Genius . . . .

A couple of years ago, I spent the better part of a summer day riding around in the hills with two master cat trappers, Bill Ilchik and Joel Blakeslee. Both are true experts . . . both knew and trapped with Wiley Carol . . . both have put up some numbers that would stagger most of us. And you'll never see either one of them posting much on the Internet.

Anyway, at one part of our little journey, we took shade under a tree, and a spontaneous discussion developed about trapping, cat sets, canine sets, bait, lure, location, history, etc. OK, so I did some prodding, but other than that, it was spontaneous. Anyway, I was amazed at what I learned that day, and how much these two guys had to offer. They took turns showing different sets, and set construction. They each put their sets together a bit differently, but there was never any challenge or ego bashing during the entire discussion. Ever since then, I've toyed with the idea of trying to do a demo at a Rendezvous or Convention along the same lines as Joel and Bill did that day. It hasn't happened yet, and it may never happen in the future, but I'm still thinking about it.

All of which is a long-winded way of introducing a couple of photos.

Here is a photo of Bill showing his patented flat set (of course, he'll cover the trap).



Here is the genius of a good trapper. Bill converts the flat set into a walk through bobcat set.



Another view.





Here's another change . . . using two traps. Notice the "center" of the set has no trap . . . catch him coming to the smell, and the traps are far enough apart (and set up on drags) so if you catch one critter, you stand a good chance to catch another.



Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos.

Both are pretty quiet as far as internet posting, a wealth of knowledge though. I never knew they had training from Wiley


Why did the idea of a demo like this never come to fruition? Sounds like some of the "panels" or "roundtables" I hear about. If you had the right people doing it ie. people that dont need a pat on the back I bet it would be super successful

Great post. Thanks.