Greetings,
Well now you know what you want to buy but where should you buy it? From eBay? Amazon? NO! DO NOT buy trapping supplies from either of those two places! They will charge you MUCH more than what it is really worth! Traps are sometimes priced right on eBay, but probably 99% of the time you’ll pay way to much for supplies from those places.
Go to a real trapping supply dealer. Minnesota Trapline Products is probably the best place to buy from. They have good prices, lots of stuff, their customer service is wonderful, they are super easy to work with, they’re nice people, and their shipping is FAST! You can visit their website at: http://www.minntrapprod.com
Fur Harvester’s Trading Post (F&T) is also a pretty popular place and they carry lots of stuff too! You can visit their website at http://www.fntpost.com
Schmitt Enterprises http://www.schmittent.com , Murray’s Trapping supplies, Southern Snares & Supply http://www.southernsnares.com , Cumberland’s NW Trapper’s Supply http://www.nwtrappers.com , & The Snare Shop are other choices. There are many trapping supply dealers out there but I highly recommend Minnesota Trapline Products. They are the BEST!
Now for bait and lure. There are 100’s of bait and lure makers out there and all of the ones you’ll see on Minnesota Trapline Product’s, F&T’s, Schmitt Enterprise’s, or Cumberland’s NW Trapper’s Supply website are probably all pretty good makers. But the top 6 bait & lure makers I would recommend would be Caven’s, Derrick’s (www.derricks-nm.com), Dobbin’s, Reuwsaat’s, Mark June’s, and Weiser’s. Other great makers would be Lenon’s, Milligan’s, Payne’s, Rusty Johnson’s, Cletis Richard’s, Hoosier’s, and many other are good makers as well. I’m not saying that anybody’s is bad, those are just some really good ones.
Most lures work differently in different places and at different times of the year so certain baits or lures may not work very well for you, so just keep that in mind. When you are buying baits and lures you will probably be hesitant when you see the prices. But just remember it doesn’t take much bait or lure at a set, and if you catch even a skunk, and sell the essence and hide you will have paid for that bait or lure. Just think if you catch a $100 + bobcat! or a coyote, or a fox, or a badger! Then you’ve paid for a lot of your stuff! Just keep all that in mind. Then if some stuff doesn’t you can sell it on online trapping forums!
Other things to go in your bait and lure bag is sheep wool, cotton, fur, feathers, bleached bones, etc. Sheep wool, cotton, fur, and feathers are all excellent eye appeal agents and bait and lure holders. They will help keep the odor there longer and protect it somewhat from moisture. It may be illegal to use any of the things mentioned in some states so check your regulations.
Bone’s are good at a variety of sets and I’ll talk about using bones at sets at a later time.
I hope you learned something from this post and maybe you got some ideas that will help you. I would highly appreciate it if you would comment, follow me, and like posts! If you need any help or have some questions let me know. I love answering questions for some reason! (You probably think I’m weird!)
Remember to support trapping and I hope you will have good luck getting started!
Tight chains,
Anthony Asher.