I've seen numerous posts and questions on here over the last couple of years on how to catch muskrats along ponds, streams, marshes, ditches, wetlands.....you name it. The easiest, no frill, no bait, no nothing, is sign trapping. Make a fake "mud slide" along the bank, ditch, muskrat hut (cabin)...anywhere, and place a #1 or 1 1/2 at the base. Stake the trap out a bit to deeper water, and you will catch them. They see and smell that fresh mud, and BAM, they are yours to harvest.

do you have a problem with beaver seeing the slide and messing up your set

No beaver here

Skip the 110's.


You can make these sign sets as close as you want.

Don't mess with disposable stakes. Use long (6'-8') pieces of willow or similar stakes. You want soft mud.

1 to 2"

So this set really works? Is it a sure thing or a long shot I mean obviously it connected at least once for you lol

I've caught over a thousand rats in a week using this specific set marsh trapping, as well as other trappers in NW Ohio.
It is the staple of rat trapping large marshes.

Wow!!! Good enough for me lol I will have to give it a try so how does it hold up if you dont know if there are rats in the area is it a good way to find out if they are there or do you have to know there is a stable population to work?

suredve,
this is what is working for my girls and i so far. my daughter thought of this invention! we use wooden lats from the lumber yard. they are about 4-5' long and fit perfect in a ring. push in the mud and you are set. the stake works as a drowner stick also. the lats look just like a cattail at night though, so we put reflective tape on the lat and is easy to find! try it with 110's also, works great as a stabilizer.

huskerkids

Results from the top pic. Sign trapping.

Ok I do think I will give it a shot

could you dig your own "ledge" and just transplant that mud?

I ask because the area where I trap has a QUICK dropoff, and there is no place to bed a trap, but if I dug my own ledge and used the mud to make a slide, it would work.

Exactly

ahh, a method to trap the dikes that doesn't involve finding the den entrances...i like it, i'll use it in a week and report back

lol

snowman....most are taking this post for granted.....trust me.


Good luck suredve

that's probably a good thing

cj how do you use this set in the marsh?

Done that a few times but I really do not like setting slides if there are other good set locations nearby.

I agree if there are runs and good feed beds, but typically, the bulk will be made of sign trapping....especially if you are unleashed on a 300 acre marsh littered with cabins.

Wish I had some marshes to trap rats, nothing but river rats and pond rats down here.

Thanks for the tip! CJ any tip from you is definately worth taking advantage of from what I see and hear.I'll definatly be tryin that out! Thanks again!

The problem I have with using footholds is wring outs so I quit using them. Even with deep water, they are not drowning. I totally agree with your technique and I end up passing on a lot of sign just like you have pictured due to the rats escaping I have already lost half a dozen with footholds this week alone.

The weight alone of a 1 or 1 1/2 will drown a rat if you have deep enough water....WITH NO abstructions...ie...cattail, weeds, etc.
This is a sure fire set. If you have rats getting away, there is something other than deep water allowing it.

Foot note:

If you happen to have a subscription to T&PC, I wrote an article on this very topic. You may have to dig, but it's in the 2002, Aug issue, entilted, "Mudslide Muskrats"

CJ's thread describing his intent and description has worked for my muskrat trapping efforts, long before his ink, for well over 50 years of trapping for them. The advice is simple and deliberate. No need for a #110 in this situation; however, they do have their place in the muskrat drama, but not here.

My "willow" stakes punched securely into the muck through the trap's ring in Wisconsin marshes for forty years of muskrat trapping, with a 1-1/2 long spring Victor nailed through it, has been sufficient to capture my target muskrats. And, without fault, to catch and drown incidental raccoon, mink and otter that happened by. Never lost one of either in that incarnation of the set.

Jonathan

Frozentoes, how long are the chains on your traps? I add 18"-24" of chain to all my rat traps, and stake the trap so the rat can't get out of the water. I very seldom have a wring-off, and very seldom have a rat that isn't drowned.

What kind of setup are you using on your traps frozen? I use a lot of 1.5's for rats and most of them are drowned in less than a foot of water even on sliders.

Good post CJ!!!! Appreciate the pics!

CJ, have you trapped that pond where we caught the Snapper this summer? There was all sorts of sign in that one.

I have some old #1 longsprings with the factory chain. I then added about 2 feet of wire to the end of the chain. I then wire the trap to a stake and set on the runs much like was described above. But, I will admit that I did place them in places where there were reeds and stuff. From reading some of the replies, I can see I need to be in "cleaner" areas so the rat will head to the water ASAP. I still have a few in the boat and I think I will give this another try and do it the way it is described here

i know i sure am trying it this afternoon when i get out of school!! Great post CJ!

suredve, it might work. Just remember it's a simple set, so just like all trapping sets, none of it is rocket science. Just keep it simple and it will work.

put 16 sets out, half were #1 long springs in the method as described above, except i set quite a few existing mud slides and made a few of my own, i staked the traps as deep as i possibly could to keep the trap where i wanted, will my Long springs weigh enough to drown the rats alone or not?? I also made a few floats today i will set out after work tomarrow afternoon, thanks again for the GREAT post CJ and the helpful info from everyone else!!