ok im new to muskrat trappin so here are some questions. i trap under bridges and there are alot of rocks there numerous rocks have rat toilets on them how do u know where to place the traps and which rocks do you set? none of the rocks are flat but could be climbed from either side. my first idea was to take rat floats out there and set heavy but i wanna keep it more low profile. ill get pics as soon as i can. if i dont use bait and only lure where should i put it?

Find the runs and set those with 110's.

try to find runs and stuff along the bank to eather side of the bridge

110's baited with carrots in the shallows.

I like doing what con does

Amen Ray, its simple effective and everyone canuse it in litteraly every location.

yep i also like setting runs and dens with #110s

I like to make mock slides,and give them a squirt of sweet corn oil. This seem to work two ways, because rats will checkout the new slide in there area,and some come to the smell of the sweet corn oil. I love trapping rats threw the ice,heck I just love trapping rats any old way. I started trapping rats as a kid, and I hope that god lets me trap them until he see's fit to stop me.............................Ringtailtrapper

Never heard of that one before ringtail. have to try it this year.

Take a pile of bottom vegetation,place it in shallow water.Set a couple traps in front.This simulates a rat feeder hut.Not only will you catch rats at it--but also coon and mink.
Tom

thanks for all the advice guys i will try it ALL. another ? so i went back an located where i think some rats r coming up on the bank but its kinda open around there do i guard and camo the 110s at these locations or slick up these small entry points? what would stop them from crawling up the bank next to the set?

I like and do very similar to ringtail and Bogmaster

small fresh mud slicks guarded by a 1 1/2 coil ... also similar to what boggy does, I'll pull up a elongated clump of floating pennywort etc. kinda tight to the shoreline and put a 1.5 coil between the clump and the shoreline, place lure on the shoreline side

done like this the lure is just a extra potential draw as rats will investigate the fresh mud and be inclined to travel the narrow channel through/between the clump and shoreline without it

learning how to find and recognize active toilets and feedbeds will help you also

I have deep water impoundments that hold decent numbers of rats ... you'll be hard pressed to find a run unless you pull out your scuba gear ... in these waters the rats dine on various roots and a large percentage of their diet is fresh water mussels ... along the edges you'll find piles of mussel shells wear the rats continue to return to eat them ... at these spots I simply put a 1.5 coil on a drowner with a three hole brick tossed out into deep water ... the shorelines are covered with needle grass, you can also simply kick in a spot making it look like where a rat has been and place a trap on the approach ... take your knife and cut a big handfull of the tops and let them float on the surface just in front of your trap (eye appeal to help draw any swimming rats, looks like a rat has been feeding ... a lil lure doesn't hurt when doing this)

on the tidal high ground tunnels or leads are numerous ... sometimes you can set them all sometimes you just can't ... tunnels through the grass and phragmities produce a good number of rats too ... those trails guarded by 110's will pick up rats and where you have rats you'll have a few mink too

so many ways to take rats ... trapping & snaring rats is fun and can be addictive

Tom is right If your going to try mock slides or pushup make sure your traps and your anchoring system is big enough to handle coon,mink ,because you will catch them as well.Pskinner the first time I made mock slides was in a deep water,and I had the same problem finding runs,but the mock slides sure helped.Whitetail rats are animals of habit and will use those small runs I would guard them with a 110, and see how well you do with them first.I dont think the floats will help you much,because from what you write they have rocks and other things to climb out on,so that may be a bust. The toilets your talking about just set both sides of the rock,heck the only thing better than a rat is two rats..............Ringtailtrapper

In my area they are very few muskrats. Some of the oldtimers tell me there used to be lots of rats. Now days they claim there are more mink around. Do you think the mink wiped out the muskrats?

I bet in dry summers when there aint much water in the streams the mink put a hurtin on the rats.

parsnips stay bright longer as bait, carrots a close second

thanks again for the info fellas this place truly is a wealth of information.

When I set conibears in front of dens most of the muskrats I catch are going into the den, why is that?

I agree, the muskrats in our area are hurting too. Used to be if you found a beaver pond or a stream, you found rats, its not the case in my area anymore. Back in the spring I received a trapper survey form from the NYSDEC which I filled out. They had a question or comments section and I asked them if they knew what was going on with the rats but I haven't had a response yet.

Although I'd rather take mink anyday, I sure remember when we were kids trapping and you set conibears in runs and go down to the next run and start making a set and you'd hear the trap go off and there was a rat. That used to happen all the time!!!

Woodsdog, where in western NY do you live?