David G Duncan
10-18-2007, 06:57 AM
Here is a letter I sent to my parents about trapping. They were retired living in Florida and always enjoyed getting a letter from their son about his trapping adventures. I hope you might also enjoy reading this letter.
Dear Ma and Dad,
The winter of 1979 – 1980 will be one to remember, not for its severity, but for the moderate temperatures and lack of snow here in northern Michigan.
This was also the season when a father looked over his shoulder to see a young man, whom he so long had viewed as a boy, now following his father through the woods. The rewards of being out on a deer hunt or exploring new trapping grounds are all magnified to a new level, when your son is sharing in these adventures. Now, I fully appreciate how you must have felt when I first accompanied on our week long tent deer camp, way back in 1958.
My son Jeff and I were not able to share the experience of a true old time deer camp, but we did spend a couple of days of rifle hunting in a remote area along the banks of the Manistee River, which coincidently was along the same river where first took me deer hunting.
We took home no meat from our two day hunt, but when you are in the woods with your son success doing what you truly enjoy; success is not measured by whether you bag your deer.
We hunted along the edge of a cedar swamp. A strip of excellent deer cover bordered the swamp. Medium sized balsam, mixed with poplar slashing and old rotting white pine stumps let by some long ago lumberjacks, literally shouted whitetail deer. You taught me well how to identify a good location for a deer stand.
We did see deer, but unfortunately none of them sported any antlers and without a doe permit, we had no option but to let them go.
After deer season closed we took Jeff’s young dog Luke out in this same area to do some partridge hunting. Luke is a lab mix and did show some good signs of become a good bird dog. Got some shooting, but neither of us hit our mark. So the game bag was empty, but our spirits were still high for enjoying a great outing is these beautiful woods.
Since I am first and foremost a trapper at heart, it was not long before we left the upland cover and made our way to the river bank, to do some exploring for fresh beaver sign.
As we made our way toward the river, we noticed that Luke was poking around at something buried in the snow. It turned out to be a dead deer that Red Fox had been eating on. (Later in the winter we did catch a couple of cherry red fox near this location, which were sold at a premium price.)
As we approached the river I noticed some movement in a bayou and soon made out the form of two otters swimming is some open water. With Luke crashing through the brush it was not long before the otter disappeared from sight.
Since I was wearing my trusty hip boots, it was also not long before I had waded in the shallow water of this bayou. Soon, I had found an excellent spot to set for these otter in a beaver channel that had been dug across a narrow strip of land that separated the bayou from the main river.
This peaked Jeff’s interest in trapping and we started to plan a father / son winter beaver trapping adventure.
Since I had flown over this area in our small single engine plane earlier in the fall, I had a good idea where to find some beaver colonies. So, we started our winter beaver trap line at a remote location at the end of a two track. This was new country to us, but after a short walk we broke out onto a large beaver flooding.
We each were carried three 330 conibears in our packs as we made our way on the ice down to the dam. From years of experience I have developed a sixth sense about where to walk on the sometimes weak ice of a beaver pond.
Unfortunately, Jeff is still learning, because he fell through the ice and filled his hip boots. I know you taught be on the many ice fishing outings you took me on, to avoid walking on ice that has a light snow covering, when there is bare ice all around. Well, I guess I failed to pass this bit of wisdom down to my son, because this was the type of spot that he had found to fall through. All Jeff could say as he dumped the water out of his boots was, “Now you tell me!”
There was an extra large beaver lodge near the dam. No ice had formed near the lodge for a distance of 20 feet, due to the activity of what appeared to be sizable colony of at least 10 beaver. Another interesting feature of this beaver pond was a strip of open water that extended from the lodge toward the west side of the pond for a distance of least 40 yards.
The beaver were swimming on the surface toward an area where they at done some logging before the pond had frozen. It was unusual to see a strip of open water like that, because beaver normally travel along the bottom and only leave a stream of bubbles under the ice to alert you to their travel ways.
We set our several of our conibears in well worn runs that cut through areas of thick cattails. There was also a lot of muskrat sign, so we made note to bring some 110 conibears with us on our next trip into this pond.
During our exploration of this beaver pond, we noted several other visitors, beside us. A bobcat had made his way out of a jack pine thicket to the southeast side of the pond and proceeded across the ice toward the beaver lodge. We hoped that our efforts to catch a beaver would prove more successful than Mr. Bobcat’s attempts to add a beaver to his winter diet. But his presence did add a distinct flavor of an old time remote trap line to our adventure.
Red Fox tracks also skirted the pond weaving in and out among the muskrat houses. It is amazing how fresh ice on a marsh acts just like a magnet, drawing all the predator to venture out on thin ice to try their luck at picking up a potential meal. As we guild easily over the ice exploring every nock and cranny of the pond, we also appreciate the freedom that winter ice brings to travel across this marshy landscape.
We found a small beaver lodge that must have been abandoned a couple of years earlier, with its top pretty much flattened down. There was some thin ice and a heavy concentration of bubbles leading from this lodge, so we knew that muskrats and possibly beaver were still making regular visits to this old lodge. Mr. Bobcat also had found this old lodge and had left his tracks in the snow on top of this pile of sticks.
We were finding quite a few muskrat houses and pushups as we made our way upstream on the pond into the marshy cattail habitat. And at the extreme northern edge of the pond we discovered another small beaver lodge. It was a little surprising to find this lodge in an area where the water was a best only 3’ deep.
We did set this small beaver lodge, but only caught muskrats and no beaver from this location on the pond. Apparently the beaver had thought better of locating their lodge in this area, because there small damning operation at this site did not raise the water enough.
The first beaver we caught on this pond was a big disappointment. The active runway through the cattails down near the main dam produced a very puzzling addition to our collection of furs.
Chopping away the thin ice above the 330 conibear and slipping my axe into the opening I could feel something bulky. If the trap had not been sprung, there will be a very metallic click sound as the axe taps the top of the conibear, indicating the trap is still set.
Jeff had the honor of retrieving the first beaver from under the ice. The use of shoulder length rubber gloves made this task a lot more enjoyable. The disappointment came as we examined this super blanket beaver back and discovered it at a large bare or rubbed spot. This was a very old beaver and it probably was likely living a lone in the old fallen down beaver lodge. It is doubtful that it would have made it through the winter.
We did catch five large and extra large beaver from the main lodge, before pulling our traps to leave some seed for next year.
Another area we set for beaver was even more remote and consisted of several large dams. Again we carefully made our way across the frozen ponds and enjoyed reading the tracks left by a family of coyotes on the snow covered ice, as they clearly were engaging in a game of tag.
We traveled slowly and quietly, taking close account of everything we encounter. Because every trip into an even familiar location will yield new knowledge of what is taking place on and below the ice of a beaver pond. Every change in the weather produces different ice conditions that can make it sometimes easier to find a beaver run that you walk right over on your previous trip. A light rain can make the ice almost transparent, in some cases.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/Bait_for_Beaver.jpg
The snow was falling lightly as we put the finishing touches on a baited pole set using a 330 conibear. We still had a couple of conibears left to set, so we headed upstream into a thick tangle of dead and dying cedars. Some distance off our line of travel I detected a slight disturbance in the snow. So we investigated. In the fresh snow we found otter tracks. There was a hole in the ice under root system of a blown over cedar tree. Jeff crawled inside this cave-like tangle of roots to have a look around. He soon discovered a runway leading to this secret hideout of the beavers and otters. This find produced both beaver and otter on future visits.
In fact, we caught a sixty pound beaver at this location. We both caught our otters and put 24 beaver on the boards during this winter beaver trapping adventure, so we were a happy father and son trapping team, who got to enjoy a lot of quality time in the great out of doors.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/520/medium/Jeff_Packing_Super_Blanket_Beaver.jpg
Even thou Jeff never continued to participate in trapping, I know that he has a special place in his heart for the wild and demanding life of a trapper. In fact he is already telling his young son of 2 years, that some day he will have to go on the trap line with grandpa, when he comes for a visit to Michigan.
Dear Ma and Dad,
The winter of 1979 – 1980 will be one to remember, not for its severity, but for the moderate temperatures and lack of snow here in northern Michigan.
This was also the season when a father looked over his shoulder to see a young man, whom he so long had viewed as a boy, now following his father through the woods. The rewards of being out on a deer hunt or exploring new trapping grounds are all magnified to a new level, when your son is sharing in these adventures. Now, I fully appreciate how you must have felt when I first accompanied on our week long tent deer camp, way back in 1958.
My son Jeff and I were not able to share the experience of a true old time deer camp, but we did spend a couple of days of rifle hunting in a remote area along the banks of the Manistee River, which coincidently was along the same river where first took me deer hunting.
We took home no meat from our two day hunt, but when you are in the woods with your son success doing what you truly enjoy; success is not measured by whether you bag your deer.
We hunted along the edge of a cedar swamp. A strip of excellent deer cover bordered the swamp. Medium sized balsam, mixed with poplar slashing and old rotting white pine stumps let by some long ago lumberjacks, literally shouted whitetail deer. You taught me well how to identify a good location for a deer stand.
We did see deer, but unfortunately none of them sported any antlers and without a doe permit, we had no option but to let them go.
After deer season closed we took Jeff’s young dog Luke out in this same area to do some partridge hunting. Luke is a lab mix and did show some good signs of become a good bird dog. Got some shooting, but neither of us hit our mark. So the game bag was empty, but our spirits were still high for enjoying a great outing is these beautiful woods.
Since I am first and foremost a trapper at heart, it was not long before we left the upland cover and made our way to the river bank, to do some exploring for fresh beaver sign.
As we made our way toward the river, we noticed that Luke was poking around at something buried in the snow. It turned out to be a dead deer that Red Fox had been eating on. (Later in the winter we did catch a couple of cherry red fox near this location, which were sold at a premium price.)
As we approached the river I noticed some movement in a bayou and soon made out the form of two otters swimming is some open water. With Luke crashing through the brush it was not long before the otter disappeared from sight.
Since I was wearing my trusty hip boots, it was also not long before I had waded in the shallow water of this bayou. Soon, I had found an excellent spot to set for these otter in a beaver channel that had been dug across a narrow strip of land that separated the bayou from the main river.
This peaked Jeff’s interest in trapping and we started to plan a father / son winter beaver trapping adventure.
Since I had flown over this area in our small single engine plane earlier in the fall, I had a good idea where to find some beaver colonies. So, we started our winter beaver trap line at a remote location at the end of a two track. This was new country to us, but after a short walk we broke out onto a large beaver flooding.
We each were carried three 330 conibears in our packs as we made our way on the ice down to the dam. From years of experience I have developed a sixth sense about where to walk on the sometimes weak ice of a beaver pond.
Unfortunately, Jeff is still learning, because he fell through the ice and filled his hip boots. I know you taught be on the many ice fishing outings you took me on, to avoid walking on ice that has a light snow covering, when there is bare ice all around. Well, I guess I failed to pass this bit of wisdom down to my son, because this was the type of spot that he had found to fall through. All Jeff could say as he dumped the water out of his boots was, “Now you tell me!”
There was an extra large beaver lodge near the dam. No ice had formed near the lodge for a distance of 20 feet, due to the activity of what appeared to be sizable colony of at least 10 beaver. Another interesting feature of this beaver pond was a strip of open water that extended from the lodge toward the west side of the pond for a distance of least 40 yards.
The beaver were swimming on the surface toward an area where they at done some logging before the pond had frozen. It was unusual to see a strip of open water like that, because beaver normally travel along the bottom and only leave a stream of bubbles under the ice to alert you to their travel ways.
We set our several of our conibears in well worn runs that cut through areas of thick cattails. There was also a lot of muskrat sign, so we made note to bring some 110 conibears with us on our next trip into this pond.
During our exploration of this beaver pond, we noted several other visitors, beside us. A bobcat had made his way out of a jack pine thicket to the southeast side of the pond and proceeded across the ice toward the beaver lodge. We hoped that our efforts to catch a beaver would prove more successful than Mr. Bobcat’s attempts to add a beaver to his winter diet. But his presence did add a distinct flavor of an old time remote trap line to our adventure.
Red Fox tracks also skirted the pond weaving in and out among the muskrat houses. It is amazing how fresh ice on a marsh acts just like a magnet, drawing all the predator to venture out on thin ice to try their luck at picking up a potential meal. As we guild easily over the ice exploring every nock and cranny of the pond, we also appreciate the freedom that winter ice brings to travel across this marshy landscape.
We found a small beaver lodge that must have been abandoned a couple of years earlier, with its top pretty much flattened down. There was some thin ice and a heavy concentration of bubbles leading from this lodge, so we knew that muskrats and possibly beaver were still making regular visits to this old lodge. Mr. Bobcat also had found this old lodge and had left his tracks in the snow on top of this pile of sticks.
We were finding quite a few muskrat houses and pushups as we made our way upstream on the pond into the marshy cattail habitat. And at the extreme northern edge of the pond we discovered another small beaver lodge. It was a little surprising to find this lodge in an area where the water was a best only 3’ deep.
We did set this small beaver lodge, but only caught muskrats and no beaver from this location on the pond. Apparently the beaver had thought better of locating their lodge in this area, because there small damning operation at this site did not raise the water enough.
The first beaver we caught on this pond was a big disappointment. The active runway through the cattails down near the main dam produced a very puzzling addition to our collection of furs.
Chopping away the thin ice above the 330 conibear and slipping my axe into the opening I could feel something bulky. If the trap had not been sprung, there will be a very metallic click sound as the axe taps the top of the conibear, indicating the trap is still set.
Jeff had the honor of retrieving the first beaver from under the ice. The use of shoulder length rubber gloves made this task a lot more enjoyable. The disappointment came as we examined this super blanket beaver back and discovered it at a large bare or rubbed spot. This was a very old beaver and it probably was likely living a lone in the old fallen down beaver lodge. It is doubtful that it would have made it through the winter.
We did catch five large and extra large beaver from the main lodge, before pulling our traps to leave some seed for next year.
Another area we set for beaver was even more remote and consisted of several large dams. Again we carefully made our way across the frozen ponds and enjoyed reading the tracks left by a family of coyotes on the snow covered ice, as they clearly were engaging in a game of tag.
We traveled slowly and quietly, taking close account of everything we encounter. Because every trip into an even familiar location will yield new knowledge of what is taking place on and below the ice of a beaver pond. Every change in the weather produces different ice conditions that can make it sometimes easier to find a beaver run that you walk right over on your previous trip. A light rain can make the ice almost transparent, in some cases.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/Bait_for_Beaver.jpg
The snow was falling lightly as we put the finishing touches on a baited pole set using a 330 conibear. We still had a couple of conibears left to set, so we headed upstream into a thick tangle of dead and dying cedars. Some distance off our line of travel I detected a slight disturbance in the snow. So we investigated. In the fresh snow we found otter tracks. There was a hole in the ice under root system of a blown over cedar tree. Jeff crawled inside this cave-like tangle of roots to have a look around. He soon discovered a runway leading to this secret hideout of the beavers and otters. This find produced both beaver and otter on future visits.
In fact, we caught a sixty pound beaver at this location. We both caught our otters and put 24 beaver on the boards during this winter beaver trapping adventure, so we were a happy father and son trapping team, who got to enjoy a lot of quality time in the great out of doors.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/520/medium/Jeff_Packing_Super_Blanket_Beaver.jpg
Even thou Jeff never continued to participate in trapping, I know that he has a special place in his heart for the wild and demanding life of a trapper. In fact he is already telling his young son of 2 years, that some day he will have to go on the trap line with grandpa, when he comes for a visit to Michigan.