So, I did a little kit maintenance and figured I’d catalogue them with pictures, basic contents and weights.  I used a Leatherman Wave for size.  These are what I refer to as “Fish-Snare-Trapping” kits (or FiST kits for short).  I’ve used snares the most around the homestead, biggest critters snared have been coyote, possum, raccoon and beaver (although the larger 330 Conibears work best for beaver), down to squirrels, cats and rats.  Interestingly, I’ve started seeing several wild rabbits, but haven’t snared any.  I’ve had very lucky days where I put out just a few and scored the next morning and I’ve had as many as a dozen out around active sign and went a week before finally catching my intended game.  

I grew up where my brother and cousin made money trapping.  Their biggest money maker was mink which coincidentally escaped a nearby mink farm and would raise havoc on those with chicken coops.  

The Conibear traps are the most effective and if baited properly work almost 100% of the time there is active game in the area.  I’ve even used them very successfully catching (and killing) turtles.  There are just simply devastating on targeted game (and crows).

I haven’t had much luck with the Yo-Yo fish snares on my property; I’ve found they work best if used where bottom feeders like catfish are more prevalent.  They have too much torque for small pan fish when baited near the top of the water, but I’ve seen they can be effectively used on turtles and larger birds also.  The Speedhooks are by far the most effective in my immediate area.  I don’t catch any whoppers, but a half dozen will continually keep food on the plate and once set up like a “snare trotline”, it takes me just seconds to rebait and set.  I’ve only caught one three pound bass which was pushing the limits of my snare setup…it was more by accident than on purpose, but shows its effectiveness.

Fishing bait, dry flies and lures are very subjective and area specific.  Natural bait most often works the best as it fits the area but this also requires time, effort and sometimes opportunistic luck.  I much prefer natural bait, but lures and flies can help with some active measures of fishing to “test the waters”.  Most of my hooks are just assorted baits hooks, but I need to get some “circle hooks” as they work really well with the fish snares.  I do have some treble hooks, but you need to get the bait to fully enclose to avoid snagging.  Just some lessons I’ve learned around my lake and creek.

Gill nets are a money maker and there is a reason they are illegal in most public fishing areas.  They are best if used in areas to funnel fish and I’ve actively “chased” fish into my gill net and I’ve just floated it one in my lake.  It’s almost a guarantee to catch fish and do so consistently.  The smaller ones do tend to tear easier and some the waterways around here have a lot branches, trees and other crap that can catch and tear them if not careful.  The key has always been find a decent area, clear it out and then set it.  I’ve practiced with it several times, but it also means I have to check it regularly so I don’t wastefully kill any trapped fish.  





The first three are my larger kits that would go in various packs.  The largest is a stand-along, grab and go, modular part of my bug-out-bag.

Large Kit (in an Emdom Fatty bag): 6 pounds, 7 ounces





•2 x 110 Conibear traps (picture only shows one, but I rearranged and added a second)
•24 x various medium to small game snares
•Spool(s) of utility wire for securing traps or improvising more snares
•10 x Speedhook fish snares
•4 x Yo-Yo fish snares
•Cordage, Bankline, artificial sinew
•10 x various arrow heads
•150 yards, 50# Spectra fishing line
•330 yards, 8# Monofilament fishing line
•4 dozen fishing hooks, assorted sizes
•Sinker weights and floats
•Frog gig
•Gill net

Medium Sized Kit (mesh bag): 3 pounds



•18 x various medium to small game snares
•Spool of brass wire
•7 x Speedhook fish snares
•3 x Yo-Yo fish snares
•8 x various arrow heads
•Frog gig
•Gill net
•Cordage
•150 yards, 40# Spectra fishing line
•Needles, artificial sinew
•4 dozen fishing hooks, assorted sizes
•Dry flies and a couple lures
•Sinker weights and floats

Medium Sized Kit (black bag): 1 pound, 8 ounces



•14 x various medium to small game snares
•Extra wire
•8 x Speedhook fish snares
•1 x Yo-Yo fish snare
•2 dozen fish hooks, assorted sizes
•Dry flies, fishing lures
•150 yards, 40# Spectra fishing line
•Frog Gig

Next up are what I consider my “belt-sized” kits.  One is just a military utility pouch (about 4x4x2 inches) and the other two are repurposed Otis gun cleaning pouches; one large and one smaller.





The camo-pouch weighs in a 1 pound, 15 ounces (just shy of 2 pounds):





•14 x small game snares
•Wire (I need to find some small gauge wires, as this is really too big)
•300 yards, 60# Spectra fishing line
•110 yards, 6# Monofilament fishing line
•2 x Yo-Yo fish snares
•Cordage
•Needles, sinew
•Three dozen hooks, assorted sizes
•1 dozen treble/bait hooks
•Dry flies, fishing lure
•Sinkers
•Five arrow heads (the “arrow card”)

The Large Otis pouch weighs 15.8 ounces.  



•12 x small game snares
•1 x Yo-Yo fish snare
•300 yards, 14# fishing line
•3 dozen fish hooks
•6 treble hooks
•Dry flies, spinning lure
•Weighted sinkers and a couple of floats
•Safety pins, needles and artificial sinew
•Razor blade

Small Otis pouch weighs 8 ounces.





•5 x small/medium game snares (a little too big for squirrels, but fine for rabbits and bigger)
•3 dozen fishing hooks, assorted
•Dry flies, lures
•Weighted sinkers
•40 yards of Spectra fishing line
•4 safety pins

Last are my mini “FiST” kits.  One is a commercial kit sold by Bepreparedtosurvive.com (John McCann).  It’s a decent little kit, but I added a few more hooks and a canvas needle. The other two are parts of different kits.  One is added to a knife pouch and the small tin goes in my HPG Kit Bag.



The commercial tube kit (with extra hooks and needle) weighs 0.9 ounces
Mini wrapped kit weighs 1.1 ounces
Mini Altoids kit weighs 1.1 ounces








I do have some frog gigs in my kits which can be handy during the right season here.  They are also helpful to extend the reach and catching distance for some reptiles and even fish.

My goal this next year is to make some primitive arrows (shaft and fletching), which is why I have some arrowheads.  I haven't bow hunted in years, but I have a decent recurve bow and more recently, I've been practicing with Chief AJ's "Sling Bow" which is a remarkable device that not only can be used as a sling shot, the right tubing can be used to take down large game...deer, hog, even bear and moose (not that I would try).  It has a lot of versatility, but I definitely need more practice!:D:

I would like to make a disclaimer that you need to know your local game laws and obtain the appropriate licenses required. There are often numerous, year-round “pests” that can be hunted and trapped legally.  I’m fortunate to have the land and water to practice, but many of the game and fish snares can be used even if studied academically.  Practice makes perfect, but doing so requires responsibility. I’ve constructed primitive traps to just reinforce the skill, just don’t leave them up and unattended.  Another great practice is just identifying active game trails and burrows; formulating how best to set up a snare and camouflage it or identify an appropriate bait/lure.  Understand that snares and deadfall traps are indiscriminate, so make sure you know the area and the targeted game.  I really try to avoid the ground-anchored snares as it does tend to make the game suffer.  If I can make a spring snare to choke and kill it quicker, that is my preference.  Leg snares work, but can be cruel for regular snaring.  I will say that coyote, hog and beaver will wreak havoc on your cable snares if they’re not killed quickly.  Beaver and hogs will mow down the entire radius of the anchor…making it look like a bush hog was used and often mangle your cables beyond repair.  

Lastly, if I use more than a few snares/traps in any given area, I’ll make a sketch so I don’t forget where I placed them.  The last thing you want is lost snare…it’s not only cruel, but quite wasteful.  

ROCK6

Are you suggesting that the yo-yo's may not work well for small trout? I've been thinking of adding one to my GHB but I really don't have heavy fish in my AO, just trout and whitefish. They're yummy, but most weigh under a pound.

What size cable are you using for your snares? They seem kinda heavy for small game..... I prefer 1/16 for everything coyote sized and under, except I use 3/64 for bobcat since they have such good vision. I think the thinner cable kills faster, but you could have chew-outs if you don't get them killed right away. That can be remedied by proper placement of the snare and having pre-loaded snares for a faster "fire". And of course having a swivel helps to prevent binding of the cable if the animal doesn't get choked out right away.

I think that I would prefer a large rat trap over a 110 coni, but I've never used one to gather food so I may be over thinking it.

I love trapping and snaring, so lets post pics.....



These 2 are cable restraints and not snares, they have a relaxing lock. I use them around farm dog areas, so I don't accidentally kill the land owners dog.




This is how it looks if a thief beats you to your trap/snare line....

This cute little girl made it all the way thru the loop before it fired on her back legs.



Here's a mink in a 110 coni, since you mentioned them in the OP. I'd hate to have to eat one of those stinking things....



They are ferocious little fuckers though:

Coni's are indiscriminate killers, here's a porcupine who stuck his head in a 220 on a badger set.


I make my snares with 150# break away devices, I don't want to accidentally kill an antelope. But if I ever make any for my GHB, they will not have a B.A.D and will hold and kill up to elk sized animals.

Cool post Rock. It gives me a few things to think about. I recently moved deeper into the mountains and I had a career
change where I'm upwards of 500 miles from home. So my GHB has been "evolving" to reflect the change.

Good post Rock.  Reminds me I need to re-organize my fishing kits, and get around to building a couple primitive type kits I have wanted to for a while.

Man, you've got some coyote problems!  We are actually getting some very aggressive hybrids in GA.  My co-worker literally lives in a secluded area surrounded by Augusta suburbia and he's seen a few very large coyotes during daylight hours.  They are known to kill many of the domesticated pooches and eradicate the cat populations.  He's actually getting a .22LR and planning to bait them in.  

My really small snares (Thompson) are actually 1/32", but the majority are 1/16" with a few 3/32" for beaver. I think I have some 5/64" mixed in.  I've heard they use up to 1/4" for hogs.

The 110 Conibear traps are just one of the more versatile and reliable traps.  Whether your a Dave Canterbury fan or not, he does a good job explaining and showing the versatility of the 110:

110 Conibear Versatility

ROCK6

Yeah, it started because I was going through a mini kit and those effective, but damned worms act like battery acid to some plastics.  They literally melt some of the types of plastic and foam making a gooey mess.  If you can't get them in small plastic Ziploc type bags, I've wrapped them in tin-foil.  They are effective for jigging, but man, they are caustic if not stored separately!

ROCK6

Has anyone tried the speedhooks ?

My thinking is I would like to set something up over night, or be able to walk away from the water for awhile and have the fishing set up still working. I don't want to actively fish, I want to keep moving if I ever actually (God forbid) need to use my GHB.

Thanks.

I've had excellent success with them.  I've found a small creek area where I can rig them up (almost like a trot line) and dangle the bait like top water is irresistible to pan fish in my area.   They are easy to bait and set...very handy.  The spring action is just enough to set the hood, even with bigger fish.  

ROCK6

What are the various arrowheads for?

Arrows & probably spears?

I had them on-hand  Actually, it started off as an interesting find and then toying around with crafting arrows (when I was using my bow).  I want to work more on making shafts and adding natural fletching, but these were just easy head-attachments with artificial sinew and sap-glue.  My flint/glass knapping skills suck

The atlatl is also another potential option, but I'm pretty far from using anything like that effectively.  Recently, I've been practicing with Chief AJ's famous "Slingbow"; powerful slingshot that doubles at using regular arrows to take down medium to big game.  My "improvised" arrows worked pretty good at very close range and I would like to make better arrows to stretch that out...arrowheads just makes it easier.

Also, they can be used as a small spear or gig.  Something to dispatch snared game at a distance if I didn't want to use a gun or find a club.  

Just another option in the kit bag...

ROCK6

Heh heh, yep.    I hate that.       They will also melt those rubber hula skirts.    .        Do the plastic bags hold up?

I told my buddy to hang on to his gill nets, definitely illegal, but if things go Teotwawki, they will come in very handy.

For the most part yes.  I've also wrapped a few in aluminum foil.

ROCK6

This is the first time in a long time I haven't laid some conibears along a bottom edge for mink/muskrat, thrown out a bucket set for coon, or set a drowner for beaver. You have me thinking I need to hit the river for a weekend to scratch that itch.  

Thanks for the pics.

I don't have any trapline pics, but here are the end of last season's coons and stinkers that I put up last weekend.

Very cool! Did you do the tanning yourself?  

ROCK6

no.  I normally ship them off to the NAFA to put towards gear and gas.  When I run across something really cool, a few years ago it was otters, I send them to Moyle's for tanning.

Upgrade your bombers to Thills.  The mini stealth, the new supreme mini stealth and ice/fly strike indicator are all great for small kits.  The supreme stealth is a new favorite as it is easy to go from fixed to slip.  My kits are just duplicates of what I use when I fish.

Next size up is shy bite center slider.  Good to have as well.  Catch frogs with flies then rig them for bigger fish.

Excellent recommendations...thanks!  I really like those mini stealth floats.

ROCK6

I have some that are easily 20 years old.  I use all of their top end stuff.  

I would suggest bobbers, bobber stops, colored beads, split shot, hooks and small whistler jigs in a bobber kit.  I bought some of their new pre-weighted bobbers this year for my wife and nephews, but I never tested them myself.  Might be cool in a kit for larger bait, just can't say for sure, but they do balance well with my favorite jigs.  Idea is a novice won't have to balance the rig.  They are in my kit for next year.

I may go out to the garage tonight, if I do I will grab my small bobber kit for a pic.

Well, tonight or this weekend, that would be a good visual...thanks again.

ROCK6

thanks guys, I had never heard of Speedhooks before..........Amazon here I come.