JoAnn Mattox can still remember the first time she trapped a fox.

“I thought I was in heaven,” she says. “I was 10 or 12. I’d always wanted to catch a fox. I skinned it and sold it to a fur buyer.”

The Frankfort native still traps when she isn’t busy working as a maintenance superintendent for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She helps farmers remove nuisance animals and urban residents keep wildlife outdoors.

“I feel like setting traps lets you catch them in their native habitat at night,” she says. “I’ve found it to be more effective for managing furbearers than hunting.”

Trapping was once a way of life in this region. Our ancestors trapped for food, fur and sport. In the 20th century, Kentucky trappers still numbered in the thousands until a sharp decline in fur prices took trapping license sales from a high of 7,100 in 1981 to a low of 614 in 1999. But trapping seems to be making a comeback. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife sold about 1,300 trapping licenses for the 2006-07 season n a 40 percent increase over the previous season.

“People are trapping more for enjoyment, for something to do when other hunting seasons are over,” says Laura Patton, furbearer biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “A lot of the resurgence is due to trapping organizations like the United Trappers of Kentucky and the Kentucky Furtakers, who promote trapper education throughout the state.”

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologist Joe Lacefield trapped when fur prices were higher. It helped pay for his college education. “It’s a shame the fur market has declined so much,” Lacefield says. “Fur is a good insulator. Any time I see someone wearing fur in public, I go out of my way to compliment them. People are afraid to wear it these days.”

Mattox thinks misinformation has led to the decline in fur’s popularity. She points to wildlife diseases as examples of why it’s important to keep populations in check through tools like trapping.

Successful trappers have a wealth of knowledge and experience. They must study animal behavior closely to know where to set traps effectively. Trappers must learn to make scent work for them n whether using scent to attract canine species, or controlling their own scent in a way similar to deer hunters. A hunter needs to get an animal to come in close, but a trapper must get an animal to place its foot exactly in the right spot.

“Trapping prepares any wanna-be hunter with more knowledge about animal behavior than anything else you can do,” says Lacefield.

For people wanting to get started, Mattox recommends finding an experienced trapper to help. “It’s good to have somebody take you out, help you make your sets, give you pointers and then look over your shoulder,” she says. “You aren’t going to learn any other way except experience n trial and error.”

There are several resources available for people who want to learn more about trapping. A trapping website is under development at Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s website, fw.ky.gov. Just click on the “Trapping” tab for more information and to be put on a mailing list for beginner trapper workshops the department plans to offer in the future. Information is already available on Kentucky trapping organizations, finding a fur buyer or a nuisance animal trapper, buying trapping supplies and more.

Kentucky’s hunter education courses now include a trapping segment, with information on trap identification, safety, furbearers and the use of trapping as a wildlife management tool. For farmers who are having problems with livestock loss from nuisance coyotes, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife offers a free DVD called “A Farmer’s Guide to Trapping Coyotes.” It’s available by calling 1-800-858-1549.

In Kentucky, licensed trappers can take raccoon, opossum, mink, muskrat, beaver, bobcat, otter, red and gray fox, weasel, striped skunk and coyote. Trapping seasons are open right now for all of these species. Winter is the best time to trap because fur is in prime condition.

Bobcat trapping season ends Jan. 31, while all other furbearer species may be trapped through noon on Feb. 29. For full details on licensing and equipment restrictions, pick up a copy of the 2007-08 Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, available wherever trapping licenses are sold.

Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.