# Fisher?



## coolbreeze69 (Apr 27, 2005)

Does anyone have info or experience seeing a fisher? My neighbor has informed me that we have one or more on our properties and has pictures to prove. Ive never heard about them till now and wish to find out if I should be concerned. I thank you for any info.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Where approx is Berlin Twp?

The only concern is for squirrels etc as fisher like them. That is the way nature made them. Nothing to worry about.


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## coolbreeze69 (Apr 27, 2005)

Im close to Almont. How about ducks and chickens.


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## Mister ED (Apr 3, 2006)

Have him send you the pics and post them here. Probably unlikely that there are Fishers way down there ... but a good pic could tell the whole story. 

Almont is over by Imlay City .... right?? 

Be great if it is a fisher on the pic!!


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## coolbreeze69 (Apr 27, 2005)

Yes about 6 miles south. Im 12 miles from Imlay City.


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## hunt4life (Dec 22, 2006)

would love to see the pics. Boy if they get a healthy pop. down that way them cottontails will be in trouble. They don't think twice about going down a hole. Might help the farmers with the ground hogs though. Keep us posted. Wouldn't dought it though few years back friend of mine in armada had pics of a bobcat drinking out of his pond.


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## coolbreeze69 (Apr 27, 2005)

Dnr wants to come out and see the pics. If i can get the pics I will post. Now that this has caught my intrest Im going to pay more attention.


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## turkeytamer41 (Mar 13, 2006)

I seen fishers last deer season up in Gwinn. I don't think we have them down
here. ( picture would be nice )


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## coolbreeze69 (Apr 27, 2005)

Im 9 miles from Armada and we still here about the bobcats . On ocassion some will say there is a cougar around here. Hard to believe but possible. Still no Bigfoot sightings.


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## Rooster Cogburn (Nov 5, 2007)

Fisher are roughly the size of an otter...with a bushy tail . Their face is triangular like a ****. Color can vary from black to brown. Their track is similar to a bobcat's, but the claws on a fisher often show in the track where the bobcat's claws tend to be retracted. Fisher, being an oversized weasle like critter, they often hop like a weasle.

When fisher became plentiful in this region snowshoe rabbit numbers in the clearcuts dropped significantly. Some experienced woodsmen believe fisher are death on bobcat kittens and there have been witnessed reports of fisher killing newborn fawns. I have seen fisher actually running snowshoe rabbits...and concluded they would not chase somthing if they did not believe they could possibly catch it. With that in mind...those giant weasles are fast enough to be a major predator on small game. They were introduced by the DNR in the U.P. back in the 1970's as I recall. We have lots of them in the U.P. and are happy to share with you folk's.


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## Mickey Finn (Jan 21, 2005)

Fischers are definetly here in the lower. I thought I caught a glimpse of one in the pigeon river area last fall. Then, we did find some tracks. These pictures come from the national trappers site. Sorry if they are not clear enough.

Mickey Finn


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## 270 Jake (Jun 24, 2005)

I was out for a snowshoe hike yesterday and thought I may have seen the track of a fisher. The snow was powdering so it was tough to see much detail , but it appeared to have an almost canine-like print, but in the offset pattern of a weasel for the most part. The stride seemed fairly long, maybe two to three feet. What do you guys think? Fisher or not? The thing that really surprised me was that I found this on some hard maple ridges with some strips of red pine plantations. I figured fisher would be found more often in swamps or clearcuts especially this time of year.


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## hunt4life (Dec 22, 2006)

i mainly find there tracks in just that habitat. mainly on ridges or where hard woods meet pine plantations or swamps. I forget where i read it but the article i read said the DNR has turned loose a number of Pine Martens into the piegion river forest some years back. That could have been what you saw Mickey Finn. They are similar just a smaller version. Hard to make out the pad print on the marten because of the hair on the bottoms of there feet.


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## bentduck (Aug 19, 2003)

coolbreeze69 said:


> Does anyone have info or experience seeing a fisher? My neighbor has informed me that we have one or more on our properties and has pictures to prove. Ive never heard about them till now and wish to find out if I should be concerned. I thank you for any info.


We saw one this year a couple of different times ... 30 miles North Of Grand Rrapids near Howard City.


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## varminthunter (Dec 19, 2005)

some info on fishers and their diet, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)#Hunting_and_diet


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

I saw a fisher at least 25 years ago on M37 between the Pine River and M-55 up on the flat where the two track goes off to the east. I never said anything until I went to the Call Of The Wild museum in Gaylord where I found a mount to verify what I knew I saw.

There were also some pine martins released in the Baldwin area many years ago.an out door Writer freind of mine saw one of them south of Ludington near Bass Lake cross the road.

My friend had a bobcat hanging around her house for a couple days a few weeks ago. She lives just on the west side of Howard City. When she saw it the last time it came out from under her deck and hissed at her them took off for the wooded subdivision next door. 

It hissed at her lab the first night in the dark and the dog will not go out that door at night any more. They have seen this cat every once in a while for a few years. I have some traps over there so if it shows up when I am there I plan on trying to catch it so it can be relocated.


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## Liv4Trappin (Feb 22, 2006)

Any pics yet?

Mike


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## Mickey Finn (Jan 21, 2005)

hunt4life said:


> i mainly find there tracks in just that habitat. mainly on ridges or where hard woods meet pine plantations or swamps. I forget where i read it but the article i read said the DNR has turned loose a number of Pine Martens into the piegion river forest some years back. That could have been what you saw Mickey Finn. They are similar just a smaller version. Hard to make out the pad print on the marten because of the hair on the bottoms of there feet.


This is the debate we had. We decided it was a fischer because of the prick like ears and the amount and shape of the tail. Then we found the tracks in sand. I've seen a few one year watching a bear bait. Otherwise I've only caught glimses of them. Everyone tells me they are easy to trap, is this the case?


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Almont-probably a mink.

Almont on the other hand, isnt that near where the wolverine WAS caught in a tree??


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## hunt4life (Dec 22, 2006)

Mickey Finn Once you find them! There not really smart caught a few of them in weasel boxes a few years back. Not the nicest critter to release either you would sware those things dont have a spine. Once they find my bobcat cubbies they will keep coming back till the food is gone.


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