2023 Demos
NCTA 2023 State Convention
51st 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 2023 state convention September 29th and 30th 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 a “Master Water Trapper”. Kevin catches several hundred muskrats and raccoons annually, usually trapping multiple states. 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 make tools to use on their own trap lines.
Jimmy Pierce – North Carolina
Jimmy is a lifelong hunter, fisherman and trapper. He served in the Raleigh Police Department, retiring as a Captain in 1997. He runs extended coyote lines in several counties each year. Jimmy is also a past President of the NCTA and both he and his wife are trapper’s education instructors and help with several classes each year. He also volunteers as an instructor in the WRC Becoming an Outdoor Woman Program and does seminars on Coyote Trapping at the Dixie Deer Classic. Jimmy has been an integral part of the NCTA Advanced Coyote Trapping Workshops. Coyotes are his passion and his demo will focus on the key focus points of becoming a successful coyote trapper.
Kenneth Holland – North Carolina
Kenneth, aka Muddawg, from Dudley, NC not only traps and catches problem animals for a living but also hunts a variety of animals for their fur and meat. Muddawg has shared some of his favorite recipes on the NCTA Talk Forum and in the NCTA monthly newsletter. He has rendered raccoon fat to use for cooking oil to fry bobcat steaks and served the cracklins from the rendering in the past. This year he is going to surprise us as he prepares one or more wild game meats. He will share his methods and tips for preparing a variety of wild game for the table and will have samples available at his demo – Cooking with Muddawg.
Todd Menke - North Carolina
Todd is the current North Carolina Trappers Association (NCTA) Education Coordinator, volunteer NCWRC Trapper Education Instructor, past Secretary, and past President of NCTA. Todd grew up in Nebraska and has trapped multiple states in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeastern United States. He is also a certified Wildlife Biologist. Todd's lucky number must be 13! His best day catch of river otters is 13 and his best day catch of coyotes is also 13. Do you dream of big daily catches? Come learn how to increase your daily catch and make 13 your lucky number too. Todd will show you what it takes to make your dream of big catches reality.
Kenton Althiser
Kenton Althiser is the owner of High Creek Wildlife. A lifelong outdoorsman, he started wildlife control full time in 2017 after a back injury took him out of construction. He 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. His presentation will be focused on the effective use of snares in nuisance beaver removal.
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.
Brian Flowers – Pennsylvania
Bryan Flowers is a professional traveling trapper, hunter and guide who has hunted and trapped in 15 states and Canada. He has been trapping since the early 70s. He is host of Furlife TV as seen on the Sportsman Channel and several Internet platforms. This allows him to experience trapping in many different locations for many species and sees a lot of different techniques used by the trappers he meets.
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 removing beaver and keeping waterways open in Northeastern NC and Southeastern VA.