The Trap Line By Randy Barrows
Trapping Equipment - Part 1
Now that you are licensed, you need to decide what equipment you will need for your trap line. If you are going to trap only water you will need certain items, and the same goes for land trapping. You should have in your mind what your plans are. Most trappers I know bought a few traps to get started, and slowly added to their arsenal until they owned enough to do it all. The most popular traps of today are the body grip traps, which dispatch the catch for you, to the old time favorite single long spring, double long spring, or coil spring traps. Cable snares are illegal to use in Vermont. For water trapping, body grip traps are light to carry, easy to set, and wicked efficient. These traps come in sizes from #110 to #330. For land trapping, you will need to purchase foot hold
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traps. These traps work as well as body grips, but require a little more work to set and anchor.
Once you receive your traps, you will need to prepare them. Traps should be hung outside in the elements so they will develop a coat of rust. This process should take no more
than a month depending on the weather. After the traps are rusted, they will hold their treatment much better and longer. Once the rust has
developed, you will need to clean the traps with a weak mix of lye water, usually a can of lye to four to five gallons of water will do the job. This process removes all oils and grease that are on the traps when shipped and will help them to take color better. Ashes from the woodstove boiled for ten minutes with the traps submerged will have the same effect. Once the traps are, clean, rinse them thoroughly in clear water. Next you will need to mix a pound of logwood chips per gallon of water used. It’s best to do this all outside over a fire pit. Let this mixture boil for ten to fifteen minutes and let the fire die out. Place your traps in this simmering mix and let them soak until the water cools.
June 2012
When you remove them, they should have a black color. Try not to touch the traps until they are waxed. Waxing is the next step. Place nails or small bolts between the jaws of your traps using cloth gloves. This stops the jaws from being waxed together. I use a combination of paraffin wax, beeswax and pine essence. You will need to heat the wax until it smokes and dip traps one at a time. Leave the traps in the wax a minute or two, until a nice coating is achieved. Traps should then be hung in a clean, dry, airy space, away from any smelly situation. If you don’t have time for all of this, buy preprepared trap at the trappers rendezvous. There are many variations to this process. A stroll thru internet land or many of the how to books will help you preserve your traps so they will last for year to come. Until next time keep your waders patched and your lures in the shed...see ya on the trap line. Stay tuned for part 2 next month… Randy lives in Milton, Vermont, has trapped in Vermont for 43 years, is a hunter Ed Instructor and an Advanced Trapper Instructor for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Randy and wife, Diane & their family, own and operate Arrowhead Trapping Supply. Randy is also a Vermont State Licensed Fur Dealer. They can be reached at Critrgitr@msn.com or 802-3557496, on facebook or at www.arrowheadtrappingsupply.com.
The Outdoor Gazette