Dinorocks 2021 Northern NY Trapping Expedition

[wolc123]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:30 AM, Fletch said:

Looking great. Love this pic!

That is a cool one.  I think I will try a tent deer hunt next September,  if they do the early antlerless season again at home in wmu 9F.  I found a perfect campsite.   I will have to use my crossbow because my stand is only 400 ft from the closest mobile home.

 

[dinorocks]

Yesterday didn’t yield any target fur…caught a blue Jay in my weasel box trap and a snowshoe hare …both released back to the wild.  I wish I had my camera when I caught the hare…they are so big compared to the cottontails I have in my neck of the woods!  This one was starting to change color like the weasel I caught last week.  I had a sprung beaver trap (coni) and it looks like a critter rolled in one of my K9 sets…sometimes the lure will make them do that…like my dog and goose poop.

I pulled a couple K9 traps from one of my spots and reset in some nearby pines as fisher/bobcat sets.

I tried some fishing in the ponds I’m camping near but had no luck…I’m assuming that the otters I saw a couple years ago feasted on them.  

I also went hunting near my camp for a couple hours in the late afternoon.  I think I jumped a deer still hunting to a spot to sit. No other deer seen. Towards the end of my hunt it started to snow…the highlight of the day was hiking back from hunting in the cold and dark to a candle lantern-lit warm tent…what a cool experience!  Dinner consisted of cheese curds, elk summer sausage, and beverage.

[dinorocks]

Today was another great day!  My first check revealed an otter…the first otter I’ve ever caught and one I was targeting (330 in a run)!  In a nearby set i thought I caught my “2-3 day muskrat”…when I got a better look it turned out to be another otter!!  Then on my last set on that line I caught an awesome looking grey fox in a fisher/bobcat set in some cedars.  I thought my luck would help me fishing but no fish after a few casts.

Nothing in my other traps but I did find a roadkill mink.  

My plans were to skin the critters and take an overnight trip to chateaugay to visit with some friends at their very remote camp.  Unfortunately they had to come home early but they did invite me over for dinner…venison backstraps, goose loins, and all the fixings!  I left with some homemade fisher call lure, dried catnip and catnip tincture to try at my bobcat sets.

Before I headed out for dinner, I went for another hunt around the camp…no deer but cool to hunt somewhere different than I’m used to.  The moon was bright!  Hoping the critters are out tonight!

 

 

[dinorocks]

…and a few from my hunt 

[rachunter]

Your really having a great trip.I'm enjoying this post a lot.

Raccoon Boners??

 

[dinorocks]

12 hours ago, rachunter said:

Your really having a great trip.I'm enjoying this post a lot.

Raccoon Boners??

 

Awesome trip!  These are baculum from all the male critters I caught…I’ll clean them up later. The raccoon penis bone or baculum and the eye teeth of the North American elk are both ivory. 

Edited November 19, 2021 by dinorocks

[WNYTRPR]

Good stuff Dino.

[BizCT]

Nice cox! First time I heard of that was in Alberta in 2008. I shot a coyote and one night for dinner the host bushman stirred by drink with this small white bone looking thing and then he told me what it was. I still have it with the yote skull.


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[Paula]

Beautiful pictures, looks like an awesome trip

[dinorocks]

Slow day on the line yesterday…very cold out and everything was froze up.  I used waxed dirt at most of my land sets so they were still working …the ones I didn’t where frozen due to the previous rains.  Re-made  a couple sets, moved a couple beaver sets, and fleshed/boarded the otter…first time I ever handled an otter… I think it turned out perfect!  I gave the other otter and one of the grey fox to the property owner to get mounted for his camp.  A couple hours before sundown I did some hunting behind my camp…no deer seen but lots of sign!

[rachunter]

10 hours ago, dinorocks said:

Awesome trip!  These are baculum from all the male critters I caught…I’ll clean them up later. The raccoon penis bone or baculum and the eye teeth of the North American elk are both ivory. 

I thought it was just the bear and coon that had the penis bone.I had a few from bear but lost them over the years.

Did you try any of the otter meat?

[Daveboone]

I just found this thread...What a great adventure, and it is great that your wife is a good sport too to enjoy it...even if it is on a limited basis, with you.

[bugsNbows]

This is the most awesome running post on this site. Wonderful for sure. Congrats.

[OldBrian]

Thank you for taking the time to make the posts about your trip. I know reception was sketchy and it took time to upload. I looked forwarded to seeing and hearing what was happening throughout your adventure. I will talk further with you about your trip when you get back. Be ready I have several questions about all kinds of things.

take care,

brian

[diplomat019]

This is one of the cooler threads.  I love keeping up on it.  I hope to do a hunt like this one day.  keep the pictures and stories rolling!
 

There was another thread a while back that reminds me of this. It was a guy who drove up to the Adirondacks and canoed to his spot. Set up a canvas tent and hunted. He actually has a YouTube channel if I’m not mistaken but I can’t remember his username here. 

[Fletch]

Robin is the one with the canoe/ tent trips. This thread, that one and the tracking pups best 3 threads!!


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[dinorocks]

Thanks for the comments and questions!

No, I didn’t try the otter…was so busy skinning and fleshing, the thought skipped my mind…next time, if I’m lucky enough to catch another!  Again, that bobcat was incredible!

Finally caught the beaver I was after!  Weighed a touch over 60# but the castoreum “sack” was not very full.

Caught some more coon but they were dinks so i released them.  Also caught another muskrat!

Edited November 20, 2021 by dinorocks

[dinorocks]

Needed to head back home a couple days earlier than I wanted for an appointment I lost track of.  Ended up breaking camp in the last few hours of daylight, in the non-stop pouring rain!  Packing in the rain was the probably the most difficult/trying part of the trip…along with driving home in my sopping wet field gear for 6 hours (and as luck would have it, the heater in my Jeep stopped working…on the drivers side…go figure!?).  

As soon as I pulled up to my garage, my wife came out to meet me …she said a fox killed a couple chickens and it was out back now.  Before I took my boots off, I grabbed my 17 caliber and shot the fox…one last fur for the trip! (While skinning it, I noticed it’s mouth was full of chicken feathers!)

I spent most of the day unpacking and cleaning up my gear.  I put my tent back up so I could wash all the mud off it and dry it …along with my dinning fly, canvas tent floor and other canvas tarps…lots of work!

i caught animals in most of my sets except for all my coyote sets at one of the farms I trapped.  I typically catch several coyotes there…I believe one of the neighbors put a serious hurting on them as part of their deer management program.

Several of the traps I had out towards the end were getting dug up (traps had an odor from the previous catch). I’ll be re-boiling and waxing them all next week before they go out again.

It was an awesome trip and I already have plans to do it again next year.  I honestly wouldn’t do much different next time other than a few little tweaks here and there…I kept a journal to reference back on next year when I start preparing.

 I’m extremely thankful I have a family that supports (and joins in with) my passions! I’m also very thankful for the people who opened their properties to me to camp, trap, and hunt!  And lastly I’m thankful for all the animals that ended up in my traps!  I tried my best skinning, fleshing, and boarding the fur and using as much of each of the animals as possible (fur, claws, skull, castor, glands, bones, beaver tails, meat, etc.).

My friend Old Brian is going to put a little video of the trip together for me…I’ll share it here when it’s finished.

 Thanks for following along…I cannot wait for 2022!!

[Splitear]

I’d imagine breaking camp is a bittersweet moment. Thanks for sharing the adventure with all of us. I know I sure enjoyed reading your posts. 

[Trappermacny]

Very nice thread Dino...congrats on the otter!  You're living life right, that's for sure.

[Team Hoyt]

Enjoyed the reading thanks

[OldBrian]

Here is a short video I put together for Dino about his trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rVaacZZ6Uc

[Pygmy]

On 11/18/2021 at 9:11 AM, rachunter said:

Your really having a great trip.I'm enjoying this post a lot.

Raccoon Boners??

 

Better known as coon peckers...