THE FISHER.
The fisher belongs to the weasel family and is classed by naturalists
among the martens, under the name of Pennant's Marten. To the
trappers, however, it is best known as the fisher, and in the Eastern
States and Eastern Canada, as the "black cat". It is strictly a North
American animal, being found scattered over a large part of Canada
and Alaska, and also in California and other parts of the Pacific
Coast, Northern Michigan, the Adirondack mountains of New York, the
White mountains of New Hampshire and in Northern Maine.
In general appearance, the fisher resembles both the marten and the
wolverine, but is larger than the former and smaller than the latter.
Compared with the marten, the ears are smaller and more rounded, the
tail longer and the animal is far more stoutly built. An average,
full size fisher, will measure two feet from the nose to the root of
the tail and will weigh from ten to fifteen pounds. The tail is
peculiar, and is the most valuable part of the skin; It measures,
usually, about sixteen inches in length, is heavily furred, thick at
the base, and tapers to a point. The color of the fur varies, some
specimens being very pale and others almost black. The general color
is a yellowish grey on the face, head and neck, light brown on the
back, dark brown on the hind-quarters and the tail and legs, a
brownish black. The under parts are darker than the back. The fur is
fairly fine and soft, though not nearly as fine as that of the
marten.
For its size, the fisher is an exceedingly powerful animal, and is
rather hard to hold in a trap, as it will struggle as long as life
lasts. The animal possesses a musk, having a peculiar, rank odor,
which it ejects when alarmed. The food of the fisher consists
principally of rabbits, partridges and other small animals and birds,
but it will scarcely refuse anything in the line of flesh,
occasionally eating mink, weasel, etc., out of traps. It also preys
on raccoons in the parts of its range where those animals are found
and sometimes kills and eats the porcupine. Neither is it a strictly
carnivorous animal, as it feeds largely on the berries of the
mountain ash and in seasons when these berries are plentiful, the
fisher does not take bait well. At such times the Indian trappers
will often use a bunch of mountain ash berries for bait.
They are found most plentiful on the higher ground, where the land is
fairly well timbered, and the surface of the country is very ragged.
They are great travelers and follow the wooded ravines whenever
possible. Like all other animals of a rambling nature, each
individual has its regular route of travel, and when you see a track,
especially in a ravine, you may be sure that the animal will come
that way again. The fur becomes prime about the first of November,
and remains in good condition until the first of April, or sometimes
longer. They are not very prolific, there being only from two to four
in a litter. The young are usually born in April.
Usually, the fisher is easily trapped and will enter the trap as
readily as the marten, but there are "off seasons" when food is
plenty and the animals are rather shy. On such occasions I have seen
them refuse to cross my trail in the snow. In most cases, however,
they will jump into the trail and follow it to the trap. When
trapped, the animal struggles violently and if the leg is broken, is
likely to twist off the foot and escape. It will also chew up
everything within reach and the traps must be well fastened. The use
of a balance pole is advised, but where, for any reason, it cannot be
used, the traps should be fastened to a heavy log. The most common
method for trapping the fisher is by setting a trap in a pen of
stakes or a natural enclosure, the same as recommended for marten,
but the pen should be larger. It should be two feet high, wide at the
top and just wide enough for the trap at the bottom.
The bait should be placed on a stick in the back of the pen and the
trap should be covered with some light material. The pen should be
roofed with evergreen boughs, to protect the trap from the snow. It
is the custom among the Indian trappers to make the trap pen of green
wood, splitting it and placing the stakes so that the split side will
be inward. The object in this is to enable the animal to more easily
locate the bait, for sometimes when the fisher scents the bait but
cannot find it at once, he moves on. If however, the pen presents a
bright interior it attracts the animal's attention and leads to an
investigation. This method is used generally, but should not be
employed when setting for the more wary animals.
The Indians also at times hang the bait by a piece of light wire,
in preference to placing on a stick. This is so that the little
wood-mice can not reach and destroy the bait, and I have found it to
be a very good plan. A small twig should be placed under the pan of
the trap to prevent squirrels and birds from springing it.
For trapping the fisher, I recommend the No. 1 1/2 traps of all
makes, also the No. 2 Victor and Oneida Jump traps. Mr. Charles
Carner, a noted trapper of California, uses the following method.
Find somewhere on the fisher's route of travel, a small bushy
evergreen tree with limbs coming down to the ground, cut away a few
of the limbs, on one side, so as to make a sort of enclosure. The
limbs that are cut away should be stuck in at the sides and back to
make the pen tighter. The bait should be tied to the stem of the tree
and the trap set a short distance in front of the bait, so as to
catch the animal by the fore foot. The trap is fastened securely to
the butt of the tree. Mr. Carner recommends the use of the following
scent. Fish oil, oil of anise, assafoetida and muskrat musk,
thoroughly mixed. He saturates a rabbit with the scent and draws it
from trap to trap, and on the last trap uses the rabbit for bait.
This scent is also used by some other noted trappers.
I have also caught fishers by building a pen on an old log, lying
with one end above the ground. I would make some splits in the log
with my axe, drive in a few stakes and weave evergreen boughs among
the stakes, roofing the pen with boughs. The trap should be set the
same as in the first method and should be stapled to the top of the
log, so that when the animal jumps off on either side, he can not get
his front feet or the trap down to the ground. The above methods are
all very good, but if a particularly shy animal refuses to enter the
pen, try setting in a natural enclosure, and if this fails, try the
following method:
Under some thick evergreen tree, scrape up a cone shaped pile of
snow, making it two feet high and pack the snow solid. Have the trap
fastened to a clog and bury the clog in the snow. In the very top of
the mound, hollow out a place for the trap and line this place with
evergreen tips. Set the trap in this nest, cover it with a piece of
paper, and brush a half inch of snow lightly over the paper. For
bait, use a whole partridge or rabbit and hang it by a string from a
limb of the tree, so that it hangs about two and a half feet above
the trap.
Brush your tracks shut with a bunch of boughs and when looking at the
trap do not go too close. This method is very good for the shy ones
but is too much trouble to use as a regular set, when putting out a
long line of traps. The best places in which to set for fishers is in
the timbered ravines, especially where two ravines join. Other good
places are at the ends of lakes, the points of swamps, and in narrow
strips of timber connecting larger bodies.
The track of the fisher is very similar to that of the marten but is
larger. The length of jump is about three feet and the footprints
from one and a half to two inches in length.
[Illustration: The Otter.]