Lots of trappers were saying there won't be much pressure this year with low prices but I told some my thoughts were that I feel rat pressure will be pretty high for the price. Early coons are very low in value, lots of counties are not allowing Road Right away trapping, beaver season is not open, our coyotes have limited value especially early so if you want to trap what will you choose to trap? Early rats are not worth a lot but are very marketable, unlike several other WI species that are not higher quality. I enjoy rat trapping even with the high degree of work it takes but if I am going to lose money trapping I may as well lose money doing something I feel good doing.
Skinned a decent size coon today that I caught yesterday in a rat set. My first coon of the year, wow that was one of the fattest early season coons I have ever caught. It was a female. Got two more in rat sets today, both a bit bigger.
Bryce

I trap this marsh It's 99% private and 1% public. THer are at least 20 huts on the public end. No one set It other then us. And access Is right off the parking lot.

It's even the same with this coyote study. There were only 4 or 5 trappers that signed up. Hardly no Interest In $99.00 coyotes hard to figure that one.

sorry for the dark picture i got a late start today anyway got 63 and a mink very crazy catching this mink its the first one any of us have caught out there and there was around 2000 rats taken last year or more haha also caught a stupid otter that i was able to release thankfully darn things

thanks for sharing nice pic.

NICE CATCH CABLeABLE!!! HOPE YOU CATCH A TON OF THEM. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!

CableAble-

I hope you're getting a least a little rest running that many traps. Take care.

P.S. What are you using to post your pictures (maybe you've already said and I missed it)??

a little better today at 78 still having fun haha

nonpcfed i take the picture with my phone then email myself the picture download it to my computer then upload it to here

awesome job guys!!.. all my little ponds are hard now, and looks like it til spring...tough going

Nah keets have faith, end of week warmer plus warm rains, yr little ponds will open up..... trap springs or running water, put that steel out.

haha.... colony traps producing under ice yet!...bubbles showing you where to put em.lol...well, til I get 1-4" tonight anyways

Pulled my sloughs yesterday. Got 80 rats a mink and 3 coons. That was a lot of work for me this year. I wanted to get to my rivers I can wade to see what happened with all our big storms this year. I set a 1/mile section yesterday and sign was good. I set 31 traps and got 18 rats. I got into another section of that river today about a mile away. I set about 3/4 of a mile, half has great sign and the other half was almost void of rats. Lots of reshaping of the river bed and brush clogs with all the big rains this year. The rats have moved a bit but are still there in areas. The area with the few rats have the flatter banks or not steep slope and maybe 1 2 or 3 or 4 of those 3-5 inches may have caught them when they were vulnerable.

Bryce

I have not set yet looking to do so this weekend, was in Bayfield county last weekend but to cold and snowy also ice was forming.

74 today brings me to 325

The section that gave me 18 rats yesterday gave me 5 rats, 2 mink and 1 coon. The other section with the good and very poor sections gave me 11 rats and two coons with one of those rats about 1/3rd eaten. I had about 40 sets out so this area will not yield too many more rats.

CableAble how many traps are you moving each day out of your total. With my heavy setting I never get the catch percentages that many do and the catch drops off very fast. That is one of the reasons I typically pull the third check and some times two. I know that hurts my coon and mink catch but I like to get through my 8 sections of river in about 14-17 days.

Bryce

i move at least 50 traps each day if i can i cant seem to get anywhere near what my catch should be but to me i can justify it because i am very mobile and it is very easy for me to check 400 as it is 200 i am still moving into new areas each day and there is plenty of marsh left for me tomorrow i might get all my sets out into the open so i can check them even faster today i got no trapping done as i stayed at home and skinned

Thanks CableAble, I too took a break today but I am on a much smaller scale than you are. I pulled to lines today and will start over tomorrow afternoon. My rivers are really running hot and cold as to rat presence. I had one section that gave me 24 rats in a half mile in 3 checks and another section close to that size give me 3 rats.
Got my 4th mink today and have only got through 1/3rd of my river water. I typically am running 80-120 sets with moving about a quarter to a third each day but it is by section of river and not by trap. I know I miss quite a few coons and mink when I move in short time but really do want to get into each section this year. The several heavy rains this year have really shifted large sections of some of the river. I have most tile lines still having strong flows out into the river. I have been trying to avoid coon by not putting out baited or lured sets but have caught 7 in the last 4 days and these this year are the fattest early November coons I have ever caught. Corn was late planted here and a lot of it is still out there offering a lot of calories for the animals.

Bryce

Nice catches Cable,Bryce, and others going. Beaver and otter up tomorrow. Good luck to those with a tag to fill.

Just read your last post Bryce, I thought many of the rats I've been catching have had more fat than other years at this time as well.

Opener was pretty cold here. Put 130 rat sets out Saturday. Caught 63 rats Sunday despite having a couple dozen traps froze in. Set another 50 traps Sunday. Monday I caught 73 rats and one mink. Most of the small ponds here froze enough they have stayed frozen even though we had some days in the upper 30's this past week. Looks like lows in the teens and highs barely above freezing for the next week. Been trying to set moving water the last several days but just can't get high numbers of rats there like in the ponds and marshes. Picked up a few really nice coon the last couple days. And I think 18 mink so far this week. Let a couple otter go. (Them darn things are everywhere)! And caught about a dozen beaver on some damage jobs. Really wish we could have another week of warmer weather. Had big plans that I can't capitalize on now. I'll keep plugging away as time allows but only have one more week off of work. Might have to switch gears and go after the fox and yotes this coming week since everything is freezing up.