Anchoring Muskrat Floats

I am wondering how people stake or anchor their muskrat floats. I am building some and I was originally thinking drilling a hole thru the middle of the float and pushing a gray fence post in the mud and sliding the float over the pole. This would let the float adjust to different water levels and move with the waves. The issue I am seeing is that the float will rub on the pole and may thin/damage the pole from the wave action. I don't want pole damaged as I use them for all sorts of other things on the line. I also thought about an anchor on a string/rope but with each slough being different depths one slough might need a 5 foot anchor and the next maybe only 2 foot anchor rope. In the shallower slough, it would let the float swing all over the place and I don't want that. The design I may have settled on is adding a short rope/cable (maybe 18" to 24") attached to the side of the float with a loop on the other end to put over a post and using a bait clip at water level on the pole to prevent the rope/cable from sliding down the pole and reducing the free movement of the float around the pole.

For context, my float will be 9" wide x 16" long with 5" tall sides with a trap on each end.

Let me know what worked or didn't work for you. If you use an anchor, what do you use?

Thanks.
Schmattz

I drill a hole in middle and use five feet of rebar to anchor. Works good floats up and down and never wears out.

I trap a river so I wire the floats to tree branches with plenty of extra wire.

I use 1/2" grey schedule 40 PVC electrical conduit
in 10 foot sections cut at an angle in half
so both now 5' foot sections are pointed at one end.

fill both ends of the conduit, top & bottom
with expandable spray foam
so they float & don't get plugged
full of mud or sediment.

drill a hole 1/2" inch bigger than the 1/2" conduit
in the exact center of your float and run the
5' foot section through the hole
& a foot or two into the marsh bottom.

The float will now rise & fall, up & down
the conduit with any changes in water levels.

Set up this way they won't tip over when the
rats climb onto the float & spill your traps off
the float & into the water.

If you do happen to catch an incidental beaver
or coon on the float it will almost always
still be there when you come back to check
your float with this staking method.

w

12 " pool floater section midway on top for float and marker, and attraction to rats = yellow

Where I traps in Lakes and Ponds I build my floats the partially drive a fence staple on the underside tie a length of paracord to the staple and use a dive weight as an anchor

I use 3/8" dia. fiberglass color coded rods for different lengths (4', 5', & 8'). And realistically, they are used heavily for 3 weeks/year in the spring so wear is minimal by wooden float holes (remember they will be lubed and softened with the lake/pond water). I do use some for longer time periods for anchoring colony traps when trapping dens/runs. With that,,,,, I do have some WIRE BASED/BOTTOMED rat floats that have PLASTIC WASHERS I cut and fastened to the bottom of the center of the float to protect the fiberglass as the float moves with the wind/water. Fiberglass shaft is protected with the plastic collar/washer cut from a plastic barrel/trash can. More important to me is the paint and storage of a fiberglass shaft to keep it out of the sunlight when not in use the other 10 months of the year. I have used both metal and PVC eV conduit and they are fine, just a little more bulky when you have 100+ in the boat. Never lost an incidental coon with a 'glass rod either! ...................... the mike

When I use a float in the water I use a old roter to anchor it

I duck hunt so I just screwed in an eyelet and tied decoy cord to it and a big mushroom decoy anchor to it. Always held well for me

Paracord and a window weight

A lot lighter then brake roters. LOL

I use some 5-6 foot long aluminum poles right thru the middle of the float.

rebar is the worst for wearing the holes bigger in your floats-fiberglass is much better and lighter