trapping adentures...

Sorry sawmill (jon), I should have let the thread develop a bit more Yeah, I'm semi-jinxed as well with yotes. They are our "trophy" critter a round here when it comes to trapping, the now current apex predator for the Dakota farmlands and probably our highest priced fur given the right color (the paler the better) and condition. We don't have bobcats in the eastern part of the state (except maybe along the Missouri River) and for North America top bobcat pelts, especially from out West, bring the highest price per fur when all the regions are averaged out. Pine martins (sable) for their size have also brought nice coin but are much more of a Canadian thing with only limited areas in the lower 48.



No, the fur industry isn't dead, and I really don't catch much as a lot of guys because 1) I'm in a peri-urban area, and 2) have a full-time job elsewhere. For guys who have down time during the later fall and winter and have access to a good amount of land and are willing to put a lot of effort into it, trapping can earn some coin but its work. A person would be better off with a decent stable every-2-week pay check but there's other aspects to it that keep some people coming back year after year. For me, its something I can't do from sitting at my desk...

as has been mentioned, fur is a commodity and so as with commodities it can boom and bust. Its also much more high-end (typical final-product) consumer good and also the current big retail markets (China, Russia, Korea, Eastern Europe mainly) are much less evenly spread around. Early 2013 was fantastic year for price wise but by May 2014 things had softened considerably and a lot of no-buys at the auctions below the opening bid. The last sale of the auction I'm now associated with in Sept. things strengthened a bit but a lot of people had Feb. 2013 in their heads and grumbled out the door. The first auction of NAFA (North American Fur Auction) the largest of the big fur movers in NA is at the end of the month so we'll start to see how 2015 shapes up.

I'm going to go eat some supper and talk with my hard working RN wife and I'll get back with prices and where trappers sell their furs...