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Post by 4fur on Nov 12, 2012 21:05:30 GMT -6
For the "new" guys in the game it may seem like there are a lot of trappers. The numbers of trappers are at near record lows of fur harvester license sold. You should have been around it the fur boom of the 80's, that is when we had trappers, hunters, spotlighters, thieves and crooks everywhere. Good point, and accurate. But the average trapper now runs so many more traps, covers a much wider area and has much better equipment and information available. I know I do anyway compared to '82 when I owned about 3 dozen non-muskrat traps, trapped out of my Ford EXP hatchback and still thought I was the second coming of Russ Carmen! ;D The were a lot more farmers back in the early 80's, too. All the ground still gets farmed, just by fewer, more efficient and driven, more specialized, better educated farmers with better equipment. Kinda like trapping IMHO.
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beavg
Active Trap Talker
Posts: 91
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Post by beavg on Nov 13, 2012 19:19:02 GMT -6
do you think with the good weather you had last year that taking that many more coon that it has somthing to do with not as many this year ?? not saying this is right just a ?
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Post by trapping24 on Nov 13, 2012 19:33:11 GMT -6
beavg i know that also has part to do with the very low coon numbers, i say this because i have a spot that i trap every year, last year with very little snow and what not i was able to keep trapping this small area all the way up to the last day of season! I took 40 coon out of one waterway in the middle of a big section of woods and this year so far i have only caught 3 coon there and their are very few tracks and no trails in the area this year!
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Post by riverbandit on Nov 13, 2012 19:59:39 GMT -6
I don't think so beavg. We have had similar winters over the past 35 years, yet none of them had pop as low as I'm seeing now.
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bucks
Hyper-Active Trap Talker
Posts: 130
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Post by bucks on Nov 13, 2012 22:02:27 GMT -6
I have shot one coon that was sick, seen a couple dead ones that were dinks. Been hearing local trappers say there are less coon. This has been one of my better years so far.I beleive with the crops being taken out so early, has some to do with where the coon are. I don't know for a fact but I think coyotes could be playing a part in it. I don't think they wouldmess with a big boar, but I bet they will rip a pup apart out in the open.
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kellogg
Hyper-Active Trap Talker
Posts: 187
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Post by kellogg on Nov 13, 2012 23:03:54 GMT -6
My catch is off pace some.......with that said I feel there are a combo of things going on. #1 it was a very dry year...#2 crops came out of the fields very early..food sources changed.....#3 ditches that held water all year have sign, ditches that have water now from our recent rains very little sign.....no food. #4 more people harvesting coon than the last several years......stretches of line have increased comp stands to reason if say 5 guys are going for the same amount of coons vs. 2 guys normally catch will be down IMO. #5 Loss of habitat around my line is unbelievable.....places where I have caught 5-8 coons are not there period. Trees are gone, ditches are filled in. My thoughts on the Fly bait are it is not the problem here as I can find all types of sign as in trails. Trails that were made after the killing frost, farmers at that time were more worried about harvest and field work than coons, so that tells me the coons have moved and I need to move and adapt as well. These are just some of my thoughts around my piece of the world
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Post by LLLTrapper on Nov 14, 2012 5:49:45 GMT -6
I agree with what you said. Having said that I would have to say the gravy is off most lines. The competition is going away sometimes crying and making excuses and the grind begins. I personally am ok with this since my guys are getting tired of skinning and not getting any time to finish them. I am also running out of room. Yes the numbers are down a little but if you are willing to work at it the best is yet to come. LLL
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Post by riverbandit on Nov 14, 2012 6:07:37 GMT -6
Thats just it kelogg, normally when the crops are out early, and the creeks are dry, and tree lines and abandoned buildings are removed, the coon flock to the river. Not this year.
Those who don't have a lot of fly bait in your area should feel VERY fortunate. Just a matter of time and you will.
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Post by 4fur on Nov 14, 2012 7:39:30 GMT -6
Good points, Kellog. Maybe the best isn't to come, Larry. I don't think I have tapped 5% of my permission ground yet. But I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not going to be very disappointed. I am accepting the fact we do not have the number of coon here as the last 3-4 years, but those were ridiculous. I am laying it on the weather; exceptionally warm in March which caused everything from mullberries to wild plums to bloom early (we had mullberries around here that were KILLED by the frost, not the berries but the trees!). And, of course, the historic drought. Nearly all coon carry the distemper virus but it doesn't manifest itself until coon become stressed, weakened and susceptible. I believe distemper went through here in July when we had absolutely zero rainfall and it was >95* nearly every day. The drought caused very limited food and water so the coon populations congregated in isolated spots and distemper was easily spread. I saw dead coon in soybean fields that I sprayed and routinely saw buzzards feed in fields too far from the road to be road kill. Coon attacked sweetcorn patches like they were starving this year. Many of the coon I caught had distemper or were in poor health. At the time, I thought all the coon calls were an indication of another huge coon crop. But in retrospect, I think these commercial gardens were food/water oasises. Would fly bait been effective around these commercial garden, silage pits, farm ponds with fish kill, etc.? You bet! But not as effective as Ma Nature's ultimate population control, which is distemper. BTW, our last historic drought was in '88 and distemper was a big problem until '92 around here.
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Post by 4fur on Nov 14, 2012 7:50:38 GMT -6
Do any of you biologist types know for sure what distemper virus coon carry? Is it canine or feline? In the early 90's I was told it was feline by a veterinarian and inoculated, relocated and released a lot of the best sows I caught alive on my line. My dad was a coon hunter and these coon were released in his favorite hunting spots. It worked but maybe not because of the distemper shots, but because these were the biggest, healthiest sows which were relocated and maybe they were just naturally immune to distemper.
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Post by jaredskillen1 on Nov 14, 2012 8:18:46 GMT -6
Has anyone else's coon catch gone down when it got cold? Cause I thought cold weather was supposed to help get them moving?
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Post by bradphillips on Nov 14, 2012 9:11:32 GMT -6
Wayne, I can't help with the canine/feline thing. But now I need to know if you gave each of those coons a Dora sticker? My three year old is home sick so I know all about the POWER of Dora.
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Post by rob on Nov 14, 2012 13:52:10 GMT -6
I noticed before the season there was far less road kill out this year compared to others. I'm betting alot of factors. More competition, drought, disease, and poison. This morning I had doubles in areas I hadn't caught a thing in since opener though.
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Post by riverbandit on Nov 14, 2012 15:23:00 GMT -6
Wayne, coon are susceptible to both feline, and canine distemper.
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Post by skunked on Nov 14, 2012 17:11:39 GMT -6
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Post by arcman on Nov 14, 2012 18:59:01 GMT -6
That article says that mink are susceptible to canine distemper as well. Has anyone seen any dead mink? Has anyone been catching any mink? Even in the few places that we have water I really haven't seen much mink sign either.
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Post by bradphillips on Nov 14, 2012 19:22:27 GMT -6
I set up a spot that looks great for rats and mink.... Little rat sign and no mink sign at all. And this is picture perfect with 100 ft grass on each side and grass all the way to the water. Bottom is a mix of some sandy, some top soil, and some gravel.
Now I can understand a lack of rats, has been few and far between around here for years, and now worse with the drought.
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Post by LLLTrapper on Nov 14, 2012 21:43:35 GMT -6
Do any of you biologist types know for sure what distemper virus coon carry? Is it canine or feline? In the early 90's I was told it was feline by a veterinarian and inoculated, relocated and released a lot of the best sows I caught alive on my line. My dad was a coon hunter and these coon were released in his favorite hunting spots. It worked but maybe not because of the distemper shots, but because these were the biggest, healthiest sows which were relocated and maybe they were just naturally immune to distemper. They can die from either Wayne. They also can carry either but are more susceptible to feline. LLL
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Post by P.E.T.A on Nov 14, 2012 21:56:21 GMT -6
why don't you guys turn in fly bait users. our game warden up here says to let him know if we know of any users he'll hang them
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cinch1
Shy Talker
Trapper second DAD FIRST
Posts: 48
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Post by cinch1 on Nov 14, 2012 22:30:48 GMT -6
I do believe that parvo can be deadly to coon also so it might be have a impact on our population. It kill dogs quickly and also affects the reproductive systems of many animals and is a highly transmittable disease. Just a thought.
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mink99
Active Trap Talker
Posts: 99
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Post by mink99 on Nov 15, 2012 21:01:56 GMT -6
Canine distemper is by far the most common and infectious distemper virus around. This is what most coons die from.
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Post by 4fur on Nov 22, 2012 19:06:30 GMT -6
OK, here is another idea which may have contributed to the coon decline. Breeding, or lack of it. I have never caught so many barren sows. I know over fed cattle won't breed. With the mild winter last year maybe some of the females were too fast to breed?
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Post by riverbandit on Nov 22, 2012 20:23:34 GMT -6
Sow on the left looks like she may have whelped real early, like late March.
One way to tell is to open the uterus and look for placental scars. You can tell if she whelped and exactly how many cubs she had.
You may be right though Wayne, but southern coon never experience cold winters and they seem to produce litters annually. Interesting?
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Post by blackhammer on Nov 23, 2012 5:58:59 GMT -6
Interesting point Wayne. Anyone who has raised fox or mink will tell you the worst thing for reproduction is to over feed the females and get them too fat.
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