I am trying to get some rats out of some ponds under the ice but I am having very poor results. The ponds are all man made, one is very deep, another is appox 4-5 ft deep at the most. I tried to watch for bubble trails and chopped holes and set right below the ice with one spring 160's and 110's baited with apple & or carrots. I also found a spot where it was clear the bubble cam out of a shore den. The rest of the ponds have white ice (not clear) covering them about 4" thick. Does anyone have any other ideas I can try? In general I assume its better to stick as close to shore as possible and that's basically what I have done.

i have been having the same problem all of my ice is not clear.

2 laths wired together set the coni just under the bottom of the ice I put a piece of potato where the cotton ball is at let it sit 4-5 days, place about 10 feet off to the sides of rat huts or off of the bank.

Law Dog- That is pretty much what I have been doing, but I have not tried potatoes. I will give that a try, thanks.

Have you caught anything in the bubble trails?

Two lathes are twice what you need. Also, I have never used spuds for bait. Prefer carrot.

In addition I never bait the trigger. I bait the stake.

pic. rats ?

Same here- in deeper water, I use an 8' 1 x 2, with an adjustable PVC sleeve with coni-clip mounted to it. Baited with carrot , apple or parsnip jut set under the ice.

Stretch out the 160 on a lathe, leave the safety on the bottom one, use wire on top one to adjust height/hold in place...small popple sticks are great baittalso

Sounds like you are on the right track. Carrots are better than apples. They stay bright. Apples turn brown. 160s are way more effective than 110s. Don't check them every day.

2 laths make for a quick level adjustment and you never need to fish a trap off of the bottom this also allows for a cross stick in deep water areas. I like the potatoes because they "pop" under the ice (eye appeal) and they hold up well under the ice.

Here's old school. Footholds on a willow pole. I use seasoned willow poles so beaver don't take 'em. Bodygrips do work very well, I just like doing it this way. When trapping as a kid up on Lake Onalaska and backwaters of the Mississippi back in the 60s, we couldn't set a trap within three feet of a 'rat hut. And this is the way I trapped back then, though I used a small board as a base. Don't really need that as long as you position your finish nails correctly.

So you've got no way of knowing where the run is, could be too deep, could be there's snow on the ice, whatever the reason. I usually stake two or three of these per hut and then pull the ones that don't hit.



A triangular hole is cut with the spud when the ice isn't too thick yet, or I use an old gas powered Jiffy 10" ice auger to make three holes, then connect them with the spud.



Duke #1 1/2 coilspring is my go to trap. Finish nails will anchor the trap in place when set. Also a good place to skewer the potato chunks. Be sure to nip the heads off the finish nails so the jaws don't hang up. I use potato chunks. Cheap, easy to apply, shine bright in the water like tubers, and stay white in the cold water. I run a piece of 16 gauge wire through a chunk and run that just inside the trap in case the top pieces get chewed off and the 'rat hasn't been caught yet.



Always a pretty site when you lift the pole. And you can see better the position of the nails.



And the 'rat. This was ol' Ruby, who has passed on a couple of years ago now. Ruby was able to "tell" me which huts were active and which weren't. Got a new pup now and will be anxious to see if he will follow in Ruby's steps.



Again, it's old school, bodygrips would be much quicker and less screwing around with the poles, but again for me it's a walk back 50 years ago and I reflect on the joys of being a kid again when Christmas came with a lift of a willow pole for this trapper.

My go to bait is the small carrots in a bag.

If I get hungry for a snack, pop one in your mouth.

They do hold their color a lot longer than apple.

Some, use a piece of white plastic on the trigger.

If you have trouble locating the exits from a rat house, wrap a 2 inch wide piece of aluminum foil around the stake.

I have been checking them every day, why is that not good?

I have got one or two

Reminds me of my buddy's dog. She could tell the good houses. She would even take the rats back to the sled.

I have my best luck after after 2-3 days. They seem to work the sets best when things have calmed down from all the pounding and racket. I like to set heavy, let them soak for a few, then come back and collect my rats. After a few soaks it's time to move on.

upside to checking daily is ice is thinner to chop through

When you do have bubble trails coming out into the open you can set in the general vicinity knowing you're going to have 'rats passing close. Here I've got both a slant pole set out in the run and a body grip up tight to the hut.



If you've got 'rat huts back in the marsh and no clue as to where the runs are, just set your baited bodygrips/footholds out in the open. They'll find 'em.



With the green disc thing going around this forum awhile back I took to tying green flagging above the tater chunks. Couldn't tell whether it made all that much difference or not.



Early ice I'll use the 12' jon boat as my sled, providing there isn't much snow on the ice. Makes a great sled and when crossing iffy ice I get behind it, hands on the transom, and push while running. Hear the ice cracking under me I leap into the boat and either scoot across the ice or break through and float. Use the spud to dig my way out after pushing to thicker ice. Makes life more exciting.