10% discount at Crystal Coast Trapping Supplies for CFHA members

Crystal Coast Trapping Supplies is offering a 10% discount to all CFHA member! View this email in your browser 10% discount from Crystal Coast Trapping Supplies. All CFHA members can receive a 10% discount on their trapping supplies order from Crystal Coast Trapping Supplies.. Traps are excluded from the 10% discount. Mention that you are a CFHA member when you place your order. Go to www.cctsoutdoors.com to place an order or to view their catalog. Copyright © 2016 Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email newsletter after joining the Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association Our mailing address is: Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association PO Box 2091 Vernon, CT 06066 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association Packbasket Newsletter

CFHA Packbasket   Volume 1, Issue 5 History of the CFHA Why another state organization? Herb Sobanski, Jr. CFHA President  Fur trapping has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are filled with times spent with my father on his trapline. I ran my own trapline throughout my teenage years, checking traps before or after school.  Like most of us, I stopped trapping once I completed my high school years and started college and then into the workforce. I married late in my 20's and started a family.  Trapping came back into my life later in my 30's. It started with assisting my Dad with his beaver trapping and NWCO work. It wasn't long before I was running my own trapline again.   Sometime within the early 90's, my Dad and I attended a game dinner event put on by our then, one and only state trapping organization. It was then that I decided to become active in serving within an organization dedicated to preserving our fur trapping heritage.   Cheap Cleaning Patches Branden Bergeron CFHA Affiliate Director I had hoped to find a wittier title for this article, but nothing sums it better than "Cheap Cleaning Patches".  Trappers, by our very nature, are cheap and we also own/use guns, which we must clean guns.  For many years I spent hard earned money on cleaning patches purchased from gun stores or mail order catalogs.  They worked well enough, but were not great.  Sometimes I ran out of the size that I needed, or I used them too sparingly because of the cost.  This all changed in one trip to a local craft store.  My wife was shopping for flannel for a sewing project.  She was elated that it was deeply discounted.  Upon feeling the material and seeing the price I was equally thrilled, not because she saved herself money, but because it was obvious that this flannel would make perfect gun cleaning patches. Even at full price, the material sells for around $6 per yard (42" wide).  Let's do some quick math:  at Cabela's, a 500 pack of 1.25" square (for .22 caliber through .270 caliber) flannel patches is currently on sale for $9.88 (regular price is $11.99).  This breaks down to roughly two cents per patch.  Assuming that we can cut 924 (33 rows of 28 patches) of the exact same 1.25" square patches from one yard of flannel, the price per patch is down to approximately 0.7 cents.  This is one-third of the price of store bought patches!  If you shop smart and use a coupon (craft stores always have coupons in their weekly ads) or get the flannel while it ismarked down the savings are even greater. In order to convert the flannel fabric into patches, there are two options:  scissors (slow and difficult) or a rotary cutter and mat (see photo).  I unequivocally promise, the rotary cutter and mat are absolutely worth the money.  This system allows very quick, clean cutting of many layers of flannel at one time.  Patches are cut almost instantly to any size that you choose.  As you can see in the photo, I make many different sized patches to match the cleaning task at hand.  I especially like to make playing card sized rags to wipe down the interior of the action or rifle bolts.  As a helpful guide, here are patch size suggestions for common calibers: .223/.22-.270 cal (1.25") .270-.35 cal (1.75") .38-.45 cal & .410 bore (2.25") .45-.58 cal & 28 ga. (2.5") 12, 16, & 20 ga. (3")Using this system, you'll always have the best cleaning patch size for the task at hand and you will not break the bank.  This means more gas money for trapping season!   BMP's for Trapping the Eastern Coyote in the United States What are the BMP's for eastern coyote? Herb Sobanski, Jr. CFHA President       Best Management Practices (BMPs) are carefully researched educational guides designed to address animal welfare and increase trappers' efficiency and selectivity. The extensive research and field-testing used to develop BMPs are described in the Introduction section of this manual. The evaluation methods used to develop BMPs have been standardized, enabling them to be easily updated and revised as new traps and techniques become available. All traps listed in the BMPs have been tested and meet performance standards for animal welfare, efficiency, selectivity, practicality and safety.         Trapping BMPs provide options, allowing for discretion and decision making in the field. BMPs are meant to be implemented in a voluntary and educational approach and do not present a single choice that can or must be applied in all cases. BMPs are the product of ongoing work that may be updated as additional traps are identified through future scientific testing..   Sections include:   • General Overview of Traps Meeting BMP Criteria for Coyotes in the Eastern United States • Specifications of Traps Meeting BMP Criteria for Coyotes in the Eastern United States         Traps tested and evaluated in these BMP's for coyote AND are legal in the state of Connecticut for any type of land sets or spring hole sets were:   Woodstream™ Victor No. 1 ½ Softcatch modified coil-spring, four-coiled. Woodstream™ Victor No. 3 Softcatch modified coil-spring, four-coiled Jake™ Trap padded coil-spring trap         Traps tested and evaluated in these BMP's for coyote AND are legal in the state of Connecticut for spring hole sets ONLY were:   Woodstream™ Victor No. 1.75 coil-spring Woodstream™ Victor No. 2 coil-spring Sleepy Creek™ No. 1 ¾ coil-spring, wide jaw, offset   Please note: Connecticut has specific regulations related to making land sets for coyote during the coyote private land trapping season.   Below is an excerpt from the Connecticut 2015 HUNTING & TRAPPING FIELD GUIDE:   PADDED METAL TRAP RESTRICTIONS         May only be used in the burrow of a wild animal or below the surface of the water in a pond, lake, stream, spring hole, or tidal water. Except that, any person who has completed a DEEP approved special land trapping course may use padded metal traps on or below ground from December 1 through January 31 for the taking of coyotes on private land parcels of at least 10 contiguous acres where the landowner has given written permission explicitly for the use of such traps. When trapping coyotes in this manner, no visible bait may be used, pan tension must be two pounds or greater, and traps must be securely anchored to the ground.       Opening greater than 5 15/16" is prohibited, except that traps with an opening of up to 7 1/2" may be set for beaver in waters frequented by beaver.         BMPs serve as a reference guide to wildlife management agencies, conservation organizations, tribal nations, researchers, trapper organizations, individual trappers and others interested in the continued improvement of traps and trapping systems.         For more information on the BMP's for Trapping the Eastern Coyote download the PDF file at: http://www.fishwildlife.org/files/EasternCoyote_BMP_2014_F.pdf   Johnny Thorpe:  The Man, The Myth, The Legend By Branden Bergeron       On October 27, 2015, NTA Trapping Hall of Famer Johnny Thorpe passed away at his home in Upstate New York.  It would be surprising if anyone reading this article did not immediately recognize Johnny's name.  Just in case you are unfamiliar with him, I suggest that you rush to the internet and purchase the book 50 Years A Trapper and Treasure Hunter.  This book is written by Johnny and is probably the quickest way to understand who he was.  Even if you know who Johnny is, I still highly suggest this book, it is a fascinating read.             I was fortunate enough to spend time taking trapping instruction from Johnny in 2014.  Up until that point I had read articles authored by him, heard people talk about him, but I had never met him.  Arriving at Johnny's house in Stony Creek, NY, I was quickly welcomed into his front room, which is essentially a museum/gift shop filled with all kinds of interesting artifacts, treasures, and other sundries.  Everything in that room seemed to have a fascinating story behind it.  After being in his house for only a short time, I could already see that Johnny clearly lived up to his reputation.             We spent every waking hour discussing something related to trapping, lure making, or treasure hunting.  When Johnny talked I would soak it in, feverishly scratch down notes, and then it would be onto the next topic.  I could easily fill pages with everything that I learned in those two days, but I'm confident that Johnny has covered much of it in his articles and videos.             I would like to share two very important highlights from the trapping instruction which apply to trapping and almost everything else in life.  First and foremost, keep things simple.  Johnny's approach to trapping was incredible simple.  There was no place for oddball gadgets or gimmicks on his line.  Where possible, sets were made to catch multiple species of furbearer.  This is not earth shattering information, but witnessing the simplicity firsthand made me a true believer.  Simplicity is efficient.  Secondly, through his stories and various teachings it was quite apparent that Johnny regularly outsmarted and outworked his competition.  Often this meant walking a bit farther down a stream before placing a trap or avoiding flashy sets in favor of something a bit more subtle.             Quite possibly the most memorable part of my time spent with Johnny involved a discussion the he and I had regarding the fact that in Connecticut, I would be relying heavily on the use of cage traps to catch fisher.  At one point in the conversation I threw out an idea and asked if that may make the set more effective.  I could sense that a lightbulb went off in Johnny's head.  He immediately started discussing why he thought it would work well and how I could improve upon it.  There was a visible sparkle in his eye as we further refined the idea.  At that moment I realized just how deeply Johnny loved not only trapping, but teaching trapping to others.             It would not be fitting for me to close this article out without sharing some thoughts from Jim Thorpe, one of Johnny's sons.  After learning of Johnny's passing, I reached out to Jim to express my condolences, as he was the one that originally put me in touch with Johnny when I sought him out to take instruction.  Jim passed along a quote that was left on Johnny's comment page by Andy Sprague of Warrensburg, NY:             I had the honor of working with Johnny in the New York State Trapper Education Program.  At the time, the program was coordinated through the Warren County 4-H Program.  He positively affected scores of teenagers within the county.  Teens within the 4-H Adirondack Guide Program were encouraged to attend his courses; not necessarily to make them trappers, but to learn from a true expert about wildlife habits and habitat.  To the teens this quiet, knowledgeable man, with his ability to read and teach "wildlife sign" made him truly, without exaggeration, a living Crocodile Dundee!             In addition, Jim memorialized his father by saying, "He was a trapper's trapper; had many other talents, but in his heart he [was] always a trapper first and foremost, and the only thing he seemed to love as much was sharing his knowledge with alert students of the art." Rest in peace, Johnny.   Trapping News CFHA Trapper's Workshop Submitted by Herb Sobanski Jr.          The Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association's Board of Directors held the first annual CFHA Trappers Workshop on October 24th, 2015 at the Tolland Agricultural Center in Vernon Connecticut.  The CFHA Trappers Workshop was free to all CFHA members.  The workshop offered free trap dying of any member's traps up to 2 dozen. There were scheduled demonstrations and plenty of food for everyone.  This year's event presented the following demos: Muskrat Colony cage trap making – Eric Schupp Beaver skinning and fleshing – Herb Sobanski Jr. Coyote skinning and fleshing – Tony Szrejna How to use a cable drowning rig for beaver – Branden Bergeron Otter skinning – Eric Schupp Raccoon skinning – Herb Sobanski Jr. Raccoon fleshing – Branden Bergeron / Tony Szrejna Fur tanning for personal use – Tony Szrejna Making a beaver castor lure – Herb Sobanski Jr.       The trap dying area was manned by Nick Jennings, Greg Bouchard, and Austin Szrejna. We had plenty of beaver stew, turkey soup, and red stag chili for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to Les Debski, Sherri Sobanski, Tony and Tammy Szrejna for making these outstanding dishes.             There was also a free in-house raffle for all of those who attended.  Special thanks to Eric Schupp for donating many of the raffle prizes. We had a great day meeting the CFHA members (and new members who joined that day) who attended the workshop.       A special thanks to Ashton, Nick, and Angelina for helping out all day long.             The CFHA organizations foundation was built upon the creation of an organization that is focused on its members, preserving the fur trapping heritage, and engaging our youth though education and outreach programs. Next year will be even bigger! Here are a few pictures from the day. Have a safe and bountiful trapping season.     May your plews be prime and your boots stay dry.   Herb Classified Section: ( If you would like to sell, buy or trade any items, please contact us! )     For Sale: CFHA Beaver Buster castor lure. $15 per 4 oz jar. Contact Herb at 860-874-3172   For Sale: 15 foot canoe. $100 or Best Offer. Contact Herb at 860-874-3172 For Sale:  Metal and plastic barrels all sizes for sale. Contact John at 860-543-5376 For Sale:  Seasoned wood for sale by the cord. Call Les at 860-874-2186     Furbearer Facts  Despite their name, fishers do not actually eat fish. They prey on smaller mammals, and are considered a specialty predator because they prey on porcupines. Fishers do not have any major predators. Bobcat and lynx have been known to prey on them on occasion as well as wolves. A male fisher will patrol a territory of approximately 30 square miles, making circuits and passing through the same area once every two weeks or so. Females patrol a smaller territory around 10 square miles. Most fisher activity is not seen by humans during daylight, as they are most active and tend to hunt at night time.  Connecticut Fur Harvesters Association     I am enclosing payment for one years' membership in the CFHA which includes a one year's subscription to "The Trappers Post" magazine. I will work with the association to conserve our natural resources, educate the general public to bring about fair trapping laws and work to prevent unfair legislation from becoming law.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Name:   16yrs and older - $30.00/yr   Address:       15 yrs and younger - $15.00/yr   Town:   Zip:       Email:   Phone:                   Mail to:  Tony Szrejna c/o CFHA P.O. Box 2091 Vernon CT 06066 New Renewal       Make checks payable to "CFHA"                             Facebook Website

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