A friend and I are planning a trip to unfamiliar territory. We are planning to run over 100 traps. I am worried about not remembering where we set our traps. He says he can remember where we set them i am not.so sure. I have onx hunt and I think you can use it like a GPS though I have never tried it. The cellphone reception may not be good either. Any suggestions are appreciated

Wright it down and use flagging tape at the minimum.

Set heavy, flag the area you will use up them traps quickly the same number of traps at every set to keep track of them.

IMO, flagging sets is asking for trouble. The ONLY time I flag sets is on private land at the owner's request. I've never came across a spot that my pen and paper didn't get reception...I take detailed notes as to where and how many.

Keep in mind that snow can significantly change your memory. I would take cell phone pics of the set and note distances from specific unmovable objects. Have a method of labeling the photos and cross referencing them back to your notebook. And have a metal detector for backup if it snows.

One thing is for sure, do not rely on memory alone. A few pointers that I find helpful:

Detailed notes with picture references like mentioned.

When you pull the line, pull the whole line...not just here and there.

Cross off stops on the notebook as you pull them.

Take a before and after inventory of traps each day. Make sure everything adds up...it's easy to add to an already existing stop and forget to jot down the new sets in the notebook The time to figure it out is the day it happens. Not a week later when you're pulling the line.

Pocket notebook like retriever suggested.
At times I do flag, about 10 steps before the actual sets so should a theif look at the flag they won’t find traps.
Have found different boot tracks at some flags and no missing trap further up path so I think it works to throw Johnny Sneakum a curve.

I use flagging in the marshes. It doesn't matter if it's open water or solid ice. When we get a foot of snow overnight, most everything looks totally different. I also keep a log book and write down the #traps/location. I don't use it much in the woods, but there have been times when I really wish I had

Me too. In MN we can set inside rat houses. I always flag every trap for that very reason. A snowstorm over night, without flags you will lose some traps, especially if you set the small pushups.

Every stop I make along a creek or river the number of traps and type of traps that were set. An example at one location: 2 DPs, 2-1 1/2 coils, 2-330s. I have never lost any traps using this method.

I typically run 25 to 40 sets on my beaver/otter river lines. I move traps after 3-5 checks. If I didn't flag the traps I would be in big trouble. Even at that I lose 2-3 traps every year that I forgot where they'd been set. Sometimes find them years later.

For me a GPS would not be practical as I would have to fumble out of my gloves and it would just take too much time. I do find that after my first check my mind cements the location. It is during that first check that if I missed one I'm sunk from there on out.

I have used the onx app in the past. Similar reception issues too. You can create a map of the area you will be in under the offline maps tab (while at home) and when you get to the trapping area you can load the offline map. Then you can run without any wifi or cell service as long as the GPS is turned on. It will track you and all, there is even a trap icon for when you set a way point. (FYI it marks it at the crosshairs not on your location)

The saved map doesn't zoom in and out with as much detail, or at least the ones I saved didn't. But it helped me map out my route.
I liked using this when I ran a week up in the national forest. Onx showed most of the logging/fire lanes off the more main 2 track roads.

Predator traps are easy for me to remember, except for one thing. If I. stop at a location, look around and don't set a trap, the next trip through, I will think I set there and waste valuable time looking for sets that aren't there. Other than that, I don't have much trouble. That coming from a geezer that can't remember what I did fifeteen minutes ago! My wife dings me, says you can remember where you caught a critter and where your traps are, and can't remember who I am! lol

For me a notebook with details is the way to go. Location, type of trap, type of set, and bait/lure used. Print satellite view "maps" of the areas you trap and designate general locations on the maps that you can reference in your location notes. Keep the notes current by updating before you leave the set site any time a change is made. Diligence is your friend.

If you are using OnX maps with your phone as GPS you can download maps to your phone ahead of time. Then, whether you have service or not, it won't matter. The phone GPS function is off the satellite system not off cell towers and the map is already in your phone.

I would use a GPS, using waypoints. Flagging just sets up yourself for theft. I have always trapped in snow and wolf, wolverine sets stay in the same place all winter, easy to forget. Saved me a few times. I Also have a metal detector when I would loose a #9. Winters are long and dark and the mind doesn't always work as good as you think. Sourdough and I were taking Ginko Baloba to keep our minds sharp, LOL

I just looked where your at and if cell service is sketchy a Garmin GPS would work good. They have a variety of prices and they work on sattelites, always work! 100 traps are a lot to catalog and a GPS is a push of the buttons. Also you can use it as your map if your in unfamiliar country!

Good Luck!

Now that I'm older I mark some sets.Sometimes with a wee bit of flagging tape or sometimes just a broken branch,
When I was younger I knew exactly where the next set was after looking at the one before it-like a photographic memory.
When running jackpots with multiple snares,I set the same amount of snares at each jackpot so I know I have looked at them all.
If you set 12 snares at one jackpot and 8 at another and 6 at another you will miss some.

I marked my general set locations along the trail or road with ribbon. In the case of bait station snares I marked the number of snares on the road ribbon and each individual snare with a blaze orange painted clothes pin, pinned on a limb or bush above or near the snare, no fluttering ribbon.

I sustained a head injury, the memory got so bad that I quit trapping completely. Wife brought me a garman GPS, and Birdseye sat. imagery. and you don't need one with all the bells and whistles. Mine is an ETREX 20X. Got me out of a couple of messes when I got turned around in the big woods. Just a reminder always carry a couple of extra batteries with you.

On a GPS your trips can be down load on your computer anytime. It will show your waypoints and the trail or road you took. Really good for returning next year and can show the locations that produce the best.

On cattail marshes I flag sets. Deep set conibears I will mark with a stake that goes above the waters surface. I only use flagging on these if it's what I feel is a low risk spot. In riskier spots I just use a tree branch to mark the spots. I have used a piece of white or yellow Mason string as flagging with success. It doesnt grab people's eyes like ribbon.

For you guys worrying about using flagging tape do this.Tie a knot on a branch and cut off the ends after.It is not noticeable at all unless you are looking for it.

The place we are going is public and a very big area. I have not trapped it but my buddy has. I may look at trying to figure out the onx maps. Forgetting where I left a trap dont really bother me as much as getting a call from a warden that I got a coyote in a trap a long ways from home.

Notebook works great but a $100 GPS is the best. I Go Trapping APP is good but needs cell coverage and takes a minute after you make the set to record it. I use it and a notebook