Trapping is mostly a labor of love to its adherents, but it’s a good way to get outdoors between hunting seasons while helping local deer and turkey populations. (Shutterstock photo)
February 04, 2025
By Gerry Bethge
Longtime deer and turkey hunting buddies Tony Williams, 57, a retired engineer, and Mark Wenke, 72, a retired forester, decided a few years ago to get back to their trapping roots. Both Cuba, N.Y., natives worked traplines in their teens and 20s to pick up a few extra bucks.
Nowadays, they’re more focused on post-deer season winter recreation and predator control to help the area’s turkey population, which has been under the gun in recent years.
The pair run an 80-mile trapline in western New York, and according to state regulations, they must check their 50-plus traps daily. Unlike in the romanticized days of trapping’s past, when outdoorsmen would strap on their snowshoes and trudge out into the woods, modern-day trapping is more of a pickup truck-based venture involving burning a lot of gas between various farms to check if the traps have caught any critters or otherwise need to be reset.
“One thing I can tell you,” says Williams, “is that we’re not in this for the money. There’s no doubt that it’s a grind that impacts our deer hunting. We typically hunt deer for a few hours in the morning, then meet up to run the line.”
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Once deer season ends, it’s all trapping all the time until the end of beaver season in April.
“Wenke and I are pretty sick of each other by that point. But then it’s time to scout turkeys, and we get revved up again,” Williams says. “There’s certainly not a lot of family time mixed in there.”
THE TALLY By most trapping standards, Williams and Wenke had a solid season last year. The duo took 39 foxes, 9 coyotes, 8 racoons, 40 muskrats, 2 minks, 21 beavers, 5 possums, 3 skunks and several fishers.
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Once they’ve collected their critters, the time comes to skin them—a process that often takes hours.
“Most stuff goes pretty quickly, but coyotes are a complete pain,” says Wenke. “Their hide is thicker and they’re just tough to skin.”
The skinned hides are individually sealed in zippered plastic bags and stored in the freezer until later in winter when they can be fleshed on a wooden fleshing beam. With a fleshing knife, the hides are scraped of any residual meat and tumbled in a tote filled with Borax. Once treated, they are hung up in front of fans to dry for several days. Once sufficiently dried, they can be brushed and combed to rid the fur of any leaves and dirt. The process takes much time and dedication.
Creating a stable bed for the trap is crucial for camouflaging the trap set. (Shutterstock photo) “In all, we got $2,025 for those furs [last season],” says Williams. “Subtract gas, vehicle wear and tear—and there’s lots of that—and our time, I think we each made a nickel.”
Neither Williams nor Wenke would change a thing, though.
“Hey, you’re out in the woods in winter when there’s nothing else going on,” says Wenke. “What could be wrong with that?”
THE SETS There are likely many dozens of variations on the simple dirt hole trapping set. Williams and Wenke, however, rely on the basics, including the use of MB-550 leghold traps. Scent control is first and foremost on their list.
“Each season, we clean and wax our traps,” says Williams. “We wash them thoroughly and then let them hang up outside for a couple of days. When setting a trap, I use a trowel to dig a hole 3 to 4 inches in diameter approximately 8 to 10 inches deep at an angle. I put the dirt from the hole in my sifter for covering the trap later.”
The bedded trap is place in front of the bait hole.
“The bedding is all important,” says Wenke. “Your trap can’t wobble where it’s set. If it does, coyotes will recognize it instantly and you’ll likely never see them again. Pack the dirt around the trap so that it doesn’t move.”
With a dirt sifter, Williams and Wenke cover the trap with forest-floor debris so that it blends in as well as possible.
“We’ll use a food or curiosity lure for bait and then spray the trap area with a curiosity scent,” says Williams. “Mostly it’s fox or coyote urine. The hope is that approaching animals won’t catch on to our game.”
LOCATION POINTERS In many respects, identifying a good trapping location is no different than trying to find a deer-hunting hotspot. Funnels and pinch points are natural travel routes that will move predators toward your traps. Once they get a whiff of the bait, they’ll often gravitate to it.
If traps are set in an open area where no road or trail exists, they should be placed northwest of the animal’s anticipated approach. The trap must be downwind from the lure.
“We also like to trap places like cornfield edges,” says Wenke. “Both foxes and coyotes seem to roam here regularly. We’re hoping that if they smell either the bait or curiosity scent, they’ll come in.”
Select the spot or spots where the bait hole or scent post will be most visible. Be sure the animal’s approach will be unimpeded and as noise-free as possible with no heavy cover near the spot. It’s critical that the set looks natural.
Obtaining permission to trap on private land is often easier than you might think. Many landowners appreciate the help in ridding their properties of nuisance animals. (Photo courtesy of Tony Williams) “We often use guide sticks to try and funnel the predators to the traps,” says Williams. “Scent control is also something that we bear very much in mind. Rubber boots are a must and we also use rubber gloves to help keep our scent to a minimum.
“In winter, both foxes and coyotes are likely on the hunt for mice, so it’s worth keeping that in mind as well. Recognizing travel routes is all important. Foxes have a small home territory and will typically use the same travel routes several times a week. Coyotes have a larger home territory and may not return for quite a while. How that plays into a trap-setting strategy, I don’t really know, but it’s just something that’s worth remembering.”
GONE FISHER-ING In New York, catching a fisher is the trapper’s equivalent to shooting a Pope-and-Young buck. When you get one, it’s cause for celebration.
“The season is relatively short—fivedays,” says Williams. “So, we try to make the most of it.”
The traps are curious but can best be described as box traps. Food bait—usually squirrel, venison or beaver—is placed far back in the box with a trap positioned in front. The theory—and the hope of the trappers—is that fishers will smell the bait at the back of the trap and then try to enter it.
“We were fortunate to take a few last season,” says Wenke. “It’s not an easy deal. They’re pretty smart and know how to avoid a trap.”
BEAVER FEVER Once the general trapping season closes in February, Williams and Wenke turn their attention to beavers, the season for which remains open until early April.
“Yeah, that’s a totally different ballgame,” says Wenke. “We’ve got tons of beavers and it’s getting close to turkey season. It’s a grind, but we absolutely love it. You can sleep when you’re dead.”
In spring, beavers will leave their scent in their territory by working castor mounds, which basically look like grass piles. Nearby chewed-upon willows are another clue.
“It’s really not that tough to find beavers these days,” says Wenke. “They’re pretty much everywhere—and most landowners don’t really like them. Their dams flood their roads and they’re pretty much a nuisance. We did pretty good on them last season with a few muskrats and minks mixed in.
“We primarily do water sets. Again, there are so many beavers here in western New York that finding a spot is not an issue. What we’re looking for when scouting are beaver runs, which often go from lodges to food sources. We use 330 conibears and set them up in the water near or on their runs.”
PERMISSIONS In an era in which hunting and trapping are seemingly under increasing pressure, Williams and Wenke have successfully gained trapping permission on hundreds of acres of private land.
“You know, it’s interesting to me,” says Williams. “We’ve really not had much difficulty in gaining permission. Most landowners ask that we stay off their land until deer season ends—which I get—but after that it’s fine. They’ve seen far too many coyotes on their properties, and they’re done with it. They don’t want coyotes on their land, and neither do we.”
“Bottom line,” says Wenke, “we’ll keep doing this until we can’t get around anymore. That’s just the way it is.”
WHAT TO DO WITH THE FUR? How to turn hides into cold, hard cash. Photo courtesy of Tony Williams If you’re fortunate enough to catch some critters, the first thing you need to do is skin them, clean the hides and freeze them in sealed plastic bags. After that? Well, years ago you would simply take them to the local fur auction and hope to get a good price for your hard work. However, it’s not that simple anymore. Fur buyers are fewer and farther between. So, what’s a trapper to do?
The best advice is to contact your state’s trapper’s association. In New York, for example, the New York State Trapper’s Association (nystrappers.org ) is where to start. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Trappers Association (patrappers.com ) can help you out. Vermont trappers can reach out to the Vermont Trappers Association (vttrappers.com ). Almost all states in the East have similar trapping groups who can help you sell furs.
This article was featured in the December/Janaury 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .