Alaskacajun
Active Member
I have a trapline about 175 miles North of Anchorage. Every weekend I make the 364 mile round trip to my line where I target Lynx, Marten, Ermine, Fox, Coyote, Wolf, Mink, and the occasional Otter. I generally make the commute with my best friend and trapping partner Steve.
This weekend I pulled my line due to some health issues that my wife is having. When I got done I returned to my truck and met up with Steve who was finishing up his trap check. He asked me if I would follow him to his cabin and help him retrieve some traps and an ice auger. I said "sure..."
We arrived at his cabin and as he was getting the stuff he needed I decided to "bomb around" on his lake on my snowmachine. I had made 3 or 4 passes when I noticed something black on the perfect white lake surface. I decided to go check it out and am glad I did. It was a large family of otters eating a muskrat.
Since we were there to hual out stuff I left my guns in the truck. So I went back to the cabin to see if Steve had a .22 on him. He didn't and asked me why. I told him about the otters and asked if he had a 330 conibear trap on him. He said he did, so I told him to come on....
We went back to the hole in the ice and found the otters still there coming up for air every few minutes. At first I figured there were only 2 or 3 becuase thats all I saw when I found them, but later discovered that there were more than 5 or 6.
I proceeded to chop a hole in the ice big enough for the conibear trap and Steve and I set it over the hole and waited. It didn't take long for the big Male to surface and as he stuck his head through the trigger of the trap it went off and I pulled him onto the ice. As I was giving Steve high fives and celebrating, another otter surfaced and hissed and chattered at us.
As quickly as I could I grabbed a snare from my pocket and opened the loop to fit in the hole. As the next otter surfaced I pulled like I was setting the hook on a 10 lbs bass. Out comes the otter, and Steve smacks it with a pair of 330 conibear setters (a tool).... 2 down!
Then 2 more otters surfaced through the hole and looked at us, those go under and 2 more come up in their place. That's when we realized that we had a large family of fish killers on our hands.
Since Steve was trying to get another 330 set with the setter tool and we were getting nervous that the otters would leave I threw the snare back over the hole and tried to snare another one. I caught one for a second but before I could get it on the ice it got away.
Finally Steve gets the 330 set and we throw it over the hole just in time for a 3rd and final otter to surface and get caught. After we pulled him on the ice the others resurfaced a few times then left.
It was one of the coolest things that I've ever been a part of on the trapline.
We collected our things, jumped on our snowmachines and went back to the truck. The only thing I regret is not having my gun or my camera with me. Something that will NEVER happen again!
- Clint
This weekend I pulled my line due to some health issues that my wife is having. When I got done I returned to my truck and met up with Steve who was finishing up his trap check. He asked me if I would follow him to his cabin and help him retrieve some traps and an ice auger. I said "sure..."
We arrived at his cabin and as he was getting the stuff he needed I decided to "bomb around" on his lake on my snowmachine. I had made 3 or 4 passes when I noticed something black on the perfect white lake surface. I decided to go check it out and am glad I did. It was a large family of otters eating a muskrat.
Since we were there to hual out stuff I left my guns in the truck. So I went back to the cabin to see if Steve had a .22 on him. He didn't and asked me why. I told him about the otters and asked if he had a 330 conibear trap on him. He said he did, so I told him to come on....
We went back to the hole in the ice and found the otters still there coming up for air every few minutes. At first I figured there were only 2 or 3 becuase thats all I saw when I found them, but later discovered that there were more than 5 or 6.
I proceeded to chop a hole in the ice big enough for the conibear trap and Steve and I set it over the hole and waited. It didn't take long for the big Male to surface and as he stuck his head through the trigger of the trap it went off and I pulled him onto the ice. As I was giving Steve high fives and celebrating, another otter surfaced and hissed and chattered at us.
As quickly as I could I grabbed a snare from my pocket and opened the loop to fit in the hole. As the next otter surfaced I pulled like I was setting the hook on a 10 lbs bass. Out comes the otter, and Steve smacks it with a pair of 330 conibear setters (a tool).... 2 down!
Then 2 more otters surfaced through the hole and looked at us, those go under and 2 more come up in their place. That's when we realized that we had a large family of fish killers on our hands.
Since Steve was trying to get another 330 set with the setter tool and we were getting nervous that the otters would leave I threw the snare back over the hole and tried to snare another one. I caught one for a second but before I could get it on the ice it got away.
Finally Steve gets the 330 set and we throw it over the hole just in time for a 3rd and final otter to surface and get caught. After we pulled him on the ice the others resurfaced a few times then left.
It was one of the coolest things that I've ever been a part of on the trapline.
We collected our things, jumped on our snowmachines and went back to the truck. The only thing I regret is not having my gun or my camera with me. Something that will NEVER happen again!
- Clint
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