Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Eric and I taking Trapper's Education

This last Friday and Saturday Eric and I took the Wisconsin Trapper's Education course at the Brill Area Sportsman's Club.  The course was only $12 so I figured why the hell not, and Eric decided to sign up too.  For the $12 we got a trapping license, a subscription to two trapping magazines, and lunch.  For that price you just can't go wrong.  I decided to make a trip of it since I got the time off from work and go camping for the class.  So, I stayed at the Waldo Carlson Park on Red Cedar Lake.  I took my brother's 2 man tent since I wanted to pack light.  I brought a sterno can like thing for heat to cook my food in case I didn't have a fire ring, because I didn't know anything about the campground.  It's a good thing I did too the campground was somehow actually worse than just camping in the woods.  There were some RV spots that were level, but other than that the campground was on a hill and did not have much space per campsite.  I was stuck on the side of a hill within a few feet of the road to get into the campground.  It was a horrible place and didn't even have a fire ring.  It was not enjoyable sleeping on the side of hill and even worse being so close to a road you could feel and hear every vehicle that went by.  The showers at campground cost $1 for 5 minutes which is expensive as far as pay showers go.  The campground was packed and I know it wasn't for the campground, so it must have been the lake.  Either way I did not enjoy my time there and if got the chance would for sure not go back.

Trappers Education was long, but fun and full of interesting things I learned.  The first night of the class was all ethics, laws and bookwork.  The second day was the fun one though.  Eric and I learned how to set every different kind of trap we could think of and different sets to make for catching animals.  It was fun, because it was all hands on and full of fun.  I even learned how to put animals up for sale.  The instructors for the class were so knowledgeable it was almost beyond belief.  I had some really quality instructors.  They got me excited to go trapping and I hope I can find some cheap traps and get trapping.  The one complaint I had is I hoped they would have a list they could give us of all the local fur buyers in the area with contact information.  The stressed each person traps a different way, and the way to learn how to trap is to get out and do it, so hopefully I will do just that.  Hopefully The Brill Area Sportsman's Clubhouse is really nice and even has AC!  Their trap and skeet range is also nice even having lights for night on it.  Their shooting range was a little less nice but still acceptable.  What really surprised me though was the fact that dues were only $20 a year for such a nice facility.  Anyway here are a few pictures of my camping experience and trapper's education.

A man's meal Beanie Weanies

My cooking setup

My campsite.  See how bad it is.

The skinning and fleshing station

What to have with you while trapping

Look at all the different kinds of traps

Spaghetti and meatballs

My campsite again

The sweet patch I got for graduating

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