Let's talk DP coon traps.

[thorsmightyhammer]

I could give a crap about rat and mink %- neither trap takes any maintenance and I can check 10 in a location same time I can check 1 or 2-

you dont trap rats the same way I do.

2-5 days max and that trap is gone.

In the winter I'd spread my traps out a little by skipping houses and it kept my percentages higher and I was able to check the sets more times. My theory was I wouldnt have to move as much saving some work setting.

This winter with very little to no snow I didnt dig the snowmobile out of the shed until the end of january. In Nov, Dec, and early Jan when I was walking 3 to 8 miles a day pulling the hand sled if I walked by a house it got set.

Percentages went down but overall numbers went up. Alot.


quantity vs quality is a catch 22.

First question I have is can a guy find enough of those quality spots in a reasonable driving distance or is a guy going to spend more time driving than trapping.

When you ran your coyote line this fall did you have more quality spots than you could handle in a day?

I guess what a trapper needs to determine than whats going to pay off more in the end.

When it comes to beaver in the spring I skip alot of marginal spots I could set and only run very very high percentage spots.

Why?

Because I can only handle so many a day and I am going to skin them and flesh em and strecth em. Thats all there is to it so I basically decide how many I want to deal with at night and go catch that many a day.

[trappnman]

I grew up trapping the big marshes, but it was all done before freeze up in open water-

so oyu know far more aobut houses than I do-

so explain this a bit more if you would-

spread my traps out a little by skipping houses and it kept my percentages higher and I was able to check the sets more times. My theory was I wouldnt have to move as much saving some work setting.


I was under the impression that rats only used one house- but it seems like you were skipping houses, thus getting rats from adjoining houses in just the one?

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I was trapping coyotes by doing what you said.....basically, if I drove by it, and had permission, I'd set it up. Resulting in low %s. check traps for a week, and maybe take a coyote or two.

What I'm trying to do, is increase the % substantially- like my locations were I am doing 1 for 3, or 1-4. The rub, is that I AM skipping those marginal locations, trying to put all my eggs into determining the choice locations- and I'm improving on that, and as time goes by, thoe high % areas, will be the norm.

I've got a good coyote population, I'm already driving a fair amount everyday- so with the same miles, the goal is to up that % since the nubmer of traps is more or less static, in that there is a finite amount a land trapper can maintain in a day. if number of traps cannot be increased, than there is only one option left-

look at it as if you could run only 100 rat traps in a day- you would waste zero traps-

thats my only real point & goal for me, is on land, to not "waste" any traps in speculation.

[thorsmightyhammer]

I was under the impression that rats only used one house- but it seems like you were skipping houses, thus getting rats from adjoining houses in just the one?

Well not really only one "house" or feeder.

If there three four feeders within say a 20 yard radius I think the rats will use any of those.

I also think the rats move a long ways more under the ice than may think.

I think you can quite probably trap out a house and if there is a lot of rats in said swamp come back in 8 weeks and catch one or two more in it.

[motrapperjohn]

Your areas, Bridges might only have a couple coon using that area, where down here in Mo., Iowa there might be 10 ,15, or 20 coon passing under that bridge every night, now you might know why some people might put out or want to put out several 100 traps, where you, in your area might put only a couple. Some like to go in and swamp an area and pull and move on in a few days. Me I like to set what I think will produce a high % for a week or so and have or cover much more area and relax and check full traps instead of pulling and resetting traps every few days. This spring my % was consistantly over 75% for a total of 13 days and the last day was over80% in the same area that was set on day 1. Others in the area that was flooding and moving traps every few days was in the 30% range and for several days they was on top of me!

[trappnman]

not sure if you were addressing me?

if so, I leave my coon traps in place for several months on water.