Tips and tricks thread

[Carp Commander]

Never trust anyone........

I guess we all know where we stand with Hannibal! 

I prefer to give everyone an opportunity to prove me wrong.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
― Ernest Hemingway

[Carp Commander]

In heavy bulrush/cattails, where muskrats are present, it can be difficult to find the active runs. Sometimes there can be too much sign making it difficult to know which runs to put a trap in. Most of us don't own enough colony traps to set every one of them. I have had good success in making my own.

I create a trail through the bulrush and cattails that benefits me, providing the easiest access for me in and out of the thick stuff. I make the trails wide enough to accommodate my Otter Sled. No more tangled and tipped over sleds!

As I am busting a trail into a bank with den holes or a hut, I clear out drift wood and other debris using it to create blocking on both sides of my trial. By time I am done I have created a very easy way to walk in and out of the area, opened up very clear routes that the rats will use and better defined the runs I want to place a trap in.   

[Hannibal]

Offline Carp Commander

    WA State Trappers Association
    Trade Count: (0)
    Scout
    *****
    Join Date: Jun 2012
    Posts: 379
    Location: Tri-Cities, WA
        View Profile Email Personal Message (Offline)
    Groups: Washington Bowfishing Association

Re: Tips and tricks thread
« Reply #30 on: October 23, 2015, 10:45:27 AM »

 


I guess we all know where we stand with Hannibal!

I prefer to give everyone an opportunity to prove me wrong.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
― Ernest Hemingway

 Tried that,,,,,,,...........

[Hank]

Hank Tip #4

Learn your tracks and learn your scat. Try to set on sign. I have actually found some pretty good smart phone apps that cover both tracks and scat. I keep a year round trapping journal. I take it with me fishing and hunting well before trapping season begins. I log scat and tracks along with gps coordinates. It comes in handy when you're looking to expand your line.

Hank

[Cagey]

I guess it's time I passed on some old habits.  Every old time trapper I ever talked with, said that muskrat meat was the best bait for rats.  Yet, I never hear much about it.  It is effective, and you just might find a mink in your trap also.

But the big secret is CORN.  Every critter in the woods that does not eat meat, eats corn, in  its many forms.  It's cheap, plentiful, and attracts all kinds of critters.  It was one of the only things available to old time trappers in the days before commercial lures and baits.  Dried corn keeps forever and even if it gets wet or freezes, it is still working.  It is great  for pre-baiting,  a pile of dried corn in front of a trail camera will get you some quick answers about the animal population.  Some old time trappers actually kept beavers around by dumping a little corn on the bank.

Corn also attracts birds and rodents, which in turn attract predators.  If you bait with corn, be careful about visibility to birds.

cagey

[Cylvertip]

A good way to keep socks from working their way down in waders ( see my post near the end of the attached thread):



http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,123521.msg1642433.html#msg1642433

[Hannibal]

Always tell George Brady that you did not start trapping till Jan 1 before you sell to him.

[Carp Commander]

Always tell George Brady that you did not start trapping till Jan 1 before you sell to him.

Unless they're November coons, he really likes those, right? 

[JakeLand]

Jakelands tip #1 for cat trapping
   When you get your bait let's say a muskrat put in a plastic Safeway bag or similar and freeze it whole when you set your trap take the rat or the chunk of beaver out of bag and put it in the trap now tie the plastic bag on a limb up above the trap and kinda tear some slits going up  it so it flutters with the breeze and it has the odor of what was in it plus the motion and what I think is really important is some noise ! It works great
   

[jasnt]

Bumping this up.
With the season opener coming fast: what do you folks do to prep for the season, lures, trap prep/maintenance , ect.

[Sdpotter]

I have caught a fair number of Lynx and I think this will work on bobcats as well. As they both are sight hunters spread grouse feathers in front of the cage trap to make them investigate and commit to the bait in the cage trap. Pacific call lure works well on Lynx and I imagine it would be good for bobcat as well. Hang a cd with fishing line and a swivel near the cage trap as the slightest wind will make it sparkle in the moonlight.

[Trapper John]

I have caught a fair number of Lynx and I think this will work on bobcats as well. As they both are sight hunters spread grouse feathers in front of the cage trap to make them investigate and commit to the bait in the cage trap. Pacific call lure works well on Lynx and I imagine it would be good for bobcat as well. Hang a cd with fishing line and a swivel near the cage trap as the slightest wind will make it sparkle in the moonlight.

Sdpotter and others, it works well.  A good friend of ours by the name of Chuck Bailey (we use to call him Bobcat Bailey) always used a aluminum pie plate.  He use to catch a lot of cats including mountain Lions (cougars).  He would set his traps and set the pie plate up away behind the trap set.  I remember seeing those pie plates with teeth marks in them.  It works great.

I still use pie plates when I trap bobcats.  I use those small little pies you get at the store.  Walmart sell those little pies for fifty cents (50 cents) a pie and there good pies.  So next time your at the store grab a few for the trap line.
JC   

[wildmeat]

The only tip I can give since Ive only been trapping for a couple of years now is BEFORE you leave after setting up your cage trap make sure you put the bait in it.

[ouchfoss]

Here's a few things I have learned the last few seasons.
When you go spend all the time to camo in and cover your trap, take the extra minute and just trip your trap to make sure there is no stick, rock or bait in the way of the door closing all the way. The door might look completely clear but just test it anyhow. There has been two times where I got lazy and just didn't want to test the door and reset the trap again and it resulted in a half closed door and no animal the next day!
One other thing I learned last year was to have everything you need with you to properly release a live animal if you need to. I had to build a specific tool to allow me to open the door from a few feet away without getting my arm or hands tore up from a none-to-happy smaller bobcat. Worked perfect on the same cat twice. 

[jasnt]

This is from Bruce


If you really want something good to fix those waders get rid of the shoe goo and get some NP1 poly urethane sealant.
I've been using it for several years and it is the best stuff. It seals permanent and stays flexible. It seems to stick to about anything no matter how slick. I have even patched holes in the soles of my boots. It just never comes unstuck.
Downside is I only have been able to get it online and it only comes in gun grade. Also it takes a couple days to cure.
If you open the tube as usual after a while the entire tube will harden. Here's a trick to avoid that. Put the tube in the gun and puncture the tube near the back of the tube. Advance it enough to get what you want, then take the tube out and wrap it with duct tape to reseal it.
I would never go back to shoe goo or aqua seal or any of the other similar products