not even sure what that is or how to do it. im new at this and just got my first computer a month ago. ive learned a ton of things from going online. still have an awful lot to learn. not much of a computer guy but im gettin the hang of it. the first time i heard of a colony trap was in this topic a few posts ago

I bet if you make a few colony's to fit those runs your trapping with the modded 120's.You will throw those 120's in the back of the shed.Check on youtube there are a few videos on how to make them,easy and effect.

i'll do that. thanks

I'm hoping to liven up this thread so this is a setup I used last season under the ice.It's a 220 minus one spring with a styrofoam platform.I baited with carrots and taters.This did work with good results.I think my location was off a bit,but anyhow thought I would share.

Slick thinkin frozen feet!

I was going to try that set in the deeper water rat house,under the ice .

man you guys fight like school kids, the point of this topic is to hel p people understand more about rats and trapping.

i am no where near being a big numbers guy so take it for what its worth but i like 110s or colony traps in front of dens, or in runs. I set slides when i see them but my catches are mostly den and run sets. Also pockets with a 1.5 or 11 and put on a drowner in case a coon happens along.

some good ideas being tossed around, i may try the widened 120, i have also heard of people putting styrofoam on the triggers, why do you do that? visual attractant? and also heard of people using single spring 220s for larger runs, but never actually tried it

how thick is the ice?

I usually don't find many holes so I just look for areas where there is rat activity whether it is scratching slides or feeding areas. Most places I trap for rats are near corn fields so I just use my resources. I usually look for corn but I always carry extras just in case I can't find any. I use #1 coilsprings #1.5 longsprings and #11 double longsprings. I look for the most used areas and make a small shelf in the mud to place the corn. I usually place half to a full handfull of corn on the bank just a few inches above the water line. The trap is usually bedded under 1-4 inches of water and as close to the corn as possible. Traps were staked in deeper water as the weight of the traps usually drowns the rats. Of the 52 rats I caught this year at least 40 of them were caught this way. The only time this doesn't work too well is when there is snow cause the birds will usually get the corn before the rats. This set also takes the occasional coon.

If you are not carefull, it will take the occasional duck as well!

Muskrats,coon,mink like to hug the banks so i try to look for places where it naturally funnels them like this here little mound all i do is set a 11/2cs behind the mound where they will be walking



this is how it looked the next day




I also like to use a #110 gaurding there dens,,,very easy set





There are also other sets that i use but these are my favorite

where is the trap placement in the first pic?

not sure but i think it is between the mound and the bank where the brown grass is. that would be my guess

what do you suppose that orange thing is? the drowner?

stake drowning wire is attached to.

question for you guys...if your just using #1 jumps, LS, and CS with no stoplosses..is there any other method to keep rats from ringing out of chewing off there foot? my rats are VERY conibear shy so i use all footholds.

drown them.

i use 1 longs and if you can get them to a least 5 inches of water you wont have any problems. i drowned one. in less than that

UGH.

Ever had to fight the urge to say what's really on your mind?

That's what I'm doing right now.


................ ........ ...........

Zbowtech, that's cool you caught 4 rats last year. Even two in one day. I know that sounds sarcastic, but I'm being serious. That's cool...and I have no doubt in my mind that you will whack and stack more next year too. You're numbers are only going to go up. That's one of the things I like most about trapping.

BUT....you don't need to repeatedly keep offering advice. It's okay, but I've noticed that there have been more times than I can count on two hands where you've given advice on something you know nothing about (mink boxes/refusals...although you said you never caught a mink) and lately on this thread about your 4 muskrat career.

Don't mean to be hard on you in any way....I just notice that everywhere you post anything it turns into a "no bashing" or "no flaming" or "everyone has their own opinions" episode. Need to take a step back and ask yourself why this occurs everytime you post.

"i use 1 longs and if you can get them to a least 5 inches of water you wont have any problems. i drowned one. in less than that"

Now if you can't figure out why guys are going to give you a hard time about that...then I don't know what to tell you.

-there aren't many places where you trap rats that the water isn't sufficient enough to drown.

-Saying you use #1 LS for rats isn't really a tip.

-you said yourself you have drowned one muskrat in your career.

Just saying you are leaving yourself wide open for criticism with statements like that. Now I'm sure people will jump my case and say "leave the kid alone"...."don't be so hard on him"...etc. Boo hoo hoo. Anytime I've ever screwed up or made mistakes in life I got clobbered by criticism, sarcasm, and I most definately wasn't allowed to run around claiming that everybody's picking on me....draw a bunch of attention to myself, and then continue on without making any attempt to correct myself.

Sorry....hate me if you want. Just my opinion. Tired of the crybaby/no bashing talk.

I will end with a quote from the legend himself, Will Ferrel:

"....Everbody love everybody!"

i didnt mean to put the period after drowned. i dorwned every one i caught besides 1. just because i have only caught 4 doesnt mean i don't know thing. i have leaned alot and is it a crime to share what you have leanred with others on the same subgect you have learned about. NO so stop putting me out like that and if you have a problem with me say it to me not the whole freeking world. Also i dont go crying around drawing attentionm to my self so stop makeing crap up to make me sound like some low life.