To me one of the best tool available for most animals is the cage trap. Although I was forced to use them, i can see the advantages that they offer....I am currently putting together an article for a news letter and would like your input on cage trapping for fur. Cats have been covered so lets see what else you have to offer...

Vinke, I use cages for coons in spots where I don't feel comfortable setting footholds, near houses and stuff. I also use them on a couple of farms where the farmer worries about dogs and cats.

For coons, I'd say cage traps are one of the easiest and most effective traps out there. The drawback is that you can only carry so many in a truck, you can't carry them too far into the woods without a lot of work, they are expensive, they are very tempting to trap thieves.

If I could figure out a way to make a cage trap big enough for a coon, light enough to carry a dozen, collapsible for easy carrying, and cheap enough where I wouldn't be out a bunch of money if one got stolen, then I'd go to more cages.

Thief and space are two of the biggest issues facing cagers....I am using cable stakes and locks but it does not stop them from being destroyed...
....A quality folding trap would be nice

Here in CA all we can really use to take fur are cage traps. I have yet to set one in the woods but I am not looking forward to worrying about thieves. They have destroyed your cages in the past?

Space, cost and theft is my top concerns as well. However they cant be beat in certain situations though and I have taken many coon out of barns where the owner wouldn't allow any other type of trap. Also good for ADC work up here with the Coons and squirrels in houses in the city.

I have a dozen that I use around houses. From what I have seen on skunks and coons they are some of my more productive sets. I like not having to worry about the dogs and cats with them.

MJM

They are second only to the dirt hole set in their ability to catch possum for me in Ohio.

arent very productive for coyotes tho.

Most of the coon i get with cages. never had one stolen yet. Some are set by the houses most of them in the woods.

I saw one once!

Havaheart just came out with a less expensive colapsing cage trap. It is a bit flimsy but I bought a few to try them out. They fold right down flat and are a big lighter.

The tricky part about running a water trapline with cages is to set them on the bank so they'll easily slide into the water. I usually quick-link mine onto the drowner lock on 3/32" galvanized cable with a brake drum looped onto the terminal end. Makes for a quick dispatch once the cage trap starts sliding/tumbling down the embankment into deeper water.

But I'll agree with the post above . . . getting those canines into those cages is something I have a tough time doing.

Yes Cage trapping is the pitts, and to have to check them within 24 is also rotten, but when its all you got get-er done. Yancy

nie work yancy! are those cages pictured the 12x18x36" traps used for cats?

Yes they are Live trap. and some smaller ones 8x18x36. Yancy

yancy you da man !!

Muskrat,,,,,, I do at times set a "beaver Basket" up to jump into the water as you stated above.......Pain to get it out though....There is a New Double door beaver cage made by a guy here in WA that i will be experimenting with this Fall.....Iy should catch otter as well.

Water caging is what I like to do!!!


Dave Grey,,,,,If folding traps are not a priority on your line, I would look at "Other" models besides the Have harts. I have used them and without constant repair and adjustment you will have problems..........Pm me I have some good cages (similar to the williams design) for $38 with $10 shipping if you spend $100

As far a coyotes in a cage......I an working on that one.....It is a "basket" design trap.....I Just need to get the weight and the cost down

I have spent some time with Vinke...he knows cage trapping! He is a wealth of knowledge on trapping mink and otters in them...probably more than anyone out there.

Keep posting Vinke, I like seeing pictures of the cage catches, I have used colony cages for rats, but that is all the water cages I have used, and with your knowledge with the water and land cages is really good news and information. and the Coyote cage you are working on, "Dang Man" I wish you good luck and you gotta be on something to go that far, Oh and dang nice looking cages you have there, Yancy

Nice lookin' traps???
Surely you jest Yancy, surely you jest! hahahahaha LT

Vinke,

I have some thoughts on what I'd like to see in an article aimed at fur trappers.

1. Trap types; They're not all boxes.

Especially beaver traps.

What are the advantages, and best uses of each type (door types, spring drop/latch, swing/washer-lock, guillotine, clamshell, etc.)

And what preparations these traps might need, like dip or paint.

2. Set selection and construction; How and why.

How much building of a "set" do you do for various targets? Raccoons don't care about wire, but 'cats and definitely coyotes do.

Staking or bedding of the cage.

What's the difference between a good spot and a bad one?

3. Lures and baits; What to put in there?

Bait baskets, lure hangers and scent trails, pocketed bait, etc.

4. Capture and dispatch; Now what?

Okay so I got a 58 pound beaver, in a 58 pound trap, now what? What about a mink in a well built cubby, with a staked down 'cat cage?

5. Resetting, replacement, and repositioning; What next?

After the catch and dispatch/transfer what steps are taken to remake the set?
At what point is a cage "fouled", and needs a new trap in it's place?
And when is a location "played out", and it's time to move?

How far do you move, for what reasons? Musk, mud, catch rate, or whatever... What are good reasons to stay put?

6. Cost effectiveness; $500 a dozen, holy cow?

How many cages does it take?

Where is a fur trapper's attention best focussed, both at the beginning of a line, and as the equipment pays for itself?

How do you keep all that money in your own pocket?
Theft, wear and tear, and time are all working against you.

Krusty

Krusty........Awesome outline!!!!!!!!!!

rusty, I gave Dave your traps you didn't want and also showed him how I camo-paint them...and how to make bait hangers....and a few techniques in baiting. How to kill and remove skunk glands without any scent...and bait making! Etc, etc, etc. Now he has the best of East/ West.

He will be more dangerous than ever now!

Pan tension testers,it is the high point of my dogs life when i start testing my traps in the fall...lots of snacks

Vinke,

You're welcome?

LT,




Good for you.
And good for him.

I thought I would add to this thread to be helpful.

Did you add to it, just to be mean and hateful?


I didn't say I didn't want the traps, I thought I was going to trade you a handcarved Krusty Kriers predator call for them?

That's okay, when you didn't stop by, call me back (I left a message on your lure order phone number), or return my private messages... I traded YOUR call for a brand spankin' new Leupold scope.

You could have had this;



Maybe Dave will trade me two little cages, for the scope? NOT!


You blew it, I am a great person, a good friend, and wonderful company.

Even after all this, there's no way I'd drive through your neighborhood or Dave's, without stopping by, because my mother taught me to use my manners.

My bet is, your mother taught you some too, you just seem to forget that sometimes.

Krusty

........Duck season opened for youth today.,....Duck carcass ....if legal in your area.......Is one of the best baits I have found for mink in my area.

I pull off some feathers and speed them in front of a cage.....throw the carcass (1/2 sometimes)in the back of a 10x12 cage... if it is sandy I will put sand over the wire in the bottom...If it is rocky....I will place a few small rocks inside.....maybe some gland lure/ maybe not depending how minky the area is.
If I could only set one cage for mink....It would be under a bridge that had a bank leading to the water.....

2 mink and that cage is paid for.....and some profit ....if you didn't have to drive to far.........

Krusty.....I can get traps and cages wholesale ifn you are still trappn....???????????

That's all we can use here in MA...

Dave,

"It takes more than a cage trap, to make someone a trapper."

I'd be a fool, to buy more cages, until I know how to use the ones I have.
I'm not a trapper, I'm just an idiot with some cages.

I'd sure like to see the article you come up with.

Krusty

Dave means "spread" the feathers in front of the cage...(as in "toss a few around")...not speed as was written.



Starry, starry night...
Paint your pallet, blue and grey.

Hello Vincent!

Krusty.................Nov is just around the corner and you will get to practice again..............It is looking good out there......Last two coons I got were NICE..........maybe it will be a hard winter again,,,,,,To bad the season wasn't on!!

Dave,

It takes more than a cage trap, and practice, to make someone a trapper.
Especially if they don't know how to practice doing it right.

I'd sure like to see the article you come up with.

Krusty

LT,

Didn't you ask me if I had a VCR?

Just like I'd sure like to see Dave's article, I'd also like to see any tapes that might help me with the basics of cage trapping for fur.

I understand if you say no (no I don't, I'm just saying that to be polite... I don't understand why you are acting like you are?), but I thought it can't hurt to ask.

Krusty

Dear Klusty Klimber...what is your address?

LT,

For a guy that worries so much about spelling, I'd think you'd be more careful spelling people's names.

It's not rusty, and it's not Klusty, either.

You are not the only one who could teach things to people.
I could have taught you to use an automatic spell checker, to host and post pictures, to operate a scanner, and several other technical aspects of computer use.

As I said before, it's not that I didn't want any help, or equipment, I just didn't want to be made into a charity case.
I pay my own way through life.

My shipping address is as follows.

Jeff Savoie
5*** 26th Ave S.W.
Seattle, WA 98106

(*Edit: In hindsight, I realized it's not a good idea to post my address on a trapping site)

And yep, I live there, so if anyone is ever in the neighborhood, please, feel free to stop by.
My door is always open.

Krusty