Trapping the ulitmate sport

I love to trap and my first season was very memorable. I believe I had more fun the summer before, getting all the gear together. A then came all the preparation the derusting the dyeing of the traps. I also had to take a class for first time trappers; I was the only middle aged man in a group of kids. I have been bear hunting, taken a huge whitetail buck, and caught a 25 pound flathead catfish. But the thrill of what could be in the trap, and the scouting for the target animal sign. The matching of whits makes trapping the ultimate outdoor activity.
I trapped 2 winters before my son Kenny Ray Jr. was born and had a lot of fun. I never caught a lot of animals but still enjoyed it tremendously. I trapped a stream called the Little Beavercreek, in the city of Beavercreek a suburb of Dayton Ohio. It ran past the body shop that I worked at the time, so it was easy to run before and after work. One of the days that stands out still after 20 years was a day in January. It was a bitter cold day it had been about zero for a week. And at 5:30pm the full moon was already hanging in the clear blue sky as the orange and pink glow to the west was all that was left of the sun. I drove down to the end of the parking lot, slid into my waders. I had been going in and out of the stream now for about three weeks and climbed down into the stream at an old railway tressel .Which was in sight of a couple of house’s. Little known to me was, I was being watched the whole time during my trapping adventure. I entered the stream and looked at one of my sets just below the trestle .Jack pot I had a nice muskrat right at the edge of a slide at the junction of the stream and a drainage ditch. I picked up my prize and continued down the stream checking my traps. My mind began to wander as I took in all of nature’s glory. The more I walked and looked around at the banks of the stream. The more the tension of the day slid away as if being carried away with the current of Little Beavercreek. As if on queue a flock of Canadian geese flew over head in perfect formation, singing to me as they flew into the fading sun. I stopped to watch and wander at this perfect moment in a mans life. A time where he has no worries, no deadlines to meet, just this perfect moment in time. Just him and the stream and his thoughts. When the silence was suddenly broken, “hey you down there in the water”. I turned to see a woman standing on the bridge in her house coat. She said I have been watching you for a couple of weeks. What are you doing down in there? I told her I was running some traps. She then asked me if I could tell her what was this animal she kept seeing around the creek, it looks like a rat with a tail. I reached into my coat and said like this she said yes. It’s a muskrat, I told her .She said ok thanks and left. Strange I thought as she was running back towards her house. I never thought anyone ever knew I was there let alone being watched everyday. It taught me that you have to a responsible sportsman all the time especially when you are in an urban area. I continued on down the stream checking my other sets and resetting some of the ones that were in a more open area that could be seen from the road. As I did not want to catch a coon and it be seen in the trap before I checked them in the morning before work began. My last trap which was a live trap set next to a trail leading from a small stand of timber to the waters edge. Had a nice big coon and at closer glance had three legs. Was baited with some peanut butter and jelly. I prefer this bait as House cats seem to have little interest in it. I carry that first coon with me still to day during the winter season. It is my winter hat, and it always takes be back to a day of perfection. And where ever I wear it at the bank or into a restaurant A complete stranger will ask me about my hat. The children always want to touch it and ask me if is real. And folks of my generation and older will tell me how they had one like it when they were a kid. My wife is afraid that I will have a confrontation with an animal activist as well as some people that stop me ask if I am afraid one of them will. I always say look at me do you think they will confront me. I am six foot and weigh 290 lbs with a full beard; I think I will be safe. That year I only caught a few muskrats nothing spectacular, but the one thing I did get was a 3 legged raccoon and a memory of a perfect day.
My second season trapping was moving along nothing very eventful. Then one afternoon I got a phone call. The man asked if he could speak to Ken. I said you are. How can I help you? He said his name was Lynn and that he got my name from a friend. I understand you trap. I told him yes, I do a little trapping... Well I need a trapper as I am the grounds keeper, here at Walnut Grove country club. The raccoons are destroying our putting greens. They come in at night and cut the sod to get at the grubs underneath. He then asks if I could come over, so we could discuss what needed done. I went to see him and he showed me the damage that the coons were doing to the golf greens. It looked like someone took a knife and split them open and rolled them back. I told him I could help. He said the only thing was I had to come in late in the evening and pull the traps every morning so that the members did not see what I was doing, I said ok. So I went to work, I would get there about dusk and go to work, but there was always a member or two just finishing. They would always stop and ask what I was doing and I would always stop and answer their questions. Their reply was always basically the same, get them. Now the particular day I remember most is the morning my wife Tari decided she was going to go with me. She got up at 5 am and climbed into my old pick up with me and we set out for the country club. It still tickles me to think of us in that old truck, me in my coon skin hat and a gun in the back seat. Can you say Beverly hillbilly’s .The first trap we came to was next to the fence and the woods that the coons were coming out of and under. The headlamps showed the eyes of the first catch of the day. A big ole coon in a foot hold trap. I stopped the truck and got out with .22 rifle and disposed of the coon. As I put the gun back in the cab and coon in the bed. She said if you get another I want to shoot it, I said are you sure. She said yes. I drove around checking each trap and pulling them as I went. As I approached the 16th green which seemed to be a favorite spot as it had the most damage. I heard the chain rattle from the foothold that I set right on the green. I stopped the truck on the golf cart lane looked at Tari and said come on let’s go... I got out and grabbed the rifle and told her again to come on. I could tell she was changing her mind by the look on her face. No, I will just wait here. Ok honey I said and I went on to my quarry. There he was in the foothold trying to pull away. I thought tonight I will set up the second hole with the same set up. I had rolled back the sod and dug my trap in and placed just a drop of a coon lure right at the edge of the sod. I caught 20 coons that winter most of them at the country club. I enjoyed just walking around and setting up in the beautiful piece of property. As well as talking to the members that stopped me to talk about trapping.
I never went back to the country club as the ground keeper moved onto another job. I only trapped another season after that one on the Little Beavercreek. After my son was born there just never seemed to be enough time. But this year he is thirteen and I have had a problem with a mink getting at my chickens. I went looking for my traps and I think it will be fun teaching my son. But I think we will target coon as I have been seeing a lot of track in the creek near the chicken lot. The little boy needs a coon skin cap and I can think of no better way to spend more time with him. Although he might be a little soft hearted like his mother. That’s ok as I love them both.