Greetings all, I am looking for some tips to get started trapping racoons. I am an experienced hunter and woodsman, but I have never trapped before. Constructive help and pointers / recommendations would be very much appreciated!

Make coyote or mink sets then wait raccoons will follow.

Look for large den trees and trails leading to them slap dps in middle of trail so they run into them. Any bait works for coon. Culvert walls blind sets up against wall. Basically along waters edge is great coon location

best advise join your trapper association. plus the NTA. go to your state meets. talk to trappers. ask someone to take u out on his line. if u were in Wisconsin I take u. watch u tube. coon very easy . to get numbers takes experience and lots of land.have fun with it. you will never stop learning ...good luck

And opossum.



Check out the basic sets part of the sight to get a general idea. Then set on sign. The basic dirt hole baited with mackerel and Duke 1.5 cool springs are how I started out. As you learn you will experiment with lots of other types of sets and variations of them. Conditions dictate changes and experiments.

Buy a couple dozen duke dps and a couple dozen duke 1 1/2 double jaw coilspring traps.Make pocket sets with the 1 1/2.Trap along water where you see coon tracks.

I make my own dp bait . 15 pound bag meow mix, small bottle malasis, 1 once of anis oil, cherry oil or cherry koolaid packets, some liquid smok, little fish oil, mini marshmallows. Mix it until well coated and just tacky. Don't want it so wet it gets soggy. Throw mix in freezer for long tear storage.Also bacon grease is good to

Tons of information in the archives on this site.

First thing is knowing the laws in your State and the trapping regulations and dates. Then come getting the right traps. Now the fun setting traps. Then come the work, putting the fur up for sale. Look at the total picture. JMO

what I do for coon
buy DP's
buy dog food and fish oil , mix I like to put the dog food about 2/3 of a gallon in a gallon jug add about 2 oz of fish oil , shake

find coon sign , trails , den trees

you can now set the DP at the sign stake it like your catching a small bear double stake swivel and two 16 inch 3/8 rebar stakes

pour the oiled feed in the trap no need to touch it soem fill half some fill just over trigger some fill to the top

set a Gatorade bottle with the bottom cut off and the label removed over the set trap so that it doesn't get soggy with the first rain or heavy dew. other things work but clear is nice to see bait level on your check

if the sign looks good and heavy set more traps but make sure they are staked far enough apart that 2 coon can't reach each other also try not to let them reach rooted vegetation they can pull harder than their weight if they have something to pull on. I had one get ahold of a wild grape vine , pulled about 20 feet of it out of a tree he was still in the trap but he was a big one.

Thanks to all for the responses. I think what I was mainly looking for was: 1) trap size, 2) bait recommendations, 3) type of setup.
How long do you let the traps set before you check them?
I'll be doing some trapping on the river, around low lying cornfields, as well as some very large swaths of mountain land / big timber.

Oh and welcome to Tman!! Check your state regs, our traps have to be checked every 24 hours here in Indiana.

I'm up to speed on regs and season dates, but I wasn't sure which size traps to get. I do some taxidermy already, and I have experience with coyotes (not trapping; nighttime hunting) so I'm looking forward to working on some coons

Buy some cages it will save you a lot of headaches if you start throwing the wrong traps in the wrong places we are all in trouble then.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to learning from guys who do it regularly. Same in VA its every 24 hrs except underwater body grip traps. My plan was to just check once a day, but was also interested in hearing from guys who do it.

if coons are the quarry no faster to set trap than a DP no bedding , just stake , bait . go , you can even pre bait and put a chunk of wooden dowel the top that keeps the bait in and the hole plugged and spring 95% compressed , squeeze set the dog stick it in the ground and drive the stake(s)

I use the dog food and fish oil many other options but my catch was always good with this simple mix.

here 24 hour check , personally you want to be there before 9am if you can at day break is good they tend to be very calm all night half will look like they are sleeping when you get there in the morning

set on sign and if there is enough sign to set 1 then set 2 traps if you catch 2 that night set 4 3 nights barring strange weather with no catch move traps to new location.

Good stuff, thanks

I think I'm going to start with just one, and try to get it placed well and setup properly. If I can get good results with one first, I'll move to 2 if there seems to be enough coons around.

If you are trapping along a river with coon sign along the shore, I would use Dog Proof traps. Instead of using stakes to hold the trap, I prefer to use small trees 2-3 inches in diameter. For bait I feel the best bait is jack mackeral. But, if you are afraid of catching domestic cats, use miniature marshmallows. Cats aren't attracted to the marshmallows, but coon, possum, and skunks are. These can all be caught in DP traps.

Hey mtn what part of VA you in. Eric