President — Brian Mohn, 134 Fairview Road, Hamburg, PA 19526; phone: 610-562-1790; e-mail: papatrees@aol.com
Vice President East — Joel Whitehead, RR#2Box 90, Thompson, PA 18465; e-mail: JFRED@nep.net
Vice President West — Ned Weston, 120 Swope Road, West Sunbury, PA 16061; phone: 724-894-2239; e-mail: Nweston@netzero.net
Secretary — Tereasa Houtz, 300 Flint Lane, Landisburg, PA 17040; e-mail: PTASecretary@embarqmail.com
Treasurer — Chad Kijowski, P.O. Box 614 , Dayton, PA 16222; phone: 814-257-9846;
e-mail: HKijowski@yahoo.com
Editor — Russ Ford, 309 Pine Dale Road, Carlisle, PA 17013, phone: 717-249-7271, fax: 717-249-8509; e-mail: Ptaeditor@pa.net
NTA Director — David Shuttleworth, 5452 Tamarack Drive, Sharpsville, PA 16150; phone: 724-962-4260; e-mail: Dianeshutts@aol.com
FTA Director — Mark Kasten, RR2 Box 2287, Hallstead, PA 18822; phone: 570-278-2553;
e-mail: willsher@epix.net
Public Relations Director — Mike Gontor, 87 West 7th St., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229; phone: 570-325-4974; e-mail: FuFiGa@ptd.net
Membership Options:
Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
Individual membership without subscription — $10
Junior, age 16 and under without subscription — $5
Lifetime membership with subscription — $300
Lifetime membership without subscription — $100
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
PTA Treasurer
Chad Kijowski
P.O. Box 614
Dayton, PA 16222
www.patrappers.com
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Beaver season was the last chance to set any traps for this season and I wasn’t certain we were going to have a spring. Every time I was ready to go, another dumping of snow would blanket the area. You all know how much I like snow and probably are thinking why complain? I’m not; I went and had a great spring beaver trip.
I do not have a lot to report this time, but this next subject is of upmost importance to all of us. Our trapping adventures are guided by laws, ethics and morals and even when we do everything right, we could face unexpected situations. I cannot stress enough why we as trappers must follow the laws and be responsible for our actions. If we do not, the consequences could implicate all of us as trappers. In the near future, we will have an educational pamphlet on responsible trapping.
Good scouting.
— Brian Mohn
EDITOR’S REPORT
Hi to all,
Another report: Once again short as I ain’t got much to say at this time.
Hurray for this time of the year! Spring is here or will be soon. Hope all of you can get out to play in the dirt. Plant, Grow and Enjoy.
This is the time to also start planning on attending the D3 June “Get Together.”
It looks like it will be a good time for all who show up there. I look forward to being there, provided my health allows it.
Also try to attend your district’s meetings. Your attendance is always welcomed.
Until next time, TAKE CARE!
— Russ Ford
DISTRICT 1 REPORT
Hello District One. By now trapping season is over, but don’t be distressed. We have a lot going on in the district and state. Its not too early to start cleaning traps and making inventory of what you will need for next year.
Speaking of which, our PTA State Rendezvous will be at the Washington County Fairgrounds, Washington, PA. District 3 will be hosting it this year. For further information, check out the ad in the Trapper & Predator Caller, the state Web site or call Dave Eckels at 724-348-6721.
The Spring gun raffle is slated to be held April 3 at Sparrow Pond Campground and Recreational Facility. It is located north of Waterford, PA on Rt. 19. Doors will open at 3 p.m. No early admissions. Must be age 18 to attend and age 21 to consume alcohol. The first gun will be drawn around 4 p.m. Please remember, this function is what pays for our Trappers’ School. Please plan on being supportive through your attendance and volunteer time.
On April 10, District One will hold our Spring Meeting. It will be hosted by Forest County at the Community Hall on Rt. 666, in Endeavor, PA. There will be demos, dealers and great fellowship. Contact Jim Howell at 814-463-3760 for more information. Doors will open at 10 a.m. and business will conducted at Noon.
God Bless.
— Charlie Sykes
DISTRICT 2 REPORT
We had a Fur Sale on Feb. 20 at Burnt Ridge in Cowensville. We had four buyers show up for the Sale. Fur prices were good.
We are going to man a table at the 6th Annual Deer Classic on Saturday, April 24 from noon till 7 p.m. at the Happy Hunters Sportsman’s Club in Fenelton. Tickets are $10 each. It has five Guns in the raffle and all-you-can-eat (food and beverage).
Beaver season is still in as I write these notes, but with all this snow, it makes it hard to get back into set up a line.
District Events are just starting to go into high gear: getting ready for Youth Field Days, pre-work for Trapping School, working on getting coyote prints and framing. Getting items lined up for the Summer Picnic. Going to the O&D Meetings,District Meetings. And having some fun going to Banquets. 724-224-2197
— Greg
DISTRICT 3 REPORT
Hello all,
Hopefully by the time you read this, winter will be nothing but a memory. With the spring will come all of our planning for the upcoming year. Please try to attend our spring meeting, Saturday, March 27, at Paci’s Lounge in Brownsville. For any GPS users, the address is 384 Old National Pike, Brownsville, Pa. 15417. We will be planning our yearly events, as well as going over all aspects of the upcoming state convention. Meeting will start at noon. Hope to see you there. If you need directions, give me a call and I can get you some.
Our district banquet will be held on April 24, once again at the Youngwood Fire Hall. Ticket prices have stayed the same, and this event is always a great time to get out with your family and fellow trappers. We’ll have some real good food and beverages, our district awards and plenty of great prizes to be won. Ticket applications will be sent out with the spring newsletter this month. If for some reason you don’t receive your newsletter, give me a call at 724-348-6721, and I’ll make sure you get one.
‘Till next time.
— Dave Eckels
DISTRICT 5 REPORT
Another trapping season is nearly complete with beaver being the only fur left to trap in PA. I sold my fur at the District 5 sale in Bedford and did better than I had expected. I would like to thank everyone that helped out at the sale. It’s a lot of work and those that helped worked hard to make it successful. I would also like to thank the buyers as well as everyone that sold fur at the sale.
This is a good fundraiser for the district and we appreciate your participation. Thank you also to all that helped to man the booth at the Jaffa Sports Show. Following are the details from the sale:
Listed by Species, Total, Average and High
Red Fox — 701, $13.45; $17.00
Gray Fox — 317, $20.41; $27.25
Coyote — 61, $13.82; $24.75
Raccoon — 976, $15.61; $24.50
Opossum — 139, $2.82; $4
Skunk — 42; $5.05; $10; $212
Muskrat — 1375; $8.30; $10
Male Mink — 85; $14.16; $17.25
Female Mink — 39; $9.13; $10
Beaver — 120; $19.44; $27.75
Otter — 15; $45.40; $47
Deer Hides — 4; $2; $2
The spring meeting is scheduled for May 2 and I’ll have more information in the next edition. This year the trapper training school will be held Aug. 12-15 at Camp Harmony. Please mark these dates on your calendar.
An election of officers was held at the fall meeting and following is the results: Director – Harry Wade, Assistant director – Mark Vatavuk, Treasurer – Pat Wess, and Secretary
– Deborah Sedlmeyer.
Please feel free to contact Harry Wade at 814-842-9546, Pat Wess at 814-262-9455 or me with any information you would like to see in this report or any questions you might have. I can be reached at 814-686-0497 or e-mail me at bdstern@atlanticbb.net. Thanks for reading.
— Brian Stern
DISTRICT 7 REPORT
March 14 is our spring meeting. I will have a report in the next issue. Our last fur sale is April 11 at Hillsgrove, starts at 9 a.m. There is a 4 percent commission. We had a booth at the Bloomsburg Early Bird show, the Cabin Fever show at Mifflinburg and the Icebreaker show at Milton. I would like to thank everybody who helped man the booth. Also, a big thank you to Joe Mast for taking the district trailer to the shows. 570-437-2679
— Pete
DISTRICT 8 REPORT
The good news is that Russ Ford is out of the hospital and back home recovering well. Russ is getting it together. By next season, Russ should be catching opossums and chasing skunks. Russ, you might be a little slow on the trapline, but you can still punch the keyboard. We all missed you very much when you went to visit chocolate land. So, get them traps waxed and get that dry dirt out and getter done!
District 8 held our winter meeting Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010 at Tuscarora Valley Heritage Grounds, East Waterford, Pa. (Juniata County). This is the same location we will be holding our 32nd Annual Sportsmen Show Sept. 10, 11 and 12, 2010. We looked the grounds over and made plans for the show. We mapped out the building inside so we can start reserving tables for the vendors that want to reserve them ahead of time. For anyone that wants to reserve a table, they are $20 per table and there are 30 tables available inside the building. You can contact me by phone at 717-486-7573. Tailgaters will be first come first serve on Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 starting at 8 a.m. at the Tuscarora Valley Heritage Grounds, East Waterford, Pa. A tailgate space is 20 ft. x 20 ft. and costs $15 per space. There will be a $5 admission fee per person. Children under 12 years are free. Primitive camping costs $10 per site. Show opens noon on Friday and closes at noon on Sunday. There will be hunting and trapping demos on Saturday.
We are collecting items for the D-8 fundraiser auction that will be held on Saturday, Sept. 11 1 p.m. at the Tuscarora Valley Extravaganza Show. Please help support your association by donating items to sell or by attending the auction.
Upcoming Events; Jake Day April 10, 2010, at Big Spring Fish & Game (Cumberland County), Youth Field Day, May 22, 2010 at Littlestown Fish & Game (Adams County), Youth Field Day June 12, 2010 at Waynesboro Fish & Game (Franklin County), Youth Field Day June 12, 2010 at Ickesburg Sportsmen Association (Perry County, Pa.),Youth Field Day July 17, 2010 at Kreamer Sportsmen Association (Snyder County Pa.).
District 8’s next General Meeting will be May 2, 2010, at Upper Adams Fish and Game, Peach Glen, Pa. (Adams County). Directions to Upper Adams From Carlisle, Pa. take Rt.34 South 14 miles turn right at Idaville go west on Idaville-Peach Glen Road 2 miles to Peach Glen. At stop sign go straight on Coon Road for 1 ½ mile, Club house on Right.
For more info, contact me by mail at Allen Eppleman, 4232 Carlisle Road, Gardners, Pa. 17324 or phone 717-486-7573 or cell phone 717-226-9623 or e-mail aleppleman@comcast.net.
— Allen Eppleman
DISTRICT 9 REPORT
Greetings,
Hope you all are finally digging out from the snow that we “enjoyed” during late February.
Beaver season is winding down for another year. I waited until the snow and ice melted some to take advantage of the late season. Hope everyone had a great time in pursuit of old chiseltooth.
We have many events on our plate already this year. In March, we held seminars at the Springville Baptist Church Sportsmen’s banquet. This is always a good time and gives us a chance to greet the everyday sportsmen. Talking to these folks is good because it gives us an opportunity to get the general opinion about trapping and what we are doing right and what needs changing. We had a District 9 meeting on March 21 in Bradford Co., and are planning a meeting in Pike Co. in April. Also in April, Bill K. and I are going to support the Red Rock Chapter, NWTF, at their Jakes event. This annual event gives us a chance to talk to 100+ youngsters about trapping and its benefits. In May, we plan on holding a meeting at the Harford Fairgrounds.
The State Convention will be held on June 17-20 in Washington, Pa. (District 3 hosting). The Troy Fair is held in late July each year, and Bill K. is always looking for help to man the booth out there in Bradford Co. August brings the Harford Fair, which always needs quite a bit of manpower, but is a very successful PR event. Our Trapper Training School will be held on Sept. 11 and 12. If you or anyone you know is interested in helping or attending, get in touch with me or Bill K. for applications and information. Our mini-convention will be held on Sept. 18 this year at Triton Hose Co. (Tunkhannock). October finds us holding our meeting at Dave Costanzo’s house in Wayne County. All this plus the hunter ed. courses and other events that seem to pop up each year, and you can see that District 9 is very active in keeping trapping in the forefront.
District 9 held two fur sales during the 2009-2010 season. The first sale was not even worth mentioning. Very little fur was sold, and only two buyers showed interest. The results of the second sale are shown at the end of this article. Fur prices did come around later in the season, with muskrats commanding great interest. Hopefully this trend will continue into next season.
Our coyote hunt was once again a successful endeavor. We had 720 registered hunters, who killed 56 coyotes during the 21/2-day event. This is a record number of kills, showing that either there are more coyotes out there to be killed, or the hunters are honing their skills (more likely). The winning coyote weighed 47.25 pounds and was taken by Dean White of Jermyn, Pa. Congratulations to all those who took coyotes, and thank you to all those who participated. The full results can be viewed on the PTA Web site under District 9. If you would like a hard copy, e-mail me at pricee@nep.net, or call 570-679-2318, and I will get one out to you.
Finally, we would like to thank all those who helped out with events in 2009 and early 2010, and hope we can count on your help in the future. It is because we have such great members that we can support all the functions that we do.
— Ed Price
District 9 of PTA Fur Sale Results
Feb. 13, 2010, Triton Hose Company Tunkhannock Pa.
Listed by Species, Number of Pelts, Average and High
Coyote — 128; $19.53; $30
Gray Fox — 206; $22; $24
Red Fox — 284; $10.30; $15
Raccoon — 903; $9.02; $16
Muskrat — 1,164; $7.54; $8.25
Beaver — 223; $18.10; $32
Mink — 110; $11.30; $23
Opossum — 131; $2.42; $3
Skunk — 10; $4.10; $5
Bobcat — 3; $43.50; $50
Weasel — 1; $1; 1
Deer hide — 6; $4; $4
Ginseng — 9.5 lbs.; $450; $450
Castor — 10.1 lbs; $35.25; $42
75 Sellers; 4 Buyers; Gross Sales of $37,200
DISTRICT 11 REPORT
Our February meeting that was held on a Thursday night was very well attended. We covered a lot of things and I’ll try to give you the highlights. We discussed the fur sale in detail. We decided to do the fox lot and/or a ’coon lot at next year’s auction as well as the 50/50 drawing. Thank you one more time to everyone that helped make the sale a success.
We finalized some things for the state banquet that we are hosting on Sept. 18 at the Eagles Club in Lebanon. Tickets for the banquet will be $25 each or $45/couple, anyone under 16 will be $12. Tickets are available by calling me at 717-367-2637 or e-mailing spittlefam@paonline.com. This year, we are going to do a “bucket” raffle. You buy a bunch of tickets and you can put your tickets in the bucket for the prize or prizes that you would like to win. Along with the raffle, we have a special offer for you. If you call me or e-mail on or before July 15 and buy $50 worth of bucket raffle tickets, we will give you $25 worth for free. We are still in need of items for the banquet for the raffle tables and auction items. If you can get anything donated for this, it would be greatly appreciated. Ralph has a letter made up if you would like to go to a business and try to get them to donate something. Call or see Ralph for a copy of this solicitation letter.
Karen Mohn showed us just a part of the quilt she and others are putting together to auction off at the banquet. It looks great. If you would like to help with this project, there is still time, just give Karen a call.
The Gathering this year is going to be a little different than in the past. It is going to be more along the lines of a Sportsmen’s Flea Market. It will be held Saturday, May 15 starting at 8 a.m. We will be charging a $15 vendor fee for an 8-foot space. We will still do the ticket raffle of donated items as we have in the past. We will have the kitchen open throughout the day.
We are putting together a ticket for a fishing trip and several gift cards. A cousin of Ron Smith donated the fishing trip. There will be only 150 tickets and they should be available before the Gathering in May. We will draw the winners at our Aug. 1 meeting at the Millcreek Sportsmen’s Association.
Our next scheduled business meeting will be April 11 at the Schuylkill county fairgrounds at 2 p.m. Hope to see you there.
— Mike
