Effective trapline strategy is all about details and repetition.
By Cary Rideout
Working any trapline involves a long list of important items and a clear idea of how to run the operation. Even the most modest of lines will need a plan and close attention paid to the developing situations — both good and not so good. Like so many generals have said before: good strategy is the secret to any successful campaign.
Placing a second set on a promising stream is always smart strategy. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Alternate Strategic Moves
The word strategy sounds all fancy to a ’rat runner or swamp tom chaser, but it really isn’t. Time, as we all know, is mighty slim come trapping season and the way you lay out things can either add hours or rob you blind. Professionals have the days carefully planned out, check routes lined up and all of the vital in-between points set up for success. Miles matter and well-thought-out lines add sets between long stretches of driving, rather than bypassing country. A few extra catches will justify extending a trapline to the horizon every time.
Speaking of the horizon, spend a few summer evenings leaning over your topography maps. Are you working wisely or is the line operated with less consideration than it should? A critical look might reveal sections, or even whole lines, needing improvement. Humans are easy to program and once rolling in a direction, we stick with it. Don’t be afraid to reconsider your current strategy and shake things up. Maybe you’ve set an area for so many seasons you are complacent and unable to see new potential. It’s easy to fall into a routine and I’m not criticizing, as I trap in the exact same fashion for years at a time. That is, until I get shaken out of it by accident.
One of my steady producing ‘rat areas (and yes I still have rats) is a low-water swamp next to a stream. It can freeze early, so some years I am chopping ice-choked steel by the third check. Not realizing it was short-sighted, since I was so focused on the fancy fur upstream, that I was bypassing this area those first weeks of setting. Finally, one year I tried getting my ‘rat sets in early and despite being unconvinced by changing to a new strategy, I was able to work the whole area effectively.
Simple, solid strategy always produces fur. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Even with setting out 50 mixed muskrat sets I still was able to run the whole watershed in a much more productive manner. How had I not seen this before? That’s difficult to say and I’ve asked quite a few trappers who’ve had similar setting blind spots. Look your operation over and maybe there is blind spot that needs fixing.
Fresh Eyes
If you trust someone with your line, perhaps getting them out for a few scouts might pay off. A friend, even if not a trapper, can look at your routine with no prior influence. They don’t see all the many memories that you do. Everything is new and they have no baggage to crowd their minds. Walk them along on paper first, explaining your routes and then run them over the country. A trusted companion with a cold view can see the backtracking you can’t or won’t and offer alternatives. Don’t be put out by their reasoning, and take notes. But make them understand why you check as you do and don’t get combative.
Sticking with your setting strategy definitely helps after a major snowfall. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
My longtime woods partner is also the lady who lets me live indoors and has one of the most clear ways of setting up lines I’ve ever seen. She knows and understands the clock crunch I work under very well. Many times when setting up watersheds, she will point out ways to quickly connect trapping areas to avoid working backward too much. Honestly, I’m notorious for excessive backtracking and my fuel bill sure proves it some seasons. But, like she has pointed out countless times, just because you’ve always worked one way doesn’t mean a more effective way doesn’t exist.
With a sensible change in strategy, the author avoided chopping ice for muskrats. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Secretarial Experience Not Required
Pen and paper seem archaic these days with all of the photo and video recording tools at our fingertips. So why then do we fur chasers seem so adverse to keeping records of our work? Is there some notion that it takes secretarial skills to have accurate records? Pros and longliners alike keep very accurate notes, enabling them to preplan an effective strategy during the off-season. Sure, your season is strapped for time and spending a half hour scribbling the day’s events seems too much when you could be sleeping — but you’ll be glad you did. Even a few rough notes about the catch, whether expected or unexpected, successful bait used, lure and approach direction, all will be worth your effort. And yes, carefully make note of the approach direction, the direction the caught target moves if on a drag, and even the pelt size of the catch. No one likes bookwork, me especially, but if it can help with next year’s setting strategy it certainly pays.
Successful Repetition
Being able to repeat an effective action is a trait worth copying and high-numbers trappers are laser focused with no room for deviation. A big-time beaver fellow I spoke with said he had the beaver trapped before he got to the shore! Overly confident or plain truth? Well, I’ve seen his fur collection take several sacks to hold so he wasn’t bragging. Actually, I think he meant preseason scouting, understand the target and most important — confidence in his abilities made this possible This is a strategy tool we all ought to use: confidence. Be even a little uncertain of your trapping abilities and somehow or other it will cloud your steel intentions. One old-time fox man said that if you feel it won’t work — it won’t! Better to walk away and try another day, he claimed.
Smart strategy means making any site alterations, such as debris removal or widening, long before trapping season begins. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
A well-planned-out trapline strategy needs to have the locations, any subtle alterations and the best checking procedure thought out long before opening morning. Being a true-blue fan of scouting, I indulge in what many might consider an unreasonable amount of preseason rambling. All the stones, sticks and water obstructions are selected or moved weeks in advance. Even if you don’t use a certain point and decide to move the set any distance, at least you’re thoroughly familiar with the section. Time is either spent working the line into shape before or during the season, which is stealing time from yourself. By keeping this strategy I feel that hours are added to next season.
If you forget a couple tools out on the trapline, you may never see them again. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Didn’t You Just Say That?
Repeating yourself too often is frowned upon and most folks try not to. But, if you have a working set that keeps the skinning knife dull that’s worth repeating. In the fur game, we all have methods that produce in just about all situations, weathers or terrain. Woods trappers up in the North Country will run miles of iron that is a near copy of the previous year simply because it works. As a bonus, in many cases, this strategy is simple to make. Sure, a few curveballs never hurt and I like to get a little wacky myself. Probably three-quarters of my otter sets are blind, but every once in a while a watery spot just shouts bait or scent or maybe both. Those brown bombers occasionally take the temptation, especially the big loners that I like to challenge each season — the long ramblers who appear once, maybe twice. Messing around with them is enough to keep me tinkering with mink scent and salted trout baits.
Good strategy is open to alteration — and sometimes a snare is the answer. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Speaking of altering strategy, snaring is a fine example of switching up. Have a wooded section that’s giving you trouble with difficult digging? Weave a few wires in and see if that gets results. Snares can add to your success and should be reached for during those times when your confidence is being tested. The same goes for water trapping. Dive-under snares can bring the pelts in, as well. We two-legged critters can all benefit from a fresh strategic move, so be on the lookout.
Sensible Sameness
Putting the same steps into each set is bound to give you a real advantage regardless of your line. Approach, set, tidy up and move back, is kind of how to think about the operation. Keep in mind that no set is exempt from alteration at any point in its use. But for most situations, doing the same or as near as possible is smart. I’m a pretty rough fellow many times, especially as the season advances and exhaustion from running multiple lines creeps in. That’s when a sound setting strategy will keep you straight and true. Just don’t get too finicky with your iron.
Working on ground steel, this exaggerated photo shows keeping your equipment in line with your dominant hand. And yes, tools on the ground are a big no-no. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
When tired we all make silly decisions that waste time. A common offense is misplacing the setting tools or the wire snippers. Oh, I have left my share among the snow and leaves, let me tell you. To avoid this when working ground steel, I place everything to my right to allow the master hand access and not crossing over the set. At least that’s the strategy that I’m supposed to follow. Again, no setup is ever the exact copy, and I find that sooner or later I’m offside and dragging stuff across my work area. Back when I was far less encumbered with equipment, I was a shirt pocket expert, something that I will have to tell you about someday. I could literally trap out of a couple pockets and did very well. But as is human nature, I decided things could be improved, and now sometimes I feel like a pack mule with multiple shoulder bags, packsacks and buckets of stuff.
Consistent work practices are a smart strategy. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
Probably one of my worst strategy decisions, tool-wise, was the beaver clamps that I had fashioned by a welder pal. One of a kind with all sorts of supposed multifunctions, they cost me money. But they locked in place so there was no need to hold them with my knees, and they even worked as a decent club if needed. That set of scientifically designed clamps rode with me for exactly half of a season until an unexpected beaver flowage popped up and needed tending. This seemed to get me all messed up and I went at it very agitated, mostly because of not locating it on previous scouts. With the wrong attitude, the operation was very poorly handled and despite accounting for good pelts, I seemed unable to alter my strategy, almost working against myself. But worst of all, I somehow misplaced those new clamps during the final check/pickup day.
Not every strategy is complex. A few simple swipes with a spruce bough completes this set. Photo credit Lorain Ebbett Rideout.
With weather coming on hard and little daylight to search, I tramped all over the mile-long flowage, never finding the tool. It was a fine example of how a sudden obstacle can upset a strategy, as well as the need to be open to adjusting quickly.
Very few of life’s endeavors don’t benefit from sound strategy, and fur trapping is no different. While each strategy is unique, just like the methods and country trapped, it will make a world of difference come game day. Just be ready to adapt your plans and not get too out of joint like I sometimes do.
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