NCTA 2024 State Convention

52nd Annual Trappers Rendezvous

Johnston County Livestock Auction Arena

520 County Home Road

Smithfield, North Carolina 27577

 

Ever wonder how to trap? Want to improve your trapping skills? Want to learn how to target certain species? Well how would you like to learn from the pro’s?

The NCTA will host their 2024 state convention September 27th and 28th from 7:00 am till 5:00 pm both days with a buffet feast Friday night. The NCTA is a family oriented organization so bring your family for fun and a good time.

For more and updated information visit the NCTA web site nctrapper.org and their talk forum

This year’s dynamic line up will demonstrate different trapping techniques for different species of furbearers. If you want the best of the best to personally teach you, this is as good as it gets and all demos are free 

  

John Pingley – West Virginia

John Pingley has 40 years of experience trapping coyotes, beaver, red fox, grey fox, muskrat, mink, pine marten, river otter, bobcat, nutria and raccoon in 11 states - Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas and Virginia. He worked for USDA Wildlife Service for 9 years trapping coyotes and raccoons. John currently operates Duke and Jack Predator Control in WV dealing with all nuisance wildlife. John has done damage control trapping in Wyoming, Colorado, Mississippi, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and West Virginia.    After a life changing automobile accident in August 2011 with the blessing of the good lord in 2014 John Pingley Botanicals and Furs was started dealing in legal Medicinal Plants, Herbs and Furs. John had developed and used his own brand of lures for years and started selling them to the public for the first time at Neil Olson’s New England trappers weekend in 2014 which he attends every year now. In 2018, he acquired Dirk Miller’s High Plains Lures and now sells all his lures under Pingley’s Professional Lures. 

John was a recipient of Tradesman of the Year Award presented by the National Trappers Association at the 2023 NTA Convention.

 

Kevin Myers – North Carolina

Kevin is the current President of the NCTA. He is also a “Master Water Trapper”.  Kevin catches several hundred muskrats and raccoons annually. He continues to challenge himself by adding new states and new species to his repertoire.

In addition, he is a licensed NC Fur Buyer and fur processer. Kevin is also a Wildlife Control Agent.  He has volunteered to teach the NCTA Advanced Trapping and Fur Handling Classes from their inception.  Mixed species water trapping is his specialty, primarily targeting raccoon, muskrats, beaver and otter. He is also licensed to use explosives to clear beaver dams that cause property damage due to flooding.      

Kevin has a passion for getting others involved in trapping.  It is only natural for him to do a demo that is primarily directed towards young trappers and help them with techniques they can use on their own trap lines. In addition to the Youth demo, Kevin will be assisting with the fur handling demo.

 

Todd Menke - North Carolina

Todd is the current Education Coordinator and past President/Secretary of the North Carolina Trappers Association.  He grew up in Nebraska and is a certified Wildlife Biologist.  You know him from his many monthly how-to articles he continues to write for the newsletter.  Todd will give you more tips and tricks to help increase the number of beaver you harvest that helped him achieve his best daily catch of 58 out of 60 sets.  He will show you effective natural sets as well as advanced techniques to catch educated beaver using 330's, footholds, and cable restraints.  Todd's simple approach and organizational skills will improve your efficiency.  Don't miss this opportunity to ask Todd questions.

 

Kenton Althiser

Kenton Althiser is the owner of High Creek Wildlife. A lifelong outdoorsman, he started wildlife control in 2017 after a back injury took him out of construction. He is a full time professional trapper and specializes in water trapping and ground burrowing animals. Nuisance beaver make up the majority of his business with annual contracts for control for private landowners, municipalities and corporate clients. He also catches a lot of ground hogs and skunks and is very efficient in the use of cage traps His presentation will be focused on the effective use of cage traps to remove nuisance animals on land and in the water. The pros and cons of various types of cage traps will also be covered.

 

Tommy Bryant – North Carolina

Hello my name is Tommy Bryant, My love for trapping started with beaver and otter but quickly spread across to coyote and fox. I find myself having to trap something all year just to keep my sanity. A typical season for me will be trapping turtles from April-August. I run a VA line in September for coyote control, then back to NC for October-November for coyote/fox.  In December I target beaver and otter briefly before switching back to coyote/fox in January/February. I finish out the season in March with a few more beaver just in time to gear up for another season.

I didn’t grow up in a family of trappers, in fact no one in my family even hunted. Once I found trapping there was no turning back. I started attending demos/classes by top trappers across the country and reading every book and article I could find. I spent thousands of hours studying game camera videos just to learn the habits of the animals I was trying to catch. I’ve caught triple digit coyotes for several consecutive seasons as well as triple digit red fox and grey fox this past season. I have trapped in numerous states and plan to add more this season. Trapping for me is a passion that never burns out! 

 

Zachery Trollinger

My name is Zachary Trollinger.  I started hunting and trapping in 1997 after an event in Cub Scouts.  After Cub Scouts I joined Boy Scouts, which led into bull riding and horse training.  I took a break from trapping and hunting in 2006, and bull riding in 2011 to start a family.  I got back into trapping and hunting in 2010 and have been skinning and putting up my fur since then.  I started my own business, Wildlife Damage Control and Repair, in 2019 and it continues to grow.  My wife and I bought a farm in 2022 and teach trapping classes to educate new trappers in trapping methods as well as fur handling.  I will be skinning and fleshing a variety of furbearers at the convention. 

 

David Denton – North Carolina

After retiring from the NC Wildlife resources Commission, David started Denton Wildlife Services in Edenton, NC.  David is a longtime member of the NCTA, serving on the Board of Directors on multiple occasions.  He has also been very active in Trapper Education.  His Wildlife Services business encompasses most species but beaver damage control is primary activity. David stays busy full time removing beaver and keeping waterways open in Northeastern NC and Southeastern VA.  He is also licensed to use explosives to clear beaver dams that cause property damage due to flooding.

 

Curt Yannone – North Carolina

Originally from Massachusetts, Curt's trapping journey began while attending college in Maine. While there, he learned to trap for many of the northern fur bearers from fall coyotes, fox, and fisher to beaver under the ice. Curt has lived in NC for the last 16 years and has trapped every one of those seasons. With the support of his wife Nikki, he is able to run his trap line in the early morning hours before work targeting foxes and coyotes, as well as beaver and otters. When they aren't doing gymnastics or baseball, their children Eric and Tessa enjoy helping on the trapline.

 

Andrew Zysek – New York

Andrew is a fifth generation trapper from western New York. Andrew’s passion for the outdoors and trapping began when he was 8 years old! He was mentored by his grandfather who taught him everything from animal behavior, preferred habitat, how to read sign and proper trap placement. His grandfather also taught him how to skin and prepare the hides for sale. Andrew has become very proficient in trapping beaver, coyote, fox, mink, muskrat and raccoons but his favorite species to trap is mink. In addition to the numerous articles Andrew has written for various trapping magazines, he has also written four books and is currently working on a fifth. Trapping is not only Andrew’s profession, it’s his passion and all he ever wanted to do.