How do most of you stake your colony traps?

3/8" fiberglass fence rod.

piece of cane or two cut to desired length....carry a big bundle with me just for colonies

Normally i don't stake them at all, unless theres current. Even then I sometimes don't

I have never staked one.

same as calvin!After you lose a few staking just becomes second nature.

I don't stake them.

3/8" rebar T near the side. May not be necessary most of the time but it does not seem to pose a problem either. Cheap insurance.

The grass and moss that's sposd to be covering them holds them in place.

You know...like in Madman Gary Schumanns video!..I saw him on the F&T Trapping TV show actually.

I should add. I stake them in shallow water in spots. Coon like to drag them off. OR in a current. Rising current will sweep them away. Most times the rod acts as a marker, though. And often times I'll stake beside them. Have enough out and you will lose them if not marked. Had a bunch on a pond one year I didn't mark and the wind shifted. The algea matt shifted and covered every colony. Needle in a haystack. Or ice blown in is even worse....a lot worse.

30" T stake.I have places where current can move some.I've also had coons pull some up on the bank and rob them.

I don't necessarily stake them and except for in streams but on ground I'm on ground I'm not worried about theft I'll throw a stick or fiberglass rod next to it so it's easier on me when I'm doing the predawn checks.

x2

Some good advice, thank you very much.
I think 1 benefit of staking is to help in case you get a mink in 1.

The only time I ever anchored a colony trap was wen we set culverts and we had a current flowing through them. Then we just wired them off to something. There Is no way you can stake a colony trap In a culvert. Disclaimer we were In ND.

Ice can drag them away, and beaver can push them off in certain spots if not staked.

I’ve used lath or Fiberglas 3/8-inch rods. Cheapest 3/8-inch 5 ft rods I’ve found are from Geoteck in Stewartville, MN. When I told them I was a muskrat trapper they said they’ve sold thousands to muskrat trappers.

Either stake right thru the mesh or next to it. In either case I flag the stake so it’s more visible in the fog. Duct tape works well for this

fish will move them sometimes, especially bigger pike.....i just stake a few here and there, use lots of lath for fending that sorta stakes them

I stake every one of 'em with tobacco lath. 'Coon and otter like to play with 'em otherwise, and sometimes you get that unexpected high water with current and away they go.

With the 1x1 wire I nip a piece out top and bottom to accept the lath.

Years ago, I made some that had two washers on top and a rod that ran across the top and down the side.
The rod either laid across the top or when NEEDED, was pulled over to the edge and pushed into the mud.
The rod bent in the shape of a 7 or L, was 4 inches wide and 10 inches long, usually enough to 'pin it' into place.
I mainly used them when trapping mink at bridge abutment where there was a current or fast moving creeks at bank dens.

Like many of you, I rarely would stake a colony trap at a bank den in a lake or pond.