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Post by bnolan on Aug 6, 2006 20:52:17 GMT -6
Thanks Stef, I'm looking forward to trying it
CHT
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d
Tenderfoot...
Posts: 35
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Post by d on Aug 8, 2006 12:30:49 GMT -6
Steve, I don't quite follow you. Lure for rats is wasted lure, but rats surely come to lure. I grew up trapping by blind setting without any lure at all, learning animal habits , etc. There's probably no animal I can't catch witout lure, but I use it still, just not for every set. Guess you need to think about why we use lure. Higher percentage catches quicker IMHO. If you're off a little on you're dirt hole, that lure may grab the yote today instead of next week. Same with rats and anything else only on a different scale. I guarantee if you trap on one side of the bridge or house or whatever, and me on the other side with lure, in the long run I'll pull those rats before they ever get to your sets, all else being equal. Lure isn't a cure all,just another weapon.
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Post by trappnman on Aug 8, 2006 16:53:36 GMT -6
I disagree.
I didn't come to my lure/no lure opinion lightly.
Granted, I grew up trapping entirely without lure- it was how I was taught.
But in my late teens and 20s- I discovered lure- all rat/mink now... and I bought and used a lot of it.
I used it for years, along with all the popular baits- apples, carrot, potato slice, even turnips.
I used lure for many years- then didn't use it, then used it, then didn't use it, etc. I still use some today occasionally- I'll win or get a bottle of rat lure trough the year- one day on the line I'll take it and use it up.
I honestly see no difference in lured sets and pure blind sets.
Give me two first locations- and I'll have as good a chance at those rats as fast as any man can with sets off location and bait/lure.
more accurately- its whatever set the rat hits first- lured or not.
Its not that rats don't come to lure- of course they do- I catch many every year in baited/lured coon sets- but knowing the rats habits and reading the area- if there are rats- I can make a blind set that will take him night one. I've trapped rats in creeks for almost 50 years- so I say that not to brag- just that I have put in the hours on the creeks both on and off the trapline..
btw- jc says this- honestly see no difference in lured sets and pure blind sets- about coyotes. I'm not that good (yet) on yotes, so I'll still use lure-
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Post by PamIsMe on Aug 8, 2006 17:35:39 GMT -6
Rat trapping scenario. You Have a hot location lots of rat sign but the water Is only 2" deep for about 3' no way to drown the rat. Do you make the set and hope the rat doesn't wring out, or make the right decision and not set It. Three or Four yards away there Is good drowning water, but no rat sign. By making that lured set you will draw those rats Into those sets where they will be caught and be down the wire and out of sight.
I have no luck at all with using carrots apples etc. But a rat shank placed up under that overhanging bank will catch you some rats.
I use lure at rat sets.
Gary
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Post by thebeav2 on Aug 8, 2006 17:38:11 GMT -6
Opps the cat is out of the bag. Pam taught me all I know about rat trapping LMAO
Gary
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Post by coyotewhisperer on Aug 8, 2006 17:56:29 GMT -6
This may be a dumb question but by "rat shank" you mean part of a muskrat carcass?
Jeff
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Post by trappnman on Aug 8, 2006 18:24:56 GMT -6
gary- seriously- if there is deep water 3 feet away- and a place to put a trap- I'll blind set it and take that rat.
If nothing else- a willow stick with a 11/2 in a wedge.
I'm surprised to see you argue your point as you are. You must use lure more often than not for rats?
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Post by thebeav2 on Aug 8, 2006 20:03:44 GMT -6
Rat shank (hind leg)
Yep about 95% of my sets get lure . I've never seen It drive a rat away from the set.
Gary
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Post by trappnman on Aug 8, 2006 20:11:51 GMT -6
I've never seen It drive a rat away from the set.
LOL- me neither!
Have you tried your same areas without lure- or its just an ingrained habit now? I can't imagine, with your ability in water, that the take would be much different.
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Post by lumberjack on Aug 8, 2006 21:18:07 GMT -6
Where are you guys getting all these rats at? My traps stand a better chance at catching a gold nugget than a rat. Heck, if ya got a lot of rats all you need are some traps and you are good to go.
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Post by thebeav2 on Aug 9, 2006 7:39:07 GMT -6
I want to catch ALL the rats so I use every tool In the box, sometimes even the box LOL. Yep Steve I can catch rats with out lure but It's just faster with It. I feel It gives me that edge.
Gary
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Post by trappnman on Aug 9, 2006 8:26:47 GMT -6
maple glow will give you that edge......
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Post by Kyle on Aug 9, 2006 12:30:37 GMT -6
Where can I buy ProCoon? Does Cumberland's sell it? I'm going there tomorrow, so it would be easier just to get it there instead of shipping.
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Post by trappnman on Aug 9, 2006 12:50:03 GMT -6
no- Cumberlands does not sell it.
I do.
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Post by ducktrapper on Aug 12, 2006 21:22:29 GMT -6
Great thread! I was polling some of the "big names" and old timers at the Minnesota convention this weekend. I'd estimate 80% said they don't use lure for rats (especially in the fall). And some of these guys sell rat lure! I set my entire line from inside a boat. Last thing I do is dip a chunk of cattail in Trapper Art's "Muskratter" and hide it at water level behind the trap. I'm setting on sign, so the rat will likely be there anyway. My thought was always that if the lure was attractive to the rat, he would spend more time "dinking" around trying to find the smell, and increase the chance of him hitting the trap pan. I'm tending about 35 traps each time, so that lure handling probably adds 10 minutes to my run each day. I have tried a lot of lures over the years and not had any noticeable difference with or without. I might use up my remaining 1/2 bottles this year and then go without. I did have one memorable lure from Blackie's -- "Sugarbabe". That one really seemed to pull in a few more rats, but it also brought in the coons. Since this pond is soft muck bottom at least 15 feet deep, there is nothing to stake solid enough for a coon. So if I catch a coon, it means I lose the trap. So coons are bad here and I had to stop using that lure. I have always looked specifically for rat lures that did not advertise that they were also good for coon!
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Post by edge on Aug 12, 2006 22:29:34 GMT -6
Adressing the "procoon for rats"question,yes,good for rats,black bear,coon and whitetails.....;while it may not create super agressive gottahaveit tendancies in canids;it doesnt cause avoidance either;unlike some urines,particularly in flat sets. Lenons Muskrat Super All Call was the first across the board attractor I ever used,Procoon the second.Both are amazing and money well spent.
A great blind set should nevr be lured,period.But on the float set line,lure was key.
Edge
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Post by raynard on Aug 13, 2006 2:06:10 GMT -6
I've actually had pretty good luck using lure for rats. Two years ago I picked up a new spot where I actually saw several rats out during the day time. There was a lot of sign present but for some reason, not many den holes. This was a creek about 10 feet across with many deep pockets. No doubt there were many den holes, I just could not locate them due to the deep water. I lured several feed beds and runs and took 45 rats in a stretch of about 75 yards in a very short time. Yep, did get some coons too. Can't avoid it but I do feel that the lure helped in my catch.
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Post by trappnman on Aug 13, 2006 5:25:38 GMT -6
why lure a feed bed? if its active, they will be there that night.
as far as the situation you mention, high banks, deep water- perfect blind set areas.
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Post by raynard on Aug 14, 2006 23:38:14 GMT -6
I guess my reasoning was that I wanted to move in and hit it hard, quickly. By setting multiple traps at the many locations I described I just felt the lure would keep them coming and maximize the number of catches in a short amount of time, and it seemed to work because most of the locations I set took multiple rats.
Your point is well taken. If the feed beds are active, theoretically, yes, the rats will be back. I feel that the lure helped me zero the rats in on where I wanted them to come, in a shorter amount of time, therefore cutting down my time at this location. I set it hard, lured it up, hammered the rats and moved on.
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Post by trappnman on Aug 15, 2006 5:56:43 GMT -6
It really comes down to this- lure works, not luring works.
The reoccurring theme is that lure works faster.
How was this determined? Its hard to have side by side comparisons- about the best you can do, is to set up on area and the set up an equal area- one with lure, one without.
I've done thism any times over the years- cause if lure works better, I'd use it at every set. So I wanted to find out.
Quite honestly, I've never seen where lure outproduces not luring in my tests like the above. Rats have a very small home range. They have to eat daily and they need places to rest.
Look for those two interest points- and the rat will be there.
I used to trap the big marshes with my uncles and dad. We took 1000s of rats a year. All setting houses, pushups and feedbeds.
Would we have taken less rats with lure? No.
More? Don't see how.
Now I trap creeks only, and take 250 rats pretty much year after year. Some years I used extensive luring/baiting- most years nothing.
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