do you have to get permesion to trap under bridges

Here is a tip, you thought this up beacuse its handy, cheap on gas, profitable, easy, quick, and clever, so has about 10 other guys, on the same road for the same reasons.

Muskrat floats inside culverts will rarely be seen.

traperbob
in missiouri you can trap under bridges

I agree with threestud's comment about other trappers having done it for a long time. I believe some of the theft of traps and catches is done by other trappers who may not ordinarily think of themselves as trap thieves who go looking for others' traps, but if they have trapped a particular bridge for years without competition and suddenly someone else is in what they now consider 'their turf', they get fuzzed up and steal from you.

Of course that's a terrible attitude to have, but I do think that it happens.

Check early, don't make your sets obvious, be efficient when setting, dispatch quick, remake and leave. Check everything in the dark. Don't try and run more than you can handle. This year theft will be terrible!!

I think culvert trapping is one of the most effective ways to catch coons. I can personally say that I have caught a few hundred coons in culverts, and can count how many traps I have lost on one hand. I think the biggest advantage of culvert trapping is speed, you can get out a lot of sets when your only walking a couple feet from your truck. My advise is find the trail going in and out of the culvert, and set both sides. The only down side to this is that your going to catch the first animal that walks through the culvert and that is often times skunks, and possums, so be ready for that.

Another thing you could do is run about a 4ft piece of round stock into the culver with an L-lock on it to hide your catch in the culvert.

Actually in Missouri it the Road right of way, not just under the bridge , which varies according to the road easement. your usually pretty safe as far as staying on R.O.W. if you go from fence to fence.

Some dry culverts are hard to see as they are small, but still have some traffic thru them. Did you ever notice that they show up as a frost or moisture line when there is a light frost, pay attention and mark these hidden ones when Jack Frost points the way.

I never lost a trap off the buisy roads on my trapline it always seems to happen on the less traveled issolated bridges were i lose traps .

One thing I have noticed is that sometimes the busy roads are the ones to trap because all the other trappers look at them and think that everyone must trap it. So the road stays unset and everyone goes and traps the same issolated roads were they think no one will be, but when a bunch of guys all have this same idea, it doesn't usually work out that way.

i have about 10 miles up buffulo mt on my way to work ,lots of mountain streams.filled with coon and mink and lots of deer and bear hunters.i plan on getting a dozen or two of dukes 1,5s and takin my chances this year.

stud do what i do just carry a 4570 to dispach them lmao
i was lucky only lost 1 under a bridge last season

lol when you pull the trigger on that does it kill and skin at the same time lol

a fella that taught me alot about trapping sold all his traps but buys baskets of trapper tags, he finds other peoples set, its easy as we know, and he cuts the tag off, then puts his on, painted black, then he checks HIS traps and watches for he trapper to come around, then gets the license plate and reports the theft of HIS traps to the police and wardens, then he sells this RECOVERED traps at the end fo season for a couple bucks and buys more tags.

that way if he gets caught checking your trap he can say, its his, here is my name right on it!

how often do you check your tag to make sure its yours?

said they learned it growing up in northern New York where hundreds of trappers come for the season or a few weeks and will set their trap right next to a locals trap already there!

I think he makes as much in trap sales as fur, not really! but he had 84 traps of his "returned" this last year...LOL.

well this is a very busy road, i hope i won't get that many stolen. I have somewhat of a plan to try and help with the theft but don't know if it will work.

Sounds like a "real" nice friend you have. Hope he gets caught by the rightful owners and taught what he needs to be!

sounds like a free pass to a black eye show . that dudes got some nerve. looks like other trappers would figure him out and put a stop to that