Post by trappnman on Dec 29, 2018 11:03:42 GMT -6
I haven't trapped water for the past 3 seasons. One reason is of course prices..... Hard to make money trapping a winter waterline here in Mn when prices are that low. Add in the terrible decline in furbearers in the creeks, And the weather, and it didn't make and sense.
But this year, had a farmer friend that had beaver, so I figured as long as I was putting on waders, I'd set a small waterline. I'd set up a few rat/mink traps at the beaver creek, and then a handful of what were my best locations not too many years back.
Over the past 10-12 years, I've had watershed after watershed just dry up. Creeks where for 20-30 years I could take the same amount of fur, year after year of rats and mink and coon. Ag practices roughly the same, if not better- some were way back walk in creeks where few ventured. And they just became dead creeks. Three years ago, it had expanded to more creeks. My setups this year, would be what was still productive 3 years ago.
This is my first set up. "Johns" . Its very old rip rap, and a set up where I've taken many, many mink and rats over the years. My typical blind set, a carve out into the bank...these are natural rick "cubbies" where all I had to do was build up the bottom with rocks to provide a resting shelf. I set 2 1.5 coils on long chained drags due to the bottom being 100% rocky. Only coils I'll use on thi line.
Got to the beaver spot...my worst fear...an unmaintained dam. Either nothing here, or 1 or 2 very old beaver that aren't doing much
looking upstream from the dam...across the springhole there is a shortcut channel through that little finger, and a bank house and a somewhat stale feedpile further up. I set 2 330s in the shortcut, and set 2 castor footholds between dam and spring hole. Since I could drive up, bototm wights were 2 concrete filled ice cream buckets with chains comming out that I made 3 years ago, and never used.
Further down the creek, this wall has been a reliable set up for decades, as have all the locations I set. In fact, to avoid repeating I'll stipulate- all these locations shown, have been among my most productive locations for 3 decades on rats and mink.
Here, I did find 1 feedbed, so set that, and set 3 more blind resting sets. All traps #2dls as will be rest of line. My favorite mink/rat trap.
A ways down the creek, along this wall, I again set 4 foothold resting sets- no sign at all.
That was it for that creek, now on to another watershed about 20 miles away. One of the very first creeks to trap when I moved here, and it's been a favorite ever since.
This location has a good spring creek, feeding into a larger spring fed creek. This particular deep pool in the spring creek, is a all time favorite set up. Found a small feedbed, and set 2 sets, 1 on the feedbed, another resting set close by.
Further down on marks, this hole used to be deadly on coon, and an occasional rat. Since sign was rare, I set up 2 blind resting sets.
Lots of dead water, including a sheer wall that was now too shallow to be of any use, brings me to this little sheer wall. Again, a reliable location. Resting sets, 3 in a row- carve out a shelf in the clay, make it a little blind pocket at end and you are in business
In the spring creek itself, I put in 2 colony traps.
A few miles down the road, is the same creek,and a super location over the years. Many mink doubles off this wall, and rats every check. Very little sign (but thats typical along a wall like this) but a few rat diggings. I've set as many as 8 along this wall, but struggled to find 5 spots.
A couple hundred yards downstream, I added 2 here, one each side...lori found some mink tracks on bank, only ones we have seen all day
Last stop, same watershed, but a few miles down the road. A good hotspot in past years- very old rip rap (concrete chunks) with plenty of dirt build up. I've set as many as 8 here in past years, no sign, put in 5
--------------------
So- 4 beaver sets, 29 rat/mink sets and 2 colony traps. Last time I set up these locations, with 23 traps I took 13 rats and 5 mink 1st check, the next day.
Check #1- Nothing at Johns. At beaver dam, nothing touched. That wasn't good news. Beaver not moving at all, and I was as unobstrusive as possible setting up.
At the 1st grassy wall, I had 1 rat, and a coon. Nothing else touched. 2nd wall- 1 rat, nothing else touched.
on to spring creek location- nothing at the spring hole, but did have a surprise rat at the old coon hole location. also picked up 1 in a colony trap.
total for day:
Check #2- now on 3 day check. Nothing at Johns. A big coon in each of the castor sets, both 330s still untouched. nothing in the 2 rat/mink locations. Out to springhole- had a rat at the spring hole location, and a double on rats at the last wall with the 3 traps. All other locations untouched.
Total for day:
check #3:
Had a rat at Johns. Nothing at beaver pond, or in any of the rat/min sets. this from locations that gave me 30-40 rats and mega mink each year for decades. TU rip rapped almost entire creek 5 years ago, rest is history! On to spring creek- nothing in any of the footholds, but 1 colony trap had 2, the other one. I don't use colonys much, 1st time ever having multiple so that was cool. Also had a nice brown trout in with the singleton rat.
On to the pasture wall- 2 checks nothing, everything untouched- lo and behold had 4 rats in a row- had a little rain in between so thats why...but still odd..nothing in 6 days, then 4. nothing in last 2 stops.
Total for day:
Check #4 and pull day:
Nothing until the springhole area, and a rat on the wall where I had the double earlier-
Got a 2nd trout at the spring creek-
Nothing on the wall where I got the 4, and nothing in next location.
Last location had everything untouched for 3 checks...a small rat today-
total for day:
--------------------------
Was hoping to get a mink or two- but no food- I used to jump many shrews and mice off of banks- never saw 1 in any of the checks. And rats are almost non existent. On the creeks its many factors- raptors, floods that have left creeks shallow (no stream clearing floods in many years- always seem to fill in more), maybe disease, I don't know what all. I can say, the farming has remained unchanged- most of these locations pastures, or buffer zones.
With low prices, and lack of game- and lets face it at 68 its nopt as easy walking the water and climbing banks as it once was- I'm thinking this might have been my last waterline. started on creeks with blind sets for rats 60 some years ago, so its a fitting finish. From now on, Its coyotes and coyotes only I'm afraid.
Hope you enjoyed this little "walk along".
But this year, had a farmer friend that had beaver, so I figured as long as I was putting on waders, I'd set a small waterline. I'd set up a few rat/mink traps at the beaver creek, and then a handful of what were my best locations not too many years back.
Over the past 10-12 years, I've had watershed after watershed just dry up. Creeks where for 20-30 years I could take the same amount of fur, year after year of rats and mink and coon. Ag practices roughly the same, if not better- some were way back walk in creeks where few ventured. And they just became dead creeks. Three years ago, it had expanded to more creeks. My setups this year, would be what was still productive 3 years ago.
This is my first set up. "Johns" . Its very old rip rap, and a set up where I've taken many, many mink and rats over the years. My typical blind set, a carve out into the bank...these are natural rick "cubbies" where all I had to do was build up the bottom with rocks to provide a resting shelf. I set 2 1.5 coils on long chained drags due to the bottom being 100% rocky. Only coils I'll use on thi line.
Got to the beaver spot...my worst fear...an unmaintained dam. Either nothing here, or 1 or 2 very old beaver that aren't doing much
looking upstream from the dam...across the springhole there is a shortcut channel through that little finger, and a bank house and a somewhat stale feedpile further up. I set 2 330s in the shortcut, and set 2 castor footholds between dam and spring hole. Since I could drive up, bototm wights were 2 concrete filled ice cream buckets with chains comming out that I made 3 years ago, and never used.
Further down the creek, this wall has been a reliable set up for decades, as have all the locations I set. In fact, to avoid repeating I'll stipulate- all these locations shown, have been among my most productive locations for 3 decades on rats and mink.
Here, I did find 1 feedbed, so set that, and set 3 more blind resting sets. All traps #2dls as will be rest of line. My favorite mink/rat trap.
A ways down the creek, along this wall, I again set 4 foothold resting sets- no sign at all.
That was it for that creek, now on to another watershed about 20 miles away. One of the very first creeks to trap when I moved here, and it's been a favorite ever since.
This location has a good spring creek, feeding into a larger spring fed creek. This particular deep pool in the spring creek, is a all time favorite set up. Found a small feedbed, and set 2 sets, 1 on the feedbed, another resting set close by.
Further down on marks, this hole used to be deadly on coon, and an occasional rat. Since sign was rare, I set up 2 blind resting sets.
Lots of dead water, including a sheer wall that was now too shallow to be of any use, brings me to this little sheer wall. Again, a reliable location. Resting sets, 3 in a row- carve out a shelf in the clay, make it a little blind pocket at end and you are in business
In the spring creek itself, I put in 2 colony traps.
A few miles down the road, is the same creek,and a super location over the years. Many mink doubles off this wall, and rats every check. Very little sign (but thats typical along a wall like this) but a few rat diggings. I've set as many as 8 along this wall, but struggled to find 5 spots.
A couple hundred yards downstream, I added 2 here, one each side...lori found some mink tracks on bank, only ones we have seen all day
Last stop, same watershed, but a few miles down the road. A good hotspot in past years- very old rip rap (concrete chunks) with plenty of dirt build up. I've set as many as 8 here in past years, no sign, put in 5
--------------------
So- 4 beaver sets, 29 rat/mink sets and 2 colony traps. Last time I set up these locations, with 23 traps I took 13 rats and 5 mink 1st check, the next day.
Check #1- Nothing at Johns. At beaver dam, nothing touched. That wasn't good news. Beaver not moving at all, and I was as unobstrusive as possible setting up.
At the 1st grassy wall, I had 1 rat, and a coon. Nothing else touched. 2nd wall- 1 rat, nothing else touched.
on to spring creek location- nothing at the spring hole, but did have a surprise rat at the old coon hole location. also picked up 1 in a colony trap.
total for day:
Check #2- now on 3 day check. Nothing at Johns. A big coon in each of the castor sets, both 330s still untouched. nothing in the 2 rat/mink locations. Out to springhole- had a rat at the spring hole location, and a double on rats at the last wall with the 3 traps. All other locations untouched.
Total for day:
check #3:
Had a rat at Johns. Nothing at beaver pond, or in any of the rat/min sets. this from locations that gave me 30-40 rats and mega mink each year for decades. TU rip rapped almost entire creek 5 years ago, rest is history! On to spring creek- nothing in any of the footholds, but 1 colony trap had 2, the other one. I don't use colonys much, 1st time ever having multiple so that was cool. Also had a nice brown trout in with the singleton rat.
On to the pasture wall- 2 checks nothing, everything untouched- lo and behold had 4 rats in a row- had a little rain in between so thats why...but still odd..nothing in 6 days, then 4. nothing in last 2 stops.
Total for day:
Check #4 and pull day:
Nothing until the springhole area, and a rat on the wall where I had the double earlier-
Got a 2nd trout at the spring creek-
Nothing on the wall where I got the 4, and nothing in next location.
Last location had everything untouched for 3 checks...a small rat today-
total for day:
--------------------------
Was hoping to get a mink or two- but no food- I used to jump many shrews and mice off of banks- never saw 1 in any of the checks. And rats are almost non existent. On the creeks its many factors- raptors, floods that have left creeks shallow (no stream clearing floods in many years- always seem to fill in more), maybe disease, I don't know what all. I can say, the farming has remained unchanged- most of these locations pastures, or buffer zones.
With low prices, and lack of game- and lets face it at 68 its nopt as easy walking the water and climbing banks as it once was- I'm thinking this might have been my last waterline. started on creeks with blind sets for rats 60 some years ago, so its a fitting finish. From now on, Its coyotes and coyotes only I'm afraid.
Hope you enjoyed this little "walk along".
