I hear ya.

That there is funny.

Not quite as good as your video line, "This ain't not internet trappin'. It's puttin' beans on the table." The boys and I have quoted you a thousand times on that one. Usually right after a hellacious mistake ending in waders full of water or a hand in a trap.

Good chisel to 8 inches....Chain saw when da ice gets tick. Back to chisel when it gets rotten (NOW)
Usually most on my rats are caught under ice due to season limitations. See the state of wi don’t like us trapping thru March and I don’t like the little dinks in October. Full disclosure I will fall trap for $10 rats. Less and I choose to wait. We rarely get a day or two of “open water “ in Spring...guess we all have our hang ups

Right now although the marsh is froze, we are delayed by a recent snow storm a top of rotten ice. It’s cooling off so she should stiffen up but sometimes March ice and snow gets tricky. I’ll see if I can get anything going in the next few days. We are done March 15.

So you can't do the 5 days after Ice out any more?

I made a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) of a chisle few years back, actually 1/2 doz or so, and tried to sell them.....bout like anything in trapper market, if ya try to make TOO good, and charge for what takes in real world, you cant sell any, LOL

full size axe head, drilled in center of flat 3/4" dia and till it about intersects handle hole...then I took solid 7/8 bar, and turned 2" of it on my lath to 3/4" weld into axe on low a heat as possible, and air cool slow......I took pr of ATV handle grips, and cut out capped ends. on first grip slid on, had a hex head double split collar above below grip....that allows adjustable grip your preferce and grip, quick and easy, and absulutly no slip via split collars , and enough height above/below your grip your hand wont slip off grip......same on top with bottom collar, but 3-3 1/2 solid washer with 3/8 hole drilled and tapped, bolted on rear washer that wouldnt slip throu grip, but removable for grip changing......its a 12 lb beast, that if ya throw shoulders in would plow thru about ANY rat hut, 2-3 blows no matter how big or hard frozen, once thru widen in 1/2 doz or less blows......on ice its a beast and 1/2 due to weight mass, and doest throw ice chips in face.....8" ice bet i can give jiffy 5" headstart and still hit water first.....had to dam carefull ya didnt drop on toe as pr cheap boots its gonns draw blood, if kept sharp.....thats part of split collars, w/o its too easy to slip thru hands.....where really shined checking huts and popping out frozen plug, 3/4" -5/8 dia bars ya bend in time, but not that 7/8.

it was a bit much to pack around all day walking, but up on front bars of atv it was a dream.......it would wear me out trying to run a new string of huts at start of day, and usually still used the saw, but as checking and you come across couple here and there, or wanna pop in a spur of doz or 2 traps, was great, not having to deal with a cold and/or froze up chainsaw, also just ditched the saw and especially the gas can day after setting till next full day setting....if ya had to pull chainsaw more than once, it was faster than a saw if ya threw your back into it......really plows thru wood froze into ice like a feedpile, etc.....anyone doing lots of ice or winter hut work should build one and try it, youll love it...just be carefull or youll get nicknamed 2 toes.....dandy frozen dirt mud trap tool but needs sharpened fairly regular, once dulled its 1/2 as good

Not for years really. It reads March 15 or 5 days of open water, which ever comes first. Needless to say it hasn’t closed before March 15. 6 or 8 years ago she allowed us to march 31 for two consecutive years.

Yea Rich. I am a firm believer in a good chisel. Betsy is 7/8 hex with a t handle and industrial hose taped on the sides for grip. If I use the T it beats up my wrist. RR plow blade 2 1/2” head. 8” length with a loonnngggg taper.

Maybe a dumb question but does anyone use 110's on a float? Does anyone have a picture of that set up?


Thanks
B

buttwelding shaft on end of axeheads usually always breaks under hard use, thats reason drilled and plug welded so to speak, most axe heads can be drilled, pilot drill 1/4" jump in bits, sloooow speed, plenty of oil, and takes so shimming and good vise to clamp/keep straight w/o slipping in vise.....prolly bring a few axe head collector to tears they looked over the batch i made......ive got bout 100 nice industrial black tacky grips that work perfect I could sell a guy pretty reasonable someone wanted to build one....you want a nice tacky grip, not the hard smooth slick one, and actual moto or atv grips kinda pricey i found

Ive seen some in SD, and one guy had a fair string of them, but cant say i ever i ever saw a rat in one....looked a little confining even for a stupidtime rat.........just try a baited one, 1/2 in/out water, carrot centered too, trigger upside down.....better yet, a 150 or even 220, get lots of misses 110s unless real good triggers, and then still....

MB Coonguy, wanting to converse with bout your sucess w/ fall floats......1st question:

How many illegals you keep chained in basement to keep up with skinning off 750 traps? LOL

On serious side, i do hear guys dakotas and more ND guys that do well with fall floats.....and i can definatly see advantanges in big marshes....one, being just cruise edges of reeds as opposed crashing thruo the shallow slop chasing huts with boat....Im guessing kinda like baited conis, dont need super specific location, but staying edge of reeds w/o entering them much, setting points, corner turns, heavyer when next to lots of huts back in the salad,etc ????

Do you trap slews with mostly huts? if so do you see a catch ratio based on number huts? like catch 2 per, 3 per hut or whatever? or do ya catch 2,4,6 per float?

I definatly see in boat handling, simplicity of set, etc, where it would be great with right water and right boat.....you could cover stuff fast that system for sure....and motoring into the slop, getting a go-devil boat stuck fully loaded in 6" water aint a lot of fun thats for sure, and im guessing your avoiding most of that?

Id kinda think what ive seen 6 states of rat trapping over the years, as you moved south, you would see your system getting less effective farther south you went.....im kinda guessing maybe your longer colder winters spurs on more frantic hutbuilding, fall feeding frenzy of sorts maybe leading to more climbing up on stuff for possible hut building locations? do you get piles (huts) starting to get built on your floats in fall? An oldtimer who couldnt trap, hung out with me in skinning shed 3-4 a week to talk trapping with me first winter in SD outta Waubay (NE corner of state) and he said bout all he used was boards all fall, and he trapped fulltime rats till he was 40 or 50, he said wasnt particular about board, square board 2x2 or whatever, and piled 4 no 1 on each one for most part. think he said 100s of traps......said he caught over 200 rats day Kennedy was shot, never forgot cause was so warm he was down to t-shirt that day.....at that time i never even had a spring float season under my belt, so i didnt really know what to really ask him...he passed away that next year when i tried to look him up.

after 4 springs in dakotas, and things dryed up, was stuck here, and had a good little constitant rat lake couple miles outta town....real thick reeds, and heavy huts for size....i got bright idea, to put out 6-8 floats, minus the traps week before season to bait rats over to me....screwed like 15-20 screws each plain old flat rat board, 20 big whole carrets each board, and gospel truth NOT A SINGLE FLOAT had a single bite out of a carrot, or a turd etc on them after sitting 3 days....couldnt believe what i saw....rats still good money that year yet, was like when they dropped back -7-8 avr from the 10 dollar years, and i was trying to have the rats baited over me and a gang set in case i had compitition so i could cream them quicker.....so i didnt even worry bout setting single trap on float.....other years same deal a less that 10% catch rate or prolly less, so never worried bout fall float....now that same fall, and baited conis did fine, maybe not smoking hot but did good 40 or % first check, but i hammered 4 0r so traps per hut all 20-ish huts on this little lake....but they wouldnt crawl up on floats for nuttun for a carrot smorgashborg......your thoughts?

I use floats up here because the water can fluctuate 12" overnight with the right wind on the backsides of this big lake. I only can use them in the fall, not the optimum time, but it is a method of keeping a set working.

I have stated before floats or stools don't work for me In the fall In WI. And since we don't have a spring season I don't know how they would work here.

but In ND they work both In the fall and the spring.

Hey Rich

Glad to see you back on here-we've all missed you great sense of humour!

I don't have any illegals skinning for me-but I do have a skinner who can almost keep up when the catching is good.

You are right for the most part when I trap marshes-cruise the edges a lot and set floats every 50 yards or so,but I still go right into the heavy bullrush and fragmites.using 6 and 8 ft fibreglass plus for stakes.they don't get flagged till the first check because of entanglement when trying to set.All my traps are pre-set before the opening of the season-all Duke and bridgers 1 1/2 coils-set and zip tied/50 per tub.floats are bundled in dozens-2 position(6) and tied with string,4 position(6)-so 12 traps and 24 traps per bunch
due perspectively.as far as setting out floats like you did in the fall-I do this as well.My floats are all in position for opening morning on the marsh (without traps of course) to get the rats used to the floats etc..So opening morning all I am doing is setting traps onto floats with carrots as bait ETC..My Jon boat is a 14x 48 modified V alumacraft with pods welded onto the rear for extra flotation with a 14 h.p. Backwater Mud Motor etc..,but I welded loops onto the side along both sides of the boat to run a piece of 1/2" rebar through to stop the boat by sticking it into the bottom.All my floats have a smear of Lennons Muskrat lure-its waterproof and it works exceptionally well.

Yes the rats will pile a ton of reeds and mud onto the floats-even build houses over them-or start to anyway LOL.Sometimes the marshes have houses all over and sometimes they are not so many of them.Here's the killer though-in order to keep track of all the floats on the water-I use a fish finder with a bigger screen and start with a cookie trail-each float is hit with a way point so I can follow my path the next day and not miss a single float.Each track is saved after each day in a different color so I know whether I have checked the float or not.catching is usually very good for a few days,but once the float stops catching I pick it and hop scotch it past the end of the line to new water-this is done after 2 pulls to keep the catch consistent for days to come.Some floats whether its 2 or 4 position will catch 2 or 4 rats respectively each and every day for the entire open water fall season.YES THIS IS FALL FLOAT TRAPPING. All of my floats have screw eyes to attach traps to with spring clips,finishing nails to hold the traps on when its waves and a 1" hole in the centre for the pole.

All stakes are also bundled into dozens so I know exactly how many traps and stakes are needed for each boat launching spot-re; most the time it is 2 or 3 spots for the day depending upon rat population etc.

Trailer for the boat is custom built to handle the launching areas be somewhat sketchy at best-re-straight into the marsh from a mud road.15" tires heavy duty axle etc..plus the bonus of adding a 4000 lb electric winch to haul the boat full of wets rats and gear back onto the trailer without blowing a nut if ya know what i mean.Rear lights are elevated onto the tops of the side bars so I always know where the trailer is when backing up etc..as well they are protected from rocks down all the gravel roads.Wiring is all encased in metal tubing for protection as well.

My 73 year old buddy helps me out pretty well all the time-helps me out quite a bit-tells me all the time what I am doing wrong-He makes me realize how stupid I was before I met him-(sarcasm here)LMAO.

Im getting tired now as work nights, but we do a LOT of things the same or similar from GPS, colored routs, boat set up, trailer etc.....some stuff ive thought of but havnet yet......my boat old 15x42 mod joh lowe with 14 hp go devil, want to try pods too and will asking about them your experience....I found one deal im gonna have on boat next year....theyve got undercoatings, real slick stuff for air boats but mudmotor guys are using now too,,,,gator glide and frogg snot are 2 brands.....read up on it on mudmotors.com....think be well worth the 100 bucks (less our sized boats i think, could do 2 per can i think). one of them guys says he can slide one hand his big 18' all weld jon and SD gatortrack or whatever they are called.....say it makes a lot of differece slideiing over shallow vegitation in water.....like times about stuck but not totally, but gotta heave ho to get back moving, or bore a hole with motor to start moving.....if it reduced force by 30-40% even it would be well worth it.....ill be back need to hit the hey right now....nightshift

MB, ever try that nice bright duck (brand) tape for a permanint flag, works great and last for years, stick to itself so ya got a 3-4" flag that sticks straight out even no wind, very visalbe, and can roll up around your rod and slip rubber band to keep tight against stake and not a mess,, cut 2" piece of plastic tubing, the black stiff stuff works best as slides on rod. can cover with tape too, friction tight but slides easy.....slide up one ft one day, slide down next day, any out of sync ya know ya missed, i dont bother with it much anymore as use garmin gps and waypoint everything now days.....still using iddy biddy 2x3screen gps, piece of tubing glude to side to hold a pen or dowel and punch small screen w/o using muddy fat fingers.....works well but be nice to have a big screen model

My buddy just had a 19' boat built and had gator slide put on the bottom. I asked him if he unhooks the boat and backs in, he said heck no I wouldn't even get close to the water! He said he can push it off the trailer with one hand on dry ground.

thats what i ment to say, guy pushes on trailer with one hand when could hardly budge before

I did a few last year. Just a board and foam with MB brackets to hold the trap and carrots on the trigger. The MB brackets aren't quite right for that setup as the trap will often slip down submerging the bait. If I do it again I'll try the Snuggy type brackets which should keep better tension on the trap jaws. FnT has them. I'm also using 150s instead of 110s. Gives a little more reach to the trap because the rat is just messing with the carrot and not trying to swim through.

It did work though.

Inefficient, I agree to disagree. In an almost froze out marsh situation, you ain't planting green poles or plotting strategic bodygrips, no way, no how! Even if you magically found an ice chambered run down into the depths of a mud tunnel, how many mushrats will that lead too? How many spear holes are you willing to cut out in a day? The goal is to manage the surplus population by any legal means necessary. And to be honest, if my fingers were physically fit, I would be demanding 100/125 day checks. No different than open water. Keep it rolling 4 months straight!

If I am considered in the banana belt, south east Wisconsin is the tropics! Totally different in many ways.

A bit invasive? Are you looking for a pet muskrat? I have the upmost respect for you Chris, you are a true trapper, and wealth of hidden information... and between you, Rich, and Steve, I have been very fortunate to pick up the cookie trail left behind. But I know when is enough to stop asking. Time will learn me the rest I suppose.

Now if I can only succeed in persuasion, us Minnesota hut busters might finally be learned in the many things revolved around the true spring thaw, floats and all.