This year has seen monumental rainfall in NE WI. The Great Lakes are at the highest recorded level since 1986 so here is my problem. The rivers and streams that I trap are part of the Green Bay basin. There is so much water in the bay that it is backing up the rivers rather than the water flowing out to the bay. Consequently, the water is two - three feet higher than normal and has been since the spring.

All my traditional trapping sites are now under deep water so.... where do I go from here? Of course I will be out scouting as the season gets closer but I am looking for advice from those of you who have gone through this before.

Brian

I have seen the same thing in the rivers and marshes around here. I am taking a "wait and see" plan right now cause August/September may be drier. The ditches along cornfields are water filled and I have seen some muskrat sign. If these ditches remain this way they are dynamite early season locations using mostly colony traps. I have permission on a couple such places and they are looking good. The rats will set up home and feed on that corn until freezeup/harvest and then move back to the rivers IMO.

Noah built the ark, I build floats.

For muskrats:









For beaver:





I like mine V-shaped so they track in the current. Working on a 'coon set with the HagZ bracket that attaches to a tree underwater with the trap below the surface and the attractant above the water line.

Sure would be nice to see the river drop to normal for awhile.

Are you using a 330 for the beaver float or a foot hold ? Peeled stick only or lure also ?

i've been in the same area for a long time and have learned the spots to target during flooding waters.that and aint nothing like the catch when the waters rise.

#330 in the beaver float. Peeled sticks with smear of castor and this spring I also went with a little poplar bud oil, which probably explained the muskrats I was also catching (the Beav smartened me up on that). The peeled sticks are wired in a tight bundle and wired to the float through staples on top the float.

In that top photo you can just see the fired #330 with the head of the beaver submerged. Here's another float showing the same.



Ice out and the floats go in with the fluctuating water levels.



We were experiencing rain so I smeared the castor into a plastic cup and wired that to the bundle also. Looks dorky, but works. Beaver don't care.



Warm temps in March and rain caused this scene to go from this . . .



. . . to this in just a couple of days.

Thanks for the responses and ideas.

Thanks, will be trying that for sure this season.

For those who tinker . . . I'm adding a HagZ bracket onto the lower lip of my muskrat floats this year that will suspend a coilspring underwater. Two traps per float. Will experiment to see if the suspended trap will efficiently enough catch the first muskrat without firing the second trap on the float. Might even suspend two coilsprings side by side on a few just to see results. Question would be how that muskrat approaches the back end of the float. Squared up in the center, or at times off to one side.