Help identifying tracks...

[Roys Boys]

I've never seen tracks like this or a tail this long in the snow cat or fisher?... I was in state land this morning hunting deer.. way off the main trail probably 1/2-3/4 of a mile in the woods I came across these.. the tracks were approximately 3 1/2-4 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide.. my biggest question was the long tail when it laid down,  the within 20ft their was 3-4 body prints in the snow that reminded me of ways a house cat hunts  it did this behind trees and small branches.. the strides were about 2-3ft apart. I sent it to my buddy in dec and he said most likely a fisher.  What are your thoughts?

Edited December 19, 2017 by Roys Boys

[longspurs]

Bobcat ?

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[Roys Boys]

That was my thought at first bob cat or lynx but they have nub tails.. the long tail in the snow was what threw me off

Edited December 19, 2017 by Roys Boys

[Nautitroller]

Fisher For sure!, had one go by me in the snow a few years back looked the same.

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[dawsonscreek]

Definitely a fisher. Fisher are a member of the mustelidae family (weasels) so they have that characteristic for loping gait. The hind feet usually stay right next to each other and the front feet are more or less there for support as they push themselves along with the large hind feet. What you’re seeing is two hind feet directly next to each other and the two front feet at an an angle next each other as he hopped along. A bobcat would have its tracks directly in front of the next, basically walking in a straight line and the distance between the tracks wouldn’t be as far as that. Cats are very aware and careful of where they put their feet, watch your house cat walk around sometime especially if they are stalking a toy. Also cats wouldn’t likely show nail marks in every track. Very cool find! 

Edited December 19, 2017 by dawsonscreek
Added more info

[Roys Boys]

Awesome thanks! I'm gonna throw a trail camera up there to try to get some pictures!

[stoneam2006]

Fisher as said....very cool critters built to kill. In my opinion probably the best predator in NY lb for lb.

The way thru go thru the woods is awesome to watch as they go u0 and down trees.

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[Silver Fox]

Fisher, I have them on my land. They look so damm cute, I can't believe they would hurt a flea....

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[Xxx]

Whoa, hell ya a Fisher is the last thing you want on your property. The dumb asz Pa. Game commission stocked them damn things to control the turkey population, and that they are doing, they are like miniature wolverines they can climb trees run like hell have hardly any predators other than themselves, and eat meat!! Bad azz critters!! Stone hit the nail on the head with those critters!!!

[ontherise]

I think I saw one in Bloomfield last winter, shoulda killed the sum****.


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[stoneam2006]

I think I saw one in Bloomfield last winter, shoulda killed the sum****.


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I have a friend on Facebook who is a trapping guru and has written a few books on trapping also. Said he has been seeing more and more Fisher tracks throughout the fingerlakes.

Actually the first Fisher I had heard about being caught outside the adks was in naples NY some 15 years ago when I was in high school. If I remember right it made the paper.

Down here in catt county (most counties on pa border) have been seeing the population explode over last few years. More and more cam pics and now even have a short trapping season.

Fisher are Turkey killers as pap said as they will pluck them right from the roost. Also eat porcupines. Just like any other predator they need to be kept in check. Hopefully after the study the Dec are doing down here for next few years they will expand the study toward the fingers also.

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[dukhnter8]

I seriously doubt the PA Game commission would stock fishers just to control turkeys. Why would they not allow a higher bag limit if turkeys were out of control. This is along the lines of coyotes and cougars being stocked to control deer.

 

 

[dawsonscreek]

1 hour ago, dukhnter8 said:

I seriously doubt the PA Game commission would stock fishers just to control turkeys. Why would they not allow a higher bag limit if turkeys were out of control. This is along the lines of coyotes and cougars being stocked to control deer.

 

 

 Correct, all false accusations based on opinion and hear-say rather than fact. Fisher are becoming more common, the game Commission isn't releasing them to kill turkeys. Forests are become more mature since the clear cutting of 100+ years past and the habitat that fisher need is returning. Direct correlation.

[Fishnut]

I heard they reintroduce the fisher in Pa. to help control the porcupine population, they also have a season on porcupine in pa. Now.


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[fish-on]

Thats fisher. I've seen 1 4 ft long 2 ft tall.  Heard they were introduced to slow the coyote population.   I've seen one kill a grey squirrel.  And this one went up a tree and got the squirrel.   Don't think i'd tangle with one. 

[Xxx]

5 hours ago, dawsonscreek said:

 Correct, all false accusations based on opinion and hear-say rather than fact. Fisher are becoming more common, the game Commission isn't releasing them to kill turkeys. Forests are become more mature since the clear cutting of 100+ years past and the habitat that fisher need is returning. Direct correlation.

 

I wouldn’t be so quick shoot me in azz!! When some in our family wear the green suits, you believe what you want and I’ll believe what I know. Bull shyt walks and money talks, you probably don’t believe that the auto insurance comp. didn’t back the game com. In importing coyotes either, look what the boys in green are driving, all new vehicles, but yet 5 years ago they couldn’t afford to put a officer in a new uniform which they all have new uniforms. Developments are loosing kitty cat, and little fluffy puppy dogs right of the leash. They hired sharp shooters to clean out the deer in developments, but you can’t shoot my poor deers, so they put the next best thing in there. I don’t know or care where you live but the forest around here you can shoot 75+ yards. It getting out of hand here with the hunters vs. the animal righteous people, why do they have 6weeks of archery hunting, “ out of sight out of mind” and the Flintlock season if your crazy enough you can hunt in total camo. Ask any farmer around here which critter is the most destructive, and if you listen they will tell you a turkey. You’d probably call me a bull shyter if I told you the farmer right behind my house counted 90 turkeys were in the field after they bailed the cornstalks for cattle bedding, now on the rt 209 which is about 2 miles the way the crow flys there was another 30-40 of them. So I used to meet a truck vender in Mt Pocono at 5:30am we meet in the back parking lot where I’d unload my products starter & alternators and he’d pay me, in a box van towards the back where my brother and I herd all these yips and crying dogs, so we went towards the van it became very evident what was in that van license plates from Idaho. Asked the driver what the hell do you have in that truck, can’t say he replied. Hmm. My brother was a very well known contractor, and in a very exclusive golf coarse with lots right on fairways, we had permission to hunt deer but down towards the swamp and sewer plant, we always killed nice buck and does, that same season there were dog tracks over every square inch of that property which we hunted for years, yes we ran across track years ago, but a set here a set there, and everything was gone other than the hide a jagged bones. I also forgot that some of the younger generations know everything and us who were hunting and in the woods while you were still shyting green, spouting false accusations all around just to start rumors. Thanks Dawson for your info, and us dumb azz older guys will just keep to ourselves from now on!!!

[longspurs]

Popcorn anyone...

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[cmc5028]

Please Read pages 14-18

 

 

http://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/TrappingandFurbearers/Documents/Fisher Management Plan.pdf

 

[garrymny]

Here are some pictures of a Fisher killed in down in PA. I was dabbling in taxidermy and it is the only full body animal I ever did.  I would not be so quick to doubt that a Government agency would not introduce  species into the area. From about 1997 to 2003 I hunted for Elk near Stanley Idaho  with my best friend who lives out there. We did very well. In 5 years or so of hunting, we took 4 or 5 elk. No Guides. Public Land. The Clinton administration introduced wolves into the Sawtooths around Stanley. In a matter of years you could not find an elk. This explosion of wolves diminished the elk herds in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and almost completely eliminated the Yellowstone herds. Today, these states have very few cow permits if any, available to hunters. The only place I would even consider Elk hunting now is Colorado, which I did in 2012, and shot a Bull in his bed, in 8 inches of snow, one of my most memorable hunts. The Judges got involved, and the taking of wolves was banned far beyond what was "promised". Now there are THOUSANDS of wolves. There are lobbying forces, and agencies get these folks embedded in them that have some radical ideas. You get a group of people who want to push an agenda ( for example the 4 point rule for bucks in PA that destroyed the deer hunting- Dr Gary Alt, thank you). Now, maybe these fishers were introduced for the reasons stated, and maybe they naturally expanded their range into the area. But if these folks did introduce them, they never think about LOUC> Law of Unintended Consequences.  

[Roys Boys]

Last time I heard of a fisher it was about 5 years ago it was trapped in a swamp by Geneva then when that rumor was going around a ontario county sheriff told me about a lady hitting one with her car about 2 miles away from the swamp.. On the state land their was a lot of turkey and rabbit tracks in the same area as the fishers tracks and I kicked up a handful of grouse so their plenty of food!

[Xxx]

• Thank you!! Fellas, and there’s always the inside dirt that nobody wants to hear, or believe, but it’s there and sooner or later it will show it’s self. Kinda like NY state passed a law that you cannot kill or attempt to kill and bipedal walking critter!! But there’s no such thing as a Big Foot?? We made that law so that some nut running around in a monkey suit doesn’t get shot

[stoneam2006]

Here are some pictures of a Fisher killed in down in PA. I was dabbling in taxidermy and it is the only full body animal I ever did.  I would not be so quick to doubt that a Government agency would not introduce  species into the area. From about 1997 to 2003 I hunted for Elk near Stanley Idaho  with my best friend who lives out there. We did very well. In 5 years or so of hunting, we took 4 or 5 elk. No Guides. Public Land. The Clinton administration introduced wolves into the Sawtooths around Stanley. In a matter of years you could not find an elk. This explosion of wolves diminished the elk herds in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and almost completely eliminated the Yellowstone herds. Today, these states have very few cow permits if any, available to hunters. The only place I would even consider Elk hunting now is Colorado, which I did in 2012, and shot a Bull in his bed, in 8 inches of snow, one of my most memorable hunts. The Judges got involved, and the taking of wolves was banned far beyond what was "promised". Now there are THOUSANDS of wolves. There are lobbying forces, and agencies get these folks embedded in them that have some radical ideas. You get a group of people who want to push an agenda ( for example the 4 point rule for bucks in PA that destroyed the deer hunting- Dr Gary Alt, thank you). Now, maybe these fishers were introduced for the reasons stated, and maybe they naturally expanded their range into the area. But if these folks did introduce them, they never think about LOUC> Law of Unintended Consequences.  

Awesome work there.

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[quality time]

I've heard much about fisher killing turkeys. I have never seen that but I have seen birds of prey take out turkey poults. These animals are native to the area and serve a place in the eco system. I do not doubt that a fisher might take a turkey once in a while but I can tell you last year we saw fisher almost every weekend and they were hunting mice in the field. A much bigger issue with turkey population is the destruction of eggs and nest by things like skunks, raccoons and opossum . I have been a trapper for over 40 years and have watched the fur prices go to almost nothing but I still get out and do it. I set some traps for fisher this fall during the very short season but was not successful. I have heard people brag about shooting fisher during turkey season. Since they do not have a hunting season for fisher I'm sure the fines would be high. Is it worth losing your outdoor privilege to kill a member of the weasel family. The muskrat population is almost zero near my house because of all the bald eagles. Does that mean I should shoot the eagles to improve my muskrat trapping! I think not! All things have a place in nature. This is not an exotic. Our ecosystem is always changing and we all must learn to deal with it. Its not always up to humans to control the critters that run in our back yards. If you want to lower the fisher population in your area and you live in the newly opened trapping area try your hand at trapping them and take a kid with you if you can find one that will put his or her phone down long enough to do so.  Wes   

[dawsonscreek]

1 hour ago, pap said:

 

I wouldn’t be so quick shoot me in azz!! When some in our family wear the green suits, you believe what you want and I’ll believe what I know. Bull shyt walks and money talks, you probably don’t believe that the auto insurance comp. didn’t back the game com. In importing coyotes either, look what the boys in green are driving, all new vehicles, but yet 5 years ago they couldn’t afford to put a officer in a new uniform which they all have new uniforms. Developments are loosing kitty cat, and little fluffy puppy dogs right of the leash. They hired sharp shooters to clean out the deer in developments, but you can’t shoot my poor deers, so they put the next best thing in there. I don’t know or care where you live but the forest around here you can shoot 75+ yards. It getting out of hand here with the hunters vs. the animal righteous people, why do they have 6weeks of archery hunting, “ out of sight out of mind” and the Flintlock season if your crazy enough you can hunt in total camo. Ask any farmer around here which critter is the most destructive, and if you listen they will tell you a turkey. You’d probably call me a bull shyter if I told you the farmer right behind my house counted 90 turkeys were in the field after they bailed the cornstalks for cattle bedding, now on the rt 209 which is about 2 miles the way the crow flys there was another 30-40 of them. So I used to meet a truck vender in Mt Pocono at 5:30am we meet in the back parking lot where I’d unload my products starter & alternators and he’d pay me, in a box van towards the back where my brother and I herd all these yips and crying dogs, so we went towards the van it became very evident what was in that van license plates from Idaho. Asked the driver what the hell do you have in that truck, can’t say he replied. Hmm. My brother was a very well known contractor, and in a very exclusive golf coarse with lots right on fairways, we had permission to hunt deer but down towards the swamp and sewer plant, we always killed nice buck and does, that same season there were dog tracks over every square inch of that property which we hunted for years, yes we ran across track years ago, but a set here a set there, and everything was gone other than the hide a jagged bones. I also forgot that some of the younger generations know everything and us who were hunting and in the woods while you were still shyting green, spouting false accusations all around just to start rumors. Thanks Dawson for your info, and us dumb azz older guys will just keep to ourselves from now on!!!

I’m not trying to start anything. I have more respect for the older generations than you want to believe. Not once did I claim to know everything or call you a “dumb azz”. I simply tried to respectfully post a reply based on facts that I studied during my time at a highly accredited local conservation based degree program in the Finger Lakes. I’ll leave it at that, I don’t want to argue. Good day, sir

Edited December 20, 2017 by dawsonscreek

[stoneam2006]

. If you want to lower the fisher population in your area and you live in the newly opened trapping area try your hand at trapping them and take a kid with you if you can find one that will put his or her phone down long enough to do so.  Wes   

This is the anwser to anyone who has an issue.... especially the last part. As a life long trapper (and I know there's others here to) would be more than happy to help get people on the right track trapping wise.


Fisher are killing machines but I also believe they are opertunistic if a turkey is easy to grab they will or a porky muskrat beaver carcasses or anything else much like a yote. But I have talked to many seasoned Fisher trappers from the adks who say they are devastating on Turkey.

We can all agree they kill. And kill efficiently no matter the prey.

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