The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Reporter's note: Since I wrote a story about the Hi-Line Fur Auction, in February, 2015, I've wanted to learn the rest of the story...how trappers work. I met John Holmes, a local trapper, while doing a story at a reunion involving several long-time families in the valley. Holmes said he would take me with him to run his traps in the spring. We finally connected when he was headed out to check and set beaver traps in mid-March. This is what I learned about one part of the trapping work John Holmes does each year.

John Holmes'

trapping career

John Holmes has lived in the Havre area for most of his adult life. He grew up in Chinook and graduated from high school there. Now 78, he told, "I first started trapping mice and gophers when I was six years old. Since then I've been trapping and am still at it." He joined the Navy after graduating high school. He added, "While in the Navy I was on a ship. But when I would come home on leave I'd set and check traps in Blaine County." Students in his class at Chinook High remember he was always trapping and Holmes said of that time, "Every day, before and after school, I'd run my trap lines in different directions on the Milk River and its smaller tributaries."

Most of his working career, as a car man for the railroad, he trapped 'on the side.' After retiring from the railroad he's devoted more time to trapping. This year had a 'bump' when a garage fire burned most of his equipment and a large amount of pelts ready for market. He said, "I got a late start this spring as I was trying to replace equipment and get the mess from the fire cleaned up. It's like starting all over again, but I'm determined to keep at it."

Trapping beaver

at a golf course

Earlier in the year Holmes told me, "We'll go out in the spring when the ice comes off. Early spring is prime time for trapping beaver but it's hard dealing with ice." I met Holmes at his house, southwest of Havre, on a morning when the temperature had dropped to the teens during the night. It was snowing sporadically with a very chilly wind. He was wearing chest waders, I had managed to borrow only a pair of hip boots. That didn't bode well for me following him to the traps but he assured me things would work out okay.

Our first stop was at traps he had set about five days before at the Beaver Creek Golf Course, west of Havre. He explained, "I've been removing problem beaver from this golf course through several changes in ownership. The beavers burrow into the banks and cause problems with erosion and damage the greens." It was a good place for a novice to see the process, not so much brush to fight and easily accessible. Out from the creek bank was a large pile of brush that Holmes described as a winter food cache, a good sign of beaver activity. The beaver drag the cut branches under the ice into their lodges and eat the bark during the winter.

The first trap Holmes checked was a lure trap. The object is to locate an area being used by beaver, set a trap in water close to the bank and lure the beaver to the trap with homemade concoctions (the lure) on a couple of sticks driven into the bank. Holmes explained, "Beaver are territorial, they mark their territory with little piles of mud and then put castor on the mud." Castor is a scent produced by beavers from a gland on their lower belly. He added, "When they see new mud or smell the lure, they want to check it out. That curiosity draws them to the trap." He uses multiple homemade lure creations describing them as "a smorgasbord, one of which will appeal to a curious beaver."

Holmes said catching beaver is all about location and knowing the behavior of the animal. Once he locates an area showing beaver activity (piles of mud and sticks with the bark eaten off) he wades into the water to set the trap. He uses a couple different sized 'conibear' traps-a square wire concern that creates a hole the beaver swims through. When the animal trips the trap, by contacting two small wires across the opening, the trap is sprung and the beaver is killed instantly.

Holmes said, "You can place a trap too low in the water and the beaver will swim over it to check out the lure. Too high in the water, the beaver will swim under the trap." For the two lure traps at the golf course, the top of the square trap was visible above the water line. Holmes carefully stabilizes the trap by pushing sticks into outside braces on the device, then marks the area with a piece of bright engineering tape tied to a nearby tree or bush.

Trapping beaver in

Beaver Creek Park

From the golf course we headed to Beaver Creek Park south of Havre. Holmes said he'd been removing problem beavers from several areas of the park for a number of years. He explained, "The nuisance beaver will ruin a campground and public use areas-cutting down trees, blocking culverts and flooding areas. Holmes does similar removals for farmers and ranchers, to reduce the flooding of roads and fields from dams the beaver build.

All the traps in the Beaver Creek area were channel traps-traps that Holmes sets in areas regularly traveled by beavers. No need for a lure because beaver are constantly moving through narrow channels or accessing their lodges. Beaver don't hibernate during the winter and their lodges protect them from the cold, in banks or the conical type seen in beaver ponds. Beavers swim through the traps, spring the trap and are caught. A big challenge is accessing areas to set channel traps-the brush and backed up water made for some treacherous walking and getting to the channels.

For channel traps Holmes said, "The key is location, location, location..." Some channel traps were set in the channels beaver travel among the ponds they build. Other traps were set at the entrances to the lodges or where beavers cross over their own dams. Beaver will travel up to a hundred yards from water to find trees for food and building materials, the rest of the time they stay in the water. Holmes said, "Beaver really have no natural enemies. They are vulnerable, when out of the water, to coyotes and other predators. But even on land a full grown beaver puts up a pretty good fight." Mature beaver weigh 60-80 pounds and Holmes said he's caught some that weighed 100 pounds.

Placing channel traps at the right depth in the water is critical. A couple of times Holmes used a 'trap support'-a wire concern, much like a frame for yard signs, to hold the trap at the right level so beaver would have to swim through it. At every trap set he spent a lot of time placing sticks to stabilize and position the trap.

During the day we checked 27 traps and trapped 15 beaver. At the last set two traps went unchecked as it was too dark to get to them. Beginning the trip Holmes had predicted, "I'd say today we will get at least 10 beaver." He knew what to expect.

Some more observations about beaver trapping

Holmes explained the market demand for fur pelts varies. He said, "Right now, with bad economies in Russia and China, the market is down. A fortunate trapper would do well to average $10 per pelt. In years past, I've gotten $60 for blanket pelts (pelts totaling 60 inches measuring both diameters). Even the blanket pelts, normally the most desirable, are not in much demand." His best year he trapped 400+ beaver will average 150-175 most years. Holmes said, "I trap because I love to do it. Some years I'm lucky to cover my expenses. Other years it's profitable."

Trappers work in some extreme conditions, especially in the spring with ice still around, cold water and almost always brushy areas beavers prefer. He uses rubber gloves while setting traps in the water but he said his hands get really cold and he's smashed fingers in his own traps a couple of times.

Then, there's carrying the beaver out from where they were trapped. I was surprised at how large a beaver can grow and carrying them out through brush and beaver ponds was a chore. By the time we'd carried out 15 beaver I was feeling it in my back and legs.

Steve Edwards

After checking a set of trap John Holmes completes his recordkeeping. For each area with traps he records pertinent information about the number and location of traps and records the number of beaver he took from the area.

Trapping the animals is just the beginning. Holmes said he would 'rough skin' the hides, fold and freeze them in airtight containers, then thaw and stretch them later. The finished product is an oval shaped pelt ready for the market.

Like most jobs, there's also paper work. Before entering each area of trap sets Holmes would refer to a notebook in his pickup to read his notes about the location and number of traps. After checking an area, he'd record the number of beaver he caught and if he set any new traps. To a novice, all the areas began to look the same. But Holmes would take a couple of minutes, orient himself to a new area and soon we'd find the little flags marking each trap.

John Holmes put it well, "Trapping is a lot more involved than people who've never been out there realize." I can verify that, it was intense and tiring but a great learning experience. And just so readers know, trapping is not on my 'future careers' list.

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