Hi, i just got approved to be on here im a new trapper from ohio. if anyone has any good tips for trapping muskrats let me know.

Welcome aboard.Bunch of information in the archives.

Welcome, colony traps in the runs and a piece of apple with some Lennons muskrat lure for your baited sets.

Welcome, no real advise on muskrats; as I avoid getting my feet wet, if as all possible, lol. Humm, maybe a nugget right there.

Howdy and welcome.
How long you been trapping?
What species?
Success rate?

Not long
Muskrat
Asking for any help, so probably not high.

Just going by the persons OP.

Set all the rat toilets.

Welcome to the group. Just so you know, the old people won’t trust you aren’t an anti until you show some catches and shoot the breeze about trapping.

As others have said, look in the archives. I’m no help with Ohio muskrats. I only trap a few tidal marsh rats a year.


Good luck and hope you stick around and share your experiences.

Welcome to the site.
Parsnips are your friend.

Zim

welcome ,

Ohio muskrats? Creeks in fields with no trees on the bank and corn on one side of the other. Not necessary but ideal. Walk the creeks. You can't hardly wade down a good muskrat creek b/c the bottom is so soft. So ideally it so soft you are up on the bank and looking down at the waters edge and find a run which is a wallered out trail coming straight out from the bank. A skinny channel in that soft bottom mud. The more cleaned out the trail is the better (more used) the run is. Where that trail comes out of the bank will be a den hole the size of your fist. Put a 110 (rat trapper 110 would have been a good name) in front of that with about a 4-5' stick stake you've cut shoved down into the mud. Make sure to get the trap in the center and fairly stable. Use the stick through the spring eye as much as you need to so the trap is solid and in place. Go up and down the creek on both sides like that. Check and reset every day for a few days. Youll see your catch numbers go down. Pull out and head to the next spot. Do the same thing walking around farm ponds. Practice that and you'll be an expert in no time. Set a 110 on a narrow trail along the bank that is choked down tight with grasses in one spot and pick up a mink here and there. Good luck.

Look for what looks like an underwater game trail or if the ditch or creek is really weedy then look where there’s a channel that goes through the weeds and put whatever size conibear is necessary there such as 110 150 160 220 and then stake it down through the eye of the conibear and if you can slant the stick to stabilize it but with sensitive traps you don’t need too

Welcome to Tman

If you set foot hold traps with a slice of Apple for bait stake the trap down rather well in case a raccoon gets there first .
Then after you're traps are set I'd check them in a couple hours then if muskrat numbers are high when you find a empty trap pull it and rest it at the next place .

Then when skinning them leave the saddle meat on the hide , fur buyers judge the weight of the hide also .
I wish you well on your journey of trapping and harvesting animals ethically .

Allan