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First Yote ever.

I'm pissed. Even though I am a rookie at trapping I made a rookie mistake that cost me my first mink. I had a pocket set baited with muskrat in the creek that I posted the picture of. I had checked it the last couple days and nothing until today. I got within 10 feet of the trap and there were mink tracks everywhere. I thought hell yeah this is gonna be good. I got to the set and noticed that the trap wasn't set off but the hole was completely dug out. WTF! Then I noticed that the 110 was completely frozen down to the ground. It was frozen down so bad that the mink had pulled the muskrat legs out between the wire triggers and the trap had never budged. I had a mink box at another location that hadn't produced anything the past few days so I moved the mink box to the location where the mink had just been. Hopefully the mink box with the muskrat bait will do the trick. I have never caught a mink and I am really wanting to connect on this one. We will see what the next few days bring. On a positive note, I guarantee this is a lesson I won't soon forget.
 
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Its all fun though!!! One of my snares that i set after my first yote after day three i noticed i didn't hook it to the fence. Real nice loop but not connected LOL!!! Could be a yote running around with a nice snare neckless with a nice copper name tag on it if i didn't notice it.
 
GoetsTalon said:
Its all fun though!!! One of my snares that i set after my first yote after day three i noticed i didn't hook it to the fence. Real nice loop but not connected LOL!!! Could be a yote running around with a nice snare neckless with a nice copper name tag on it if i didn't notice it.
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I got this on cam two weeks ago. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390361080.162274.jpg
 
WOW looks like that one broke away. Not a relaxing lock on it unless the wire just got twisted bad. Any other animal out there and i would feel sorry for it but not for that POS!!!!
 
Man. That sucks don. I read an aritcle that said when setting pocket sets with connibears in really cold weather that if u put 3 sticks between the ground and the jaws they wont freeze in. The sticks will freeze to the ground but the trap will still fire
 
Kaiser878 said:
Man. That sucks don. I read an aritcle that said when setting pocket sets with connibears in really cold weather that if u put 3 sticks between the ground and the jaws they wont freeze in. The sticks will freeze to the ground but the trap will still fire
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Yeah I never thought about that. That's what I will do next time. I hope that mink box I set yesterday does the trick. Time will tell and a lesson learned.
 
One of my 110s laid the smack down on yet another red squirrel today. I think checking my traps today was the coldest I have been this year. This cold weather is really shutting the coon down and it's not looking a whole lot better in the near future. With trapping season closing for them in a little over a week I'm afraid pickins are gonna be slim for the remainder of season.
2 yotes
28 coon
33 muskrats
7 grinners
3 red squirrels
 
Things have ground to a halt the last week of trapping. I believe the coon and all the other critters, with the exception of the yotes, have nestled down to ride the cold out. I am leaving my coon sets out until Sunday morning and pull them as I check them and call it a year for the coon. With the bitter cold forecasted for the final week of trapping season I really don't see their patterns changing. If February weather will cooperate I plan to continue to try trapping some rats and mink.
I talked to my hide tanner today and he told me my yote hide is ready to pick up. Woohoo! This is the yote I caught in November, my first yote trapped ever.
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I will make sure to post up some pics after I find the perfect spot for it in my man cave. So after checking traps in the morning and picking up my yote I have 8 coon pelts I am gonna flesh on my new beam I got from Boarhead and put them up on my stretching boards I made. Sunday I am gonna check and pull my traps and then head to a buddy of mines house to flesh another half dozen coon and the rest of my rats I have so far. A pretty busy weekend but a definite labor of love.
 
That's great on getting your first coyote pelt back and hopefully you will have many more in the future.This bitter cold will really slow the coon down Don but remember you can still get out there and snare some yotes in February along with trapping rats and mink.
 
Well I got the 8 coon hides put up like I wanted to today. That's a lot of work! I'm glad I didn't have 10 laid out. Haha.
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The second one from the right is ole "stubby". Haha
Nothing on the trap line with the exception of a lot of snow.
The guy that was tanning my yote hide is on the way to check my traps do I stopped in and got my yote pelt on the way home. It turned out really good and I found the perfect spot for it in my mancave. Now the wife wants to tan the other one I got and make a pillow out of it. :)
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Thanks guys!
I am having a blast with the trapping Rick. Hoping to do some muskrat and mink trapping in February and hopefully snare some yotes.

I'm gonna try to get some snares ordered and maybe get them out in February Brian. My wife had the lodge sign made for me when I claimed this room as my mancave. She made it official by having the sign made for me. Haha
 
Heck yeah, that's great you picked up that yote pelt, he looks great resting there!! Sucks on the mink but it's a learning lesson I'd guess with weather the way it is. I've only been with a buddy trapping mink and muskrats and it sure looks fun and can be frustrating too at times. Good luck on the other critters!!
 
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