I have a sizeable lake and river in close proximity what do you experienced trappers prefer? The lake is surrounded by cattails and is very muddy. Most late season traffic is duck hunters. The river is slow and mudddy w/ a paved walking path on one side and private property on the other. Does anyone have a preference on one over the other? Niether has more sign than the other.

id trap both of them .... lol

If I could I would, but lack of time and traps makes me want to focus on just one.

it pends on the river .... most of the time when ya deal with larger waterways ya will have a great deal of water flucuation ... best to stick to the more stable waters .... if i were you id set up a roadline hittin the feeder streams and spillways .... and the shores of the lake that are close to the road that have banks that force the mink into small areas ... but thats just my opinion

I'll bet the cattails is where you'll find most of the rats.

I agree with Rat Pack. I'd trap the lake for a number of reasons: Good sized creeks around here usually have high banks and can be a real hassle to get up and down them every day. If you have a float, and it gets loose, it's most likely to wash away and you won't see it again in a river, but it should eventually wash up on the lake. I personally would prefer trapping in cattails, and in still water. You said the river has a walking path, which I assume is public. This may lead to theives.

There are of course advantages for rivers too, such as getting at passing 'rats.

Hard to tell. Your call.

Hit one hard for a while , catch the easy ones. Then switch.

What bigpat said. If the water is high or fluctuating, focus on the lake. When the water in the river stabilizes, hit the river hard.

I'de hit the river until the lake freezes then hit the lake with some baited 110s around the cattails under the ice

good luck