How to find traps

TYPICAL TRAP SETS

A) Bait set using small animal or piece of meat suspended from tree limb.

B) Set near where animal path crosses dirt road. Also used where culverts cross under roads.

C) Traps set near where two streams or arroyos meet.

D) Trap set on trail. Sharp rocks and sticks placed on trail force animal to step on clear spot where trap is hidden.

E)    Hole dug to simulate an animal's digging. Bait or lure placed inside hole. Large

rock is sometimes placed on top to keep animal from digging after bait from above.

F)    A favorite. Trap (s) set at scent post (indicated by scratch marks left in dirt around

bush, rock, stump, etc.).

G)  Trap set under remains of campfire (usually used to trap fox).

H)   Lure or scent sprayed under cow chip or flat rock propped up with stick. This keeps rain from washing away scent.

I) Trap set at fence corner

J) Multiple sets used around dead animal (horse, cow, deer, etc.). Scent or lure also sprayed on nearby scent posts.

      K) "Cubby set. " Branches leaning on tree force animal to approach bait from one

      direction only. Illustration shows bird wing nailed to tree as bait.

      L) Trap set on slide used by muskrat, otter or beaver along streams.

     M) Trap attached to log partially submerged in stream or pond.

     N) Trap set on beaver dam.

Be suspicious of any small markers like strips of cloth, plastic flagging, or wire twist-ties that you find attached to barbed-wire fences or tree limbs alongside roads. These markers are used to sight along by trappers whose sets are back away from the road.

Experienced trappers favor trap sets near natural animal pathways like deer trails, cow paths, streambeds, fence lines, and high observation points. In desert washes they favor piles of drifted brush and small brushy islands. Where other wildlife or livestock use the paths, the trap will be set off to the side to prevent deer and cattle from ruining the set. Small clearings, holes, and bare patches of dirt on snow-covered ground are ideal for traps.

Sometimes a small piece of cloth or strip of light-colored fur will be hung above a trap to lure in the curious predator. Some trappers carry animal drop­pings and set them near the trap as an additional lure.

After a trap is buried, the surface will be restored to its normal appearance, making it difficult to spot. Use your foot inside heavy boots (not running shoes!) to probe suspicious areas like slight depressions, small clear spots surrounded by twigs and rocks (designed to make the animal step on the attractive clear ground), or around holes (any hole-animal or man-made). Many traps are set beside a "backing" like a rock, bush, clump of grass, or embankment to insure that the animal approaches the bait or scent lure from one side only.

Trap line saboteurs have also used leashed dogs and metal detectors to locate buried traps.

Where you find one trap, you will usually find more. Traps are commonly set by twos and threes within a small area. As many as ten can sometimes be found within a 100-yard radius.

Trap line saboteurs can walk or drive through suspected areas. Cross-coun­try skis can be used to quietly prowl along snowmobile paths. Consider carry­ing a white bed sheet in your pack to use as quick camouflage if you hear 81 snowmobile approach from afar.

Motorized road patrolling is best done with two people, one to remain with the car or truck as a lookout. A cheap plastic whistle can make a good warning signal. Always have a good reason to give for being in the area. Props like binoculars, cameras, bird books, and the like make it more convincing. One trap line saboteur carries a partial roll of toilet paper as a prop to explain what he's doing back in the weeds off the roadside.

Mountain bikes, or just an old clunker from the Goodwill store, provide a silent way of prowling roads while keeping an ear cocked for the sound of an approaching engine. To avoid leaving telltale tracks, ride only in the other tire tracks so that the next passing vehicle will erase signs of your passing. If you wish to stop and check an area more closely, do not ride off the road. Stop in the track, pick up your bike and carry it into the brush, stepping carefully on rocks, twigs, and clumps of grass to avoid leaving obvious footprints. Soft soled moccasins leave a minimum of footprint, and you can quickly change into boots when you've found an area likely to contain traps.

You can determine trap locations by careful surveillance of suspected trap­pers. Observe from a safe distance to see where the driver slows, stops, or uses a spotlight to observe trap locations. If the trapper checks his traps every morning, or on weekends, find an observation post on high ground and use binoculars and a note pad to chart his movements.

If you know where a trapper lives, you can piece together his route. Follow him a short distance when he goes out. Next time, pick him up again where you left off last time and follow another short distance. In this way you can gradu­ally determine his trap line route without betraying your interest.

Trappers' home addresses can be determined in many ways. Some states require the trapper to put his name and address on a plate on every trap. An inflammatory anti-trapping letter in the local newspaper may draw trappers out of the woodwork with their defensive responses. Telephone inquiries can reveal who is buying furs in your area. Sometimes these brokers will visit an area for a few days and purchase furs at a prescribed meeting point. These fur sales, and meetings of trapper clubs are good places to obtain license plate numbers for use as described in the Intelligence section of the Security chap­ter.

Also, don't ignore the fur business infrastructure. There are about 30,000 "country collectors" operating in the U.S. who buy directly from the trappers. They in turn sell to a broker or auction company. [In many small towns in the rural West, the visit of the "fur buyer" is announced in advance in the local newspaper or on community bulletin boards and is an event of major social importance.] Once you have located these smaller buyers, call them to obtain the names of the brokers or auction companies to which they sell. You could pretend to be an exclusive clothing shop owner or a clothing designer looking for a volume dealer. The "pretext" phone call is a tremendously valuable intelli­gence-gathering technique, so practice in advance to sound convincing. Also, infiltrate a fur auction or the pre-arranged gatherings where trappers sell their goods. Pretend to be a novice trapper and keep your ears and eyes open.