Last season I ran lil grizz & did great, all private property trapping, trap theft not a concern..

But next season I'm gonna run some public land, & I'd prefer to use cheapo footholds on a drowning cable/chain..

Question - on average, how much weight is needed on the deep water end of a drowning cable/chain?? Bear in mind I'm not going for beaver, just raccoon.. I'd like to hear from you water trappers out there.. All input appreciated..

When I can get them In. I use Pogos on the deep end of my chain drowners . When I cant get a pogo In I use weights. Ive drilled 1/4" holes through rocks with a cordless hammer drill and wire It to the bottom. I have them stashed at those stops. As for the weight I think 20lbs. is about right .If the bottom is soft that much weight is more than enought.

Hey Jim, thanks for chiming in.. I like the rock idea, thanks for the tip..

I make my own 'dead end' weights for jug & trotline fishing, I was hoping to replicate that for my trapping weights.. I mix up concrete & pour it in various sized paper cups.. While still wet, I take #9 wire bent into a tight "8" & stick it in the wet concrete, so the top of the "8" loop is sticking out of the concrete.. Concrete drys, paper cup deteriorates away, & I'm left with a cylinder of concrete with a wire loop sticking out for attaching trotlines, or in this case hopefully drowners.. They stack pretty neatly into milk crates for transport..

I use window weights.I think they are eight lbs a pc.Usually one but on a more solid bottom 2 is better.

make sure the water is deep enough to drown coon.

when i was a kid i had them pull a cement block out of the water and have them waiting for me tangled up on the bank.

coon are strong if you give them an oppurtunity.

unless the water drops off that deep you are better off with a stake on the outside. Less stuff and weight to drag around. I got about 30 window weights from a house we worked on last summer including some 20 pounders. really good for concrete bottomed bridges and culverts.

I have a few railroad plates that weigh 20 lbs apiece, if one isn't enough you can always use more.

Give the carbon drown rods a try. If you can't afford them make some out of rebar they work well.

Thanks everyone for the responses..

Regarding carbon drowning rods, a quick google search turned up nothing, does anyone have a source for them?

Jim, how do you remove the pogos when your finished?? Does a good strong pull break it loose from a soft bottom, or is a puller of some sort necessary??

tex it will take a puller

11/2 pogos you can pull by hand. The easiest way to do it is the way Red O'hearn does. I use the same set up he does but with pogos.

Tex, I use 2" pogos And I can pull 90% of them by hand. I dont know how red pulls them but I use a stake puller sold by Cumberlands . Ive taken the hook off, I just wrap my chain around the puller and jack the tough ones out. I dont set the pogo in water deeper than 2' because you need to reach down to slide the lock back.

Jim, I just checked that lock out, I already had that checkmarked for my next order, lol..

I appreciate all the input folks, from everyone.. Window weights, to railroad plates, pogos to rebar, I'll try whatever works.. Thanks

Ditto!

I second fk44 on this. When I'm drowning coon in deeper water(3 ft+) and I can toss the weight at a 90 degree angle to shore, they go down the wire and up to coon heaven. When I try to run the wire at a 45degree angle or semi paralell to bank, those little jokers get just enough slack to swim to bank, get a toehold and drag the weight close enough to sit tite on a rootwad etc. The weights I've been using are 6 bricks wired together and bottom is fairly muddy. My coons are the little southern "coat coons" so I can only imagine what some of those northern corn chompers might be capable of:>).

Bottom line...I'm going to switch to a Fox Hollow or Iowa Disposable set up on cable for next year and see how that goes. Even if they don't drown they'll be belly deep in the water and less likely to chew out or power out.

If the bottom allows it, why don't you just stake solid. Are you in rocky terrain? If not, rebar stakes are very quick to use. Mine are 3 foot 3/8 rebar with a 4 inch T welded on the top. I use cable slid wires. I use a 16 inch 1/2 inch rebar stake with a large washer welded on top. This is a super fast setup, that allows you to punch in a set in a hurry and head on to the next step.

I used the berkshire stakes and the pogos for a couple seasons and have now gotten totally away from them. The biggest problem I had with them, was our soil is very soft and would end up getting to much slack in my drowner slide wire after a catch. Plus, not all of them could be pulled up by hand.

The rebar stakes just really fit my way of trapping better, but would not be an option in rocky conditions. Plus, I don't have to carry weights, or find rocks at the trap site to use.

Cloth bag filled with dirt from the site. Zip tie the bag closed and attached drowner wire. It will save you lots of weight lugging in concrete. You need a shovel anyway to dig pocke and there will be lots of dirt already there... Just an idea

TEX TRAPPER CARBON RODS
Tim Kressel 1-763-438-5609 Makes and sells the carbon rods. I don't believe he has a website you'll have to give him a call.
If he doesn't answer leave a message he'll get back to you.

Is the coons' instinct to head out into the water when caught?