First time trapper, first time forum poster 😅
Trapping started last weekend and already lost 2 coons that pulled the stakes out. I'm in a low creek bottom with sandy, gravely bars. I'm double staking in a X pattern. So idk if I need longer rods or bigger round rods or if I need to get up on the banks which are about 5-6' high.

Try using a drag (a 6’ long heavy branch will work fine) or wire the chain high on a springy sapling. Hard to get a firm hold in sandy areas.

Or use cable and attach to whatever is handy. A big log, root, tree, etc.

Longer stakes and slightly wider X will help. Always give you stakes a good pull after you set them. Sand bars are a nightmare as you'd think sand is sand and should be the same...but it's not.

How long are your stakes???

in those wet sandy bottoms cable stakes work the best or years ago before i stasrted using cable an old trapper taught me about using 1"x2"x16" or 2x2x16 wooden stakes they will swell in the wet ground but must be pounded in with a rubber mallet or chances are they will split

How long and what size are your stakes?

18 to 24 in pogo anchor with a 2in washer works great in mud and sandy creek bottoms.

Im using two 18" 3/8 rebar stakes. That drag stick system sounds like a good option and the areas where trees had fallen across the creek I could wire too. Thanks for every ones solutions so far I might have to try some and get creative. I just feel horrible about those two.

You can make your own or buy some 3' or 6' snare extension cables. Works great

Wire will break if a coon works it enough.

Pogos, cable off to a tree, tree root, saplings, even rebar stakes will hold a coon. Pull on it after driving them, if they come out or pull up much than change your option. This truly ain’t rocket surgery. Honest.

I went and bought some cable and did exactly that. I will see what tomorrow will bring. If I lose another one you guys can have my traps lol

1\2. Inch 18 - 22 long here. I double stake my canine sets but never had to with coon. Maybe try longer chains or cable on your traps. Or even earth anchors in more sandy conditions.

Are you sure they weren't stolen by someone who saw the catches ? 18 inch rebar cross staked should hold well enough.

Dang never had anything pull crossed rebar stakes, ever. Coyotes, you name it.
Single stakes yes. But never crossed stakes.
Jim

I'm pretty sure. The first one maybe but I had another one in the open nearby that wasn't taken. The second one for sure was a coon, the grass in the catch circle was stomped down. I was able to recover those stakes at least.

If they are pulling double stakes it is because the wet sand has limited holding ability, even with more length. As others have stated get some sizable branches with some limbs etc. on. Something they can move a bit but not much. I don't know the best size but for me I would use something about4-5 inches on the bigger end, 6 feet long with branches to slow them down. This also gives them something to chew on which can lessen the pulling.
If you have a standard chain on your traps say a foot or so you could make some double slide loop cables about 3-4 foot long and run one loop through the end of the chain slide the rest of the cable through, tighten up and then put the other sliding loop about 1/3rd the way down the branch drag and tighten off.
Bryce

Someone steal em? Can’t believe that a coon could pull up a dbl stake set

Are you sure it was coons? Might try going to some kind of Earth Anchor. Was the Trap and/or the stakes missing? If a coon pulled the stakes, it's running around with a steel bracelet.

I agree with the guys above that it is not likely that a Coon pulled cross staked rebar unless very soft mushy sand. If so, you should have noticed when driving. So probably some other issue. What is the bait? How and where did you recover the stakes? What type of traps? How long is the chain?

If you’re not from Wis, Mn, Neb or the Dakotas you may not know our coon can be very large. Our average is about 17 pounds. But 25-28 pounds and bigger are quite common. That being said, those big animals can be really tough on staking.

I’ve used big branch drags with a lot of success. I’ve also used standard and heavy duty Berkshire disposables. Lots of success here as long as you go down a foot or more. Our soil here is underlaid with clay so you can sometimes get away with a foot or so of cable on the berk.

For softer soils, I use a cable stake with more cable. Push them in with a pointed rebar driver, pull up to ‘set’ the anchor and put dogproof or foot hold in place. Bait and go.

Cross-staking is reserved for coyotes. Almost everything else gets disposable stakes.

The stakes were up stream. I'm using R-Trap DP. The chain is 12" with 2 swivels. I was using small marshmallows but something was stealing them without firing the trap so I'm going to switch to Caven's Moonshine on a cotton ball.

3/8 inch rerod is ok for trapping mice,but I myself prefer 1/2 by 24 inch .That double or cross staked will hold well in most but not all soil types.
And yes our coon are huge I have caught many that weighed in the mid to upper 30s. As you have learned--its better to over stake than under stake.
Tom

Coon are a tough strong critter. The cardinal rule of coon trapping is to set trap where he cannot reach anything solid, as they can exert a tremendous amount of force if caught in that situation. Sandy bottoms add to the problem. A large drag works best in that situation. But in real soil, coons are still one of the easiest critters to hold, because they only pull straight out from the stake, unlike coyotes who get right over a stake and jack it out with their jumping. If you are gonna stake in sandy areas, use a number of different length 1/2 inch rebar stakes. I used th trap a sandy river for years, and had 1/2 inch stakes from 2 ft up to four ft long. Coons, beaver etc were always right where I staked them, no hunting for them! Don't underestimate a coons power!

We got a big one yesterday. 30 pounds, on the dot. 24-inch 3/8ths rebar—didn’t budge the stake. But this is in clay loam soil. A 12-inch cable on a wolf fang would have been there too. Tight soils make a huge difference! Get out of the creek sand and set the higher bank trails. Your stakes will hold better there.