Happy Groundhog Day.

But that’s no groundhog, or more appropriately, woodchuck, as noted in the Illinois trapping regulations.

Nope, that’s Dad and Brent with a 60-pound beaver from November 6, 2002, the first day of running traps for the season. And it was only the beginning as 2002 turned into a record setting year in terms of beaver catches. Depending on what version of the record book you look at, we caught either 19 or 20 beaver that season. Whatever the true result, it was a stellar haul, several of which are detailed in the pics below.

11/7/02 Richard, Troy and Terry Jackson, 47 and 39-pound beavers

11/9/02 Terry and Brent Jackson, 60 pound beaver

11/16/02 Terry and Brent Jackson, 34-pound beaver

11/17/02 Terry, Brent and Troy Jackson, 34-pound beaver

If you have never seen the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray, the story revolves around a fellow who is strangely caught in a time loop that finds him reliving the same day over and over. Well, that was kind of the vibe in 2002 as the hits just kept on coming. And beaver can be odd critters, often a little spooky when you get to tromping around their stomping grounds. Which is another aspect of those 2002 catches that was just weird. At the end of many days on the trapline that year, it seemed like we’d seen the movie before.

And one final note to that woodchuck in PA. As trappers we left your kind alone, so how about doing the right thing and moving this whole winter deal along and going with the early spring route instead?

Talk to you later. Troy