A herd of 'rats, eh?

How about describing this river. Do you have runs going into the banks? Do you see where they're crawling up on the bank to get at roots and plants? You got cattails? Pictures?[/quote]

Since we are on the topic...

A muskrat group is called a 'colony, horde, pack, plague or swarm'.[/quote]
Thanks for. That . There is a massive plague of rats on this river.

I would lose the body grips and use foot holds. Set them In front of the pocket not In It. And you should have no more then 1" of water over the trap.

I agree with Beav. Scrap the #110s. Outside of runs or BE sets they are very sub par compared to a foothold. I've watched rats (some swimming in a run) get to the face of a #110 and do a 180.

Well I'll try it. Just need to get some ordered. All the leg holds I have are bg#2 coils

I wouldn't lose the 110's entirely, but would rely on foothold more. I prefer longsprings...Generally a #1 is all you need, but a 1 1/2 make a nice mink trap and gives you a better chance of holding a coon. As mentioned in the pm, a pocket set is good for all three. What Beav said about placement at the pocket is correct. If you put the trap to far in you may miss animals, especially mink which won't always enter. When you set the trap, twist the spring a bit towards the dog (right) so the loose has lays flat. I like to position the trap with the spring out from the pocket/bank which results in the rat coming in to the trap at such an angle that the spring will more quickly help drown it. The hip boots/waders I suggested will make life a lot easier and put you in position to find sign along the banks. As far as traps are concerned, dukes would be the cheapest and work fine. There are also a lot of used traps available. I use F & T fur harvesters and the share shop a lot for supplies. A pack basket of some sort would be advisable. Good Luck!

ok so for the interest of my posket book in general i'll rig up some rust bridger #2 coils i have sitting aoround. i never got my fox sets i wanted put in Who knows I might get luck and bag some rats by crushing them . will be prdering some earth anchors as the ground is just to much silt and gravel. stakes are not holding well. will tray the pocket sets though since it comes with a high regard. got some chiken livers to use up any way.

1.75s and #2s are my go to rat traps. Just bend the end of the dog down a bit so the trap will spring easier.
You won't crush any rats but you will get a nice high hold on them and the heavy trap will drown them In shallow water. Better then a stop loss In my opinion.

Exposed body grips may catch a rat or 2 but your going to get more refusals than catches.

Always wanted to say this . YOUTUBE LIES. LOL

If you guys insist on the leg hold I'm putting them in I just find it hilarious the vids all use body grips.

it's because they don't know how to use foot holds. LOL

Another set you don't want overlook is the toilet set. You can catch a lot of rats off of toilets, you will see their droppings and can figure out how they are climbing on whatever their using, whether it be the bank, a rock or a piece of wood. Set you a foothold or two and collect rats.

Not something I'll over look. Despite the mystery I know they have a hang out. I'll do that.

Toilets are a great location. But In most cases It's had to get your trap placed.
I make small sand bags out of shot sacks or old jeans. You can wiggle the trap down on that bag and It will set perfectly solid.

Well I got some earthanchors on order. A set tool as well. Hope that's enough to get the ball rolling. Thank you for the shared comments and knowledge