Anybody got thier own personal favorites. Been wanting to try some different things so I would not mind hearing what some other folks are doing. Thanks

Obviously my favorite is dens in my area with a 110. But there are a few creeks I hit that the dens are just to deep. I like a false slide with a little of Lennons rat lure on it and Dobbins for a change up and a #1.5 ls set up. Works great.
Some swampy areas I work I find a lot of feed beds on or around floating logs. The feed beds I set up with long springs, the floating logs also but with a good lure. If there is a chance of rising water or rain I prefer to use Ace's as it is a bit more rain/water resistant than any other I have used.

Q-tip dipped in Hudson Seal behind a #1 cs or #1 stoploss, on drowners. Maybe a peice of an ear of corn for a little more eye appeal. Seems to work well for me.

i like the artificial slide set myself .... quick and effective !! any lure really .... but i love Dobbin's lures .... trap size 1-2 long or coil ... rigged to drown em

Here is something I am going to try this year. I am in a cage only state so floating colony traps covered with camoed burlap and a sponge wired to the top of the cage with lure drops on it. I figure three lures and gland in the spring should just about do it. I'm hoping t his speeds me up trapping rats prescouting for sign but not having to set directly on sign. Not even having to stop the canoe, a trap every hundred yards around a lake.

good luck man ... keep us posted !!

Bud - wish we would have run into each other at the convention ... maybe next time


1 1/2 coils set on fresh mud slides

110's on submerged runs

1 1/2 coils on exposed hole runs

1 1/2 coils set on feedbeds

1 1/2 coils set on toilets

pulled up floating grass set - pull up a clump of floating grass and pile it up about a foot long paralell to the shoreline leaving a narrow channel between the shore and the piled grass ... i set a 1 1/2 coil in this channel and put a lil lure on the shore immediately across from the trap ... this set works great for me in ponds and ditches

lures i use and rely on are my homemade food and gland lure ... cavens bread & butter and bob jamesons magnum marsh ... all kick butt in my opinion

Feedbeds and toilets are hot spots ... I usually set all aproaches ... it's pretty much a sure thing!






I have good sucess setting on fresh sign like this


I like 1 1/2 coils set on holes like this


Sumbmerged runs get 110's set on them

The only "lure" that I have ever used for muskrats in 55 years of trapping them is called a "blind set," where I know they will be making their next step. End of the hunt.

Jonathan

more than one way to skin this cat ... looks like you might have slighted yourself for 55 years due to complacency ... no tellin what ya coulda done in 55 years trying something new ??? you might have even surprised yourself

i know folks have always been leary of using lure and it's effectiveness when it comes to rats ... but that's just plain crazy talk ... why am I gonna let someone else dictate what's what? ... where would i be today thinking like that??? i'm a firm believer in thinking outside the box!!! not just listening to what folks say is in it! lol

by the way i aint knockin blind sets as that's a very effective method and do so myself ... but just one of many methods

Possum, I am not an old fart, steeped or entrenched in tradition, or a "lureaphobic" by any stretch for that matter. My muskrat catches would not have been elevated by more than 1% ( just a guess) had I augmented my trapping effort wqith a "scent" of some flavor. My best year, on my own instincts with the only odor allowed on my hands that followed my #1-1/2 Victor longsprings under water was a harvest of 1,800 of those black tails.

However, where I just moved to unfamiliar muskrat territory compared to my past success ratio, I do not know yet if they will be as vulnerable to my previous methodology because the habitat does not resemble what I am used to. I am not shy, entrenched or adverse to taking you up on your experiences, because I respect and honor them. If need be, I will resort to using a lure if my "blind" sets are not productive in a heart beat. What lures do you recommend, or endorse that have been the most productive in your trapping zone?

Tell ya one thing, my duck skiff is going much slower now at age 65, and I will never see 1,000+ rats again in my lifetime. I would be more than happy with 50 this year, because I love the stalk for them. And, if it takes "lure" to do that, I will not hesitate to comply. I have never been a numbers dude - a long time hobby trapper with an addiction to it all just for fun. I wear glasses with bifocals, and I ain't "blind" yet. Thank you for the invitation to an alternative medication. I appreciate that before having to see a doctor.

Regards,

Jonathan

Great pics possum skinner and I like your mental attitude. Reminds me of when I was once your age some moons ago.


Jonathan, the habitat surrounding streams, lakes and swamps all provide opportunity for the skilled and seasoned trapper for many specie of fur bearer. But I have found that scent use has increased my potentinal and pulled animals I most likely may not have caught without its use as a result of conditions on site.

But on the other hand I have caught more animals in blind sets/trail sets then I can recall as well over the years.I am also approaching or knocking on the door of the old fart category as you made reference.

Now its all about fine tuning, more for less effort and enjoying the sweet smell of the roses while we still can....

Great post.

Possum and all,

Thanks for the posts and info on what you have been doing on your muskrat setups. I have been a land trapper for several years but have not jumped into the water trapping too much at this time but I am planning on doing some water trapping along with my land line this year. I figured that if you set on sign that you would catch rats no problem (Secret of any successful trapper- set on sign). I have several areas that have huts/dens, feed beds, and I occassionally see a toilet. I know that a lot of folks that I have talked to and in books I have read books and heard people talk about baiting pockets with vegetables and having good luck. Is there a food lure that will work equally as well so that you don't have to take the groceries in the swamp with you? Also I have heard that gland lures work on the rats sex appeal later in the spring or I guess can be attractive most anytime. Jonathan, I also appreciate your input on just using blind sets on sign. I respect any man that has trapped over 10 times longer than I have and I plan on using plenty of blind sets when the situation dictates. Just want to make sure that I have my lures (gland and or food) ready for this fall when the season rolls around, which will not be long! Possum, we do need to get together sometime. I do not know you but will have to introduce myself to you sometime. I appreciate your input and please keep learning me something!! Thanks again to all and please add more.

thanks for sharin the tips and ideas. more to put in my bag for this comin harvest.

first let me say to jonathan ... i in no way meant to disrepect you with what i said in response to your post ... it was more of a "what if" ... and don't recall implying you were a "old fart" ... at 65 you got plenty more in you! your wisdom is admired

you ask what lures? i posted them above but here they are again:




bud don't be a stranger ... just come on up and say hey!

and bob j ... don't sell yaself short you aint no old fart yet either ... you might just feel like one at times lol i know i do! and i'm just shy of knocking of 40's door lol

I am certainly not in the league as Bob J., Johnathan or Possum but will throw in my two and one half cents.
If you are trapping a large marshy type area with tons of muskrats and tons of sign, lure may not be as important to you as it is to the guy that is trapping smaller streams and or rivers. On the moving water it is a different ball game and I personally believe that lure, good lure, makes a huge difference.

It can also make a difference in marshy areas if you are working with limited traps and a limited time frame. (i.e. limited traps and tons of sign, I think using lure improves your production.)

Those, and there are many, that say muskrat lure does not work well have never used a really good lure. Just my thoughts.
Mac

Possum,

What part of the state are you from? Just wondering? Thanks for your posts. I am not a stranger at all I just have never been introduced to you. I will have to make it a point at the next meeting I ask around and find the possum skinner!!

Mac,

I agree in your post about the moving water. It makes sense to me at least. I don't know much but I would have to say that your logic is sound and probably has a dramatic impact on your success.

You just cant beat an old #1 1/2 long for rats. They go down super fast. I prefer blind sets myself. Slides,feed beds and pinch points etc...

Baby carrot in a pocket with a 1.5 in front. Baby carrot on the trigger of a 110 that is set along the shoreline with a good backing. Set the trap so the jaws of the trap close in from the side. If the trap is set the traditional way, the rat can be thrown from the trap from the bottom jaw. My catch noticable jumped up when I switched the position of the trap. Though I have never had much luck with a Muskrat lure, this spring was the first time that I tried Lenon's Muskrat lure and I was very impressed with it. I placed the lure so that part of it was touching the water just behind the trap. I feel that the smell of the lure spreads out over the surface of the water and is much easier for the Muskrat to detect. After all, a Muskrat swims with its nose at the waters surface. Oh yeah, a good blind set is hard to beat.

This year I've got a digital camera, so I can finally take some good pictures. I'll take pictures of my sets, and catches.

I don't have much to show now.

Nobody mentioned colony traps in runs, at the bottom of slides, and at dive points.

Out of necessity, and because they work well, they are my favorite set.
Colony traps underwater, are one of the only killing sets we can use, without a special permit.

Even in the pond I had a permit for, I did very well with my colony traps... trap for trap, I caught more than twice as many in cages as conibears.
This is a shallow swampy pond, with a mix of cattails and canary grass and open all year (except on the rare occasion when I get a little ice), so most of the sets are suspended on the grass or wedged in the cattails, in waist deep water.
And some were stuffed in den holes, very effectively

One rat doesn't put a set out of commission, and with long cages or double wides (4 door), you can catch several in a single set.

Krusty