Rat Stakes..

[motrapperjohn]

Jason, how many did you have that planted their face in the other trap. Instance kill. Not so good in spring though

[BadDog]

I see... your picture with the potatoes on the clip had me fooled.

[Jason Dufresne]

Mar 6, 2013 18:58:13 GMT -6 motrapperjohn said:

Jason, how many did you have that planted their face in the other trap. Instance kill. Not so good in spring though

Quite a few actually lol. Never had any alive on the trap holder set up, very streamlined system like it needs to be...

Steven49er
I take and cut my 1.5 wire levers in half that I had made up, and use them as 4 coil springs for my modification work. They feel exactly like a Taos Lightening spring that JC sells. Using only a pair of those on my Dbl jaw 1.5's was awesome! The levers lock up on those flats on the side of the jaws, all you need is the power to get them there with rats. I can sell them for a $1 a pair, plus shipping. Music wire springs.

You do that, and give it a free fall pan system like I described above on page one...money maker!

[mnarcher]

I can attest to jasons setup. he gave me a spring and I installed it and it was awesome. I was going to buy 3-400 sets but never did, guess I forgot. haven't hit rats hard since either but if I was id call Jason and get hooked up with them. easy on the hands and plenty strong

[Bigfoot]

I use some 3/8 X8' fiberglass poles fore bankpoling . ive caught #60 flatheads on these stuck in the mud 18' . i have caught some huge ones with these poles drilled 6" into pillings ,logs,trees or bolders . the poles can definatly handle anything a coon or beaver will throw at it .
heres an idea if you got you some 8 footers why couldn't you put drowning locks on them and use them for drowning rods on the coon line then use them on the rat line

[mastermink]

Best bait for me during open water season with foothold trap is orange peel.I rub the stake 3 inches over de trap with it and fix a piece large as a dollar (1 squa/in).

[braveheart]

Had good results with the rat clip.I found some fence posts that they fit on and wrapped grass at the top with a shot of rat lure.Seen some fence holders that would work like a bait clip but grass worked way better then the bait.The grass was a old Bud Hall trick kind of.

[Jason Dufresne]

The grass is a great idea, i just let my lure run down the fiberglass to the water and let it ride the waves...I used the stainless fence holders you're talking about for my bait clips...worked well.

[maule]

So far the bamboo stakes have worked real well.

They have been in the water about 10 days and have seen no sign of them softening up.

One drawback is that when driving them in the mud the hollow center fills up and that seems to put pressure on them from the inside to start cracking.

Several have cracked at the bottom 1-2' of the stake.

They are strong, real straight and quite light weight.

Maule

[trappnman]

take a piece of lighter wire, and wrap the bottom end about 2 inches up, and then another higher up- this stops them from cracking. give them 3-5 tight wraps, clip off ends and good to go

its what I do for gardening poles

[bblwi]

Even quicker but temporary wrap them a few wraps of duct tape. I have been able to push all of mine in w/o having to hammer them in.

Bryce

[trappnman]

good point

btw- another use for duct tape- on rusty strechers, its tear a strip in half, and run it down the edges- it lasts, it seems, forever

[trappnman]

here is a thought- since its the mud going in and expanding, why not get a few cans of that hard foam sealer, and fill in the bottom 5-6"?

[maule]

Being unprepared prior to rat season there was no time to pre cut willows and dry them, thus the bamboo was a good secondary choice for a quick fix with reasonable cost.

Appreciate the tip and supplier recommendations from this forum as bamboo was something I had never thought of.

Green willows have been fine in the past where no beaver are present although rats chew the green bark off at water line. But this line was planned to be on a river that has lots of beaver so bone dry stakes were needed. Bamboo filled that nitch.

Plan to cut, dry and bundle straight willows this summer for next year so will see how the two compare side by side.

Pretty sure that the straightness of the bamboo will still outshine the willows when being stacked in a boat.

Maule

[trappnman]

they bundle up real tight when bundled in 12 or 20 packs. again, the old duct tape works very well

[RdFx]

Good ol duct tape, i used it on my race bike years back and helped finish races plus helped in waterproofing. Also used alot in temporary patches on rubber gloves and boots..

[bblwi]

I can bundle 4 bundles of 50 each of the 1/2 inch by 7 foot and carry the 200 stakes with ease. 3/4 inch are heavier but I can still carry 100 of those if needed. I can put a hundred in a canoe and not have 50 lbs of weight. The 1/2 ones I can put 100 on an otter sled if needed and they drag easily but you need to have them tied down well. they are so light and slippery they fall out easily. I am working on a bungee cord system and or Velcro to see what works best after the bundle is opened.

Bryce

[BadDog]

Where do you find bamboo sold? How thick?

[maule]

Gepplers,,

[wbg]

I get mine at Ben Medows supply. They also carry the wire survey flags to put on top of the pole. For those of You who use a note book on Your line, check out their'' Write in the rain'' note books and pens. I haven't lost a page in one yet.