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Post by CoonDuke on Nov 13, 2006 8:49:39 GMT -6
Anyone have any experience with baited triggers and rats? Looking for thoughts on baited 110s in open water, river situations.
What bait type and depth is preferred? I was thinking the closer the bait is to the surface the better, but don't really know.
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Post by trappnman on Nov 13, 2006 8:54:34 GMT -6
I played with baited 110s years back, and didn't find the results to be worth the effort.
Apple slice works as well as anything. Corn gets too many incidentals.
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Post by CoonDuke on Nov 13, 2006 9:04:02 GMT -6
I assumed the set to be not as productive as traditional rat sets, but on the big river the water fluctuations make blind sets and pockets nearly impossible to maintain. Plus, there are few blind set oppoutunities with the sloping mud banks.
Would you think they would be worth the effort if you had no other options, or is the efficiency of them that poor that the set is basically ineffective?
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Post by thebeav2 on Nov 13, 2006 9:15:30 GMT -6
I tried It through the Ice a few times. It works. I have had very little luck In open water. The best bait was a chunk of white styrofoam. It allways stayed on the trigger wires and allways stayed nice and bright.
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Post by CoonDuke on Nov 13, 2006 9:24:28 GMT -6
Here was what I was thinking. The riverbanks are basically long stretches of 45 degree sloping, bare mud banks. Muskrat tracks along the banks for long distances...no defined areas where they are coming out. They can come out anywhere they really want to.
An apple on the trigger of a 110 "spiked" with a bolt, and pushed in perpendicular to the bank. Apple slice just under the water surface. Dab of rat lure on the bank near the trap.
I would think that the traps would be in the direct path of muskrats swimming tight to shore...just would hope they take the bait,
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Post by dj88ryr on Nov 13, 2006 13:25:51 GMT -6
I tried it Duke and had similar results as Steve, not very good. But I am facing a similar situation next week, I have a 5 acre farm pond that is loaded with rats. No visable bank dens, 5 foot 45 degree featurless banks, no visable take outs, tracks all over, but nothing where you could blind set with any confidance. I wanted Ninny to come look at it and perhaps come up with an idea. I may have to resort to lure and bait, but I am not confidant with it.
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Post by BK on Nov 13, 2006 15:46:20 GMT -6
If you're gonna screw with lure DJ hook everything down to hold coon. I know I sound like a broken record here,....... and if the 45 deg. angle continues far after water level it won't work well.,.........but I've beat rats with the BE set in ponds and ditches. Where they were walking and crapping all over with no pattern to it.
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Post by gcs on Nov 13, 2006 15:48:48 GMT -6
I've tried apples, turnips,+ lure over the trap,both above and below water, never caught a one.
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Post by John56 on Nov 13, 2006 19:45:33 GMT -6
LiveFreeorDie, when we had rats in ponds like you described, I just walked along about a foot out from the bank and feel for the runs and den entrences with my foot and planted 110s.
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Post by dj88ryr on Nov 13, 2006 20:01:57 GMT -6
Yeah I have done that before as well, I walked 90% of the shoreline two weekends ago, no dens within sight or feel, I can't for the life of me figure where the hell they live. Deep Entrances? They have to live in the pond, they are there now, and I trapped the stream that runs by this pond last winter, only a few rats, and there weren't any bank dens in the stream either.......WTF!
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Post by Ridgerunner on Nov 13, 2006 21:07:42 GMT -6
LForD, I had this exact same deal a few years back, and here is what I found: Fortunately, the water was crystal clear, and I stood in disbelief as I noticed underwater den entrances that were a good 10 to 12 linear feet from the shoreline. The depth at these entrances averaged around 3 to 4 feet. Those 'rats had done some serious assed tunneling!
I wound up picking off a few in the only two feedbeds that I could find along the shoreline ... Got a few more by digging little shoreline bait pens gaurded with legholds ... (I used cattail root shavings and smeared on a little Dobbins 'rat lure for the bait) ... Finally wound up trapping the entrances with those long 110 coni stabilizers. That last thing was the way I got the most of 'em.
I didn't try any float setting, or colony traps at the dens, (don't have any) but often wondered if either or both would have produced.
Good luck, Bill
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Post by dj88ryr on Nov 13, 2006 21:17:42 GMT -6
Crap, this is what I was afraid of. The water in this pond is NOT clear, and the constant activity must keep the water cloudy, as the surrounding ground has a lot of loose clay in it. No way I am going to find the entrances if they are that far out and deep.
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Post by possumblaster on Nov 13, 2006 22:30:31 GMT -6
I have a couple places that sound like your situation.I built a couple of el cheapo floats with #1 coils-one on each side and that has helped a bunch.Ponds are featureless so I guess they really took to climbing on the floats.
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Post by randysironworks on Nov 13, 2006 23:57:15 GMT -6
Hey finally a post that I feel comfortable giving advice on.You guys have helped me go from strictly a water trapper to taking fox and coyote with relative ease.Muskrats are simple .Take a 2ft x 2ft peice of plywood and nail2x4s flat on the edges,then atach trap chains like # 1 or 1.5s to the underside in the corners .Put a 5/16 lag bolt 3" long in the center.then screw a piece of ear corn to the lag,set the traps near the ear of corn and they will step into the trap and jump over the edge and drown.you can wire the setup to the bank or drill another 3/8 hole in one corner and shove a rod down in the creek or pond bottom.It really works.I catch 400-500rats a year this way,but if you want to trap rats there next year,pull out early cause I have overtrapped areas and they seem to never repopulate.And also if you have beaver in the area.secure the trap good cause I have caught numerous beavers on these floats also.hope this helps without sounding like too much work.THANKS for all the help with land trapping and good luck.
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Post by billkasten on Nov 14, 2006 4:48:14 GMT -6
After reading Beringer's farmland trapping book I was going to try the ear of corn thing but here in Pa. exposed bait is illeagel .
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Post by thebeav2 on Nov 14, 2006 6:18:47 GMT -6
Wait for freeze up and first CLEAR ice then you should be able to find the den holes.
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Post by Steve Gappa on Nov 14, 2006 7:27:28 GMT -6
corn on a 110 is an excellent duck set.
Advice like that is why Bernie Barrenger no longer traps.
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Post by dj88ryr on Nov 14, 2006 7:36:58 GMT -6
corn on a 110 is an excellent duck set. Mallard anyone?? ;D Actually this pond is home currently to about 60-80 geese, the owner said he didn't mind if I caught MOST of them.. ;D
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Post by Steve Gappa on Nov 14, 2006 7:39:29 GMT -6
the biggest winter mink trapping problem I had, is learning where and how not to set to avoid most of those darn mallards. We have huge amounts of them that winter over. Don't they know where "south" is?
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Dom
Skinner...
Posts: 75
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Post by Dom on Nov 14, 2006 10:41:40 GMT -6
I use baited 110s for muskrats all the time and have a lot of success, in my area anyways. I use baby carrots on the trigger, they hold well and I put a dab of anis or peppermint oil on the carrot as well for attractant. I set on the edge of water where it is shallow, trigger towards the bank.
I also make pocket sets with 1.5 CS and place a carrot above on a stick and use the same as above for lure. Of course the trap is set in a way for the rat to drown.
Good luck with that.
Dom.
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