Beaver trapping; Trappintales.com-Kirk DeKalb

[illinoistrapper815]

hi kirk would u let me come trap with u

[ryax1555]

yu deff are the man for trapping beavers, also nice job killin that snake, hate those scums....good vid

[pcountyredneck]

How come u never use footholds. And drowner slides

[kirkdekalb]

@pcountyredneck The videos I sell have that in it. You just haven,t seen them, You just haven,t seen my professionally done "complete" videos.

[79Testo]

@kirkdekalb

I have your video Kirk, nice work.

I wanted to know where you buy(or maybe you make) those 330 Stabilizers you drive underwater to support your trap?

I have the 18" stakealizers from F&T but i find they are flimsy, and bend easy and need proper adjustment to hold trap firmly.

[kirkdekalb]

@79Testo I make my replacements, but don,t sell them. I believe there are others out there that are made differently that would work well. Check with Rich Casper in Nebraska.

[DomesticallyWild]

Still going to purchase the video though. Got some trap-savvy beavers on a big job thanks to a weekend trapper.

[DomesticallyWild]

"chased by a snake"... Cmon man, I've been professionally trapping beaver in South Alabama for years and see hundreds upon hundreds of cottonmouths and copperheads every year. Never been chased. That's a myth. Leave them alone. Just kill what you came for.

[kirkdekalb]

@DomesticallyWild If you buy trappintales you will here a bunch more. When I trapped a lot in the summer I many times shot a box of 22 shells a day at cotton mouths. No exaggeration on the aggressiveness as well as number of the snakes. My son witnessed several attacks while trapping with me. They taste just like a ratler.

Maybe I covered a little more area. than most. Over 300 land owners in the county I live, alone.

[kirkdekalb]

When I did my "Catching the Numbers" video I sell, I caught 400 that year out of the 1200 caught using "Slims Mudpie Frosting". I have caught more beaver over the years using "dam -a-dam" and " Timber" than any other purchased lures. Minnesota Trapline Products handles them. Most all of the major suppliers have good beaver lure.

[MrMoco43]

what kind of beaver lure do you use

[iambeastist]

what the hell, y would u kill a copper head. i hope next time it bites u. besides tht good traping

[TheHuntingFanatic]

i have a friend that did this in colledge and the state paid him for it. then he sole the furs. I might move somewhere and i can do this for a small job on the side.

[jacobcdozer121b]

hy my name is jake and im starting to trap beaver in alaska but im a little late but next year ill be trapping and i was wondering if you can give me some advice. oh do you only trap beaver and how do you skin them all cus thats a lot of beaver

[fainey911]

looks warm. Are the furs prime or do you do ADC work for the state. Nice vid though.

[kirkdekalb]

@fainey911 Only about 35% are garment Quality. Only have 90 days of good trapping here. Slow prior to Dec and after Feb.

[kirkdekalb]

The more you trap , that pretty well doesn't happen, when beaver trapping.Where and how you make your sets is the key. This video I sell addresses that. Example: you don't make sets in runs here when it gets warm, or you might catch turtles, alligators, or otters. If you do, caution is always needed. I have actually had several live caught alligators come out of the water at me when I walked up.I have learned and non target catches are rare due to the way I trap.

[MrTrappinboys]

Do you just trap in that one area?

[kirkdekalb]

@MrTrappinboys In the past I have trapped up to 8 counties in southwest georga.Some in Alabama and as a ride along in other states. That one area incompasses over 10000 square miles. Many of the land owners have over 10000 acres of land that they manage or own. Fuel costs, prices paid, fewer beaver- all take its toll.

[trapperivey]

realy good video ive been trapping for about a year now and its goin pretty good and il be looking forward into buyin your video

[spangenbob]

When I was younger I used to enjoy hunting and trapping, stayed in the woods all the time. But I had died and I came back. I now feel like the animals are here for a reason. Hope one day you'll see that a whole pickup truck full of beaver is taking to much. I think each one of them have a reason for being here. Maybe a whole pickup full of people that kill people would be alright but please Love the animals when there gone thats the end of it. There is no place to go and buy more. 10,000 a year

[Truefirech]

Wow what an excellent, excellent composed video. Thanks Kirk for taking the time to make such a unique, entertaining video.

Chris

[kirkdekalb]

@Truefirech Thank you. Ben Smallbone was the videographer. He Is a wonderful guy and we worked very well together. The second one "Catching the Numbers" is also very well put together. What was unique, was there was no script or planning in the full length video's. You literally got to se things as they happened with no put on's or do overs. Flow and film quallity is excellent and you get to see it entertainingly "Just The Way It Actually Is" Some customers say they have watched it over 12 times

[ztbowtech]

will 16 GA. wire hold a beaver. also how do 280s work for beavers i am getting three of them

[kirkdekalb]

@ztbowtech All I use is 16ga wire. I keep it new and only use it with standard 330 conibears. If I used belises and , or had a 48 hour ck I would use cable or chain. You will get some refusals on 280s. When using 330's at otter sets, I put sticks between the open jaws to narrow the target or trigger area.

[codyaliff25]

hey this is an awesome video im 13 im gonna start trappin this year i know a little bit about it like blind set and all that but i need a coulple tips for beavers and rats so if you have time just send me some tips..... Thanks,Cody

[crowfox1]

i am a trapper who does hunt beaver and this video kindof bothered me. Hes taking more than his share. In the native view of things in which , as im an indian i believe, you take what you can use and nothing more. Baever already came near to extinction once because of over kill. He should show a little respect to the animalo as well or he will give fuel to the antis fire.

[kirkdekalb]

@crowfox1 We have a severe problem with beaver in our state. There are extremely few trappers. Beaver cause millions upon millions of dollar damage in the state each year. Flooded roads caused by the beaver is a constant problem in the counties with no trapping programs. Thats how I got all the work I did. It was due to washed out roads and breached dams caused by the beaver.They were afraid for the public. Here, there is no fur buyers, and with this bad economy no viable market.

[Cratylos]

@crowfox1 I think I agree, the alligator vs. beaver story made me wince a little, but I think the trapping motivations might be different.

[deerwhacker7]

Excellent job, a beaver doesn’t have a chance with you. How many traps do you have out at any given time? And do you check your traps every day?

[kirkdekalb]

@deerwhacker7 I had been trapping for about 50 days when we did the video. Had over 100 sets out of varying types. 24 hr check. Show every catch I made over a four day period. We shot over 10 hrs of video, My son was there at that time and we videoed him skinning a beaver in 2 min and 24 sec. Also caught 4 white bellied beaver on the video. Also on the dvd I Tell what it takes to catch over a 1000 beaver a year regularly.

Thanks

Ben the videographer is superb, as you can see.

[1995bassfisher]

cool video

[madtrapper07]

this is the best video i ever found on youtube about trapping i was juss wondering if u ever leave sum beaver in a area so u can go back there in the years 2 come or do u just go catch every1 i got no problem with that its juss where i live i got 2 save sum so i can keep on trapping in that area..i love trapping im glad my grand father show me how

[kirkdekalb]

@madtrapper07 @madtrapper07 The counties want me to catch as many as I can. How I get paid and how much is a big factor as to how aggressive I am. It is extremely expensive to drive 35 miles to check a group of sets with one or two beaver left. Even though they could save thousands of $ and protect a life, some counties can't pay you the 300$ to catch the beaver. It is not their money it is tax money. They just want to catch some to allievate the immediate problem.

[kirkdekalb]

@madtrapper07 Parts of this video will be shown Wed. july 14 on dish tv channel 230 at 6 pm. I will be the featured trapper for the show. F&T's North American Trapper TV show. There will be 13 trapping shows over the next several month's.

Special thanks to the sponsors!

Kirk Dekalb

[spencerray99]

hey man umm do you ever duck hunt? thats cool you live in georgia i live in mckenzie tn

[kirkdekalb]

@spencerray99 Limits are too low to do much duck hunting

[RestInPieces321]

The Prices werent very good this year so i didnt sell any hideds but usually u get abiout a good 100$ or maybe even mroe i usually sold mine for a good 200$ i cant belive i got a good deal

[kirkdekalb]

We must trap in different countries. Southern fur has little or no value here. There isn't even a buyer in the state.

[meathunters]

so how much do u get payed per beaver????

[kirkdekalb]

Varies with county. Have a harder time every year because of expenses rise but pay doesn't keep up. The economy is the biggest killer. It doesn't seem to get better.

[dawgman256]

kirk,you are offically the best trapper there is,keep up the good work

[mmoutdoors]

great video tks 4 sharing look forward 2 c whats next keep them coming

[kirkdekalb]

@mmoutdoors New one coming next week.

[elks52]

i mean like how do you know what tree the are gonna cut down and you snare them?

[kirkdekalb]

That is why I sell the dvd's. It gives you time to sit down and take it all in.

[elks52]

awesome video im 14 getting started on trapping i was wondering if you have any advice and how much you get for a beaver fur

[kirkdekalb]

We don't catch for the fur. The southern beaver in this economy is not worth much for the fur. Read as much as you can and graduate from college with a 4.0. Then trap when you can and apply what you have learned for the rest of your life.

That is probably not the advice you were looking for.

Go to the regional NTA conventions, and then to nationals. Learn from as many as you can. Sort out the best and try to retain as much as possible.

[olmarnow]

Good video, My friends trap they have videos on youtube as well mmoutdoors is there name. Great Job.

[TheLAtrapline]

were are you located?

[kirkdekalb]

I trap problem beaver for 5 counties in Georgia. Permission now is about 1000

landowners. Over 300 in the county I live.Our county set up a bounty system 14 years ago because of a severe problem.There were 29 trappers that registered that winter. 28 of them caught 144 by may. From the end of January until may I caught 546. That is how I got a reputation and got started. When you catch an animal causing millions of dollars in damage 99% ot time you're welcome.

[rangerkid777]

do you have one on raccoon trapping, and can you actulley make a living of trapping

[kirkdekalb]

I do not have a coon trapping video. I have consentrated on beaver and otter.

People do make a living trapping,but they are targeting problem animals around cities and airports. I have done well in the past do to numbers of animals and a decent otter value. The last 4 years has been tough, especially the last two. Otter numbers are high,but they don't have much value. Beaver numbers in my area are low. I have a good construction and agriculture background to help 7 months out of the year.

[kirkdekalb]

To answer your question another way. Yes, It depends on how much money it takes or what you are satisfied with. Your ability ,age , and location is critical.

[rangerkid777]

@kirkdekalb yea well im a 4th or 5th generation trapper, i mainly consontrait on coon but i would like to try beaver trapping, but i can see how the past years have been tough cuz back in like the 80's when my dad trapped he boght my mom first dimond ring with trapping money, year ago in the 30's my great grandpa got a brand new ford model a truck

[newyorktrapper81]

how much will the value of a beaver fur go down if thiers a hole on the right side of it thats about the size of a ping png ball

[kirkdekalb]

Fur value is no good. We presently are skinning only mature beaver with no nicks or cuts.

[spencerray99]

can you eat coyote

[spencerray99]

your a very good trapper

[spencerray99]

can you eat otters?

[kirkdekalb]

I don't think so. A buzzard won't even eat an otter.(at least here anyway)

[TacticalOtter2]

But otters don't do damage...

[kirkdekalb]

My close friend who is a biologist had his grass carp study ended because they killed all the grass carp.(Over 500)

Down here the beaver burrough into the irrigation and lake ponds at the dam for their den. The otter will take over the beavers den. The beaver burroughs more causing a series of holes in the dams weakening them. They eventually fail causing a large repair expense and danger to property and others down stream.

This is very common here.

[kirkdekalb]

One thing Most people don't realize is how common they are.

They are virtually in every creek and stream throughout the south. Their numbers are at record levels and are so common seeing one during the day is very common.

They kill just for the fun of killing, like a cat. They are a threat to endanger turtles here , killing them by biting off their heads and going to the next one.

[spencerray99]

can you eat them?

[kirkdekalb]

Yes you can eat beaver.

Cooked in a crockpot with all the fixins tastes like beef.

[newyorktrapper81]

how do u get your beaver pelts sealed?

[kirkdekalb]

We sell through NAFA and to Groenwold 's.

[wyttale]

With poor fur quality being an issue, what do you do with the beaver after the catch??

[kirkdekalb]

We have been skinning the larger beaver and giving the others to predator trappers for bait. We have a severe predator problem and very few trappers.

[AntiHuntersLoveMe]

Holy beaver, you really know how to catch em. Hey are there any signs to look for to know that an otter is inhabiting an area? I have yet to catch one myself but would just like to say I did and get one tanned. I have a creek running through a very large beaver pond....should I set up in the creek? Problem is we just got a foot and a half of snow.  Maybe a baited pocket set or a narrow spot plugged with a conibear? Awesome vid, can't wait to check out more.

[kirkdekalb]

Best place to catch otter in consentration are small streams off of major water ways leading to a series of ponds or beaver ponds with rich affluent. Near city treatment facilities near a large city are the best. Set conibears completely submerged not deep in the flowing narrow channels from one fish-crawfish holding pocket to another. Place multiple traps 30 or more feet appart to increase catch. Use minimum debry over trap. It needs to look normal. Place scent if needed to go to that area.

[zaugg11]

hi im 13 years old. wen i first started trapping i was 10 and i wasnt really good but i pick up alot of tips and tricks from youtube videos it helps me alot so thank you if you have any tips for me email me!

[kirkdekalb]

Tried to post they haven't been appearing.

[huntergraham03]

how do you know how many to trap in one area before yout rap too many?

[kirkdekalb]

Our state has hundreds of millions of dollar damage done every year. The counties I work want to reduce their numbers as much as possible due to the major hazzards they cause at roads and timber losses. What is a humans' life worth? Their are very few trappers and fur quality is not good here because of the warmer climate. There is very little or no predator kill. Beaver are harder to catch here than around the Atlanta area(further north). The warmer climate creates a smaller window needed..

[NewYorkTrapper]

what is the largest beaver you have ever caught

[kirkdekalb]

I caught about 15, years ago when I first started trapping in Georgia that wieghed between 90 and 100 lbs. Because of the amount of beaver caught in my areas in last 14 years and the number of recent drought years I am lucky to catch 6 or 8 over 80 lbs each year now. They would be females caught in late feb. 60 lbs is fairly common.

[trappershawn86]

You r the man......... you make it look easy get video

[buickwildcat1]

Great looking video, heard you on the podcast and thought I'd preview your video.

[BrownTrout11]

very good!

[MrCOON090]

GREAT VIDEO