Just got done reading Faler's "The Mink Trapper's Guide". He said that he puts a 6" carraige bolt in place of the rivet opposite the spring with bolts and washers to hold in place. I can see some great advantages using this system as 110's tend to be difficult to stabilize.

Does anyone else do this with their 110's? What % do you "stake"? Are there any disadvantages to using this system?

Clark

dont do the 6 inch carriage bolt thing but i do stake my 110s NOW after i came to a mrat set with signs of a struggle and no trap i suspect a mink and ever since wire off or stake to something used to just put a stick through the spring them rats dont move an inch after getting hit

I just stick a stick trogh the hole on the spring and wrap the wire on it

I use conibear stabilizers but I also stake the chain real good with a big branch or cut sappling. Never know when you might get a big buck mink that thinks your conibear is a collar and decides to walk off with your trap.

For over 40 years while trapping muskrats in cattail marshes in Wisconsin, I staked and stabilized my #110's with older, "full dimension" plaster lath (four feet long) salvaged from old farmhouse demolitions. The lath fits snug enough inside the spring eye to [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] itself at whatever level you want to set the trap at after you are satisfied that it is sufficiently "staked' to the bottom substrate. If for some reason there is slack on the spring/lath interface, the stock chain ring can be placed inside of the spring's ring to lock it in place.

I do not know how this method would work with the newer lath offerings from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Never tried it, but I am sure it could be adapted with a little ingenuity if the width on the newer wood is narrower than the older lath.

This photo will illustrate the application.

Regards,

Jonathan

I have two coni's with long rods where you said to put the carage bolt. well they don't hold and I have a couple of feet of cable on them so I can stake them to the bank or I would have lost them by now.

I stake all of my traps.

Replace rivet w/ a 1' piece of 1/4" allthread and a nut on each side of where rivet used to be. We have soft bottoms here and need the foot to anchor properly.

Jonathan---looks like your Conibear is about as old as your lath!

Same technique here, even with today's worthless lath. However, I run a small spike through the lath about 1/3 of the way up from one end. This way the bodygrip can be slid down the lath, then cranked around the nail a turn or two, and it locks solidly in place.

One-third up gives you flexibility if you've got a soft bottom, just turn the lath upside down. Or you can bust off some lath and use it for fencing.

Tobacco lath, now there's some fine stuff if you can find it . . .

Let me clarify...by "staking" I didn't mean attaching a 110 to a stake, after all, I hope anyone who sets a trap does this, pretty basic stuff and not that informative. I was more interested in using a bolt in place of the rivet opposite the spring as a stake, hence "staking".

Clark

Here's what your talking about. It works but have often found the trap wants to spin unless you have a good clay bottom. So you end up having to use a stick to counter act the spin. Not my first choice of 110 stabilization.



Another method I use a lot is a 110 0n a bamboo pole. I'll take a picture and post it. What I do is actually zip tie the 110 to the pole. Easier to just take the pic. than try to explain it. Check back later today.

Here's a catch picture of the boo pole set up.

You guy's using 6" bolts for staking must be setting the trap so the the jaws come in from the side, NOT the recommended way to do it. I use 18 or so inches of threaded rod bent at 90 degrees, right at the trap, so the trap will close over the head and throat for a quick kill. This can be used on any body grip trap using rod of sufficient diameter and length to fit the trap. If my impression is wrong please post or Pm me with how you're doing it.

I started using 12-16" pc. 1/4" rod, threaded about an inch with two nut and washers in place of the rivet 35 years ago. It worked great but now use the Berkshire 110 stabilizer. It has two prongs so the trap doesn't swivel. Have never had any problems with setting the trap so the jaws come from the side. Even caught mink in them that way at bank dens and trails.

About 50-60% of my 110's have stabilizers attached to them.

I use a 4" bolt. It works well for those special areas.

I use them with all my 110's. Works great on harder ground and against objects, bridges, rocks, etc.

Some good ideas and some of my suspicions have been confirmed. I originally thought it was a bad idea as it would prevent you from setting certain spots. After further consideration I couldn't come up with but one or two spots that would preclude a "staked" 110 from being set so I thought why not do it? 110's can be tricky to stabilize and this should help.

Three problems came up in my head. One is that the little 110 becomes top heavy with the spring way up there which would not help stabilization. 2. The trap can spin. 3. As pointed out by BigBob, the trap has the "wrong" oritentation.

All of these problems would be solved by adding a 90 degree bend right next to the trap. So BigBob, how do you add the bend? Just heat it with a torch or something else? My next thought is that you could add a large washer to the stake below the level of the bottom jaw which should help prevent it from sinking in soft ground. Just an idea.

TrappinK-9's - Did you push the stake into the stream bottom or the pillar? Excellent pictures.

Clark

Clark;

Putting something like a washer on the stake will not stop the trap from Swiveling. It pivots at the top of stake where the rivet used to be. Only way to stop this is with a small stick down through the corner of jaws, which is how most conibears are stabilized anyway.

The Berkshire 110 stabilizers have humps at the top of each leg that prevent the trap from spining. This is why I switched from the single stake.

About the only place where this can not be used is concrete or steel(with no dirt in bottom) bridges or solid or very rocky stream beds. I have other types of stabilizers for these situations.

When I use my 110's w/ the foot of allthread stake I still stick a small, short stake through the trap to further stabilize it, and help mark it if water rises a foot or so. I have never had a problem w/ which way the jaws are for rats at all, can't speak for mink. Went 16 for 17 one day this year on fired traps, setting bank dens, don't consider jaw position to matter.

Alright, here's the pics I said I would post. Just another great way to stabilize and secure 110's. You'll get multiple catches without the zip tie breaking. If it does it's a simple two minut or less fix righ on the line!

I have never seen this done before I started doing it so this might be a possum skinner original?

Works great!

*should point out that the lower zip tie is only through one spring eye

I too like the Berkshire U shaped stake that replaces the rivet opposite the spring on a 110. I have about one hundred 110s set up that way. I used to be able to set up a ditch in a hurry. They were a bit heavy, but took up much less space than the wood stakes I used to carry with me. Sadly the rat population is only about 20% of what it used to be. They still work well for bottom edge sets however.

possum skinner

Nice hint with those ties

Mac