Post by Scott McCray on Apr 14, 2006 20:19:28 GMT -5
Here's an article on sign trapping for muskrats I wrote for Trapper & Predator Caller. It originally appeared in the August 2002 issue, titled "Mudslide Muskrats"
Article Written By our own Cjstrapping
“Don’t worry,” my dad said, “you’ll catch some ‘rats.
As my father dropped me off at the marsh, I asked him again what I should do.
“Just take a handful of muck and make a slide up the side of the cabin,” he said. “Then put your trap
at the base of the cabin about an inch under water.” “Make sure you have the trap staked as far out in the
water as the chain will reach,” he continued, “ so that the ‘rat will drown.”
This conversation took place nearly eighteen years ago. To this day, those words still remain etched in
my mind. Whenever I set foot into a new marsh, or I’m reaching under the water for a handful of mud, I
think about that cold, windy day in November, so many years ago.
You see, this new approach, (new to me, but old to many seasoned trappers), to trapping not only enriched my mind, but also enabled me to catch all the muskrats I could handle. Even my childhood trapping partners were being exposed to this wonderful method of catching muskrats, which made it all the better for us to bring home the ‘rats in bulk. Barely in our teens, we were putting up some impressive numbers. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve caught my fair share of ‘rats in box traps and conibears, in situations that warranted these traps and am certainly not limited to sign trapping. But close to seventy percent of my lifetime muskrats have fallen to sign trapping.
I’m sure there are numerous reasons for this set to be so productive. Weather it be the sheer sight of
fresh, glistening mud on the side of a cabin, the smell of fresh muck, a territorial thing, or just simply
something to investigate, it works. I have never, in all my marsh trapping experience, found a more
effective and practical way to catch muskrats.
Before I became aware of this technique, I would haul cumbersome float sets and box traps into the
marsh and spend half of the day setting them, only to be disappointed the next day with a couple dozen
‘rats. As I’ve mentioned before, there may be an ideal circumstance for a boxtrap, conibear or floatset in
a marsh, but I prefer sign trapping for the bulk of it.
Making a sign set for muskrat is relatively easy. On the side of a muskrat cabin, construct a slide of
muck. The slide can be anywhere from four to eight inches wide and a foot to three in length, starting
from the waters edge. It can be completely vertical or at an angle, which ever seems more appealing at
the particular set.
Sometimes, taking a five gallon bucket with you, filled with mud that you’ve collected earlier, can save
considerable time. There may be times when soft mud is not accessible next to a cabin, and having this
bucket of mud in the front of your boat or canoe can save substantial time. You can obviously tell, just
by walking up to the cabin, what the subsurface is like. You’ll know that if the subsurface is difficult to
transverse, sinking a few inches on every step, you can simply use the soft muck at hand. However, if the
ground is hard, you’ll be glad you’ve collected a bucket of mud.
Feed bed stets also account for many of my sets. Muskrats have many feed areas throughout a marsh. Many are found on the cabin. They can also be found at the cattail’s edge. These feed beds are usually nothing more than mound of fresh vegetation. As many of these vary in size and shape, they can be set in an endless number of ways, but the basic principle is always there. Set the trap where were they travel on and off the bed, or simply conceal your trap directly on top. Once again, a handful of fresh muck on the bed or trap seems to connect every time.
As I’ve said, sign trapping is quite simple, but extremely effective. Many trappers who have access to
a marsh religiously use this method of trapping for muskrats. It may even account for eighty percent of
their sets. It could also mean the difference between bringing home twenty minutes of skinning or five
hours of skinning. I’ve been fortunate enough to live along Lake Erie in Northwest Ohio, which offers many available marshes to trap, but have employed this method in other states while serving eight years in the US Navy.
Trap selection for this type of trapping may stir mixed emotions. To one muskrat trapper, the #1
longspring will pop to mind, and a #1 1/2 jump may be another’s to swear by. I favor the #1 1/2
longspring by Victor (and was very disappointed to learn that these traps were no longer going to be
produced). I prefer this trap for a few reasons. One, the #1 1/2 requires little, if any modification, for
this type of trapping. Two, the size of the trap itself. The #1 1/2 offers a wide base and jawspread, with a
large pan. By using this, as apposed to say, the #1, I’ve found increases my catch ratio. Muskrats can
approach a cabin at any angle, and enter your slide from the either side, or straight up. Common sense
would say, the larger the catch zone, the more chance you’ll have to a catch.
Another bonus is the weight of the #1 1/2. This serves a few functions. An obvious reason would be a
quick and humane kill. Even the strongest of ‘rats will succumb to the weight and drown. The weight
also enables a sturdy foundation for the set, with the long single spring acting as a support in many
situations. The #1 ½ will also hold non-target onus animals, such as a raccoon or a mink. By now, I’m sure, some of you are saying, “ What about the coil spring?”. I have tried these, but found them too cumbersome and required considerable modification. But let me say that, whatever trap you feel comfortable with and has proven itself one the line, stick with it.
As far as securing my traps, I simply use pre-cut tally stakes, usually willow, and flag with a small piece of fluorescent tape at the top. I normally try to keep them seven to eight feet tall. After staking the trap and pushing it into the mud, you still want that flag visible from a good distant.
Even though this is directed towards marsh trapping, don’t think by any means, that it is limited to just
that. I sometimes employ this same method along creek banks, ditches or any other location that supports
a water depth capable of drowning. A farmer once asked me if I could render my service of trapping, to
rid him of the nuisance muskrat. “They’re eat’n up my d**es,”he said. “Makes it hard to maintain my
crops sometimes,” Of course I was willing to step in to help. Not only would this start a new friendship,
but also grant me permission to another trapping area. Unfortunately, upon inspection of my newly
obtained trapping spot, there were no visible trails, no cabins and no accessible entry holes within my
waders reach. Just a smooth grassy bank.
Then it hit me. The deep drop off in the bank would be perfect for sign trapping, allowing an ample
depth of water for the muskrats to drown. Not to mention the bright green, grassy background, catering to
a black muddy slide, sticking out like a sore thumb. Spacing the sets only a few yards apart, I had managed to pull close to a hundred ‘rats out of this location in less than three
days.
Your probably interested in numbers, as I usually am when reading a trapping article. I don’t think numbers are as important as having fun and doing what you love. I do have a friend that will occasionally needle me about not catching a hundred rats in a day. My best was eighty-nine. I have averaged sixty plus ‘rats a day for two and a half weeks, before the ice hit hard. Not bad numbers in my book. My friend I’m talking about is an outstanding muskrat trapper, who puts up incredible numbers. I guess, all I have to say is, “One of these days Ryan, I’ll catch those hundred ‘rats”!
If you’re trapping muskrats, and would like to increase your catch, this may be a more profitable
method, or, quite possibly, an outstanding alternative.
Article Written By our own Cjstrapping
“Don’t worry,” my dad said, “you’ll catch some ‘rats.
As my father dropped me off at the marsh, I asked him again what I should do.
“Just take a handful of muck and make a slide up the side of the cabin,” he said. “Then put your trap
at the base of the cabin about an inch under water.” “Make sure you have the trap staked as far out in the
water as the chain will reach,” he continued, “ so that the ‘rat will drown.”
This conversation took place nearly eighteen years ago. To this day, those words still remain etched in
my mind. Whenever I set foot into a new marsh, or I’m reaching under the water for a handful of mud, I
think about that cold, windy day in November, so many years ago.
You see, this new approach, (new to me, but old to many seasoned trappers), to trapping not only enriched my mind, but also enabled me to catch all the muskrats I could handle. Even my childhood trapping partners were being exposed to this wonderful method of catching muskrats, which made it all the better for us to bring home the ‘rats in bulk. Barely in our teens, we were putting up some impressive numbers. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve caught my fair share of ‘rats in box traps and conibears, in situations that warranted these traps and am certainly not limited to sign trapping. But close to seventy percent of my lifetime muskrats have fallen to sign trapping.
I’m sure there are numerous reasons for this set to be so productive. Weather it be the sheer sight of
fresh, glistening mud on the side of a cabin, the smell of fresh muck, a territorial thing, or just simply
something to investigate, it works. I have never, in all my marsh trapping experience, found a more
effective and practical way to catch muskrats.
Before I became aware of this technique, I would haul cumbersome float sets and box traps into the
marsh and spend half of the day setting them, only to be disappointed the next day with a couple dozen
‘rats. As I’ve mentioned before, there may be an ideal circumstance for a boxtrap, conibear or floatset in
a marsh, but I prefer sign trapping for the bulk of it.
Making a sign set for muskrat is relatively easy. On the side of a muskrat cabin, construct a slide of
muck. The slide can be anywhere from four to eight inches wide and a foot to three in length, starting
from the waters edge. It can be completely vertical or at an angle, which ever seems more appealing at
the particular set.
Sometimes, taking a five gallon bucket with you, filled with mud that you’ve collected earlier, can save
considerable time. There may be times when soft mud is not accessible next to a cabin, and having this
bucket of mud in the front of your boat or canoe can save substantial time. You can obviously tell, just
by walking up to the cabin, what the subsurface is like. You’ll know that if the subsurface is difficult to
transverse, sinking a few inches on every step, you can simply use the soft muck at hand. However, if the
ground is hard, you’ll be glad you’ve collected a bucket of mud.
Feed bed stets also account for many of my sets. Muskrats have many feed areas throughout a marsh. Many are found on the cabin. They can also be found at the cattail’s edge. These feed beds are usually nothing more than mound of fresh vegetation. As many of these vary in size and shape, they can be set in an endless number of ways, but the basic principle is always there. Set the trap where were they travel on and off the bed, or simply conceal your trap directly on top. Once again, a handful of fresh muck on the bed or trap seems to connect every time.
As I’ve said, sign trapping is quite simple, but extremely effective. Many trappers who have access to
a marsh religiously use this method of trapping for muskrats. It may even account for eighty percent of
their sets. It could also mean the difference between bringing home twenty minutes of skinning or five
hours of skinning. I’ve been fortunate enough to live along Lake Erie in Northwest Ohio, which offers many available marshes to trap, but have employed this method in other states while serving eight years in the US Navy.
Trap selection for this type of trapping may stir mixed emotions. To one muskrat trapper, the #1
longspring will pop to mind, and a #1 1/2 jump may be another’s to swear by. I favor the #1 1/2
longspring by Victor (and was very disappointed to learn that these traps were no longer going to be
produced). I prefer this trap for a few reasons. One, the #1 1/2 requires little, if any modification, for
this type of trapping. Two, the size of the trap itself. The #1 1/2 offers a wide base and jawspread, with a
large pan. By using this, as apposed to say, the #1, I’ve found increases my catch ratio. Muskrats can
approach a cabin at any angle, and enter your slide from the either side, or straight up. Common sense
would say, the larger the catch zone, the more chance you’ll have to a catch.
Another bonus is the weight of the #1 1/2. This serves a few functions. An obvious reason would be a
quick and humane kill. Even the strongest of ‘rats will succumb to the weight and drown. The weight
also enables a sturdy foundation for the set, with the long single spring acting as a support in many
situations. The #1 ½ will also hold non-target onus animals, such as a raccoon or a mink. By now, I’m sure, some of you are saying, “ What about the coil spring?”. I have tried these, but found them too cumbersome and required considerable modification. But let me say that, whatever trap you feel comfortable with and has proven itself one the line, stick with it.
As far as securing my traps, I simply use pre-cut tally stakes, usually willow, and flag with a small piece of fluorescent tape at the top. I normally try to keep them seven to eight feet tall. After staking the trap and pushing it into the mud, you still want that flag visible from a good distant.
Even though this is directed towards marsh trapping, don’t think by any means, that it is limited to just
that. I sometimes employ this same method along creek banks, ditches or any other location that supports
a water depth capable of drowning. A farmer once asked me if I could render my service of trapping, to
rid him of the nuisance muskrat. “They’re eat’n up my d**es,”he said. “Makes it hard to maintain my
crops sometimes,” Of course I was willing to step in to help. Not only would this start a new friendship,
but also grant me permission to another trapping area. Unfortunately, upon inspection of my newly
obtained trapping spot, there were no visible trails, no cabins and no accessible entry holes within my
waders reach. Just a smooth grassy bank.
Then it hit me. The deep drop off in the bank would be perfect for sign trapping, allowing an ample
depth of water for the muskrats to drown. Not to mention the bright green, grassy background, catering to
a black muddy slide, sticking out like a sore thumb. Spacing the sets only a few yards apart, I had managed to pull close to a hundred ‘rats out of this location in less than three
days.
Your probably interested in numbers, as I usually am when reading a trapping article. I don’t think numbers are as important as having fun and doing what you love. I do have a friend that will occasionally needle me about not catching a hundred rats in a day. My best was eighty-nine. I have averaged sixty plus ‘rats a day for two and a half weeks, before the ice hit hard. Not bad numbers in my book. My friend I’m talking about is an outstanding muskrat trapper, who puts up incredible numbers. I guess, all I have to say is, “One of these days Ryan, I’ll catch those hundred ‘rats”!
If you’re trapping muskrats, and would like to increase your catch, this may be a more profitable
method, or, quite possibly, an outstanding alternative.