Page 72 - ODUNovAndDec2018

Wanted:

Squirrel

Tails

By Jason Houser

The age-old tradition of
hunters being out in force

bagging their limits of
squirrels continues still
today. However, the
number of squirrel hunters
has dwindled
tremendously over the
years as hunters set their
sights on bigger game.

In my opinion that is a shame. Squirrel hunting is a great way to prepare for bigger animals, they
provide excellent table fare, and you can make money selling their tails. That might have caught your
attention.

If you don’t want to make some extra cash, you can always trade squirrel tails off for fishing lures.
Mepps lures out of Antigo, WI purchases squirrel and deer tails to make their hand-tied, dressed hooks

that most anglers are familiar with. Hunters have the option of selling their squirrel tails or trading them
in for double the cash value to receive fishing lures.

Now, you are not going to get rich selling squirrel tails. They buy fox, black, grey and red squirrel tails
and will pay up to 26 cents each for tails. And they need a lot of them. Since the mid-1960s they have
recycled almost 8 million tails. Josh Schwartz, Communications Director for Mepps and Mister Twister
says the company would like to purchase 250,000 tails annually to keep up with the demand.

That is a lot of tails considering they can make up to 8 dressed hooks per tail. That just goes to show
you how many lures are being shipped out of the Wisconsin based plant every year. Another interesting
note is that Mepps has almost 8,000 lure combinations to choose from. There is no reason for an angler
not to find what he needs.

Hunters have the option to sell their tails frozen or dried. If you decide to ship the tails to the factory, a

check will be sent, or they will call you to see what lures you would like. Dried tails can be sent year-
round, but they recommend shipping frozen tails only during the months of January, February
and March.