FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
Outdoor Recreation
Submitted Photo.
A rabbit snare, purchased online from Amazon.
Submitted Photo.
Setting the snare in some brush.
Rabbit snaring with the kids
rabbits.
When I was
a young boy,
I read books
about trap-
pers disap-
pearing into
the woods for
weeks check-
ing their trap
lines from
small log
cabins they
had built
with only an
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
ax. It was
By Nick Myatt
defi nitely
a romanti-
cized view
Editor’s Note: This
of trapping, but to me it
week’s guest columnist,
represented an old way of
Nick Myatt, is a local
life and the lost art of bush
father, husband, wildlife
craft. I doubt trapping will
biologist, and lifelong
hunter introducing his kids ever be one of my major
hobbies, but it has always
to hunting. He runs
been on my bucket list to
GrowingHunters.com, a
try.
popular blog. Readers can
After researching “how
go there to sign up for his
to snare rabbits” exten-
blog for free!
sively on the internet, I
purchased “1 Dz Dakota-
One of my goals for
line Rabbit Snares” from
2015 was to try a new
Amazon. There is plenty
outdoor activity with my
of information online
family. A few weeks
about building your own
ago, we checked another
snares, but when you can
activity off our life list by
get a dozen snares for $20
taking the kids out and
setting snares for cottontail I fi gured why bother.
While I waited for the
UPS man (known by our
kids as Santa) to arrive
with the snares, I pondered
where to set our snares.
I settled on the land of
a friend who recently
complained about rabbits
eating tree seedlings that
he had planted.
The snares soon arrived
and now all I needed was
some new winter snow to
help identify the best rabbit
runs. We waited, waited
and waited for that snow
to come. While the rest
of the country was getting
blasted with record break-
ing snow and cold, Oregon
was experiencing one of
the warmest and driest
winters ever.
The snow never came, so
we ventured out anyway.
My plan was to set our
snares in the most obvi-
ous runs in the grass and
fi nd some remnant snow
patches along north slopes
shaded from the sun.
Hunting for rabbit runs
was just as much fun for
the boys as actually hunt-
ing rabbits. They enjoyed
slipping through the brush
and looking for rabbit sign.
I spent two hours teach-
Why advertise with us?
• Low rates per column
inch & promotional deals
• Free color ads as space
permits
• Friendly, professional
sales staff
Wendee Morrissey
wendee@thebakercountypress.
com or call 541.805.1688.
David Conn
david@thebakercountypress.com
or call 541.523.5524
Family owned and operated.
Packed with local news!
• All display ads are also
posted to our Facebook
page, which means thou-
sands of individuals see
your ad from that source
alone. We’re the only
paper in town that offers
this additional service!
ing the boys to read the
sign and setting the snares
in the highest use runs we
found. As we made our
sets, I was impressed with
how well Chase could
locate rabbit sign and
by the end of our trip he
was selecting the best set
locations on his own. As
the sun dropped low we
returned home, all of us
wondering what the next
day would bring.
The next day we returned
to the site to check our
snares. My bar for success
for the day was pretty low.
All I really wanted to do
was get the kids out, teach
them about setting snares,
and if we actually caught
a rabbit it would just be
icing on the cake.
I felt pretty good about
my sets, but the amount of
rabbit sign on the property
was pretty low and the
conditions made things dif-
fi cult. The boys were ea-
ger with anticipation as we
checked the fi rst few sets.
With each empty set, their
enthusiasm slowly died but
as young boys always do,
they shifted their attention
to other things like throw-
ing rocks in the stream or
turning sticks into swords.
We pulled our snares and
headed home without a
single snare even being
bumped by a rabbit.
March may be too early
to set a goal for 2016, but
I can already tell you that
one of my goals for next
winter is going to be to
become profi cient in snar-
ing rabbits. Over the next
year, the boys and I are
going to scout out some
productive locations, buy
some more snares, and hit
it hard next winter.
I just dipped my toe into
rabbit snaring this year,
but I can already tell it is
going to be a very exciting
experience for the boys in
the years to come.
Have any of you snared
rabbits? Any tips to share?
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
ODFW
Recreation
Report
BAKER COUNTY
The warm and dry winter has left much more
county snow free that usual. Green up has also
begun to appear in the lower elevations. The mild
weather may also have BEARS out and more active
in the early part of the season.
Cougars can be found throughout Baker County
but hunters should target areas with high concentra-
tions of deer and elk. Setting up on a fresh kill or us-
ing distress calls can all be productive techniques.
Hunters are required to check in the hide of any
cougar taken, with skull and proof of sex attached.
Remember to pick up a 2015 tag.
Coyote numbers are good throughout the district.
Try calling in early morning and late afternoon.
Remember to ask for permission before hunting on
private properties.
GRANT COUNTY
The P.W. Schneider Wildlife area is closed Febru-
ary 1st through April 14th. Herbicide application to
stop spread of invasive annual grasses is happen-
ing on the wildlife area, more information.
BLACK BEAR: Most of our snow is gone from mid
and low elevation areas of the district, roads can be
easily accessed. Bears will begin waking up soon
and will be in search of food.
The best strategy for fi nding them this time of year
is to sit on a spot with a good view of open canyon
sides and use binoculars or a spotting scope to
locate them. The animals will feed off and on dur-
ing all daylight hours and patience is the order of
the day when spotting spring bears. Hunters are
reminded all bears are required to be checked in
within 10 days of harvest.
TURKEY numbers have been on the rise for the
past few years in the district. Most of our snow is
gone from mid and low elevation areas of the dis-
trict. By opening day the turkeys will begin to move
from their wintering areas up into nesting areas.
The best strategy for fi nding them this time of year
is to travel the forest roads or hike into areas where
turkeys might be and call for them or just listen for
their calls early in the morning.
Cougar hunting remains open. Successful hunt-
ers should remember that check-in of the hide with
skull and proof of sex attached is mandatory; see
the regulations for details. Remember to pick up a
2015 tag.
Coyote numbers are good in most of the district.
Coyotes may respond to distress calls. Try calling in
the early morning and late evening.
UMATILLA COUNTY
Bears will be distributed in forested stringer areas
throughout the mid elevations. Low to mid elevation
forest roads are accessible from numerous access
points throughout the county, thus providing an
earlier opportunity for scouting those mid elevations
for upcoming spring bear season. Foraging bears
can be observed by glassing open hill slopes with a
south/southwestern aspect.
Earlier in the season bears can be observed
throughout the day. Bear numbers will begin to
increase towards last half of April and should persist
until the end of the season. Hunters are reminded
all bears are required to be checked in within 10
days of harvest.
Turkeys are scattered throughout the forested
areas of Umatilla County, look for turkeys along
ridge tops crossing between drainages. Listen for
gobbling turkeys within early hours of daylight from
atop high elevation spots above those drainages.
Less than average snow levels may provide earlier
access to mid and upper elevations.
Cougar are well distributed in forested areas of
the Walla Walla, Mt. Emily, and Ukiah units. Hunters
will have best success by fi nding a fresh naturally
made kill and sitting on it, or by using predator calls.
Some success has come from following tracks until
the cougar is located.
UNION COUNTY
Cougars are common in Union County. Focus
on game rich areas with long ridgelines or saddles
that cats typically travel. Setting up downwind of a
deer or elk killed by a cougar can be productive.
Nonresident hunters can include a cougar tag with
others tags for only $14.50. All cougars taken must
be checked in within 10 days of harvest; call for an
appointment before check in. Remember to pick up
a tag for 2015.
Coyote numbers are good throughout the district.
Try calling in early morning and late afternoon.
Remember to ask for permission before hunting on
private properties.
WALLOWA COUNTY.
BLACK BEAR: Spring bear season starts in a two
weeks, and a good density of black bears exists
throughout the district. Most of our snow is gone
from mid and low elevation areas of the district and
bears will begin waking up and making forays away
from their dens in search of early season foods,
such as green grass, ground squirrels, and roots
and tubers. In spring, black bears are fair weather
fellows and really only venture out of their dens on
warm, sunny days. The best strategy for fi nding
them this time of year is to sit on a spot with a good
view of open canyon sides and use binoculars or a
spotting scope to locate them. The animals feed off
and on during all daylight hours and patience is the
order of the day when spotting spring bears.