Variety Can Spice Your Trap Lines

When I trapped Alaska out of a ski-equipped Super Cub, I’d spot a reasonably fresh wool kill, search for a place to land and hang at least a dozen big wolf snares in the trails.

- Jack Whitman

Since a bonanza like an 800-pound moose invariably drew smaller scavengers, too, I usually hung a handful of lighter snares in out-of-the-way trails too small for the wolves. These smaller snares caught a lot of fox. A leaning pole set might yield a marten on my next pass through.

The top-dollar Arctic wolves and wolverines were always the main targets. But flying over the taiga, following the tracks of a wolf pack in the snow, I might also see an area with a plethora of snowshoe rabbit tracks and also a couple of sets of lynx tracks. If I saw a place to land safely, I might strap on the snowshoes and go hang a few lynx snares.

In my book, it pays to be ready and willing for all furbearers on the trapline. Variety truly is the spice of life.