2002 proved to be an interesting year on the trapline in terms of diversity. For one, my cousin, Berin Jackson, was able to join up with the regular crew for several days while possibly playing a bit of “hookie” from Western Illinois University. In terms of fur, there was also a great deal of variety and some records established along the way in regards to the totals on beaver and likely skunk, although stats on the latter over the years are unofficial at best.

Left to right: Terry Jackson, Brent Jackson, Berin Jackson, Troy Jackson and Richard Jackson with a varied haul of 4 muskrats, 3 coons and a pair of coyotes.

Coons 130+
Muskrat 14
Beaver 20
Mink 1
Coyote 2
Weasel 1
Skunk 10+
Opossum 30+ (???)

One of our record 20 beaver from 2002, this one tipped the scales at 60 pounds.

By 2002, the area that Dad and Uncle Dick had trapped for years was beginning to see some changes in terms of ownership and access. This trend would continue and eventually permission to most of the ground would be ceded to other trappers as well as the bane of the local outdoors enthusiasts, the pay to play crowd. But for many years, we had quite a fascinating outdoor classroom as described in an excerpt from an article I posted back in November of 2002.

“To wrap up this article, I’d like to provide a little history of one of the areas we are currently trapping. The overall area is known as Wilson’s and includes Pat’s Creek, The Big Timber and Earl’s. It is located in Henderson County roughly between Rozetta and Bald Bluff if that helps. Dad estimates that he began visiting this area nearly forty years ago after gaining permission along with a friend whose wife’s uncle was Earl Wilson, who farmed the land. Over the years the area has provided many hours of outdoor enjoyment through hunting, fishing, camping, trapping and nature observation. Hunting includes coons, deer, squirrels, doves, ducks, frogs, rabbits, mushrooms and ginseng. Fishing was done by rod and reel, jugs, bankpoles and throwlines in ponds and Pat’s Creek. Camping included family outings often during Memorial or Labor Day weekends. Trapping includes coons, muskrat, beaver, mink, opossum and skunks. A diverse plant and animal population provides plenty of opportunity to observe nature and the scenery of The Big Timber is fantastic. Rocky bluffs overlook a rock bottom creek with small waterfalls and rocks loaded with fossils from the days when our part of the world was under the sea.

Of course, things change over time. The ponds have dried up or silted in to the point that they no longer sustain a fish population and logging has taken some of the timber. Numerous people scour the woods with or without permission leaving their mark rather than leaving things as they found them. Regardless, there is still plenty to enjoy and we continue to appreciate the opportunity to get outdoors.”

Talk to you later. Troy

Looking back at a trapping update that I posted exactly ten years ago today it seems that December showed up a lot less friendly than our 2017 run of temps in the 50s and 60s.

My posting from 12/5/2007 began:

“December arrived with an unfriendly ice storm that knocked out our power for the third time this year. Fortunately, this outage was much shorter in duration than the previous two inconveniences. Now, as we enter these last few weeks of 2007 and look forward to Christmas and a new year, a month of trapping is on the books and we have again racked up both fur and adventures.”

2007 Season – Troy Jackson, Terry Jackson, Brent Jackson and Bryar Townsend

The report goes on to detail a few of those adventures shared with a trapper in training, my nephew, Bryar, who just became a teenager two days ago. Here a couple more excerpts from the 2007 posting:

“Miniature Trapper Program – Our latest guest on the trapline was my three-year-old nephew, Bryar. Being the youngest trapper in the group, Papa gave him the privilege of not only picking our breakfast destination but also ruling the radio. For breakfast he chose McDonald’s and we left the drive thru with a bag full of burritos to eat on the road. Upon arriving at our first trap, it was quite obvious from the aroma that we’d been rewarded with a particularly foul skunk. Dad did the honors of removing the skunk from the trap and apparently brought some of the smell back to the truck. Between the odor and Bryar’s repeated retelling of the story, we had a constant reminder of our catch for the rest of the trip. Uncle Brent shot some good video along the way and Bryar got startled by some pigeons in a corn crib, snacked on juice and Teddy Grahams and fell asleep on the way home. We all had a good adventure and it was beneficial for Bryar to hang with the guys to buffer the ample amount of time he spends with his sister and my girls.”

“Sirius Business – When Dad purchased his new truck, he also got a trial subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio. Upon checking it out, I discovered that the digital display told the title, artist and year for each song which proved irresistible for a music trivia buff. I consider myself pretty well-versed in 70’s and 80’s pop and rock music along with having a fair grasp of some mid to late 60’s tunes. With Brent running the controls I impressed myself upon identifying The Tremoloes singing “Silence Is Golden” (1967) but fell short on The Marvellettes “Don’t Mess with Bill” (1966). The 70’s and 80’s proved to be no match and I was even able to provide the year, 1985, for the Starship hit “We Built This City.” However, a few days later, Bryar gave me a run for my money. You see, Sirius also has a number of little kid stations. Apparently, grandkids get preferential treatment over kids as Dad let him listen to Disney or something. In no time, Bryar was showing off with “It’s the Wiggles…Hey, it’s Laurie Berkner…Wow, the Curious George song (I would have gotten that one if given time)… and High School Musical!” It almost felt as if he was taunting me as he called out the tunes after only a few notes. Finally, the radio gods came through as I nailed him on “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog (1979) and he had no clue. Sure, he had me down like 10-1, but I could bask in the glory of knowing “the classics” of little kid music. Plus, I was quite confident that he would fall asleep on the way home and we’d be able to listen to grown up stuff again.”

Another 2007 pic – Troy, Brent and Terry Jackson

Fun stuff and goes a long way towards expressing that there’s a lot more to trapping than just running your sets. However, I will close with one final bit from that original posting, the stats from the first several weeks of the 2007 season.

Totals and Sales
Coons 61 10 sold with high $21 low $3 and average of $10.20
Muskrats 12 None sold yet
Mink 1 Not sold yet
Other 5 skunks, 20+ opossum (but no one is really counting)

More trapping Tuesdays to come, along with a Top 5 Stat Update, an outdoor Christmas wish list and whatever else I can come up with to close out 2017. Talk to you later. Troy

Headed back 30 years for this one as we revisit 1987 on the trapline. Lots of thoughts, as always, when I look back at the outdoor photo albums and records. As I noted earlier this year, I had hopes of an over the top trapping blog project spanning the season but just too many other priorities to get it done. However, I couldn’t help but do some writing and reminiscing so you get the abridged version instead. Mixed in are plenty of hints as to what is to come when I do get around to my epic trapline blowout.

But for now…

We’ll start with the trappers.

The 17-year old kid in the flannel shirt is my brother, Brent, a senior at Galesburg High School at the time of this outing. I assume that this trip was on a weekend, but being exceptionally bright, I don’t figure a day of hooky would have hurt him much anyway.

The guy in the middle is our Dad, who along with his brother taught us pretty much everything we know about trapping. Much of what we learned was useful but there was certainly a degree of leg pulling that was also thrown in on more than a few occasions.

I’m the guy on the right in the purple of the Knox College Siwash where I was trudging through what was kind of my first of two junior years. Strange to think, but that 20-year old fellow is now seven years older than Dad was back in 1987.

Trucks have also been an integral part of the adventures and Dad’s Ford Ranger and Uncle Dick’s Chevy S10 were around for more than a few seasons. Both predate the appearance of four wheel drive vehicles on the trapline which made for some interesting situations along with the need for a little manpower assistance when things got slippery.

A little fuzzy on the scan but that’s 85 coons, 101 muskrats and 6 beaver for $2,002.75 during the 1987-88 season with Top Coon at $30

A final bit of flashback fun involves a look at some stats from this 1987-88 trapping season. Dad has data on catches and total dollars earned dating all the way back to 1971 with yearly totals for nearly every season from 1979-80 to just a few years ago. Quite interesting to look back at the numbers and see the ups and downs of the fur market over time. While the rest of the numbers will be reserved for that big future trapping project, I will say that fur prices looked to be pretty solid for the haul noted above.

That’s all for another Trapping Tuesday but plenty more to come with a weekly posting through the end of January. Lots of other outdoor stuff mixed in around those flashbacks as well, so hope you’ll stop by. Talk to you later. Troy