Awesome....I picked up another pair this morning and spied out another spot that I will move traps to tomorrow. Plus I have plenty of rat meat for making mink sets with too.

The morning walks with my pack basket and .22 are actually helping my back feel better, as long as I keep my hamstrings stretched I'm good to go.

Now I'm looking forward to filling some mink boards.

i'm just the opposite,walkin is makin my back hurt--think its the counterweight i put on over summer.

i picked up 4 rats and a buck mink on my first check yesterday and got a few more spots set.

did figure out i probably will catch more rats in blind sets for mink than if i chase them up here.

good luck

Work is kinda getting in my way.....

BUT....today I finish up and don't go back until Dec. 9th. Time to get my trapline expanded and PA rifle season going.

I have at least six bridges and multiple culverts to set up starting tomorrow morning. I might even go make a couple sets tonight too.

Crap I'm almost out of rat stretchers and saw quite a few rats just swimming around this morning while I was checking.

One of the local beavers isn't very shy either. He swam right across my boots while I was remaking a set. I guess I was in his way.

Good luck right back at you.

Two of three today were in the foothold sets I made, both 1-1/2 DJ coil springs, strange how that stuff works...

Up to now these sets with the footholds, they're all blind sets in obvious runs to food, haven't shown any activity at all and then one night, bang, two of them.

Made a few set-n-go type bottom edge sets today at bridges and culverts...we'll see what happens. I'm thinking mink...

Got to make more plates for more sets, that's coming too as I got the materials, steel and trap clips, <--- this works well and so do the fiberglass stakes in the mud.

The aluminum collars on the fiberglass holding a body grip trap is absolutely deadly. (still have debug work to do on those) But It makes setting runs in the mud that you can see from above a breeze.

don't shoot a pistol in there,just sayin.

Hahahaha...yeah I won't. I thought about that too.

Well it's definitely time to change things up on the rat and mink line.

I'm only going to take a few more rats off the surrounding ponds that I haven't touched yet and re-set many of these traps in sets specifically targeting mink.

Got a nice jar full of muskrat meat and I'm making PVC pockets that hold 110 size BG's.

And I need to learn to use the bottom edge set.

Well, I have fresh mink tracks, but no mink in traps.....yet.

Something I really love about running traps, you're always in school and there are always new lessons to learn.

Making some new sets this morning, we'll see what happens.

He was here, my traps weren't, now they are...


I put my pvc pipe cubby back into the bank, muskrat parts for bait, bottom edge set under the muddy water off the point lower right..
I made two of those pipe cubby sets today and put in another bottom edge set...


Looking up the creek mink tracks go under the grass/bank on the left. A beaver or two run right down the middle of this regularly.

Moving rat traps to a new permission private pond that's also polluted with them. They can't believe someone wants to trap it....

That 2nd picture looks like an old drained beaver pond to me for some reason......

Yep, no doubt, and there is a pair of dams just upstream around the corner from it with a single or two youngsters living in a bank hut.

I caught 18 rats out of here in less than a quarter mile and there are still plenty of muddy holes each morning.

Right now I'm trying to catch this mink, and others if possible..

But we have beaver all over here, every place I go there's a dam and ponds, and awesome habitat for fur.

well done,i was surprised at the amount of ice here this mornin.

Thanks man. I definitely had to break things up to pull this morning. If it's going to freeze up I hope it just drops and stays there.

I guess it's time for through ice trapping and maybe some more bridges and culverts.

I like the idea of a trowel walking stick and a few traps tucked away in the coat pockets. I can see that.

Thanks for the cool post, JT.