As far as muskrats go,I held off last year, and will not do that again! As we all know, competition will enivetably "thin" the numbers, and when looking at dollars per trapping hour, you just can't beat the early season.The rats, for example, went for $2.78 average on early "blue" pelts. and $3.27 average later in the season. Considering the $.50 difference, you might think you'll be doing better. I would guess your catch would drop, much like mine did last year, well below the numbers you could have taken on the opening week or so. If I take 5 "early" rats at $2.78 thats $13.90 total. 4 "prime" rats at $3.27 thats $13.08 total. Do I catch 20% more rats on opening week than any other during season? Absolutely! Like someone mentioned though, if you have private land to trap........hold off!

My fox and coyote season opened October 15. I am going to wait until November 1 to start. One reason is the fur is not prime yet. But the main reason is most of the crops are still on the fields yet and I would have to deal with farmers harvesting their crops. Also, with no defined crop edges, the canine are less predictable in their travel routes.

I trapped quite a few coon this past week and could have started a week earlier! I had a couple small ones that were not quite prime but all the others looked real good, nice white hide!

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