Out of State Trapping

How it all began….

The process started with a seed, or better yet… A Dream. I guess you could say it all started from

when I was a young adolescent. I was reading this and that about trapping, or watching and VHS

tape I could get my hands on. I didn’t have the luxury of the internet when I was younger, hell, we

were living high on the hog if mom would let us go rent a movie from the local video store. So

needless to say, I sent the majority of my youth outdoors. Building dams in the creek by

homestead, minnow trapping, building forts, hunting for snakes or bullfrogs, running raccoon

hounds with my best friend, squirrel hunting, ginseng hunting, obviously trapping and anything

and everything you can think of that involved the outdoor world. Although, to segue back to this

dream…

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You see it all started from not having the internet, and I’ll tell you why. Not having the internet is

what made me venture out as a youth and learn things on my own or with my buddies, and it led

me to meet my first trapping mentor. This mentor is no hidden secret as I talk about him quite often

when it comes to any type of success I have had. Yes many other factors go into this equation, but

if it wasn’t for Dave, then I would have never fallen in love with this thing called Trapping. Which

leads me to Dave bringing up this unreal picture he had on his computer, which came from this

thing they called a forum on the internet. The picture was of a row of 9 coyotes all with bracelets

on their paws. Wow… Holy cow! That is unreal, I thought to myself. And it was with that picture

that planted a seed in my brain at a very young age. I might have been 17-18 years of age, but with

each year that seed grew from a dream to a reality, but it took another 14-15 years approximately.

IN THE MEAN TIME

Now over the next 15 or so years, I continued to trap as much as possible while still pursuing my

professional career. Then 2017 came, and towards the middle of the year I graduated with a degree

to practice medicine. Shortly after that, I passed my boards and started working. Working a full

time job and picking up work on the weekends gave me something I never had prior. Prior to

finishing up my degree in 2017 I was always trapping. I just wouldn’t call it the type of trapping I

was acceptable with because I was relying on using Dave’s Barn, or borrowing equipment from

him. I mean shoot, there were times I didn’t trap because I didn’t have the extra money to afford

the gas that it would take to run a small line for 2 weeks. Fast forward, I am fortunate to have the

job and degree I have now, because it allows me to have that financial independence. I am able to

make my dreams a reality now.

Everyone has there own picture perfect dream, like watching an ocean sunset or going on a nice all

exclusive cruise… Not me man, to me a perfect dream is being out there with and against nature.

Whether you are chasing coyotes in the sand hills or elk in the NorthWest landscape. Being outside

and battling the weather, battling the fronts, battling the daily hurdles, the ups and downs, and

trying to accomplish the harvest. Yessir, that’s what its all about to me. Now if I am being honest, I

chose chasing coyotes any day of the week. I can’t seem to get enough of it, and I am thankful to

be able to do so at the highest output I can produce. I mean c’mon you choose… You can either be

in a nice fancy beach house or a rancher’s bunk house. Give me the bunk house and the pursuit of

coyotes.

WE’RE BURNING DAYLIGHT

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The pursuit didn’t take long, at least, not long in my home state. I was catching 60-70 canine a

year, but man I can’t just do something lightly. I wanted to hit triple digits, but I wanted to do so

without any formal trapping education. I guess you can say I was taught from countless hours

reading, watching VHS tapes, and attending OSTA demos. The reason I wanted to learn by trial

and error was that it would allow me to explain it much easier and clearer to someone. As I am

sure many of you reading this are like me and learn more so doing it yourself hands on at your

speed. The 2016-2017 year was when I started coyote academy social media accounts, and now it

has grown to this website, as well as, a place for me to communicate with those who decide to take

that next step and learn at their own pace to build a solid canine trapping foundation. That way if

they decide to attend an actual working trapline school, or any school for trapping canine they

wont be completely in the dark when it comes to doing things. Take it from me personally, I

developed my style of trapping from many different individuals over 2 decades. The things Ill

show you on the masterclass work, but so do other methods. That is part of the beauty of trapping,

there is more than one way to skin a coyote.

I am full throttle when I am passionate about something, and very competitive. The person I am

most competitive with is myself. Always trying to out do my previous years catch, and really see

how far I can push the envelope. Doing so really starts with work ethic and ends with persistence,

but there are many factors in between that can make your pursuit easier or harder. Look, if you are

starting to see some love handles and man boobs its time to start working on your over

cardiovascular health, and also working out physically will benefit you more than you probably

realize. Now, I am not saying get ripped up like a bodybuilder or be shaped like an endurance

runner. That isn’t necessary in our pursuit, but being able to move freely, push, and pull is. The

excess weight you are carrying on your body is working against your joints with each step.

The routine I follow is basic weight training and cardio from the end of February until the

beginning of November. Then during trapping season I stay pretty active on the trapline, but I also

start doing calisthenics from November until the middle of February. I am not saying that this is

what you should do, and you don’t need to workout everyday. Find a routine you like and stick to

it. You’ll be able to put more fur in the barn because of it. I promise.

Family life, holidays, football parties, etc can also get in the way when you are trying to achieve a

goal. I have missed countless birthday parties, I have missed Thanksgiving or been late too many

times, and I don’t really get into the other shenanigans. Missing these events can carry a burden on

your relationships, especially with your spouse. That is why another thing to consider is having

someone who vibes with you and your passion. I am thankful that my wife is very supportive, and

that my daughter finds animal conservation interesting. It makes everything so much more fluid,

but you also have to remember to treat your loved ones when you can.

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Where do we begin when it comes to out of state trapping. It will definitely be an out of pocket

expense for many individuals. The cost can very depending on what connections you can make, if

you split the cost with a partner, are you bringing prepackaged food or buying groceries when you

show up, what is the licensing fees you need to consider, how many freezers, are you hauling a

trailer and side by side, gas expense factored in with the overall gas mileage you will be getting

hauling all of your equipment out of state, and how far do you have to drive to get to your

destination are just a couple things to consider.

If you are trapping coyotes go west and south for numbers. I referencing this from the Midwest. If

you want beaver, otter, etc go south towards the Gulf of America or north to Maine. If you want to

get into a live market go east to the Atlantic, and if you want to trap large numbers of fox go

towards Maryland. Doing this will potentially upset some people in the industry, but if everyone

wants to look at what they do as part of their business… Well, sometimes you get undercut in

business. It’s just part of the game, and if you can get permission on a property in those areas in my

opinion it is free game. Be courteous, and don’t trap on a place if you know there is an existing

trapper there. Stay ethical, but at the end of the day if you are going out of state don’t go there to

fail. Plan to succeed, and have a goal in mind. Make the goal a little out of reach of what you think

can be done. The reason for this, is if you set realistic goals you will probably hit them and then

what, let off the gas? Some people might, but if you set an unrealistic goals you will keep battling

to try and reach that. That’s how I operate anyways… For example, If I go out of state to trap

coyotes I might strive to catch 200 in a week, but I was only able to catch 150. On the flip side, if I

set a goal for 100, would I have kept trapping hard or maybe switched things up and coasted.

Comparing the 2 examples, I did not hit my goal… But, I have 50 more coyotes than if I would

have set my goal for 100 and stopped.

After you figure out what your target species is, start looking at the maps to find a place you want

to potentially be your area (home base), then look to see where you can trap in that area, and start

making some calls. If you have to fly out in the summer to introduce yourself, do it. Keep records

of your contacts so you can stay in touch with them as well as getting their mailing address. Then

follow up with a thank you card… Even if they told you no. I have had folks tell me no at first and

then after sending the card and they know I am out there trapping… a few have called me and

asked if I can trap on them. It really does work, don’t get bitter… Get better.

Most places will hook you up with a place to stay, or at a discounted rate until you can prove your

skills… which you will. If you can get a place to stay, and permission in the surrounding area, then

you need to start planning your route. Making the trapline route into a circle so you don’t back

track can be difficult, but it can be doable.

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After you get your destination, permissions, home base, route, and figure out what gear you are

going to need out there… You are going to want to get your funds in order to finance this trip, but

you will also need to plan time off from work. This can be tricky, because we cannot look into the

crystal ball and see what the weather forecast is going to be months in advance. Now with data

easily available at our finger tips you can look up weather forecasts from years past and try and

find a pattern. After that, all you need to do is go do it… Just remember, you still have to work

hard once you get there. The coyotes, beaver, etc don’t fall in your lap without working hard. At

least not the volume I am after. Don’t be paralyzed by your fear or the unknown… Go on an

adventure. If you succeed great, if you fail… Pick yourself up, re-evaluate, and try again. Keep

grinding and embrace the suck.

Colt Morris, Owner/Operator of Coyote Academy.