Wisconsin Trapping Season 2015-2016

Here is my photo gallery and stories from the 2015-2015 Wisconsin Trapping Season.  I am only targeting fox and coyotes, however I'll harvest any coon or skunk that happen to get in the mix too.  I'll try to update this blog as often as catches come in.  

I set a Bridger dogless #2 in broken cornstalk set, using Trapper Art's NITRO long distance call lure on the cornstalk, and Southern Snares and Supply's JUST MICE predator bait in the dirthole.  That same night, I caught a coyote that I believe was "stolen" before I got there.

So the next morning, I made the exact same set, except I moved the remake set to the outside of the first catch circle, shown above.  The urine/scent from the first catch would attract another coyote, but sometimes they are circle shy and won't step directly in the messed up area.

And, it worked.  I caught this male on the remake set.  I remade the remake set, and just moved the trap another foot outside the second catch circle. 

Update: 12/4/2015
Caught this male, probably from the same family lines, as it was the exact same trap and set as the coyote above.  2nd trap night.  Capital Punishment predator bait down a dirthole with red fox jelly urine on the backing.  MB550.

Ermine

I'm up to 5 bobcats so far this season; all caught and released..refer to my Bobcat blog post for more pictures and details of the sets.

01/11/2016:
Got my first cable restraint catch of the season today; a young male caught in a cable that hung since Christmas day, 17 nights total.  It was -26 degrees F when I started my trap check this morning.  Another nice neck catch using cables made by Brian at Southern Snares and Supply.

Red Foxes Digging Holes in a Lady's Yard-Nuisance Trapping

I got a call from a lady this summer who said she had red foxes digging up the sod in her lawn and destroying it so much that she couldn't even mow her lawn all summer, and that every morning she had to wake up early and re-roll the sod over the holes to fix it.  I chuckled a little and said, "Ma'am, I think it's probably skunks doing that, they dig up the grubs".  She said, nope, she knows they are foxes and that nobody else would believe her either.

So I went out to her residence and inspected her lawn.  I was dumbfounded.  I couldn't believe the huge areas that were ripped up; some were 8 feet in diameter and 6 inches deep.

So I set 6 traps in her lawn and baited them with various baits, urine, gland lure, etc.

The next morning, I came back to check my traps and caught THREE foxes!  I couldn't believe it.  I relocated them to my relocation spot, and kept trapping that week.  The next morning I caught another big male and relocated him as well.  I only had a few days to trap there, but I ended up relocating FOUR red foxes from her property.

I followed up with her a month later and she happily reported that she had NO MORE diggings and that the problem seemed to be solved; this year.

One of the diggings before I set traps...

The same digging after I placed 3 traps there

The first day I caught 3 foxes; these two right next to each other.

Three total on the first night!

Then this male on the second night, making 4 foxes total from this one lawn.

2015 Spring Turkey Season

Wisconsin ADC Spring Coyote Nuisance Trapping

I trapped several different farms that were having problems with depredation from nuisance coyotes including a pheasant farm and a whitetail ranch.  I made a deal with landowners that if I could catch some coyotes during the spring, they would let me come back in the fall when the fur was worth my efforts.  I was successful on every farm I trapped and hopefully helped their livestock offspring.

The first coyote I caught was a nice big male off the whitetail ranch.  Coyotes were digging under the fence and picking off dozens of fawns every year.

This second coyote was a beautiful blonde female.  I caught the coon pictured above on a scat set the night before.  So I re-bedded the coon catch circle, then put in another trap just outside the circle.  The next night, I had this female that fully committed.  Her fur was surprisingly really nice, so I actually had her tanned, April 2015.

This next male was another nuisance job where the landowner hired me as an agent to trap coyotes that were devastating his fawns, turkey populations, and beef calves.  This was the 2nd trap night that this basic dirt hole set was there, and again, fully committed.

I used a predator bait called CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, made by Brian at Southern Snares and Supply.  Click here to buy from their website.  You can see in the photo above that I only used a dab, and you get a huge jar for just $12.00!

http://www.southernsnares.com/products/capital-punishment

Another male caught using Capital Punishment down a hole with Deep Creek mink lure on the lip.  

Juvenile red fox located from pheasant farm; caught on basic dirt hole.

2015 Wisconsin Spring Turkey Season VIDEO

Removing Ear Cartilage on a Coyote