Folks, I’ve decided to try my hand at trapping fur-bearers! Mostly, I’m aiming at the coyote population since their numbers are outrageous in my area.
Prices on coyote fur are decent. A good pelt will bring in about $40 these days. I am also playing around with the idea of trying for some bobcat since their pelts bring well over $300 each but I’m not too sure of that path yet.
In preparation for my new venture, I bought my trapping license and studied all two pages of the exhaustively explained regulations on the Nevada Department of Wildlife web site…ummmm…yeah.
On that website, you’ll notice that traps can be baited but the bait can not be exposed…They kind of neglect to describe what “exposed” means.
Also on the website is mention that if you take bobcat, you have to keep the lower jaw and the tag placed on the lower jaw has to match the tag placed on the pelt and that the pelts have to be “sealed”. No mention of what these “tags” consist of, where to get them, or anything else but ya gotta have em! Oh, and no mention of where or how to get your pelts “sealed”.
It became quite obvious that it would be very easy to become afoul of the law through ignorance or misconception if all one did was to go by what was on the official NDOW website or in the printed materials!
That’s OK! The NDOW has offices located in several places and those offices have phone numbers!
I called the Reno office and was referred to a Game Warden. Had to leave a message but he called me back and was very willing to explain it all!
So, I now know that “exposed bait” means any bait that can be seen. It’s OK to put bait down a hole in the ground and put a cover over it but, if some critter digs it up, it would then be exposed and the trapper who was using it would be in violation of the law! The exception is with cage type traps, you can have exposed bait in those.
He also told me that no portion of a protected species or game animal can be used as bait but that unprotected animals could be used as bait. That means, if I go out and kill or catch a blacktail jackrabbit, it can be used as bait as long as I don’t use it in a way that it can be seen.
I asked about visual lures to attract the critter’s attention. As long as the “lure” isn’t any kind of actual animal part, it’s all good! Fake fur? No problem! Fake feathers? No problem! Piece of white plastic? Certainly no problem!
How about all those scent products like coyote urine or fish oil? Use all ya want! Even put it on a piece of cotton and attach it to a limb or bush if that’s what you want to do! Heck, pour a whole bottle of it down the hole in your “dirt hole” trap set if that’s how you want to roll!
I went on to the issue of those “tags” for bobcat. It seems that you need to get those from NDOW and that any NDOW office should have some in stock! The tags give you a place to record vital info like gender of the kitty, where you trapped it, and what date you trapped it on.
So, I now have my major questions answered. Too bad that NDOW didn’t put those explanations in the material available to hunters and trappers in printed form or on their website.
I did put out three traps for two nights but got nothing. Now that I have a bit more knowledge and have done some serious research, I’ll be putting out more traps in the near future.
