These are my new addition to the arsenal.

Those look good...look like they would float level too.

how i would do it on a nuisance contract where waterfowl might be a problem.

Lol Alcatraz for muskrats!

good one Morris!!

Too wide.

one of Lts students took over 800 muskrats on a float set like this one. my cage trap version is a knock off of the same principal.
and yes a carrot is the bait. no lure. i have some of these i will be using with Duke 1.5 coil springs.

the floats I made are similar to yours Mousie, whats the width of yours? Glad to hear the concept works. I just wanted a way to pick up some rats on my coon line without having to get out in and kick around for Rat dens.

You could use a wire trigger trap with a carrot on the trigger wires and floated with pvc. I would use a smaller, less expensive trap for muskrats. Or use a larger trap and add carrots in with the beaver lure. At $14+ a rat that may be an option.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wziYPMYh8

You could use a set like Mousie showed. Here is another one Vinke has been showing like Mousie's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SC5trc9Wl4

If anyone has watched rats walk on floats much one thing comes into light pretty quickly. Rats skirt the edges...like most any prey species. The gap between the pan of those traps and the edge is huge. Kind of like making a 12" mink pocket and tossing a small trap dead center.

Another thing that comes into light when watching rats on floats is how many times they walk up and down the plank of most of these floats without getting caught. I watched one rat do 5 laps back and forth, jumped in and swam off when two traps were on the plank.

Like mink trapping, dont look at the pocket (or float in this case) look at the pan and the wall relationship. They have to step on the pan. And a dinky #1 guard trap is a huge handicap.

I have also watched rats step all over traps and trap pans without firing them...some mine and freshly tuned. Makes you scratch your head and go back to the drawing board.

The above floats miss lots of rats. Photo #1 more so than the later. Not a problem if you have rats in bulk, but an issue when you don't.

maybe Calvin, but hard to argue with a guy who caught over 800 of them in a very short time. walking is one thing but then the muskrat has to stop sit down and chew the carrot in two or pull it off the nail then turn and go back into the water with it. a lot of stutter stepping which allows for a higher percentage of four feet coming in contact with the trap. could it be improved? yes sure cant everything.

*check out my other version on the ADC forum.

mousie

Calvin Is 100% correct. I have made the same observations. It's not how many rats you catch It's about how many rats you MISS.
Remove all pan tension and Increase your pan size and down size your floats and stools and your rat catch will go up dramatically.
I know guys that are catching 800 rats In less then 4 checks. And they are doing the above mentioned things.
Another thing I think Is very Important Is getting your bait at least 8" above the traps. You want the rat standing to get the bait. This puts It's feet right on the trap pan. That Is If the trap Is positioned right. In every float picture or stool set up I see the trapper Is dependent on the rat crossing the trap as It goes to the bait. Which In my opinion Is taking a big chance. Put that trap right under the bait and your catch ratio will Increase.
Put the rat where you want him to be don't on bet luck.

Mousie,

Its all about upping your catch percentages.

There are times when bait doesn't work at all on floats.

Carrots make mediocre bait in comparison to other things, I/ve found.

Sit and watch them and you/ll see how many your not catching.

Of course, rat response to floats and bait vary largely from place to place.

800 is a few days catch in some places. I was there when fossil took 500 in one day off of floats.

Again, its not about total numbers but upping catch percentage rates no matter who you are or how many you take... This comes into play more when the populations aren't overwhelming. Most people don't have overwhelming numbers to take.

My simplest floats are a chunk of 2x8 with a polebarn spike driven up through the center to hold the bait.This board is 7 1/4 wide,finished lumber.I have never watched rats work them.But they seem to work.

500 rats in one day? just wondering how many floats a guy has out to do that? but if you have a better bait and float why arent you sharing it? i ve shared mine. where are you pix?

http://thebeav.topcities.com/stools.htm

I'm not a huge float guy because I find stools to be more effective where I trap.

Bait used is parsnips,green aspen,mud and rat toilets.

With a great spring rat population,200 floats X 2 traps and checking twice a day you can stack up the rats in a hurry.

knowledge is power

h-g, pvc pole ?

pvc or bamboo.

300 floats equal 600 traps that's not a lot of traps to have out In good rat country. But It does take some time to get them all out.

never though of using river cane. how does it hold up?

I can add a couple of pieces of scrap wood to funnel them over the trap, that is not hard to do. I am using #1.5 coilsprings, not #1s. The guy on you tube seemed to have success using them. I am not making 600 floats, just wanting some to throw out while im running my coon line on the river.

Here in PA your bait/lure cannot be visable from the air, so here is what I use for trapping muskrats. I designed it around the #1 1/2 coilspring, but similar size traps will work.

I actually have sold several of these this summer and still have a few available.

They sure dont make it easy for you to trap in PA!

coyoteinc

I like that.

Huntgod what are the measurements? Is that 1/2" plywood?

7"W X 22"L X 1 1/4 thick rough sawn pine. The foam on the bottom is 1/2 inch.

Pretty slick, how are you using it? Is it a floating set? I'm curious because one pond ive been scouting has little in the way of slides and the water level changes dramatically with run off and rainfall. A float seems like the higher precentage option. I've seen rats in it so I know they are there.

I run the same kind of double floats that Huntgod uses although mine are 8" wide not 7" and 24" long,just because of plywood original dimensions.My floats work very well with carrots,better with parsnips,best with muskrat poo and some Lennon's lure.As far as a pole I have used 5/16" fiberglass snow stakes(they are ok in non windy spots,but not in an open marsh),open marshes I use 3/8" or 1/2" fiberglass ussually 5-6 feet long.Putting bait up above the float is an excellent way as beav suggested to get the rats moving right on top of your floats.I also use a 4 position float that I built for 1 1/2 coils that really works well.I will try top post some pictures if I still have them.The pan tension is ultra important for rats-its gotta be very very light or you will miss alot of rats.Its like anything-you really need to experiment with what works for you.Very light pan tensions don't do well on open marshes with wind and waves etc..Also have tried some of those repeating colony traps where the rat goes into the trap and has to dive into a hole into the cage underwater below-they didn't work so great for me last year,but I am going to try smearing up the interior hole with wet mud and see if that helps out.Again its all about experimentation and what works for you in your area-floats are not for everyone that I have read,but they sure work well for me!

Thanks to all who had advice. I modified the ones I made with your input. It should cut down on the number of misses. I think next time I am going to buy 10" or 8" pine boards so I dont have to use scrap wood to block the entrance. Im ready for November so I can deploy them.

Use it primarily on pond sets and yes it is a floating set. Holds 2 #1 1/2 coilsprings or similar traps.

I bait it with either apples or corn depending upon what surrounds the pond I'm trapping. I use Katz Bros Mud Road for lure on the lure holder.

here are some pictures of last falls float catches-just a few days worth-even an albino one as a bonus!You can hopefuly see the 4 position floats I made-they worked very well

Coyoteinc, PM sent

I am getting some of that lennons lure. That is a boat load of rats!!!!

Ya Lennon's lure is fantastic stuff!! Really like the fact that is petroleum based as well so it doesn't wash off very easy in rain/water sets.Going to be an interesting year for the rats I think-hopefully there are some still out there to be caught!!

I gotta move to Canada...

How many in the picture? Best days catch? Best season total?How many traps are you running?

You don't need to move to Canada. Floats work in the US as well.

3 day catch on floats, 1048 rats.

That's not going to happen this year, nice haul.

Might take a bit longer this year....LOL

Unbelievable but pictures due not lie. This is the most muskrats I have ever seen at one time. Congradulations!!

How many traps did you run? How long of a trapline?

AWESOME CATCH!! Did you skin all those or sell in the carcass? I have to skin each day-max like 200 a day-after that my hands and arms both go so numb I cannot do anything.Guess I need to hire a skinner-LOL.

These had to be sold as carcass rats as I ran out of freezer space. I have since rectified that problem. Being away from home makes it hard to find freezers in a pinch.

I skin what I can at the end of the day,but with worn out hands,I find it better to keep catching rats and skin later. Age will do that to you....LOL Seems we are always working with time restaints due to weather or damaged rats in the spring. For me,it works better to have more whole rats in the freezer than quitting earlier in the day because you have to skin. I can skin when I'm home in a heated shed. If I was trapping from home, I'd do it differently,but being out of state and living out of my trailer,this is what works for me.

Excellent post!

I only trap for about a week before we get frozen out,but best season in a 7 day check was a little over 1200,best day 208 rats on about 240 traps.But in all honesty the older I get the harder it is on my hands and arms-set over 200 1 1/2 coils each day and it wears down my hands and arms-to the point where I shake them while I am sleeping because they fall asleep-its weird.

Take your torch and heat up the springs on those traps and setting 100s of traps each day Is childs play.

I read someone else who had posted about torching the coils to soften them up. I ended up just taking one spring off the coil on my 1 1/2's. Even then, I could see how the torch would make it easier. you talking blow torch? Heat up until they glow?

I ran about 40 seconds per spring. But It's best to start out with less time and see how weak you want them.Let cool before trying to set.

Obviously I have to check the regs but I think that I can do it. I am looking into floats and want to buy the same trap that I use for 'coons (non-DPs) for this to serve double duty by having only one type of trap for both 'coons and 'rats. Does anyone do this? I am thinking 1.5 Duke DJCSs. I am also trying to find a small, flat float system for storage and transport. I like to have everything small, uniform, compact, deadly and effective.

I made a pile of floats for the fall season,similar to HuntGods',but anchored differently,and with a nail up through the center.THey dont stack as nice,but they worked.
And I cant believe I didnt take a better picture of them when I had them out.

How did u make these?? They look like a good set up. Is it just foam under plywood? Is the cage easily removed for storage ?
Does anyone have info or dimensions for this set up??

Thanks,
Ryan
R&J Whitetails

Had to re read this and laugh. Fossil's not much of a pic kind of guy. He could care less if anyone believed him or not. People who know him know of his extreme catches for decades. The 500 rats in a day was with he and his son out of the same truck...so a team if you will.

I/m not the pic kind of guy either. Have no idea how to post one...and frankly don't much care to learn at this point. As for sharing, I think I/ve done quite abit of that over the years. Too much in fact. I/m a slow learner but I am learning.

If you make floats make them small so when the rat climbs on to the float It has to stand on the trap or traps. (90% of floats I have seen are way to big.

And of coarse floats don't work In most areas.

As far as I know,from what I've heard,anyway,floats dont work anwhere very well except up here,and only for me.

Mousie how are you attaching the trap to your float?

me too: summer drought, spring floods, tiling and dredging every trickle and flow.

that's what happened to the rats, right there above :<(

floats work great everywhere in the spring, ok most places in the fall. A skilled trapper setting tunnels and runs will definitely catch more than if he tried running footers and floats strictly in the fall. No question about that, speed and efficiency.

That's right Austin,the float cannot be your only set,I put out a few in an effort to gang set an area,to wipe it out fast.

New to rat trapping - what do you attach your trap to, to make sure it doesnt come off off the float .. and what do you attach your float to ? does it just float around everywhere ???

I use fence staples to the underside of the 2x8,and I tether the float to a long wooden stake a couple of feet away.Some folks run a fiberglass fence post through the float or a ring that can be made of wire on the side,and this will keep the float from capsising,as can happen with a tether.

Les, do you wire the trap swivel to the fencing staple or do you just staple the swivel itself? I am putting the finishing touches on my floats but I'm not sure what is the best way to attach the trap to the float.

Most of my traps had the trap ring on them,and I added swivels to them.I have nailed the ring on there,but for easy removal I tend to wire them now.

I live in Wisconsin and made some floats last year for rats... I had zero succes with it. My floats look like much of the sets above and I dont think im missing them. Is it possible they are afraid of my floats? Could how stable the float is make a difference? Ive thrown brush on them to make them look more realistic still no luck. Also has anybody had good succes with colony traps or is it better to just skip the two and set runs and bank holes?

Did you put any muskrat lure on those floats? I plan on trying that this year.

I cut up parsnips and stich them on the nail in the center of my float.Last year I used parsnip,apple,and turnip.Rats will feast on parsnip,eat a little apple,and generally ingnore turnip.Turnip was a waste of time and probably cost me rats.Parsnip is a good attractant providing there are rats around.I'de like to try some pure second cutting alfalfa sometime.

In my opinion the bait needs to be elevated so the rat has to stand on the trap to reach the bait.

Parsnips are a good bait but a chunk of willow or poplar Is a better choice.
We pre stake the marsh I trap and by time the season started most of the willow stakes and been griddled as high as the rats could reach. A 8" or 10 " length of willow or poplar shoved on that nail would catch some rats. I know It works In ND.

YoungGrizzers that's a common occurrence In WI I have very little luck with floats or stools. Most of the time floats or stools are a spring thing. So just maybe since we now have a March 7th closing for rats we might get a chance to see If floats work here.

If I were going to set den holes I would be placing colony traps In front of those dens. Might as well catch all the rats In one night instead of taking 5 nights.

Since you need to stake your floats I just use cable extensions on my traps. One end Is attached to the trap the other end has a slip noose and It just goes over the float stake and pulled up tight. Easy to store easy to place and easy to remove. The more I stay away from wire the less holes I have In my gloves.

Thanks to all responders, i do bait them with many different things so i dont think its that. I think im going to try some colony traps and steer away from the floats for now until i get more time to mess around and lock in the correct set up.

Save your breath Calvin. Some aren't worth it.

that was one day's removal... not necessarily a one-day set = next-day check. The regs out west allow for multiple days between checks, much like the northern half of NYS permits 48-hour checks for lethal sets in water.

spring trapping in the Midwest permits setting a line one day, check it next, skip it third day while setting a fresh second line and then run both lines on a big check, day four. Those dual-line checks like that are where massive "day" catches are compiled.

this of course is not to diminish such achievements one iota... just clarification of comparison. Ohio's 24-hour check laws and the Dakota's extended check laws are not comparable.

800 rats from Ohio is excellent, btw. But it is entirely possible more could have been caught using more effective fall tactics than floats.

It's all relative, so to speak

Ill be making about a half dozen floats this week. I make mine with minimal effort. a 3 2x4's in the shape of an "I" with a nail in the center to hold the bait and a trap between the bait and the ends. the ends are about 1 ft and the middle is about 18", I just guess my measurements. the ends are scewed on top of the middle so the middle board and the traps are just under the surface of the water. Havent used this style in over 10 years but it was pretty effective and easy when I did.

Here are my floats I made. I'm just an old man playing, I'd be happy with one muskrat!

Here's my simple rat float. They float well and hopefully I connect with them. Never used them before.

Austin....those numbers were on a 24 hr check.

Jim...You are correct.

so in other words he set 500 plus traps one day and caught 500 rats in one nights soak? Hats off to that!

I am guessing it took then a couple days to get all the floats out. But once they were out, many people were running 2-400 traps and running them twice a day. In addition other people were running them for you in-between your checks.

So many muskrats moving at the peak migration, that most can't understand how many rats were moving out there for a few springs.

Trapstickman has tried muskrat floats in MN and decided that they are not for him.

well that makes perfect sense... because one man removing 500 rats and resetting those 500 traps is impossible on the clock. By no means am I questioning ability and skill, just saying there is no logistical way that can be done by one person strictly out of minutes and hours in a working day.

I did make the effort to go see that area in person myself at the very end, and I can only imagine how the spring migration looked a few weeks before. Nobody here in the east can begin to fathom the muskrat houses in every puddle of water out there unless seeing it with their own eyes. We have a select few spots here in NY that resemble, but not half an entire state :>)

Tim is without a doubt one of the if not the best water trappers in the country.

No question about that... for sure.

Ttt

Would floats work better in spring or fall?

Spring.

They are up on everything In the spring leaving their scent.

austinp Dosen't have a clue. Last time he was going to go to the Dakotas he was going to use nothing but 160s and drag a canoe back to all those sloughs and set the world on fire. Then he got all his traps stolen from behind the shed. LOL

Never did 500 In a check but did 300 a few times with a partner.
Set 10 stools In a 30 yard location and It only takes minutes to check them. Weaken the trap springs and It speeds up things. Checking twice a day at the peak Is what you need to do.
I can remember setting 40 some traps on this dead end road and when coming back already having 28 rats In those traps.

Perfect Thanks
Any idea on good float idea that is conpact light and effective. need to make lots of them. Did review this thread and got a few ideas but just seing if anyone has a new idea

or you can buy some single coil traps.

Ive been wanting to try floats out for spring rats for a while . I pulled this post up about a week ago and decided to get to work on it . I have a few spots that hold rats but it is very difficult to find bank dens or runs but every log , hump , rock etc sticking out of the water has rat droppings on them . I figure floats and / or stools would work . I decided to try floats first . I paid close attention to what Beav and Calvin had to say about floats being too wide etc . I figure that know what they are talking about so I tried to make a narrow float that would just fit my BMI 1 1/2 and also make the rat stand up for the bait .

I ripped a 2X8 down to 6" , added wire sides and two posts to attach bait to with a few extra holes for lure etc. The wire and bait posts come right out for portability . It didn't work . Its too narrow and wants to tip over too easy . I had to add stabilizers . After experimenting a little with length for stability I found that they had to be about as long as the float itself .


This is what I came up with . It floats and isn't tippy . It forces a rat over the trap if he wants to get up on it and makes him stand up to get the bait . I don't have big numbers of rats . Im concerned about misses as Beav stated . I haven't put it out yet as I just finished testing stability and we have a big noreaster coming . I will try to get it out on saturday and report the results

I make mine similar to trapper les,40" long 8" wide trap close to the end bait on both sides of trap,i want to catch them by the front foot,they drown eaisier I like 1.5 long spings.

Try some without the wire and some with. But I don't think you need the wire.
The rats will be all over that float. And as long as you have the traps close to the bait you should be Ok.

Will do Beav . I added the wire to force the rats over the trap if they want on or to get the bait . I don't have a big rat population so I don't get a shot at multiple rats and I don't want them to have many options .

This is all you need. Nothing fancy, or time consuming to build.

Simple , efficient and effective , where the heck is the fun in that Les ?? LOL . I need to channel my OCD ! But I will try that also .

We aint taking them to the county fair, lol. It's not a Stratevarious .

The muskrat just has to climb up with not too much room to spare, and for me, the trap doesn't have to be under water. The rat climbs to the highest perch while attempting to eat the bait, which is usually parsnip or apple. It's just that simple.

I just banged out a no fun version of the rat float . It was quick and simple = no fun except for the spike sticking up from the middle . THAT has potential for a few memories to be made ! Nothing that won't heal I hope ! . I'm loading up now to check a few beaver sets and if we're not in flood stage i'll put these floats out .

I'm affirm believer the bait should be at least 8" above the surface of the float.

A rat can access that bait and never get In that trap. With the bait being up high the rat has to get on the float and stand to get the bait. The more It moves around the better your chances are of catching It. The other thing Is a rat can get caught and the next rat comes along and finishes off the bait. And never make contact with the second trap.

But even with no bait you may catch some rats. I pile of rat dropping placed between those traps Is even better. And don't forget to use a bit of lure. It won't hurt your odds.

I like it maybe hang the bait on a stiff wire

I make my muskrat floats with root beer.

Floats out . Not exactly where i wanted them . The water is very high . My beaver traps are under two feet of water . I have seen rats swimming in both these spots though . I think I will elevate the bait on Les's style of float though . Beavs observations make a lot of sense . I have a bunch of old closet rod and a 1 1/4 inch spade bit . Ill drill a partial hole into the center of the float like I did with the complicated float and put in a 10" piece of closet rod . A couple of screws to hold bait and a few extra holes to hold Qtips dipped in lure and it should be good to go . The rod can be easily pulled and reinserted for stacking .

Parsnip , apple , Hudson Seal and Mark Junes muskrat frenzy .

I tried apple and it doesn't work out here. carrots and parsnip seem to be the go to bait

Yes, carrots work well too .

Looks like a oil slick on the water. That's a good thing.

Good luck to you.

anybody rub a little rat gland on their boards?

That would work just fine.

x10 what Calvin said....I like to build as narrow a possible with trap 90 degrees to whats shown for simple reason its easyer to skinny up the floats w/o having levers in the way.....another thing that will catch more rats on floats is using drywall screw up from bottom as it holds your carrot better than a finish nail head.......another advanced feature is to use small 1x2 spacers or custom cut spacer blocks that will allow stacking floats with set or locked open traps via a hog ring, so they can be stacked w/o firing traps settng on your board.....setting 2 traps per float is a huge time killer compared just slapping down pre set traps or even locked open hog rings.....i saw a fancy trap locking method once where a guy had a counterbored hole and offset to that hole bout 50% of dia off side of that hole, anothher hole c'bored but with washer in it held down a screw.....it was set up so crossframe pointy end of trap slide under washer and locked trap in place, even when your board was carried sideways, was real slick if guy could duplicate it......another speed float trick is using metal fence posts w/ triangle for stakes as allows you to carry 2 floats/1 stake each hand w/ float held up by triangle to the slew.....to be really effective id cut down the triangles so not as much tangle mess to store on board your outfit

I was in SD that spring and KNOW for a fact that fossil and sons catch was real deal, and havent ever seen anything but truth from any of Calvins or fossils posts, and ill add huntgod to that list also......some others I dont know whether part b.s. or truth.....but I do know some on here who do stretch the truth by a fair degree...LOL

use a good coon lure when rat trapping-the results will amaze you......just dont use on your floats....sawdust and fiberglass splinters galore!

Pennsylvania muskrat season only runs until January 7th. Not sure if floats would work if you could find anything that's not frozen over. Any recommendations?

Floats and stools seem like there a spring thing. Yes you can catch some rats on floats and stools at other times of the year but It's mostly a spring thing.

You need to catch your rats before you get Ice. Trapping dens and runs and setting on the huts. Look for fed beds and rat toilets and set them.

http://thebeav.us/stools.htm

In some situations a stool will work better then a float. When you have large cattail marshes and you don't have much If any water fluxions I prefer a stool to a float.

As odd as it sounds, a long pc of flagging tape is just as good as bait. The rats must chew on it for some reason. I have had the same success rates with lure/flagging as lure/bait.
I run the same float as Les, but prefer a lathe set. I disagree with Beav, floats work great in all seasons...you just have to move them a bit more in the fall, as the rats are territorial then, not looking.

Spruce

What do you mean Spruce ? Lathe set ?

Here On my line In WI you could set a float or a stool In the fall right next to a hut or next to the bank. And you would be checking empty sets for a long time.
I have tried It 100s of times since I have over 400 stools just sitting around when I'm In WI.
Now Out In the Dakotas It's a different story. Work fairly well In the fall but really shine In the spring.

Since we don't have areal spring season I'm not sure how they would work here.

I also used that florescent green flagging and It worked really good. It must be the eye appeal. Because once I caught a rat the other rats would come up and chew off the rest of It.
Last spring I actually had rats chew off the PVC pipe. They sure liked that Lennons rat all call.

I question the validity of floats. Think it a phase that started in an un-realworld like muskrat explosion. Cumbersome and mediocre effective.

They are a killer set In the spring In the Dakotas. I'm pretty sure that's all most trappers use out there.

Try not to complicate things, dab of Lenons, dump and go.

Good Idea.

I hate to ask a stupid question but what do you mean by a stool?