Do you attach earth anchor to trap before dying it or wait and attach it in the field. How did you keep chains from getting tangled ?.

I use to attach in the field , but thought it might speed up things . Guess just zip tie chain to trap.

I use fairly short chains and try to attach anchors before hand. I wrap the chain around the trap and then pull the anchor between the jaws and pan to “lock it”. Takes a few seconds to unwrap, but is much quicker than trying to attach in the field to me

I attach it to the trap. Then dye and wax. Spare anchors are also dyed and waxed. Maybe overkill but that's the way I've done it for a while now

Like mentioned above, attach and wrap chain and anchor beforehand. Much faster. Also dye and wax chain and anchor. Helps keep the rust down.

I prefer too keep everything seperate and use a 3/16 quick link to attach the trap to the Best anchoring system for the location and target animal.

Anything I can do at home, I do.

No sense wasting any time in the field, spending more time at locations, stinking up the place doing stuff you could have done ahead of time.

I use cable and I attach them at home to the trap then wrap the cable like this . Easy to unwind one in field and drive it in.
Doesn’t tangle for me this way. Loop in cable and run the berk I and out of the loop several times.

Here is a Monty #2 with chain and earth anchor (berk style) on 15” of cable.

I attach at home then wrap the chain around the trap and place in a gallon ziplock freezer bag, I started doing that when I started running 4 foot chain extensions on my water traps and they would sometimes come unwrapped and get tangled into a mess, it then moved to my land traps

Anyways works for me

I use split rings between Berkshire earth anchor cable and the trap. I don’t paint or wax my anchors. They’ll be in the ground. Nothing will smell them. If something senses your trap under the dirt, you left too much loose dirt around the pattern.

I run chain stakes with earth anchors with all connections welded when I set up new traps. If I want to use a drag (anymore I use more drags than staked solid, almost exclusively drags or chained off to tree when Trapping in the snow) I attach the drag to the chain just above the earth anchor. Over time I will break some earth anchors off or cut them with bolt cutters when pulling. Those traps without earth anchors attached will be used with drags or I have a few chain stakes made up I can attach with quick links if I am setting in an area I want to stake solid and the traps I have with me don't have earth anchors attached. I don't usually replace earth anchors that have been broken or cut off... Until I buy more traps, then I will often replace earth anchors on old traps that are missing them, at the same time as I set up the new traps with longer chain, swivels, and earth anchors.

Thanks to all that left a comment. I think I'll probably fasten my chain earth anchor to the trap and dye and wax everything except the bullet anchor. Thanks Again

I just throw’em all in a bucket and untangle as I need them. Less stress during the prep stage. When setting there’s always one or two that ain’t tangled. Seems like each time I reach in I’ll find another that ain’t tangled. Eventually the swearing and yanking has them under submission and they all get untangled somehow.

Somebody gave a tip. I can't remember where from, line your milk crate with cardboard bottom and sides. Do t worry too much about keeping them tidy. Grab a trap pull and jiggle. They come out most the time without too much effort. Make up your stuff first before you dip it.

I keep my earth anchors separate, since I only use them on water sets (easy enough to pull by hand when they're in mud; I use rebar on dry land). I make my earth anchors with a big loop on the end, and just feed it through itself on the end swivel. When not in use I keep my earth anchors in a bucket or my pack basket with everything else.