RE: Hey Trappers!!!!
Let me tell you one from the other side of the fence. You've all heard about some crazy northern recluce who goes into his trapline in the early fall and doesn't come out of the bush til ice out in April. Well, I had this one guy in my patrol area who did just that. He was illiterate as well, not able to read or write. He and his wife would stay in all winter and live off the land, fishing and take a few rabbits, and trap. Real remote area too, accessible only by A/C or snowmachine. I had heard stories about him poaching so thought I would give it some time. Leg hold traps with teeth were prohibited in Ontario so when I did a discrete inspection of his line, sure enough I found about 15 of these traps set out for wolves and lynx. I left the traps where they were set, didn't touch or disturb them. I went to his camp and told the guy I had found 2 of these illegal sets and told him exactly where they were. I gave him one day to pick them both up and waited to see just what he'd do. Two days later, I snuck back in to check what he'd done about it and all 15 were gone. This guy had every opportunity to poach whenever he wanted and yet he turned out to be one of the most honest people I ever had the chance to meet. We became good friends over the years and even after I retired I can still fondly remember my days spent with him on his trapline.