It is that time of year again for the MTA Winter meeting here in Isle. Hope to see all you MN trappers make the trip up (or down ) for the day or weekend. Doors will open at 8am at the high school here in Isle. Here is just a couple of things on the agenda.
There will be a Trappers Education Instructors class on Friday at 12 noon at the old school on Main St here in town. Please call Ken Olson or Deb Offerdahl and pre-register if you are interested in becoming a certified Instructor. I expect the class to take no longer then 4 hrs.
Doors will open at the new High school for the Winter Meeting at 8am on Saturday Jan 6. There will be several fur buyers in attendance buying fur as well as both Auction houses to collect for the upcoming sale.
The Fur Harvestors Auction Inc. will again sponsor the Big Furbearer contest. Prizes for the top 3 places for Heaviest Beaver, Raccoon, Muskrat, Largest Beaver tail and largest Muskrat tail. Feel you have a monster animal bring it along and compete for prizes !
Again this year we will also have the pelt handling contest. Here you will see fur handling at it's best. If you think you have what it takes to compete please do as participation is key to the success of the event. One pelt per species so bring your best handeled pelt and compete. Prizes will be awarded for the best handeled pelt in each category. Even if you do not choose to compete I encourage you to view the pelts and see where you may be able to increase your income.
I have scheduled 2 demo's for this event. Rally Hess will be doing an under ice Beaver snaring demo. When it comes to snaring very few have more knowledege then our own Rally Hess. I see that prices may be at $40 for heavy furred winter Beaver. Rally will give us tips on catching decent numbers of these prime pelts with reasonable amount of effort. Do not be afraid to ask anything related to snaring as Rally is a wealth of knowledge. Always seems to have a crowd around his booth as they pick his brain.
Kyle Kaatz will also be on hand to give us all some insite in lure manufacturing. I sure look forward to this as Kyle has developed a very successful line of products. Having spent a great deal of time in a wide variety of states, Kyle will have tips we all can use. I know Kyle also has secrets that he is reluctant to share but I will make this suggestion- he is a sucker for Ice Cream and my guess is he could be bribed into giving up nearly any trade secret for a large vanilla cone!
Given the time restraints we have, I think we will have both demo's start at 9am. Pick the one that is most interesting and useful to you.
There will be many other top trappers from around the state willing to share their knowledge. I encourage you to stick your hand out and introduce yourself and ask these gifted individuals to share their knowledge. If you would like me to introduce you to some one and are feeling shy, look me up and I will be glad to make the introduction for you.
Here is just some of the trappers I encourage you to meet at this event. There is a wealth of knowledge here all you need to do is ask as they all enjoy promoting our great sport.
Jack Pine Savage (Arnie Peterson) without a doubt one of the best trappers this state will ever see. Arnie often takes over 150 weasels every year besides putting up some very immpresive numbers of fur. Last year at 70 years young Arnie decided to go try his luck at Muskrats and managed nearly 1500 rats- quite an accomplishment. I encourage you all to meet this gifted individual and a true asset to the MTA
Gary Strand is a premier water trapper. Beaver shudder at the mention of his name. This guy is also one heck of a mink trapper and manages to spend a huge amount of time in the woods every year. I encourage you to spend some time getting to know Gary and listen to some of his adventures. Do not let his size scare you as he is a true gentleman and has a soft spot for the kids. Again an opportunity for us all to pick up a huge amount of knowledge in a short time.
Maddog47 (President Gary Meis) also known as stubby. Gary recently lost the tip of his finger in a freak possum accident. Besides being a very gifted leader of the MTA Gary is fast becoming a premier Bobcat trapper. If the cats have been giving you fits, I encourage you to sit and chat with Gary. I have had the opportunity to spend time in the woods with Gary the past several years and it has been a most enjoyable experience. Gary has been involved in the capture of nearly 50 bobcats in MN -no small feat-and I am sure he will have some tips most of us can use.
General Membership meeting will be at 10 am sharp. Remember to get your ballot in the mail or bring it along on the updated By-laws. The MTA Board of Directors has approved these much needed changes, now it is your turn. There will be an update on the 2 lawsuits aimed at stopping trapping in MN and accross the US. I am certain Gary Lestico will be in attendance to give us as much information as he can. Remember not all attendees will be friends of the MTA so some issues on strategy may not get a public responce. I will add that I attended a preliminary hearing in Federal Court in Duluth in November and I am extremely pleased with the counsel that has been put in place to defend us as Trappers. You would be very proud of this team as they defend our rights. I might add that besides being a experienced lawyer in Natural Resource law, Gary Lestico is also a very accomplished MN trapper.
Kids Events, Supply Dealers, MTA Souveniers, Consignment Auction and spending time with friends from the MTA- what a great way to spend a Saturday!
Please remember a fur or two for the Tanned Fur Project so we can continue to promote fur in MN schools as well as in Environment and Nature Centers. With fur prices up it is easy for us to forget about the importance of this program. It is your participation that makes it the success it has been. I will turn over my entire Weasel catch again this year as well as a variety of other pelts to show my support for this project and all the positive things that Tim Caven has accomplished with it!
Got a particular question? Post it and I am sure we can get you an answer. Looking for something in particular? Feel free to send me a PM. The Lake is starting to buzz with activity and fish are starting to cooperate, and it is finally snowing and not raining!
For those of you that are not members, you can sign up at the event, Remember to pick up your raffle tickets and save the association the postage of mailing them out. A bunch of super prizes on the raffle again this year, and do not forget the wonderful incentive's for doing your part and selling the tickets!
Cory & Deb Van Driel
MTA Convention Cordinator
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Topic: Winter trappers meeting Jan6th (Read 3779 times)
