Steel Traps and Fur Animals: Setting, Baiting, and Animal Behavior
The steel trap, when Gibson wrote in 1881, was the professional trapper's primary tool — an investment in manufactured quality that could outlast the trapper himself if maintained properly. Today, vintage steel traps are still in use, modern equivalents continue to be manufactured, and the knowledge of how to use them has become increasingly rare. Gibson's systematic treatment of each trap size and the animals it targets remains one of the clearest guides ever written.
The Steel Trap System: Sizes and Applications
Gibson describes the Newhouse trap series, which became the industry standard in American trapping and remains the reference point for trap sizing today. Understanding the size scale is the foundation of all steel trap use:
No. 0 (Rat Trap): The smallest manufactured steel trap, with jaws approximately 4 inches across. Used for large mice, young muskrats, and weasels. The spring force is light and the jaws do not break bone — this trap holds by catching the leg, not by crushing it.
No. 1 (Muskrat Trap): The standard small fur animal trap. Used for muskrat, young mink, and large weasels. Four-and-a-half inch jaw spread. Gibson calls this the most widely used trap in North America — muskrat was the backbone of the fur trade.
No. 2 (Mink Trap): Five-inch jaw spread with somewhat heavier springs. Used for mink, young marten, and similar-sized animals. The standard for serious mink trapping.
No. 2-1/2 (Fox Trap): The bridge between small and medium game trapping. Six-inch jaws, strong springs. Used for red fox, gray fox, young fisher, and similar animals.
No. 3 (Otter Trap): Seven-inch jaws, very strong springs. Used for river otter, mature mink, and similar aquatic medium-large animals.
No. 4 (Beaver Trap): Eight-inch jaws with exceptionally heavy springs. Used for beaver, Canadian lynx, and mature otter. Setting this trap requires significant hand strength; many trappers use a setting tool.
No. 5 (Small Bear Trap) and "Great Bear Tamer": Large-jaw traps requiring setting tools and significant anchoring. For large predators.
Trap Ownership Requires Marking
Modern trapping law in most U.S. states requires steel traps to be marked with the owner's name and address — either stamped into the metal or on an attached metal tag. Unmarked traps are confiscatable. If you own steel traps for emergency use, mark them before you need them.
Anchoring and the Spring Pole System
A trapped animal that is not immediately restrained will fight the trap. Over hours, this struggle can result in the animal pulling the trap stake free, twisting off the foot at the trap jaw (known as "wringing off"), or the trap being carried away. Gibson describes three anchoring systems that prevent these outcomes:
The Standard Stake: A stake driven 18-24 inches into the ground, with the trap chain attached via a swivel (a rotating connection that prevents chain twisting). The swivel is essential — without it, a fighting animal winds the chain tight and gets leverage to pull the stake. For muskrat and similar light animals, a 12-inch stake is adequate in solid ground. For fox and larger animals, 18 inches minimum in hard soil.
The Sliding Pole: For aquatic trap sets, Gibson recommends a sliding pole arrangement rather than a fixed stake. The trap chain is threaded onto a long pole laid at an angle into the water. When a muskrat or mink is caught, it instinctively dives — the chain slides down the pole to the deep end, and the animal drowns quickly. This system prevents prolonged suffering and produces a more undamaged pelt.
The Grappling Iron: For large animals on terrain where staking is impractical (frozen ground, rocky terrain), the trap is attached to a heavy grappling hook — a multi-tined iron hook — rather than a fixed stake. The trapped animal drags the grapple, which snags on rocks, roots, and brush, preventing escape while allowing limited movement. The trapper follows the drag sign to recover the catch.
The Drown Set for Aquatic Fur Animals
Muskrat and mink sets in water should always be configured to drown the catch quickly. Set the trap in 6-10 inches of water at an active entrance to a bank burrow or feed lodge. Chain long enough to reach 18+ inches of water, attached to a stake or sliding pole. The animal is caught, instinctively dives, and drowns within minutes — preventing escape, reducing pelt damage, and eliminating prolonged suffering.
Animal Behavior Profiles: The Trapper's Knowledge
Gibson's most valuable contribution may be his detailed behavioral profiles of each fur animal. Trapping without behavioral knowledge is guesswork; with it, trap placement becomes systematic and predictable.
Beaver: Highly intelligent and suspicious of new objects. Gibson emphasizes that beavers must be given time to accept a new set — 3-4 days minimum after initial placement before expecting results. Prime set locations: dam spillways (beavers inspect and repair these regularly), slides (mud chutes where beavers drag material to and from the water), and feed piles (winter food caches of branches submerged near the lodge). The trap is placed at the edge of a prepared "scent mound" — a small pile of mud and sticks on which castoreum (beaver musk) is applied. Beaver are drawn to investigate and mark over foreign scent markings on their territory.
Mink: Intensely curious, follows waterways obsessively, and investigates every cavity, hollow log, and debris pile along creek banks. The ideal mink set exploits this habit. Place a No. 2 trap in a natural-looking cubby — a small enclosure made of bark, rock, or debris — at the water's edge. Bait with fish, muskrat musk, or commercial mink lure. Mink will investigate the cubby regardless of bait, and the enclosed nature of the set concentrates the animal's attention in the trap zone.
Handle Mink Sets with Gloves
Mink have an extraordinarily acute sense of smell and are among the most suspicious animals in North American trapping. Handle all equipment with rubber gloves, approach sets from water rather than bank, and avoid leaving footprints near the set. A fresh human scent on a mink set can make it unproductive for 3-5 days.
Fox: The most wary of common fur animals. Fox investigates unfamiliar objects from downwind first, testing for danger by scent before approach. Effective fox sets require:
- No foreign scent on equipment or surrounding soil — work with rubber gloves and minimal ground disturbance
- Natural bait (rabbit, mouse) combined with fox lure (urine or gland lure)
- Concealed trap, covered with fine sifted soil that matches surroundings
- The set made at a location already visited by fox — track sign or scat indicates regular fox travel
Gibson notes that experienced fox trappers develop what he calls "fox sense" — an intuitive understanding of where fox travel, what draws their curiosity, and what triggers their avoidance. This sense is built through seasons of observation, not from reading descriptions.
Raccoon: The least wary common fur animal and among the easiest to catch. Raccoon are attracted to bright, shiny objects — this is not a myth. A small piece of aluminum foil, a broken piece of mirror, or a silver coin partially buried near a trap will attract an investigating raccoon. Waterside sets near mussel beds, crayfish habitat, or corn fields (raccoon routinely raid agricultural fields) are highly productive. The No. 2-1/2 or No. 3 trap is appropriate for average-sized raccoon.
Bait Recipes and Lures: Gibson's Formulations
Gibson provides detailed formulations for trapping lures — the scent compounds that attract animals to a set from distance and overcome their natural caution. These formulations are based on the animals' own chemistry — using glandular secretions, territorial scents, and food attractants.
Universal small game bait: Mix equal parts honey, fish oil, and anise extract. Apply to a small piece of meat used as bait. The honey and anise provide long-range attractant while the fish oil provides a closer-range trigger scent for omnivorous animals.
Mink and weasel lure: Fresh fish guts (particularly oily fish — sucker, carp, or trout) packed into a small jar and allowed to ferment for 2 weeks produces a powerful attractant. Add 5-10 drops of mink musk (from the anal glands of a previously trapped mink) for an additional territorial trigger.
Fox and coyote lure: Skunk essence — paradoxically — is one of the best fox attractants. Fox associate skunk odor with dead skunk (a food source), not danger. Commercial fox lures typically combine skunk essence with fox urine and sweet anise or asafoetida.
Beaver castoreum: The beaver's own territorial marking compound is the standard beaver lure. Modern commercial preparations are reliable, but Gibson describes obtaining it from trapped beavers by removing the castor glands — paired glands located between the pelvis and base of the tail — and sun-drying them for storage.
The Trapper's Tool Kit
Gibson recommends a minimal but complete trapper's tool kit: a hatchet, a draw shave for stake sharpening, a pair of rubber gloves for scent control, a wire stake puller, a setting clamp for heavy traps, a small trowel for blind sets, and a bottle of trap-dip (a rust-preventing coating that also reduces metallic scent). This kit, plus an appropriate selection of traps, represents a functional small-scale commercial trap line.
Fur Curing and Pelt Preparation
Gibson's book includes comprehensive coverage of fur preparation — the skill that converts a trapped animal into a useful or tradeable commodity. The key steps:
Skinning: For most fur animals, the open (flat) skin is preferred over the case (tube) skin for stretching and drying. Make the initial cut from the vent upward to the chin, skin out the legs, and peel the pelt from the carcass. Work with a sharp knife and minimum force — nicks and cuts reduce pelt value.
Fleshing: Remove all fat and membrane from the pelt's inner surface using a fleshing board and a fleshing tool (a dull-bladed scraper). Leaving fat causes putrefaction even in cold weather and ruins the fur.
Stretching: Stretch the green (fresh) pelt on a stretcher — a wedge-shaped wooden board sized for the animal species — with fur side in. Allow to dry slowly at room temperature, not near heat. Rapid drying causes the hide to crack.
Storage: Dried pelts should be stored cool, dry, and sealed against insects. Moth larvae and dermestid beetles destroy fur rapidly. Gibson recommends cedar storage for finished pelts.