I know that we are in the heart of the fishing season and I should be telling you all about the fish that I have been catching, or at least trying to catch, but I am interrupting it to make a MAJOR announcement. Never mind the drum roll, I am just going to blurt it out: I GRADUATED! Yup, last weekend I received my diploma. I am officially a Wisconsin Certified Trapper. 

Previous to my certification I was limited to trapping fishers and otters. Now I can expand my pursuits to other critters including beaver, muskrats, coyotes and hopefully bobcats, if I draw a tag. Trapping a bobcat is a huge feather in a trapper’s hat and it is the main reason that I went “back to school.”

A long time ago I chased muskrats on the Mississippi River and that’s where I cut my trapping teeth. I trapped just enough ‘rats to say that I was a trapper and just enough to make a few bucks. Even though the entire river was my playground, my trapping range was limited to the stretch that I could cover on foot. Trapping for me was an adventure but carrying traps and gear up and down the river was a chore. Even though it seemed like I spent more time walking than I did actually trapping, I enjoyed it. Fast forward and here I am getting my feet wet once again, literally and figuratively with trapping. I couldn’t be more excited for the season to get here.  

So how can you get certified to trap in Wisconsin? There a couple options. The online course is focused mainly around the “trapping online textbook.” The in-person class is an eight-hour course that is more hands on and less book centered. In addition to completing the eight-hour instruction you must also attend a four-hour demonstration portion which takes place at the district trapping rendezvous around the state. For more information go to the Wisconsin DNR Go Wild website or the Wisconsin Trappers Association website.

I looked into the online portion but eventually decided that I would learn more about actual trapping techniques if I took the “hands on” class. I set myself apart from the other 12 students in my class while taking part in the trap identification portion. Somehow I got both hands caught in a 330 Conibear Trap. I had to interrupt the class and ask the instructor for help in freeing me from an embarrassing predicament.  

“Is this an automatic fail?” I asked with a red face and red fingers.

“Nope,” the instructor said smiling, “but welcome to the 330 Club.” Then he laughed in a way that I knew he was a member of the 330 Club as well.  

In a related matter, where else but in Wisconsin can you graduate and receive awesome gifts like these? 

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal