Forest Webb, 11, Laurel Fork, Va.
Virginia boy’s first season as a trapper is very successful
My name is Forest Webb, and I am 11 years old. I have been trapping since the first week of December (2011). My mom wouldn’t let me use footholds or bodygrip traps, so I had to use cage traps. I used bobcat cages and the smaller cages.
After about the first five days, I didn’t catch anything, so my Uncle Linvol and I moved them. The next day, I got up groggily and walked down there. I had caught something. It was a house cat.
The next day when I got up and checked them, I was checking my last trap when I saw the door was closed. I looked in and saw a huge raccoon. Later, my uncle told me it was way more than 30 inches long.
After a couple of days, I moved one of the traps down in the creek. So, I got up with a good feeling the next morning. Sure enough, there was a fair-sized ’coon in the one I had moved.
After a few days of no luck, my uncle and I worked on the cages. While we were finishing up, I noticed what looked like a good place for ’coons. So, I moved one cage there.
The next day was uneventful, but the day after that, I had a big ’coon. The next three days, I didn’t catch anything. Then we went to Pennsylvania to see my grandma. While we were gone, my uncle checked the cages for me, and I caught three raccoons.
The next few weeks, I only caught one ’coon. Then, about two weeks ago, I caught a skunk. About three days after that, I caught a big boar ’coon. I’m still working on a bobcat.
Last night, I caught three ’coons. Two were real monsters. The other one was only a fair-sized ’coon.
Now that I’m trapping, my dad and I are thinking about predator calling.
“School Days” is sponsored by Duke Traps and the Wisconsin Trappers Association. Winners receive six traps, a Wisconsin Cooperative Trapper Education video, an NTA handbook and a membership to their state’s trappers association. To be considered, send a 300- to 500-word story and photo of the trapper or hunter with a catch, kill, fur or trap to: School Days, The Trapper & Predator Caller, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990.
