Gearing Up For The Fall Trapline

One of my favorite times of the year is going to my local trapping supply dealer and stocking up on supplies for the fall trapline.   It just so happens my local dealer held their annual trapper appreciation day today with seminars, specials on gear, clearance items, as well as lots of good fellowship among the trappers in attendance.

As I arrived I wasn’t quite sure what this trap was intended to catch.   Didn’t matter…I knew I couldn’t:  #1. Afford it; and #2. Lift it to carry on the trapline.

I’m a sucker for books.   Have I ever mentioned that in this blog…I have a book collection of outdoor books that is quite extensive.   I can never leave the dealer without adding a few more to my growing library.

Traps are another item I just can’t pass up.   There’s always something new and for that reason I just have to give the new item a try.

But the real reason I like going is for the professional trapper demonstrations.   These guys make their living laying steel and at one time or another have probably seen it all.

Over the years perhaps the one important lesson I’ve learned by comparing all the so-called experts’ techniques is that there is no single right or wrong method of doing things.   What works for one trapper doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for another.   It almost seems as though some trappers develop a technique that can be as unique as their own personality.

That’s why trapping is a sport where your methods are continually evolving.   You learn by doing…you learn by sharing strategies with others…and sometimes you learn something purely by accident, but it becomes worth repeating at other sets.

If you have no experience with the sport of trapping please realize that most trappers our deeply proud of their heritage unlike what most hunters and fishermen ever feel about their respective sport.   Seriously.   When I go trapping I can sense a connection with an activity that goes back several centuries and was around long before this country was ever founded.   I can’t say I feel the same way with most forms of hunting and fishing.   Perhaps that’s why trapping and experiencing a bond with that heritage is so meaningful to me.

2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.