My properties are opening up now forever me to trap and of course the weather pattern is rain Friday Saturday and Sunday on the last 3 weekend .So how do you keep your canine sets going thru this?I have used peat Moss .I know I could probably wait. But I feel that the next couple weeks are the better time and the I have to shutdown for at the end of March due to turkey season.

As for keeping the traps operational I use polyfil under the pan and peat moss between the jaws. That seems to prevent dirt from washing out around the trap. Flat sets with bait/lure smeared under rocks/pieces of wood and staked toy sets on areas that drain well are about the best I’ve got.

Pipe dream set the way Zagger beds his trap. Keeps the bait/lure above ground out of water and the bedding system allows trap to not get flooded.

Pipe dream is a decent set. I have used it and it works. Polyfil under the pan and peat moss to keep things from jamming with mud and I cover my traps with grasss clippings. Before season I fill several crawfish sacks with grass clippings and hang them in the shed. They are bone dry and super light. When it rains they sink in around the trap covering them perfectly. I use grass clippings in the swamp when I can't find a up rooted tree and need dry dirt to cover a set. If you don't have grass clippings use grass or weeds growing where you are trapping. Cut them in very small pieces with scissors over the trap, it works.

I love living in Southeast Louisiana as we hammer critters trapping, but I hate it too. Mud and rain drive me nuts. RIght now I'm taking advantage of the dry weather. I have a three day trapping clinic with LDWF this weekend and I'm already dreading it. Taking out beginner trappers in the mud is not my idea of a good time.

If your using peat anyway you really don’t need the pollyfil . I’ve gotten completely away from pan covers, pollyfil,or under all’s of any kind. Just make sure their are no voids of any kind under the trap, pan or between the jaws. It doesn’t just work it works flawlessly, rain or shine.

Golf ball, I tried straight peat one year. I would see tracks on the pan without traps being set off. When I went to pull, I could stand on them without setting them off or just barely setting them off. I know other guys who use it successfully which tells me I did something wrong, but I’ve been gun shy to give up the polyfil ever since.

Making sets on the upper side of slopes. Even just a few inches helps. Augering a deep hole in the center of the trap bed both holds the trap chain and provides a sump for water to drain away. Bed the trap on its rim and pinch it in with the hammer. Pan covers that drape over the pan so that the area under the pan stays clear. I use green leaves.

Thanks for the ideas. SP 94 did you pre sift your peat before using it.

That was going to be my question Slipnot . My next question , what kind of peat are you buying ? I’m being serious here, I use peat that I’ve dried a year in advance and when I put a trap in I don’t have to worry about it until I make a catch or I pull traps. I wish I could post a video, I had a trap that was poorly placed and spent a few days under water. I filmed tripping it and the dry peat that was in and around the trap kinda flowed to the top. I’m not poking fun here as my first attempt at using peat didn’t go well either.

I did sift it before, but maybe the holes in my sifter were too big. If there’s a way to add “user error” to something, I’m the guy who is gonna do it! All my lessons are learned the hard way haha

I built a sifter for the top of a 55 gallon drum with 1/8” hardware cloth. But I’m going to say dry as toast is the key.

I keep it working with a 3 step process which goes fast and hardly fails. I mainly run K9 extremes. I dig my hole a little smaller than the trap then a deep cone. The space under the trap is 3 to 4” below the trap when bedded. I use an underall that I make like Steel Traps does and I use a screen cover. I usually use very little dirt but use grass clippings like Zagger or crass from around the set. I’m in the south where sandy red clay is king and I very rarely have a trap out of commission. Last week I had a set that after a hard rain the sand and clay had completely hidden my set even filled the deep dirt hole and itt still made a catch.

I have never liked peat but use coverhulls at times

The reason I stopped using it was because it always left a dry spot exactly where the trap was and it was very noticeable when the ground around it was wet.

Chance of dry spots over trap area is why grass clippings or crushed leaves over set should be used

If you aren't dealing with freezing conditions I've never had a problem with rain. Except it is hard to make a good looking set in the mud. Dig you some dry dirt or at least semi dry now, to use when you make your sets, the rain will wet it and blend it all in. I do understand your guys clay bakes like concrete and is basically the same as us northern guys dealing with freeze, but as long as that doesn't happen (sounds like you don't have to worry about that) and it isn't freezing, the traps should work just as well in the wet dirt/mud. Obviously don't set them where the water is going to pool, but I use wax paper for pan covers and it drapes down around the pan like Warrior said, and cover well with dirt, make sure you don't have a bunch of voids under the pan cover between the jaws and the pan for the covering to sink into when it gets wet and I've not had problem with several inches of rain. Of course dirt holes are bad to fill up with water, but flat sets should be good, try and put the lure on the underside of the backing so it is somewhat protected. Flat sets are often not in bare dirt anyways, so you will blend with a little grass, pine needles or whatever is there over the dirt and this will help if you have some minor sinkage of the dirt also.

I love trapping with native dirt, no need to pack waxed sand or anything to the set. Unfortunately 90% of my dirt trapping is in freezing conditions so I don't get to do it that much.

With a few of these tips I managed to get in a couple sets in this wet weekend I ended up with 2 coyotes and a grey fox .Looking forwards to next weekend where they predicting about a other 2 inches of rain. I just love it.