Wisconsin Trapping Season 2018-2019

This year is starting off very slow.  This first week of trapping was during the full moon, which is notorious for throwing off regular animal patterns, making the traps that I set on sign last week almost non-existent.  I'm confident though that this season will be my BEST EVER, so stay tuned.  This season, I have a fisher and an otter tag to be filled, as well as thousands of new private property to trap after December so while I may start slow, I'm hopefully I'll make up for it in the late season.  See you down the line....

My first check of the season was this nice badger in a coyote set today, 10/21.  Badgers do not have a harvesting season here in Wisconsin due to being the state mascot, but with their populations increasing and the damage that they cause to farmers, we will hopefully have them on the lottery tag system like fisher and bobcat in the near future.  This badger was released unharmed but the mess he left behind was quite a challenge to remake!

I remake the set by simply re-setting the trap in the middle of the moat, in hopes that because of the huge amount of destruction, something would investigate the center.  There are also traps outside the circle off camera in case the crater deters a shy coyote.

I caught this beautiful cat on Sat. 10/27, in the EXACT same spot that I caught my harvested bobcat last year, on EXACTLY the same date one year ago!!  This is a coyote and fox hotspot though, so I cannot pull this trap, but since I don't have a tag this season, this cat was released unharmed.  You can see in the photos that this cat's paw is held tightly in the trap but not enough to cause harm, and that he is simply held in a pair of handcuffs.  Using a sheet of plywood as a shield, I popped the trap open and he went off to kill more of the neighbor's peacocks, unfortunately.  Bobcats are abundant in WI but unfortunately it does take a long time to draw a tag, and the average person waits 6-10 years for one harvest tag, though I've heard some guys waiting 12 years.

 I filled my fisher tag this morning, 10/29, which was a pleasant surprise because I usually end up going atleast a month before I connect on fisher.  This huge dark male was caught in a 160 cage cubby with a beaver skull in the back for bait and some Apocalypse Long Call Lure by Southern Snares and Supply on the tree.  Fisher are very abundant here but you still need to draw a tag, which takes on average for my zone, 2-3 years.  

These animals are the most efficient predators in the state of Wisconsin, as evident by their strong legs, long/sharp claws, powerful jaws and sharp teeth, and their ability to hunt both on the ground and in trees.  That long tail helps keep them balanced like a monkey while they jump tree to tree raiding bird and squirrel nests and I've witnessed this hunting several times myself while out turkey hunting in the spring.

Well it only took 10 days of the season to catch a canine but I finally got a coyote in my truck!  This coyote looks small, but it was actually an old male whose teeth were dark yellow and very worn down.  He was caught in this mock den set that I made using Apocalypse call lure on some of Marble's underfur from when I brushed him this spring, that's it, nothing more!

I caught the world's largest badger this morning.  This old warrior must have been over 30 pounds; I've never actually held a dead badger to be able to weigh it since we have to release all badger in Wisconsin due to no season, however just by judging coon that I've caught, I estimated his weight.  He ruined a very good coyote set that I had on this hill but it was still a cool experience.  I released him with my plywood shield and he slowly bumbled off into the darkness.

This photo shows how quick, easy, and effective using a plywood shield is for releasing animals.  There is a hole cut out on the bottom of the wood; the track goes on one side and the animal on the other.  You can add handles or have another person hold the board, but because I'm usually by myself, I just balance the board against my shoulder as I bend down and pop the trap off quickly.

Caught this nice tom in a cable restraint.  First cabled cat, 2nd cat released for the season, and my 11th overall bobcat in my trapping lifetime.

Two days later, caught this female bobcat in a foothold. 3rd cat released this season, 12th lifetime cat. 

Getting some red fox this year, all in cable restraints so far, which is really exciting for me because I don't usually get a chance to catch alot of red fox due to bobcats, wolves, and coyotes.

And another big male bobcat today, released due to no tag. 5th bobcat this season, 13th bobcat lifetime.  You can watch the release by click this link to go to my youtube video:  Releasing a Bobcat Using a Tote

Finally caught a coyote; this female was in heat.  My dog Marbles was peeing all over every tree in the area.  This spot will be really good to catch a male in the future.

Another female in heat a couple days later.

Traps are so humane and harmless that most animals are curled up sleeping when we check traps.

Weird snub-nosed coyote, after skinning it turned out her skull had a weird underbite and she had been hit by a car in the back end, so her joints were full of infection.

Yep, you guessed it, another big bobcat.  6th bobcat this season, 14th bobcat lifetime.  Released yet again due to no tag.  Held securely in a 1x19 cable restraint made by Southern Snares.

The following pictures are stillshots from the release video.

You can watch the release video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u44UTwdqOT0&t=24s

My trapping partner Loren.  Loren is paralyzed from the chest down, but that doesn't stop him from trapping all winter.  We just make our sets so they can be checked from a vehicle.  Loren had a bobcat tag earlier in the season, but it ended Christmas day, so while he was excited to see this cat, it was bittersweet since he worked so hard to try to get one just a month earlier.  Stay tuned for a future article about his entire season and the challenges he faced.

This was actually a double catch; you can see the catch circle behind the fox.  I caught a coyote as well but the coyote was so strong that he broke the cable and set himself free.

I've always wanted a fox mount, and this big male was so beautiful, I'm going to keep him to look back on for years to come.

Another female in heat held securely in a 1x19 cable restraint made by Southern Snares.

Wisconsin Cable Restraints: The Basics

Using cable restraints in Wisconsin requires alot of studying and memorizing specific rules and regulations.  For the first couple years of using cable restraints, I suggest having your regulation book right next to you so you can be sure you aren't missing anything, and who knows, you might recognize someone on the cover this year ;)

There are many, many different cable restraint specifications that you need to know.  I will list the "basics", meaning if you came to this blog for a simple question, I'll probably answer it in this post.  For more in depth answers, check out the regs.

The first and most important tip that I can give you is that you should not be trying to make your own cable restraints if you are brand new to cables or trapping.  In Wisconsin, the laws are too strict for you to take a chance.  So I suggest buying WISCONSIN LEGAL cable restraints from a reputable cable maker.  I personally have seen some of the "big suppliers" who claim they have WI Legal cable restraints and they still have the wrong lock, or wrong length, so triple check your cables before setting them!!

The cables that I personally use can be found at here: Southern Snares & Supply, and Brian, the owner, has been working with me for many years so he is very well-versed on Wisconsin regulations and the most recent changes to cable restraints as well.

One month's catch using Southern Snares cable restraints

Here are some of the basics for Wisconsin legal cable restraints:

• Cable must be 7x7, 7x19, or 1x19.
• Cable must be 3/32 or larger.
• Cable must include a max loop stop and deer stop.
• Cable must have a relaxing reverse-bend washer lock.
• Cable must be atleast 5 feet long but no longer than 7 feet.
• Cable must have atleast ONE swivel, but more are better.
• Cable must have a breakaway device for 285 pounds or 350 pounds, your choice.
• Cable must be anchored, no drags allowed!
• Cable must not entangle in debris, so no fences, posts, etc.
• Entanglement is any rooted, wooded vegetation w/ a diameter greater than 1/2 inch.
• Some type of support wire, usually 9 ga

A basic cable set up in the field.

My set up:

Prior to the start of each season, which runs Dec. 1-Feb. 15, I will prep my cable restraints.  While still coiled up, I spray a light layer of tan spray paint over my cables.  I do not boil in baking soda.  Baking soda will rust the inner cables and I feel it weakens my cable, making them more susceptible to breaks and chewouts.  Some guys will disagree, this is just my story and I'm sticking to it.

Once dry, I take one cable restraint, add a quick link to the bottom swivel, attach a wolf fang earth anchor, add my trap tag, then put each set in a gallon ziplock freezer bag.  This keeps everything organized and you are ready to go at the start of each day.  If you find a new property, you have everything you need to set in that moment.  If you want to walk across a huge field to set 5 or 6, you only need to carry 5 or 6 gallon bags.  And dozens fit perfectly in a 5 gallon bucket.

To view me making a cable restraint set, please click on this youtube video (it was too large to load in this blog post): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hik2umcsG00

Here are some catch pictures that I wanted to show so you can visualized what the catch circle will look like.  Notice how it is HUGE compared to a foothold, and how the area is tore up and will not be reusable usually for another cable.  This circle is what you need to visualize when making your cable set.  If you have any entanglement in the catch circle, it would be an illegal set.

Here are some "before and after" pictures so you can see the original set that I made, then the catch afterwards.  You are targeting the neck when setting your cable for coyotes.  I personally make a 9 inch loop, 9 inches off the ground.  Adding a chin lift will draw their face upwards and off the trail, which helps guide them into the loop.  Note in these pictures how OBVIOUS the cables look to us, and you might think, how could a coyote ever stick it's head in there??!  But at night, these cables blend in and they go right through them without thinking a thing is wrong.

Notice in this picture, I had a previous chewout.  A chewout is when the coyote gets caught, sits down and just bites through the cable.  It happens, it doesn't do any harm to the coyote, but you check your set in the morning and see the cable bitten through, and it's a frustrating experience.  Using 7x7 cable, you are more likely to get chewouts.  Switching to 1x19 will increase your odds of holding them there until morning.

Here are a few videos that I wanted to show you what it's like to actually walk up on a caught coyote.  They are powerful animals, and because we can't use snares in Wisconsin, we have to keep them alive all night, meaning they are jumping and fighting the cable when you get there.  Having your dispatch gun loaded and ready is a good thing to do because if this cable breaks, you still could have a second or two to fire off a round.

After you catch a coyote, the cable restraint is not able to be used again.  You can salvage some parts like the swivels and support collars, but they are cheap enough that you can simply toss them.

Good luck, and if this blog helped you in any way, please feel free to comment with your success!