For you guys 25 and older and have been trapping for several years... Can you give me a tip on trapping that I may not of heard of before? I've seen lots of videos, read lots of books and magazines, and I'm dedicated to several trapping forums... but in my never ending quest for new tips and tricks, I'd like to see what you old farts (like me) can offer.

Don't you young guys feel left out. I'll make a post for you as well.

~ADC~

Set your trap where the animal will put his foot.

(Credit to Pete Buist, lol.)

Jim

Use a walking stick when in the water to find the deep holes before you step into them.

Before bedding your trap......take a trap stake and drive it down about 8-10 inches then pull it back out.Three or four of these will drain water if your weather turns wet.

I like to use twist ties from plastic bags to tie up my coni safties keeps them from falling back on or helps me keep from leaving them on

at the beginning of each season let your kid wear your waders first! They will let you know if there is a leak in them when the ice water comes in!

On dirt hole type sets once you have dug your hole to the desired depth go to the upper rear area of the bottom of the hole at the ground level. At a sort of a wide V shaped angle.

Run a rebar down at the opposite angle of the dug dirthole to meet the bottom of the dirt hole where your bait or lure is placed.

This will vent the dirthole causing a draft air flow situation which will create a better scent drift of your lure or bait due to the much improved air flow.

Only wiggle a large enough hole to create a draft of the hole. Not much more then a 1/2" -3/4" or so wobble hole is needed.

I have not had any dig attempts at the rebar hole yet to my knowledge. The animals always have keyed on the main dirthole disturbance as their focus point.

I have had great success with this presentation and have kept records showing a 78% greater catch on double sets made in this manner. The set with the draft point has produced regularly over the other dirthole. Some were baited and some lured it didnt seem to matter.

Take younger person along under pretense of teaching trapping but have him or her carry your bvrs out from the bvr pond way-way back off da road...LOL....

Take younger person along under pretense of teaching trapping but have him or her carry your bvrs out from the bvr pond way-way back off da road...LOL.... and when you get home feed them real good on bvr steaks and then show them how to flesh first beaver and then let them do the other 29 for practice... Practice makes perfect you know!!!!!!!

Have all your springs set of your larger conibears before season, thats saves alot of time. Also make sure you have enough money put back to run a line on. A lack of money now days can slow a line down in a hurry.

Always have a few of your least-favorite lower-cost traps in the truck. When you see a set that looks really good but you're concerned about theft, use one of them. You'll be surprised how often you make the catch- and don't get ripped off! And if you do lose the trap- that's what it was there for. A few extra catches will cover the cost of several stolen traps.

John

try and let some one know the general area you will be at. In case you dont make it back and always carry a lighter or matches. Ya never know when you might have to spend the night in the outdoors. Or get wet in freezing conditions. Safety first.

In a boat or just any where you are away from a road or people. Put your cell phone in a Vinyl Bag .The kind that the guys on Jet Skis use. WEAR it around your neck. A wet cell phone will do you NO good. Here I speck from experance. It should have cost us our lives. Now even in summer my cell phone is in one of these bags and it's around my neck.

Write down in a notebook trap locations and types of sets so if something happens someone can go pick up your traps . We aren't geting any younger and more suseptable to the bugs going around .


I also finally started using Paul's idea after floating my hat SEVERAL times .


Drifter

Many have shown up in ink here; however, some are subtle mentions that get disguised in threads when slipped in off the path of the main topic.

There are really probably few "little known" tips left on the trapping shelves in hiding, except for a few that foolishly remain "secret" yet and are under the witness protection program for all eternity. Most tips surface as variations of a theme that has been on stage for many years.

I just commented on the use of egg shells on an adjacent post here today. No big deal. First time that I have seen the topic mentioned before in the two years I have been in cyberspace.

Will be sitting in this class waiting to see who else raises their hand. I am still trainable, and enjoy adding new knowledge to my learning curves.

Jonathan

If the location is good enough for one set it is good enough for two

WOW! You all are great! Keep them coming! Thanks!

~ADC~

Well here's one that I'll bet few of you have heard. I learned this back in the early 60's. (That's 1960's) I'll try to be delicate in describing it.

Back in the 40's guys in the west, and maybe elsewhere, used what we today refer to as tampons, as an attractant. These were "previously owned" tampons. A lot of them were cloth still and it would be tied on a nearby bush to act as a call lure. Apparently at times a fox or coyote or whatever would actually make off with the cloth. This gave rise to an old saying that found it's way into everyday speech, not just trapping lingo. The saying: "Well if that don't take the rag off the bush "!! Which would translate into....'well I'll be darned" today. Obviously married trappers had an advantage over single guys.

Ken you are one unique man...LOL

my tip: double and triple check the safeties on your coni's, make sure you take them off before walking away!!!

Ken I don't think the single younger guy's are any less advantaged.........ok I won't finish this. lol

HIS: Times have changed since the 40's for sure. We can leave it at that :-))

Before i drive my cable stake into the trap bed or make a bed for that matter i always run my t-handled rebar stake before i attach the cable/anchor. kinda like a pilot hole. that way i can break thru most rocks without worrying about a bent or broken anchor/ cup and getting bummed 1/2 way down and having to re-attach a new one or move over and remake the trap bed( i use hd berkshires lol).

Previously owned tampon hung in a tree will attract bucks during the rut too.

See, I knew someone else would know about this.

Hmmmmmm, where is that bag of garbage again from the bathroom.......

-TJ

white, I heard of a guy that had his wife collect her urine during that time of each month during deer season, he was said to have killed some very big old bucks, several.

Doesn't surprise me at all. Makes perfect sense biologically speaking.

If its cold enough let your beaver set over night befor you skin them. The blood will coagulate and they wont bleed as bad when skinning.

Bob J. that is a new one for me! And I am older than dirt, so it said on my last bday cake.lol I'll have to try it. I think most of the others I had heard before. The winch idea sounds good, if only I had one! All I got is a comealong.T.20

When lowering the trap pan,like on a night latch, Reach under the free jaw,not between em.

I know that evey one knows this but : Put your catch in a trash bag and spray with some type of bug spray like BlackFlag . When you carry out a cold catch the fleas and ticks will move to a worm body and you mybe it

For you guys 25 and older and have been trapping for several years... Can you give me a tip on trapping that I may not of heard of before? I've seen lots of videos, read lots of books and magazines, and I'm dedicated to several trapping forums... but in my never ending quest for new tips and tricks, I'd like to see what you old farts (like me) can offer.

Don't you young guys feel left out. I'll make a post for you as well.

~ADC~

Well I am more than twice the age requirement so here goes.
You say you have done a pile of reading. Have you read Bill Nelson's methods? If not, my tip would be to read both of his books and you will see where a huge amount of written info in the trapping industry originated.

mac

I alway have 2 pair of hip boots in the truck, one I am wearing and 1 on standby. This serves two purposes. #1 obviously it is no fun when you go over the top of your boots and have to run the rest of your line in wet hip boots. #2 I have a pair to loan out for guys or kids that want to go run the line with me, these are usually people that have no clue about trapping, but I like to get em out there and educate them.

On a dirthole remake when you clean the dirt out of the hole put that dirt up onto the backing, not over the trap. All the dirt on a remake stinks, but the dirt you clean out of the hole has lure and bait in it and you don't want that on your trap.

Never! sit down on a CDR Beaver trap. Not even to eat a sandwich!

In big marshes, flag your muskrat trap locations. Don't rely on your memory. It's amazing how the landscape changes with 6 inches of new snow covering everything.

Don't rut up a landowner's 2 track road when it is wet and muddy. Even though you got that 4WD and aggresive tires. Park the truck and walk.

They don't like thier roads all rutted up.

dont show your buddies where your traps are at. They will want to keep going back to check them out of curiousity. Also, dont let the whole scent thing drive you nuts. Leave little scent as possible but dont get so anal about it that let it comsumes you.

I hear ya Rick !! :-))

Well to add to White 17's post, I learned this trick from K.G. in Montana around 1980. That was to soak "it" in the animal's urine that you were pursuing. Meaning put it in a clean quart jar and fill 2/3 with wolf, coyote, cat, or fox urine. Soak it and shake every day for 3 or 4 days. This creates an "inheat" urine. Pour out the urine and use. I have used this with whitetail doe urine too. Been using it that way every year and trapping lots of critters since then.

Interesting

Never set your larger body grippers without using a safety setter.

Concerning landowners, send them a Christmas card. In the off-season, if possible, drop off a bag of bluegill filets, a few morel mushrooms, venison, etc. Also stop and show your catch to them once in awhile. Always take time to just talk.

Many trappers do not wax their bodygrip traps. I do, I only wax the end of the spring attached to the jaws, and jaws where the spring slides up and down. The wax reduces the friction and makes the trap very fast and smooth. Be careful not to get wax on any other parts of the jaws. By only waxing that area I have few if any problems with the trap going off in my hands.

experiment and expand your knowledge each season ... for instance .... if ya can construct a certain type set to take a beaver in a foothold, learn to also use snares and conis in similiar sets ..... this will help out when depth of water, laws, view of public, etc .... as well as will teach you more about the specific animals .... would share more with ya but ... hey .... whats the purpose ?? lmao

Watch the animal, study it and let it show you how to catch it..

Billy Y,

And it is amazing how many landowners get bent out of shape simply because some trapper drove across their planted pines.


Snaring tip: I use brown, OD, or black duct tape for whammies on most of my snares these days. I also use a box knife to cut around the roll in the center of the tape. This way I can peel off a narrower strip, and don't have to mess with tearing the duct tape down the center of its length to get narrower strips. Only have to make a quick tear for length.

I have seen some folks using black electric tape for whammies. IMEx, black tape gets hard to work with in cold weather.

Adios,
45/70,

Last year was my first year of trapping, but I learned a lot from my mistakes.

1. If there is a dam on the property, set traps in any tire/animal tracks that go over the dam.

2. Same thing applies to any paths, tracks, trails else where on the property. The animals will follow the path of least resistance while traveling, especially when snow flies.

3. Use those skunk carcasses for the buried skunk set. It can keep on working for years. You can find this one in the archives.

Read as many trapping books as you can get your hands on. theyre cheap and if they teach you just one new trick to put fur in your trap they are paid for.

To cut your screen pan covers get one of those paper cutters that are used in schools, etc. One can regulate the size quite accurately and cut a lot of screen pan covers in short order. And yes, I am talking about the metal screen, too which is the only type to use IMHO.

The only other tip I would give has been told ad nauseaum but bed your traps soldily. More problems occur and animals missed from improperly bedded traps, regardless be they land or water sets, footholds or conibears.

Well I've only got a few years of trapping under my belt but set on sign and don't worry about theft when the area is hot. Outdoors folks like us are just like the rest of the population in that only a small percentage are thieves. Passing up a spot that gives up 6 coons and 3 minks for fear of losing $20 worth of footholds just doesn't make sence.

Little "white lies"...

When you gain permission from a landowner to trap, because he wants the coon, fox, coyote, muskrat...ect, ect,....GONE
I always "beef" up the count a bit. If the farmer wants rid of the coon, and you catch 20 off his farm, I'll let him know, if he asks, I caught 25. You're not hurting anyone, but not only putting a big smile on the farmers face, but ensuring your right to be there the following year. Is this ethical or ritchious....probably not, but then again, what's it hurting?

Also, keep a bandade or 2 in your wallet.

Years ago I was trapping a colony of beaver that got wise quick! They were tripping 330's regularly. One day while checkin traps I was standing on the bank checking a 330 when a beaver came swimming up the run towards me. This bugger was makin some time under water and b4 I new it he swam right THROUGH the 330 without getting caught !!!!!!! Hit that 330 square and swam through it - couldn't believe my eyes!!!!!! After that I thought about how I could slow them down before they hit the trigger. I decided to lay a really fine branch(someting they don't care to eat) with lots of twigs over the 330 and several feet b4 it to camo it and slow beaver down b4 hitting trigger. It worked and have used this ever since. They are used to swimming underwater through branches and food cache. Why wouldn't they slow down to protect their eyes and face.

Today you should begin scouting and getting permissions. Make up business cards. My son did a beautiful job on mine: Todd Lund, responsible fur trapper, member of WTA and NTA etc etc with pictures of critters on the borders. Include phone number and street address. Take one of each kind of trap with you that you will be using or would like to use. Some landowners are skittish about the killer effect of conibears and will only let you use footholds or wait till January for cable restraints season on canines. I have more weasel areas than I can trap. I take along a weasel box with the wooden rat trap in them and most folks say"I'll be darn" and give you permission with the understanding that you will show them a catch. Most of my effective weasel trapping is after deer season and into January so even those "leased land" owners who use the land for deer hunting and turkey hunting only will let you on to set weasel boxes or restraining devices for yotes. That time of year you pretty much have the woods to yourself. Anyway, my point is to get busy on this stuff now.

ttt