10 TIPS FOR SERIOUS LONGLINERS
Large catches always fascinate trappers. Whether it is 500 mink, 2,000 raccoons, 1,000 foxes, 300 coyotes, 200 marten or 500 beavers, trappers that reach exceptionally large catches always fascinate us.
And let’s admit it — the first thing we seek to know is the how? Which set? Which bait? Which lure? Which trap size? Trap paint or logwood? What kind of snare lock? What kind of drowning system? What size cable? Wire or cable? Trigger on top or on the bottom? Longspring or coilspring? Heck, we even pay attention to the type of shovel they use, the boots they wear or the brand of truck they drive.
The truth of the matter is all this technical information is not why such large catches were made. Large catches were made because of very simple things that, albeit small, matter more than anything else. And regardless of whether it is a guy catching 100 lynx a year, 500 mink, 2,000 raccoons or 50 timber wolves, large number catches usually have these top 10 things in common.
ABUNDANCE
No other factor comes close in importance to this one. If the animals are not there, I do not care who you are, you will not catch them. If you took the best raccoon trapper you know and sent him to Alaska, his raccoon catch would plummet. If you took a 500-coyote-a-year guy from out West and sent him to northern Maine, he would struggle to reach 50.
We shy of talking about many of the most famous longliners’ methods, not
