Trapping is a tradition that has been around for generations. It has managed to keep going even through all of the anti-trapping propaganda, and even the changing of our youth’s habits and interests. Face it; today’s kids are all about videos games and other tech based gadgets and toys, and less about hitting the dirt in search of things to trap and hunt. The numbers of new trappers are on a decline, and every year tons of new regulations limiting the types of traps we’re allowed to use are constantly being added to the books making life as a trapper harder. So how can we make a difference and get more kids involved and protect what we all love and enjoy? Make it fun!
Today’s new dog proof traps like what ZTraps and EZ Traps offers are an ideal way to get kids started on the trap line, and with a pair of setters almost anyone can set them on their own. So what can I do too make things more fun on the trap line for my kids? Let them have fun and experiment! From setting to baiting, and from staking to the ground to checking their line, let them handle it with your guidance and supervision. Make a game out of it even. Get a dozen ZTraps or EZ Traps dog proof traps and divide them up evenly between you and your kids. Label them so you know whose trap belongs to whom, and plan a fun little competition where the winner gets to keep the entire dozen traps for themselves. And as odd as this may sound, the younger they are, the better off you are losing your contest, because after all, even when you lose the contest, you still won a new trapping partner and that is what’s important. Remember that door swings both ways though. Yes men are fairly competitive naturally, but if you win the contest all the time against your kids, they will lose interest. Nobody likes to lose all the time, and that’s even more true with younger kids.
After their first season of trapping, start to incorporate some of the other traps out there in the smaller sizes so they can start to learn about them too. Once they have an understanding and ability to set them on their own at the house, repeat the same game as you did with the ZTraps or EZ Traps dog proofs. Give them a variety of baits and lures to pick from and let them experiment. Maybe even show them one of the trapping catalogs and let them pick out their own baits and lures. Who know, maybe they’ll pick out something you haven’t used yet that will help add more fur to your own line.
Have fun and good luck this season.
David Enstad
www.MissionOutdoors.Net
YouTube: MissionOutdoors.Net
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YouTube: Trappers Journal
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