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.