I live in Pennsylvania and been trapping since I was 12 years old.  I am 13½ years old now.  My step father  first taught me how to catch raccoon's.

My first year of trapping I caught 3 raccoons, 2 opossums and 2 muskrats.  Mark says this is the year I should learn things. I mainly  use steel foot hold traps, #2's and #1 coilsprings. I  have 3 #110 conibears for   muskrat.

There are a couple of kids in my neighborhood that like to do this stuff, but not as much as me.  The only other kid that does as much as me is an Amish boy named Andy that lives on a farm about a mile and half from me and he traps muskrats. He and I trade stuff and that is how I got a couple of stretchers.  I made some too.  this year I made my own pair of snowshoes from directions in a book.

I have some other books and I get a lot of stuff from websites and I am making my own notebook of information.   I like this stuff is a lot better than the stuff I have to do at school.

My stepfather Mark, has taught me to follow tracks in the snow to where ever they, go most of the time the tracks go to a tree.  Then I look on the tree to see if there are scratch marks they left from climbing the tree.  I take a #2 coil spring, scrap away the snow, put my plastic gloves on, walk around and find a fallen log where there may be dry leaves underneath.  I get the dry leaves and put them under the trap, set the trap and put leaves over the trap with a little bit of moss.  I set the trap at the base of the tree.   Three feet up the tree I put my lure so they have to try to climb to get it.  I have learned lure is very important.  It works way better than just setting traps on the trail.  Why go to the coons when you can bring the coons to you.

I have experimented with raccoon urine, and other urines.  I have mixed salmon and honey.  I use sardines a lot . I have also used fish that I have caught that have been in the freezer too long.  I thaw it out and grind it up.  My step dad says to put it in a jar and bury it in the ground for awhile and let it get "ripe" .  He says you have to stand upwind of the stuff, but he says it really works.  Next year I might have to try some of that stuff. I have also considered using canned cat food.

My grandfather was trying to catch a raccoon that's been eating the bird seed at night ,but every time I set a trap the raccoon flipped it over . My grandpa caught one raccoon.  He calls me for advice on what kind of bait is best.

I also fish and hunt.  This year I got my first deer, a doe and soon it is trout season.  Last year I did real good.  I got my limit  and they were pretty good sizes. I got a 22 inch one, 19 inch  and a 15.  they were my 3 biggest yet.  I caught a brook, a rainbow and one native trout.