Selecting the Best Locations

Successful trappers maximize their opportunity for capturing furbearers by making their cable device sets in areas of high furbearer use. They locate these areas in these two ways.

• Physical Signs: Trappers identify physical signs that furbearers are present by locating and interpreting their signs.
  • Indicators such as tracks, scat, hair, and vegetation damage are all signs that furbearers may be in the area. For some species, trappers may visually observe their presence or hear them vocalizing.
  • Successful trappers will learn to identify signs that are specific to their target species in order to maximize their chances of capturing the targeted furbearer and minimize the chance of capturing non-targets or domestic animals.
• Concentration of Furbearers: Trappers also frequently identify locations that might concentrate furbearers.
  • Specific furbearers will be found in certain areas because of their life needs, their secretive nature, or their need to move between sources of food, cover, and their mates.
  • Trappers should look for those areas that might concentrate furbearers as likely locations for their cable device sets. Locations where a concentration of furbearers might be found include:
    • Along fence lines
    • In heavy vegetation
    • In low-lying areas or where the topography changes
    • At the intersection of crops and woodlots
    • Around bodies of water with dens, dams, and flooded areas