Take one lath slide your trap down the lath with both springs pulled up tight to the jaws. That makes It easier to get the trap on the stake. Then when you have your desired depth just pull the springs out as far as they will go. This will lock up the trap.

When working with a one spring trap do the same thing but then take a zip tie and tie up the bottom corner of one jaw to the stake. This will lock up that trap and you can still slide the trap up and down to get your desired depth. If your stakes are to big to go through the spring eyes just use 2 zip ties to fasten the trap to the stake.



My best bait Is either grape fruit peels or orange peels. They show up and keep their color better then any other bait.

I have given up on 110 body grips for rats under the ice.

My go to is a single spring 160 size. I then add a safety hook. Makes it easier setting.

Once we get good ice, I'll try the orange peel.

What beav said. Two springs are better and orange peels are good. Although potatoes work, they do go bad quicker. I have used half ears of corn, too...a little tricky but work good. Now if we would just get some decent ice.

I have used white closed cell foam(hi density, it can be compressed, not polystyrene bead foam) with good success for years. It stays white, doesn't go bad if frozen and goes and stay on trigger well. But a couple of years ago I was curious about other colors and a did a field test with white, orange and lime green wrapped on a wire and put below the ice. I put out 40 of them for three days. White was chewed or gone on 28, orange was hit on 11 and lime green was GONE on 39! I've been using lime green ever since. I get the rod shaped pool "noodle" kid swim toys for $2 and cut them into 1/2 disks(some noodles are hollow but it doesn't matter). Last season took over 200 m'rats(daily checks) with 20 baited 160's in two weeks before ice was too thick.

dont mean to hijack the thread but how do you keep the holes open later in the season?

If you have enough snow just pile it up over the hole. If no snow to speak of, your out of luck and you just spud thicker ice!

If it isn't getting below the 20's a daily check only makes about an inch of ice a night until ice gets about 6" thick. If its colder I use 12" sq's of cloroplast(repurposed political signs) holes stay open down to about zero and it pops loose from ice pretty easy.

Will have to try the orange peel..... and the lime green

Some people like those muskrat 'hockey pucks.' They're designed for ~160s but can be trimmed for a 110.

How so? Photo?

I think you need to stay on the small side when using bait on the triggers. My reasoning Is when a rat Is swimming It's pushing water ahead of it. And that wave might just spring that trap before the rat Is committed. So the bigger the bait surface the more pressure Is created against the bait.

Maybe I'm wrong but It's something t think about.