Got on the water soon after dawn, and it was 20*F, a bit nippy.

With the wind finally dead flat calm, we set Stony Creek
and dropped in a dozen #160's and 2 #330 beaver sets.

Loaded the canoe and headed down to Sandy Pond to check
the eight set we had there after a two day soak.

Somebody helped themselves to one of my Victor #1.5 Stoploss
that we had set on a rat toilet log a few inches under the water.
on a six foot conduit stake. They took the trap but left the stake.

Called the ECON game warden to report the theft and cover M.A.

Ended up with 5 rats all together and reset the beaver set that
caught the beaver two days ago.

Hope to string some more beaver and rat steel in the morning if it's calm.

Stay Tuned.

walleyed

Do you move your sets every third day? I've found after 2 days catching you're better off to move than stay another day, it's always a lower percentage catch for me.

If I'm running a lot of sets, yes.

It's an odd year with no feed beds and very few rat toilets because of the extreme low water.

It's almost all bank dens which are taking the place of floats this year for me.

Lot of habitat is not accessible due to the low water.

I'm just screwing around with just a few sets any way.

No gas in the tank this spring for walleyed.

w

walleyed started his day with disappointment
as the Easter Bunny did not visit last night
and leave any Easter eggs, solid chocolate bunny,
or yellow marshmallow peep chicks in our basket.

Stony creek produced 6 rats and two beaver.

We set yet another #330 in the channel to the lodge.

Sandy Island Beach channel to South Sandy Pond
produced 5 rats including the trap thought stolen
yesterday.

walleyed spotted it about 15 feet from where the stake
was, all wrapped up in a wad of aquatic vegetation.

Still can't figure how the trap and rat got separated
from the 6 foot conduit stake.

Just a few days left to beaver season to get a few more.

Stay tuned.

walleyed

How ya holding up Walleyed, doubt I’m going to hit triple digits, I’m planning on pulling by Wednesday, like to have everything ready for sale on the 10th, are you going.?

Newfox, is the 10th the Herkimer auction?

Shop day, fleshed and stretched a beaver for my friend, put up yesterday’s rats and skun yesterday’s beaver, time for Easter pork roast. Yes mike the herkimer auction is on the 10th of April.

Nope,

I will be selling to Gary Groenewold on April 17th
at Carson's Pizza in Adams on Route 11 at 2:00PM.

Don't have enough fur to justify the 2+ hour drive
to the Herkimer Auction.

Plus no commission and no waiting for my check.

GROENY ROCKS

Good Luck on April 10th with the Auction.

w

I’ve never seen adjustable rat boards before, did you make those?

Things were a little bit slow today on the abbreviated trap-line.

Stony Creek produced just two rats and no beaver.

Sandy Island Beach channel produced 2 rats and one LM beaver.

Yanked the few traps we had there and pulled out for the season.

This afternoon got caught up on fleshing and stretching
the Easter Sunday catch of 11 rats, and then skinned & froze
the two beaver for the Groeny pickup.

Depending on how we feel in the morning, we may set the
Colwell Ponds (North & South) if the wind isn't howling.

Considering stringing steel at Lower Black Pond as well.

Just 10 days left in the season to collect a few more rats.

Stay Tuned.

walleyed

Finally got back on the water this morning to check Stony Creek after a 2 day soak.

Had to yank the beaver sets as today is April 7th, the last day of Beaver/Otter season
in New York State.

Can't for the life of me figure out why NYS was so determined to start all water trapping
seasons on the same day (November 1st) but has different closure dates (April 7th) for
Beaver/Otter and (April 15th) for Mink/Muskrat ?

It's counter-intuitive and makes no sense if NYS's goal was to eliminate
confusion by having the same Opener/Closure dates.

No last day beavers in the 3 channel sets, and the rats sets produced
just on lowly muskrat out of a dozen bank den sets.

The game plan was to set some new feed bed/rat toilet sets in some
protected, back water side channels on lower Stony Creek estuary.

Not a breath of wind blowing as we eased the canoe up into the narrow,
backwater slough just barely wide enough for the canoe.

About 100 feet in, we spotted a nice haul out plastered with rat scat
and ample fresh chewings.

walleyed reached for a #1.5 Vic stoploss and conduit stake and had just
half-hitched the ring/chain onto the stake when we noticed that the water
in the channel was rushing out downstream and the channel was rapidly
being de-watered by the lake seiche.

The wind had just come up blowing out of the Northeast and down the
Stony Creek estuary and was quickly emptying the creek.

we tried to quickly back paddle down the side channel but were left high
and dry in the mud & ooze and beached.

20 minutes of push-poling later, we finally made it back the main stem
of the Stony Creek estuary vowing never again to venture into
"the channel from hades" until high lake levels return.

Pulled out at the boat launch, and headed south on NYS Route #3
to Colwell Pond at the Lake View WMA.

Loaded up with 23 #1.5 Vic Stoploss and 22 #160 conibear with
appropriate stakes and paddled off for the west edge of the main
Colwell Pond.

A mild north-east wind of about 5mph was blowing,
but easy enough to paddle against.

The first 400 yards of the west shoreline held not a feed-bed, nor rat toilet,
nor den hole channel to be seen but the force of the wind started to increase.

Finally at each point we arrived at, several deep entrenched rat runs carved
into the sandy pond bottom were clearly visible, and we guarded each one
with a #160.

By the time we reached the channel into North Colwell Pond, the wind velocity
had increased to 20mph and building, the west shoreline water was becoming
muddled and walleyed's ticker was starting to do flips & stutters
with accompanying chest pain and we had no more interest in
bucking the wind any more today.

All toll, we had dropped in just 7 #160's in den hole channel sets before we
pulled the pin and sculled downwind back to the ramp, pulled out,
and headed for home for the day.

Plan is to be back on Colwell & North Colwell Ponds early morning to
string more steel before the wind comes up
and throws a wrench into the works at mid-morning.

Stay tuned.

walleyed

Walleyed ...you got a pic of your rat set up on those lathes....do you use a single spring 160 ?

Caught 15 rats today on a ADC job. It was 80 degs when I set yesterday. They still look good and not a bit up rat In the bunch.

I quit a week ago because of deterioration. They looked like pin cushions.

I hate trapping in the heat,but it has to be done sometimes.
Give me 30 below anyday.
Not looking forward to summer at all-it is shaping up to be a hot one.

I share your hatred of the heat Boco, one of the many reasons northern Canada or Alaska is looking more appealing.

No pics Nessy,

I use a hardwood stake about 4 foot long on a single spring #160 (DUKE).

About 1 1/4 thickness, just slides nicely thru the spring eye, and stays put
by friction when braced against (between) the trap jaws when set vertically.

w

Wind got me again this morning.

Arrived at Colwell Pond at Lakeview WMA to find
a 10mph wind from the Southeast blowing across
the pond and mucking up the western shoreline.

Got 3 rats from the 7 den hole channel sets we put
out yesterday, and then started scanning the shoreline for
more set locations.

With the pond mostly drained from the wind, the distance
from water to cattails was around 10 yards of loon poop
mud mixed with sand and not walk- able.

We searched around 1000 yards of pond edge well into
North Colwell pond without seeing a single rat trapping location
and with the wind continuing to build, we called off our bid to set
any more traps today.

We'll check Stony Creek in the morning.

Stay Tuned.

walleyed

Caught 8 today and pulled out. All males and not a bite In any of them.
Maybe since they are being caught In nothing but colony traps they aren't getting hit on by their buddies.

Not much damage here either, Beav.

A week ago it was about 50% with a single bite mostly.

One of today's rat, a 19" incher, had a large abscess
on it's hind quarter about the size of a wooden nickel

Forewarned of it's location, walleyed attempted to skin
deftly around the festering wound, but failed when it
suddenly exploded sending a blast of nasty puss out
of the cavity as if launched from a cannon.

Did I mention it stank very badly ?

We just barely avoided gagging up our dinner
and spent the next 5 minutes with a roll of paper towel
cleaning up the toxic waste spill.

That the 2nd one of those this spring and hopefully
the last !!!

w