Jim, his Lynx and the Cabin
Canadian Trapping
October- November '97
Jim, his Lynx and the Cabin
Jim's trapline is about 4 hours north of where he lives, and we would stay until the lakes "tightened" up. The cabin that Jim built himself by sawing logs on the site, is about 16 x 16, uses small LP gas tanks for light, a Coleman stove for cooking, and a wood burner for heat. Water comes from the creek. Jim cut the logs and built his cabin by hand. There's an outside one-holer that Jim has "improved" by adding a Styrofoam seat (actually not too bad on a cold winter's night).
In the summer of '97 Jim put an addition with a big picture window on the cabin, that we jokingly referred to as the "Florida Room" which was the sleeping area where he had four built in bunks. The first cabin Jim stayed in was a plywood shed leftover from a logging operation, but he's converted it into a skinning shed now.
The Beav and the Marten
All the marten were caught with 120 Conibears in baited boxes or ground cubbies. Chunks of beaver meat are used for bait. These boxes also took weasels, squirrels and fisher and on a rare occasions, a red fox or a lynx.
Nice Marten
The main target animal is Marten. Jim also traps some Lynx, Red Fox, Fisher, Beaver, Otter, Mink, Muskrat, and a few Wolves. There is a quota system on some animals. On this trapline Jim can take 5 Lynx and he must catch at least 25 Beaver but there is no maximum. He uses conibears, snares and footholds.
My First Lynx
We trapped Beaver for the first week or so, and then things got exciting for me! I caught my first lynx in a Sterling MJ600 with about 8 feet of chain and a two-pronged drag. The ground in the area was fairly rocky with very little snow and I had a hard time tracking this cat down. He was a couple hundred yards from where I'd made the set. Luckily Jim had come along and helped me find him.
Got 'Em!
The set I caught him in was a combination dirthole set with a moose head for backing and a grouse wing for an attractor. Jim very seldom ever carries a gun, so I had to get close enough to dispatch this cat with a stick........talk about exciting, my heart was pounding!
Snared Lynx- Baaad Cat
We caught several Lynx in snares that were set in cubbies with half a beaver carcass hanging for bait. We'd find a real thick area and then cut brush and built a walk-though cubby. We'd hang one snare in the entrance and 3 or 4 others around the area. This lynx was caught by a front foot.
I quickly found out that a 30" Eastwing Axe handle is not nearly as efficient in dispatching a Lynx as a GUN :-) This cat came after me and it was touch-and-go there for awhile as to who was going to get whom.
I won!
In Canada most traplines are registered, the trapper either buys the trapping rights to a parcel of land from the Ministry of Natural Resources or from another trapper. Prices are determined by improvements (cabins, boats, traps, etc.). Each trapline has quota's that the MNR puts on individual animals. For instance, Jim must catch at least 25 beaver, but he can't catch more than 5 Lynx. The quota's are to help control the animal populations. The trapline is his until he decides to sell it. He owns his trapline and it encompasses about 38 square miles.
A Few Marten
A large portion of the marten line was run by boat with the marten boxes set along the shoreline. Jim ran the water line while I tended the land line. Jim made a comment while we were trapping beaver on the big lake, that no survival gear was really needed other than a piece of wire to secure your body to the boat so it could be found in the Spring . The water was so cold and we were so far from civilization that if we had gone in the water, even if we got out again, we'd have died of exposure.
Which seemed like a pretty good reason for me to run the land line <Grin>
Land Line - A Day's Catch
I ran the land line using my pickup truck and an ATV. The snowmachine was used after the lakes froze up and we got more snow. Riding double on a snowmachine is not my favorite past time however.
Isn't this what I bought a new 4x4 for?
What I really wanted to do was to catch a Wolf, but it was not to be. Jim later found one caught in a snare I'd put out, but it was after I left, so I can't really take credit for it. I do have the tanned hide to prove it though :-)
Diary Entry: "Time is a thing of the past here in the bush. One day leads into the next and there are no pressures. I have completely forgotten about my job of 35 years. I wrote my wife's name on the wall by my bunk so I wouldn't forget it (just kidding Pam). It's a strange feeling, you just seem to forget about everything and your mind is blank. It's hard to explain but it's a great feeling. "
I'll be back again another year ..............
