning on picking up some used traps.

    What does a trapper carry all his junk in while on a trap line? Is there any rule of thumb the number of traps to set in one area? I've got access to 2 bogs (that's what we've always called them, they are really just a group of trees that hold water in very wet years) that are 2-3 acres in size in the middle of a large bean field.

    Say I make a set along a stream. Is there any general rule as to how far down the next set will be or does it go by the animal sign?
     

    joemac

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2010
    1,561
    West Point Va
    Well, good news. While on the MD Fur Trappers website I see where they are having an advanced trapping education course up in Garrett County. The application says it's too late but upon talking to one of the officers they said to just show up and they will do the paperwork on the spot. Should be a good experience.
     

    foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    Excellent!

    For anything else, free free to ask me any trapping related questions when you are actually out there doing it and get into a quandry. I always give free trapping advice- and free skinning/prep demos for anyone close enough who wants to make an appt during the season. LOL I even know how to delicately remove skunk glands before skinning, but please don't come dragging any in that have already stink bombed ( I can also teach you a way to dispatch skunks where they almost never spray).

    BTW I have a bunch of traps I want to sell. I need to clean em up ( excess rust or plain dirty). There are 1.5's including the really good round jaw Montgomeries and some offset jaw Sleepy Creeks, #1 coilsprings ( good on coons), and some 110's and #55 body grips. I plain have too many traps, I'm always going to be too busy to run a long line LOL. I'll keep my #11's ( I love em!), my softcatches ( good PR), my coyote sized stuff, some 110's, my #2 victor square jaws ( great mink trap), and my bigger body grips.

    Here's a pic of my first fox I trapped. I caught her back in dec 2000 and finally mounted her up about 2 years ago. Pretty one isn't she?
     

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    joemac

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2010
    1,561
    West Point Va
    I'd be interested to hear how you dispatch skunks without them spraying. I am pretty sure it's inevitable that I'm going to catch one in my area. They are as prevalent as squirrels.

    Foxtrapper, I'm very interested in your used traps. If you could shoot me a PM with a list of traps you have and the price your looking for I most likely be prepared to make the trip up there to get them.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    Dumbest fox on record. Tried to go through what he thought was a hole in the chain link fence, but was really a #220 Connibear.:

    fox-coni01perm.jpg



    Second dumbest fox ever. Came back to the scene of the crime after digging under and taking ALL of the chickens. Found the surprise I had left for him (a nice pair of Victor #1.75 double coils):

    Fox-pest02.jpg
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    From the "Coyote Thread" (http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=42060):
    E Shell, check out the new MB550 traps. Coyote ready out of the box, but work great on foxes too- and I am told by PA coyote trappers that the 2 coil model is more than enough to hold onto a big eastern yote. If you are going to spend extra on modded bridgers, you might as well spend extra on these MB traps.
    Well, I ordered a few...we'll see if I have sense enough to grab one of those dang 'yotes with 'em. They do look like nice traps.

    We used to cut pieces of 1/2" foam to sit under the pan and keep soil from filtering. I guess that what the "Underalls" are, LOL.

    I also ordered some dye & wax. Mine was polluted from years of dust in the old garage attic. I have a little muriatic acid around to knock the grease off of them and start them rusting. Gonna have to fire up the burners and boil some traps in a few weeks. All of my old fox traps are dyed, waxed and put up in bushel baskets. Most of them still have a nail between the jaws from being waxed last time.
    Check out the retrievable cable stakes also sold by Minnesota Traplines- these will work great for coyotes and you can pull them and re-use them too. Yes PA coyote trappers told me that these particular cable stakes work great. Rockier soils 12", softer type soils 18". I'm gonna get me some for this season.
    I ordered a dozen 12" & another dozen 18". I think that I can get away with the 12" in some areas, but some spots are going to be tougher to get solid ground.

    As always, I found out more after placing the order, and it maybe something for you to consider when you buy. It seems that the cable version is a better product for softer ground, where it is easy to drive to a uniform depth. In rocky soils, a chain would be better, since any extra chain can coil "softly" under the trap, vs the rigid cable stub sticking up if you can't drive to full depth.

    Thanks for your advice. Our trapping season for land opens Nov 1 in western MD, so I'm going to try to be ready and hit them when I'm in the area for a few days at a time.
     

    foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    Sorry E shell, I think my double in the same hayset qualifies as the 2 dumbest foxes ever LOL. Backstory- farmer's wife sees 2 foxes walk that way day before, tells me about it. It was jan and mating season. I scrape up some soiled hay from another location and mix it with fresh hay, and make 2 hay sets side by side. Next day's check and I have a 2-fer, and yes, a male and a female.

    Foxes in 220's/160's
    - I twice caught foxes in them when groundhog trapping, but they both got out. Big bunch of dug up dirt with billions of fox tracks, and snapped traps and a bit of fur.

    I once caught a coon at a groundhog hole in a 160- it wasn't one of the bigger sized holes either. Had to yank the coon out, and he was pretty big.

    Weird thing that happened when nuisance fox trapping- caught a mom and a pup as a double. The landowners heard caterwauling at dusk, turns out that was when they were caught, so the husband went down to shoot them. When I came the next morning, the adult was still in the trap dead, but the pup had been yanked out and all that was left was a paw and the leg up to the shoulder blade. I asked an old fox trapper about it, and he said the other foxes ate it.

    Skunk dispatch w/out stinkies...I will post all about it soon. But here's a pic to get you thinking.
     

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    foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    I'd be interested to hear how you dispatch skunks without them spraying. I am pretty sure it's inevitable that I'm going to catch one in my area. They are as prevalent as squirrels.

    Foxtrapper, I'm very interested in your used traps. If you could shoot me a PM with a list of traps you have and the price your looking for I most likely be prepared to make the trip up there to get them.

    I have some cleaned up. Some were stored indoors and still have wax,etc. Others were on a back porch and moisture crept in but I scaled off most of the excess rust. They all need to be tested and tweaked where needed, and some need chains, and others have a trap kote on them that is peeling that you may want to remove. Then simmer dyed, and waxed. So I figure 5.00 each. Haggling will be allowed on site LOL

    1 dozen Montgomery round jaw 1.5's
    1/2 dozen Sleepy Creek offset jaw 1.5's
    2 #1 Northwoods coilsprings

    I haven't had a chance to clean up the 110's and the other stuff.
     

    joemac

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2010
    1,561
    West Point Va
    Just got back from the weekend advanced trapper class. It is well worth the $125 which includes a year membership to the MD Fur Trappers. Meals and bunk included.

    Friday night was lecture until almost 11pm. Saturday was lecture until around 9 or so then we split into groups of 6-8 and went out into the field to make sets. My group went to 2 different sections of Savage State Forest and another private farm. We got back around 3:30-4pm and then had lecture until around 10. Today we went and checked the traps. We got 2 coons, 1 skunk and 2 small beavers. The other groups got two more coons, 5 muskrats and groundhog and a small otter. The instructors then demonstrated skinning, fleshing and stretching.

    It was nearly 100% hands on. Everything from making the set to stretching. I am really glad I went. Now I can sit down and say, this is what I need and I know how to use what I'm getting because I actually got to do it in the field.

    Fox trapper we dispatched our skunk with di-methyl cetone and a kill stick. They also explained how to pull the skunk essence with a needle and put it in a bottle. The instructor didn't have it with him though so they couldn't demonstrate that. I have a pretty good idea of what is needed now though.
     

    foxtrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 11, 2007
    4,533
    Havre de Grace
    Wow that sounds like a GREAT class. And yes the skunk "poke pole" method is what I use. Great that you got to see it live and in person being done. I have a painter pole that goes to 8 feet long and use the syringe/needle that screws onto the end of the pole. I put 10cc's into the lungs and do let the skunk sniff the needle first. Once the skunk is unconcious, I will often put another 10cc's in it ( direct, not at 8 feet away LOL). I've heard of trappers who had skunks come back to life on them in the truck bed. They didn't inject enough in them, so I want to be sure the skunk is dead dead dead.

    There are 2 video/dvd's with veteran trapper Bob Wendt trapping out west, 1 is focusing on coyotes, the other bobcats. In each he has a segment about poke pole dispatch of skunks ( he used to be/or still is a DVM, so he knows how to legally get sodium pentobarbitol), and how to remove the gland package then "milk" them, and about his choice of storage bottles.
     

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