The feeling of catching something in a trap is like Christmas morning every time you go check traps. This story will be two parts and this second part is about the grandson setting his traps. I hope you enjoy reading it.
I sprang out of bed and hurriedly put on my jeans and hoodie. I ran downstairs and ate some toast and drank some orange juice, then went out to the garage. I put my traps into my packbasket and put my hammer, rebar stakes, and my small trowel. Then I went over to the lure container and put one in the packbasket labeled “Mink” and another one labeled “Muskrat”. I went over and quickly put on my hip waders and slung my pack over my back. I jogged down to the creek bank and waded into the cold November water to begin looking for trails and runs. I found a trail where a mink had been going around a tiny bush that had fallen into the creek and dug out a trap bed, I set a #1.5 Longspring into the bed and hit a rebar stake into the soft mud. I waded down the creek and I hadn’t gone 10 yards when I found a muskrat feed bed, I set the #1 Jump onto the bed and used a small branch and a piece of wire to secure the trap. I walked another 20 yards and found a good spot for a pocket set, I dug the pocket out with my trowel and dug my trap bed for my other #1.5 Longspring. I set the longspring and hit the rebar stake into the soft creek mud with a few hits, I took a reed and dipped it into the mink lure, and tossed it into the back of the pocket. I finished that set and walked around a bend 15 yards down the creek and found 2 muskrat runs. I took out my 2 110 Conibears and slid them onto their own piece of lath, I set them and folded them down, so they met the lath with the bottom edge. I slid the lath into the soft mud on the first run and the second one into the other run. I was out of traps, so I waddled out of the creek and walked up to the house. I went into the house after slipping out of my hip waders and setting my packbasket down. I ate a PB&J and did a couple of chores wondering all day if I had caught something yet. I settled into my bed at around 9 pm. I woke up 12 hours later at 9 am and hurried downstairs forgetting to eat breakfast and hurriedly threw my waders on and threw my packbasket onto my back. I practically ran down to the creek and climbed into the same spot as yesterday. I checked my blind set with the #1.5 Longspring and it had nothing. I waded down to the #1 Jump and I couldn’t see it, so I pulled up the stick and it had a muskrat on it! I put the muskrat in my basket and reset the trap the same as yesterday. I wallowed down the creek to the pocket set and the trap was gone again, I found the chain and pulled it up and found a mink in the trap! I threw the mink in my packbasket with the muskrat and rebuilt the pocket set, I waded down to the duo of 110 Conibears that were placed in the runs and both of them had a muskrat in them! I pulled both muskrats out of the conibears and threw them in the packbasket. I reset them and slid them back onto the bottom of the creek. I had completed my first check and had caught 3 muskrats and 1 mink, I walked up to the house to show grandpa my catch and he was very impressed. I laid them in the small freezer in the corner of the garage and went to go eat lunch and plan for the next day on the trapline.
Please give me some feedback on how I can make my writing better. Thanks in advance!
