You've Trapped Fur, Now What?

As a new trapper, you are probably very excited to catch many different furbearers in your area and contribute to the conservation and well-being of the ecosystem in your woods.  But many non-trappers, such as bowhunters, upland bird hunters, etc., have no idea on what to do with their pelts after they have trapped an animal.  You can look back in the archives for other articles on fur handling, skinning, stretching, etc.  This post will explain to you the different avenues you can take for "getting rid" of your furs.

Let's begin by reminding ourselves the different terms used for fur so we are all on the same page:

• Carcass fur:  refers to the whole animal frozen unskinned.
• Green fur: refers to the pelt after it's been skinned off the animal/carcass.
• Raw fur: refers to the process after you take green fur and flesh, stretch, and dry it out.
• Tanned fur: refers to a raw pelt that has been sent to tannery & completed the tanning process.

Now let's look at your options on what to do with your fur:

• Keep it!:  You always have the option to keep your pelts.  I personally keep my "firsts" of every furbearer that I have trapped.  If I don't choose to mount the animal full body, then I will have the pelt tanned to hang on the wall.  If you choose to keep your pelts for personal use, you MUST get them tanned, whether you do it at home or send to a professional tannery.  Untanned furs will not last over time and are prone to shedding, bugs, stink, etc.

• Local Fur Buyers:  If you choose to sell your fur to a local buyer, you will need to look ahead of time at their pick-up schedule and when they will be in your area.  Sometimes during years where the price of fur is on the decline, buyers will schedule one or two pickups only throughout the season to save on fuel costs, therefore if you miss their pickup days, you may be out of luck for this option before you know it.  Several of the most well-known buyers are Groenewold Fur Company, NAFA, Windy Ridge, Moscow Hide and Fur, and many more.  You need to know going into a fur buyer that they will need to see your furs up close for inspection, and that you will be paid according to their own opinions.  You will also lose a bit of money because a fur buyer is considered a "middle man" in the world of fur.

• Sending to Auction:  The best "bang for your buck" is to ship your raw fur directly to a big auction house.  The biggest are NAFA and Fur Harvesters.  These two auction houses hold events for fur buyers from all over the world.  Fur garment makers from France, Italy, etc., send buyers to the auctions to buy the best of the best furs that you may have trapped right in your backyard.  These furs are then made into the luxurious coats and hats that you see celebrities wearing or models on the runway-how cool is that!

• Tanning/Internet Sales:  If you are a real go-getter and have the money up front, and enjoy figuring out profits, then you can choose the option of handling your own furs and selling them to others like you.  You can send your raw fur into a professional tannery, then when you get them back 4-6 months later, you can list them online to sell at a profit.  You will need to assess what you think the pelt is worth raw, then how much you have into tanning, then come up with a price that you think is fair but you also make money on.  Tanned pelts sell well on Facebook sales groups, Craigslist, Ebay, among others.  These are also a favorite at local flea markets and farmer's markets, and people enjoying hanging them on their fireplaces, in cabins, or sending them in to be made into hats.

Coyote in a Cable Restraint

I caught this cute little female in a cable restraint this morning.  I loved all the dark markings on her and the white tip on her tail.  Unfortunately though, when I went to skin her out, I noticed her pelt smelled horrible, and she was just ridden with lice.  Her skin was oozing a foul brown juice and her hair was matted and falling out as I brushed her.  So, after trying my best to salvage her, I disposed of this carcass so no other animals could be infected.

All those little "seeds" are lice crawling in and out of the skin and mats of fur.

Beautiful Wisconsin Coyote!

 I caught a nice 34 pound Wisconsin coyote this morning.  Her fur was so thick that it took me longer than usual to skin her because I could hardly get through her thick hindquarter fur! 3rd female coyote in this same spot this season.

This is the set I used, a urine post.  I found this anthill that a big male I've name Two Toes has been using (L), and set a Duke #4 coilspring accordingly (R).  I then put both coyote and red fox urine on the grass and that's it, brushed out my tracks and left it alone.  It had nothing hit it for a few days, I refreshed the urine last night, and caught her this morning! She was running with Two Toes, for I found his track right next to hers, but he's just too smart to catch! Stay tuned...

My First Red Fox

I ventured out in single digit temperatures this Thanksgiving morning to check all my sets before the freezing rain comes tonight, and caught this beautiful female Wisconsin red fox!  

I was targeting coyotes and had not noticed any fox sign in this area, which is why she's in a #4 coilspring, but she was in good shape and will make a beautiful mount for someone!

I used Northland Animal Lures red fox urine, made by Adam at Trapper Art's Supply in Cornell, WI on a urine set that had been previously marked by a male coyote.

Here is the original urine set that I made before the catch:

My First Fisher(s)

WOW! What an awesome day!  

After waiting since August to get my fisher traps out, I finally was able to put my sets in Zone F of Wisconsin last Saturday.  This is a woods that I bowhunted and ran snares for coyotes and fox all winter.  I had regular trail cameras and snare knock-downs from all the dang fishers in this woods.  I know for a fact that there were atleast 5 different fisher in this 125 acre area.  This last spring, I called in a nice male while turkey hunting.  

Zone F	Number of applicants - 2,502 State quota - 260 Permits issued - 1,505

This little female could have been one of the two I caught, but it's impossible to tell.

This big male is the one I was hoping I would get...

So, it's only logical that I would target one of these fishers to put my tag on.  I checked all 5 sets on Sunday morning, but nothing had moved through.  A major storm system was moving through and we were expected to get anything from 12-20 inches of snow in one day, critters were on the move.  My son and I headed out to check our sets on Monday morning through a blizzard and unplowed roads.  I live about an hour from my sets because when I applied for my fisher tag, I was living in one zone, and in the summer I moved into another zone, and the DNR did not allow me to switch zones.  So I was stuck commuting an hour one way to check my sets, making a filled tag even more important.  Luckily, I didn't have a make another trip.  

My son and I checked the first 2 cubby sets but nothing.  I thought I would try both cubby sets and running pole sets using 220 conibears.  In Wisconsin, regulations state that conibears need to be either enclosed from all but one point of entry to the conibear, or atleast 5 feet above ground with no sight exposed bait.

Upon coming up to the 3rd set, I saw this nice fisher hanging there in a perfect conibear kill; a clean blow to the back of the head, you can tell by the body position and lack of struggle that the fisher never knew what hit it and died instantly!  There's nothing more rewarding to an outdoorsman that a clean, quick kill.  

So after being just over the moon happy, I tell my son that we need to go get the other two sets because we are done. So we grab the 4th one and pack it up.  Then we come up to the 5th and final set and WHAT!? Another fisher! Same perfect conibear kill, same position, and almost identical size fisher!  

I was so thrilled! I had been worried that I wouldn't fill my one tag this year with the early blizzard, but I ended up getting two animals in one night!

I caught both of them on running pole sets.  Check your regs before making this same set.  I wired a 220 to a tree that has fallen and has one end on the ground, and the other end goes nowhere.  You then wire the bait or scent right up next to the trap on the backside.  In Wisconsin, no sight-exposed bait is permitted so then you take some pine boughs or birch bark to use as a covering so predatory birds cannot get to it, and so the fisher can only enter the conibear from one direction.

Please note that this picture was taken during the set making process.  After, I put skunk gland lure on pine boughs and stack them over the bait to hide from birds and non-target catches.

Now it's unfortunate yes, that I killed more than the one fisher needed to complete my tag, but an incidental catch, as it's called, is nothing but a waste, it is given to the conversation warden in full, and they use the carcass for research and the pelt for trapper education courses and teaching experiences.  
Visit the Wisconsin Trappers' Association website.

I ended the day with two female fishers, and ended up keeping the older, bigger one.