I have never used slide wires to dispatch catches and I am still in the dark on them, although I would like to become more familiar. How do you retrieve a catch in say 3 feet of water without getting wet? Also, how can you retrieve a catch in murky water where you cannot see the catch or the lock to slide it back?

If the water id too deep to reach in to with gauntlets on, you can use weights.

A sand bag filled with sand or rocks will do fine on most critters.

Drowning rods are the way to go. Pull the stake, pull in the rod,empty the trap,reset the rod, push the stake back in erset the trap your done.

Yup...Drowning Rods....pull'em up, take your catch, then just put them back...might take all of 2 minutes to complete everything....

At one time I experimented with slide wire retreival methods so I could speed up my morning checks on the way to work.here's what I came up with.


Why I did was when I was making my set I put a small washer or a 1 oz bank sinker on my wire at the bottom (deep water stake) at then tied a length of cord (I used trotline cord from walmart) to the sinker eye or washer with the slide wire going through it. I then tied the other end of the cord to an overhead branch or whatever was available upstream from the slide wire.If I had something in the set all I had to do was pull the string to slide my catch up the wire.you could also drill another hole on your slider next to the wire side hole. remove catch from trap reset and on your way. This worked 95% of the time once and awhile the slider just wouldn't slide back up if the catch had kinked the wire or something,you'll still have to get wet sometimes but this will save alot of time now and then.

The bottoms of our streams are muck and I've gone crotch deep in mud in 10" of water so you can imagine wading out in that fun stuff and it takes some time,now if I had nice solid bottom I wouldn't waste my time with this and would just go in after it myself in waders/hipboots.

I use a tater rake.

What do you guys use for a drowning rod?

TrappinWI, 10 foot 1/2 inch rebar with the Bauer hardware.

TrappinWI i use a 1/2 inch rebar long enough to get into drowning depth i weld a nut on the bottom and flat washer on top to put metal stake threw .for a slide lock i use a heavy flat washer bend outside at a 90 in a vise with hole drilled in it to attach trap just push end into stream or lake bottom and stake on top

I use a sandbag filled with mud and rocks, on the end of my (cable) drowners.
On the top of the cable rig is a tree-lock, which I hook around a large tree root or large log in a beaver dam. And on the bottom a cinch loop, which I slide down over the knot in the sandbag and tighten, so it won't slide off.

To retrieve a catch and reset; pull up the weight and the critter, remove the critter from the trap, slide the lock back up, undo the tree-lock to heave the bag back in a little farther than it will end up, pull the bag in tight and tree-lock it, and remake the set

I can put a half dozen sandbags in my jacket pocket.
How many drowning rods could I fit?

No stakes, no wire to cut, no wading, no blood, and no sweat.

Krusty

I favor Drowning rods for Beaver and coon.

Here is my Beaver set up. Just push a stake thru the top loop and the trap is locked on. If the orange lock is missing chances are you have a Beaver. Just pull the stake and retrieve the rod. No need to even get in the water.

Here's what I use. The lock can be used for rod or chain.

Here's a drowning set up I use. All homemade. I't's 1/4" rod & custom made drowner locks. See the pics to understand how I have it attached.

This method works good for me due to the fact I have DEEP water quick off the shoreline. I Use this method on reclamation ponds.

The rod set ups really work good, but I still use a lot of cable drowners also. Each has it's place.

Just pull the stake pull in and retrive your catch. Pretty simple.







Here is another way to use the rods. Two stakes. This obviously can only be done when water depth is appropriate.

No matter your method a certain degree of gettin wet is gonna happen. Just the nature of the beast! lol





Hope this helps!

Those are great! Thanks guys. I'm thinking that same setup could work to hide animals in culverts as well.

Possum Skinner, that looks like the same rod I use, I just weld a washer on one end for a rebar stake, and then a nut about an inch from the other end, then I just shove the low end into the mud or sand on the bottom, then put the rebar through the top....that way when I check it, I just pull it up take the coon off and shove it right back in the mud....

To retrieve the catch, Get an old paint roller handle, cut off and bent the wire into a hook, and screw the handle onto a painter's extension, broom/mop handle.

Not to seem dull, but I just use a shovel.

lol dtwarrow....

dang it I always overthink the problem,got to remember K.I.S.S.