How the Invention "NITE EYES" Came About...

Back in November of 2004 I was getting restless waiting for the beginning of deer season and thought I would try a little trapping. I knew there was a pretty good coyote population where I deer hunt in Jackson, Michigan having shot one the previous year.

Well, I read all I could find about trapping on the internet. Then I bought some traps and boiled them in walnut husk. Since I only had one week where I would be able to drive out every day, I got all of my gear together and headed for Jackson.

I made my own bait out of beef liver, cod fish, eggs, and vanilla extract. I only had four traps and I set them all as dirt hole sets. Well, the first day I caught a possum and one of my other traps had been dug up. The next day I caught another possum and another one of my traps had been sprung. There was a little tuft of red fur near the trap, so I knew I had come pretty close to catching a coyote or fox. I also found my third trap had been dug up again.

I decided to relocate my traps about six inches back further from the hole. That's all it took! The next day a friend of mine, Joe, came with me to check my little trap line. There he was - the first and only coyote I ever trapped.

I have a friend who is a taxidermist, so I got a pretty good deal on a full body mount. While we were discussing different poses for the mount, I mentioned that it would be cool if he could make his eyes light up. My wife, Vickie, had said she thought it would add a "life-like" quality to the mount (and, looking back, right she was!!!). He said that he didn't have anything that would light up the eyes, so I searched everywhere trying to find some kind of light kit to add this dimension to my new mount.

I couldn't find anything anywhere. So, with the help of my friend, Bill, I decided that I would build one. It worked perfectly and looks really great. I didn't design it to be overly bright because I felt that it just wouldn't look right. The way that it works is that the eyes give off a soft glow in low light conditions. You'll love it!