WI trapping season 2018-2019

well right around 5 hours still its go time for me hope everyone had a good summer and everyone is ready to go!
did anyone start an official WI catch thread yet by the way?

Go get them

Good upgrade from what you were running last year.

Good luck, can't wait to start skinnin $10.00 coyotes again.

I was thinking you had a station wagon.


I'll be out in the afternoon tomorrow.

Coon already in the southern part of the state?

Snow and windy in the Northwoods today

well it was a long day got 165 sets out was at it from midnight onward this cold snap is gonna shut them down im guessing for tomorrow but oh well! see what happens here shortly

anybody else get out at all?

Cableable, what were you setting for? Good luck this season!

I am glad you started a WI thread. Mentioned you to my wife today talking about this cold weather, wondered how many coon you still had sitting in Canada unsold from last year. I still have mink, muskrat, coon and one possum up there, and I did about 10% of what you did. My daughter lives on Z at the house with the red barn on the road edge, I will run into you sometime!

I only put out a dozen because I needed to get rid of some nuisance coons. Cold in the Frozen tundra tonight.

Brian

I have 13 out.

The ducks are pushing south into my area. I’ll work on them for a couple weeks before digging out my traps. Good luck to you, CA

You get the award for most dedicated.

I got 6 sets out. Mostly because a guy at work wants a fisher gone. I figured I might as well get rid of some coons for him as well. Good luck guys!

Called in a coyote this afternoon. Alas, he is still running wild and free.

Same as Green Bay… Chasing a few early coon. It felt great to be out- 40 MPH winds and a few sideways hailstorms, it must be trapping season lol!

well, let's hear it

Nathan did you put a round in the chamber ??

Had a round chambered. Coyote was about 40 yards away and saw me move and dove into the woods. Will try again later this week.

well it went pretty much as i expected lost my phone right away somewhere in the morning so no picture yet but i got 28 and released 5 so technically i caught 33 one less than last year opening check i am confident this weather was the primary cause of the poor check but oh well! 4.5 checks left to do and its on to rats how about everyone else?

swamprat83 i was setting all for coon

fishdog near Plymouth eh? yeah im up around there a bit on all the public stop if you ever see my truck!!

20%? That’s not all that bad. Keep after them.

Was going to wait but will put in 6-8 sets tomorrow and run for two days, maybe 3. A farmer is asking for some clean up in row 4.

Bryce

Ended up with 3 coons, the 4th one pulled out of a DP in a culvert set when I got there… ran to the other side of the road and I had a swing and a miss. Harsh reality- at this age, .22 shorts are a lot faster than I am. lol

Only got 5 sets out Saturday to scratch the itch and hopefully help get rid of a few nuisance coon from my grandparents farm. Picked up this big boy this afternoon.

looking good guys!

I feel like the possum king at the moment but good to get them out of the way. Picked up a nice big boar the other day. Good to get out.

Put 8 sets out along the roadway with a friend's kid Saturday. I got this little guy today (He left yesterday to go back to his mom's house) It was just a little guy so I released it.



A buddy called that a nice one was hit by his house. It was a sow and still very blue let the my boy help skin it even though it was a bit beat up. Good practice.

heres my only picture of opening day looking good everyone!

here is today i wound up releasing 7 out of 20 so i took 13 home and 2 skunks never had that many smalls before it was sickening haha it feels pretty warm out right now who knows maybe tomorrow will be better??

The cooler weather is coming back real soon

I got out Sunday and managed to dig a few traps in dozen coyote sets and about same for DPs. Haven't had much of anything out for traps last 5 year. Last K-9 I caught was the wolf I trapped that last drawing before they closed it down.
This morning was first check and I really wasn't expecting too much. But hung up six coon and at last stop on the field a young coyote. No big Hugh coon, biggest was just shy 27lbs. Guess I could say I got my first coyote though, at least first in 6 years. Right now I'm only on 2 of 3 farms I got permission to trap. Hoping to set up the 3rd farm tomorrow. Just a small part of the line I was running several years ago.
But I'm back playing in the dirt more because I feel the need to than not.





Mac

Way to go Mac, glad you got out there, have fun and enjoy.

That coyote must have been borrowed from Mac's taxidermy buddy. Either that or the 'yote fell asleep soon as he got into the set. Those 'coon have a bigger catch circle than that coyote does!

cableable was wondering what determines if you turn them loose or keep them im seeing blue bellies and short kinky hair just wondering

CA, Great to have you back posting again this season. You have a great work ethic and should be proud of the hard work you put in. If you've had time to put any up yet, how are they looking?

Muskrat believe it or not I got shorter chains on my #2s & 1 3/4 coyote traps, then the stock chain on them DPs. The coyote traps are all on cables the DPs are on stakes. Ground is wet but really packed hard, I'm going to have the dickens pulling them cables.

This mornings check was only two small possum and another coyote in the set next to the one was in yesterday. Put out another 8 coyote sets half dozen DPs on my third farm this morning.
Talked to the farmer at 3rd stop he said go after the coon. Figure he lost maybe 4 loads of corn to coon on the fields he had already picked. So I actually put the DPs out just so I can say I'd kill some coon for him.

Mac

9 more and let 3 go

looks good mac!

size determines if i let them go or not joe1

never put none up yet but the bigger ones are looking pretty good lance

Nice catches guys. For the guys who have put up coon so far, how blue are they?

if tomorrow aint over 10 im going to be pulling was planning on pulling friday anyway be at the marsh 8pm you know the drill haha how was everyones day?

cable able how many miles you puttin on a day?

to many to catch 4 coon haha about 150 or so

yikes

Are they not moving much? Or did you cut the population down last season?

That's about how far you have to go in my locale to catch 4 muskrats.

yikes is right!

handi it seems they aint and that what i think a big part of the problem is last year was 25 a day in the same area with the same trails it was just alot warmer also i was told that they had distemper come through the area that would explain it a bit also i guess

Not trapping wi right now. Working out of town in michigan got 2 today. I do love the white dps. Bummed that the coins keep getting in my coyote sets this one did a number no remaking this.last week had one that was dark blue what a bummer. Anyone else seeing that in there coons?

Five coon, one coyote, one red fox, one skunk, that was my morning catch today. I'm thinking I'll be picking up traps Friday, Saturday sounds like rain. I'm not moving anything around so hadn't planned to stay out to many days.

Skunk I caught in coyote set was a young one. Pretty nice white stripes. Been a while since I put one down and of course he started spraying right away. It took me couple tries to knock him down. Wasn't enough juice left in the bags to bother drawing that off. Had to stand in the mess and remake the set. So my boots are out side for the night. Wife declared they stink..

Hey Muskrat?? does this coyote look meaner for you? bigger Male.



Nice little female red fox. If I didn't want her for trade I'd have kicked her loose for seed. Just don't have as many around as we did 30 years ago. Loved it when I could catch 2 or 3 fox a day and we'd average $55.00 or more on them when they sold.


Mac

This was the roadkill the boy practiced skinning on I just fleshed a spot with my pocket knife to show a buddy what I ment by blue.

Well I'm pre staking the marsh today. I don't know why but I'm doing It. LOL

I set 5 canine traps on the farm I gun deer hunt. Had a red fox stolen the first day by some high school boys that hunt there and a skunk. Didn't catch anything until yesterday when I had another red fox and a coyote. Apparently the farmer talked to the boys because they had to walk right by my coyote to get to their deer stands. I'm still waiting to see them so I can find out what they did with the fox they stole.

well got em all pulled after all ended with 13 and let 1 go in the end thats only 68 this week nothing like last year not sure the reason but oh well on to the rats hope everyone is ready!

nice looking critters there mac!

how many did you get pre set there beav and how did it look?

The eve of the rat opener is here. A hand full of hours until the bell rings! Good luck and be safe to those venturing out.

less than 6 hours deerfly haha hope everyone kills a pile of em! hope you northern boys get more than a week or 2

I'm ready.

good luck guys stay safe

I picked up my coyote and raccoon sets today. Was going slow when I finally had and ugly skunk to look at. Almost all black little white cap and slashes for stripes. Had to knock him down to get him out of the trap, so figured might as well skin him. Got him down and skinned out no leaking. So draw the juice off and to my surprise was almost an full ounce. I'm pretty sure it may well be the most I've ever gotten from a medium size skunk. Took two skunks about the same size yesterday to fill a bottle. Might say I though it was going to be a good day. Ounce of quill got to be worth more than any coon I might catch. I pulled the next section of my line nothing but a bunny eaten by redtail. Then I get to the last 2 sets on my 3rd stop and Bingo. Set that had the Male coyote in my other post has my 2018 Bobcat. I knew there were cats in our area here. I had planned to head north to sister cottage in November just for a cat.. But a cat in the hand is worth more to me than one running in the woods.
This is my first ever Bobcat 24.8 lb female. I turned out to be my best day in several years.
My stats for the 5 days checking, running 27 coyote sets and 12 DPs. Is 15 coon, 3 coyotes, 4 skunks, 1 red fox, 1 Bobcat. There was couple possums in there too messing things up but I didn't count them. Put around 150 miles on the truck and 59 miles on the quad. I don't think I made any money..lmao!..Good weather, riding my quad setting traps, was good/best therapy for me in sometime..

My big draw of juice..


2018 bobcat in the book.



Mac

Good going Mac! Nice catches!

Nice work guys! I'm enjoying all the pictures. Keep 'em comin'!

CONGRATS Mac, thanks for the pictures.

myself and the 11 yr old boy got some sets out today.. light rain most of the day, took a 3 hr lunch/siesta and set some more .maybe 40 sets in, including colony traps, we'll try tomorrow

Congratulations Mac on your cat!

Dave

Nice cat Mac congratulations.

well we all started at midnight i got a little over 300 in see what happens tomorrow

great cat!!

Made it through another opening weekend. Felt good to be back out in the marsh. Not one other trapper out. I went out at midnight and was back in bed by 4am. Around 9:30 my younger daughter and I set some traps at a farm pond where we picked up our first rat of the year! She was standing on the bank, handing me traps and stakes as needed. I placed a bodygrip in a bank den and was staking the trap as it swam through. Ive had that happen many times but never with someone that got so excited! Had a good time. Now to grab the bow and see what happen.

deerfly I love seeing kids with the fur I always took my kids with when I could.
Keep the pictures coming guys I'm still looking.


Mac

Got 35 sets in on Saturday, checked yesterday and picked 11 rats and one toenail. Had to pull 2 of my sets as they were on a free floating hut and were getting tested by the wind. Seems like fewer huts than last year, but only set 1/2 the area I normally do because I wanted to give some duck hunters plenty of space. Will move my traps after a couple more checks to the other part of the bay.

I know there's only 9 in the pic, I picked up 2 more from a colony trap I checked on my way out.

Been a pretty good start to the season. 7 yotes in first 8 nights. Rain seemed to keep em hunkered down over the weekend, but had a couple this morning....

was a late night yesterday got the last of my traps out endded up with 122 rats and today was 127 so we are off and rolling i guess haha

deerfly and tlguy nice looking rats!

sconnibird good looking dogs keep hammering!

oh i found some litter out by that house so i made a hi c set haha

Way to go CableAble, I always look forward to your big catches.

I only picked up 6 more today, but the water level went down a foot overnight, so I think they were holed up.

Two of the rats I caught today were the smallest I've ever seen. Not much bigger than a 12 oz soda can. They might go straight in the freezer for predator bait, I would have to put them up on a mink board!

72 more....

nice to meet ya bryce and matt!

great job guys!keep hitting them!! picked up 5 rats today.. gotta make time to get more out, stupid work!

Great catches everyone! Today my oldest daughter joined me for an evening check. A good evening in the marsh!

Nice to meet you CableAble. After I talked to you Wednesday AM we had a change of mind with the nice weather and we pulled the 41 sets we had out Tuesday b4 the rain and we got 14 rats. We headed north and we put out 200 sets Wednesday. Our plan is to check Thursday, move some sets and check and pull Friday. Several guys were pulling out today. Nice to see the rig you use, saves on the shoulders!!!

Our first 3 days were in a different area and we picked up 95 rats in two checks.
Bryce

I'm not checking traps on Halloween anymore! Fought the wind and only picked up 6 rats on a two day soak, one of which was partially eaten, and a coon and two incidentals. Bad juju for sure, just glad I didn't tip the canoe!

ended up with 94 more today good number was born in 94 truck is a 94 fur wagon is a 94 haha

hope you guys get some rats killed bryce!

Good job buddy. Keep it up!

nice !!!

79 more today up to 494

How many other trappers are on the lake?

Been planning, reading, watching videos, talking to some of you. Finally got my first coyote sets out, last Saturday. caught 2 coons, 1 gray squirrel all four feet, and now 2 coyotes. 1 yesterday and one today. Used a walkthrough and a scent post. K-9 Extremes Cavens and Trapper Arts gland lures. No luck on the dirt holes yet. Thank you to everyone for the help, and patience! Finally get to post some success!

Congratulations. Well done.

Congrats Bear Tracker. I'm going to start my serious trapping tomorrow when my vacation starts. Had foot surgery this year and haven't fully recovered yet but will hit as hard as I can. Good luck to all.

Watch out CableAble!

In the last ten months, I had each knee replaced. December 4th and July 17. It has been a challenge, I am definitely not fully recovered, but worth it now. Saturday I was making my last of 6 sets, hadn't squatted much etc. at all in the last ten months. I needed a Life alert, "I've fallen and I can't get up". But I made it. Good luck Lance and everyone else.

Not to worry If was going to trap that lake I'd already be there and I know where It Is but I'm not telling.

I have the Parks dept gig and those rats are getting me $10.00 each and I don't have to skin them.
Last year I averaged $15.00 on my rats If I remember I caught 44 and had a $5.00 average from my buddy Guy.
Then you have to throw In the $100.00 set up fee. And I did It In 2 days.

Your safe CableAble LOl

60 on the dot over 500 now 554 i guess looks like i learned something last year haha

great coyote congrats on it hope you get many more!

there aint a soul but me and ol jerry everyone pulled and for good reason you could come out beav but you aint gonna like what ya see! haha just ask bryce how pathetic it is this year man did they ever eat it out its pretty sad really not looking forward to next year im only doing good because i managed to get into the best spot and who knows how long this is gonna last

Nice catches bear tracker! Way to pile them up Cable! Nice catches as well tlguy! Pulled most traps tonight and will re group and set up smaller creeks and streams now. Looking forward to everyones pics as they continue to make catches.

Don't count out the rats just because of a eat out. There had to be rats to do that eat out and you won't catch them all so next year may not be that bad. Stable water conditions Is where It's at.

Lose the food source and lose the rats.

What’s happening in your lake is healthy. Even though it don’t look it. Now it’s all about the marsh management

The master speaks.

Your catch is holding quite well for rats with not having moved too many traps yet and this is the 6th check CableAble.
we pulled today. We caught 94 rats in a couple checks mostly following other trappers who had pulled so catch percentage was low, but most rats were really nice.
We moved around quite a bit on the north side exploring as we had never been there before. It seemed with the cooler night more of the houses looked like they had been worked on last night. Lots of dead looking houses this year. Not so many green cattails either.
Will set some flat water near home tomorrow. The home cooking is nice.

Bryce

Hope everybody is having fun. Don't let anyone tell you a 160 won't do the job.

Brian

Slow going for me this year. Several ponds that have historically been great producers are almost void of activity. One pond that held multiple houses had one. I wonder if the severe rains had a negative impact on the rat population in these pot holes.

Keep it up guys.

What kind of set?

Bucket.

Nice action!!

160s do just fine in coon cubbies. I've had a few misses when an smart one tries to reach through but I've never lost one when they've committed their head and have never had one still alive when I've checked. With my cubbies, I run a bungee cord around the back from spring to spring. Anchors the trap well. I have no problems with 160s.

Well what's your take on It? Your pretty good at commenting on what I post as to an answer on a situation but seem to fall a bit short on an answer of your own

We have a eat out every year on the marsh and the next year we always have rats.

Eat outs don't bother me nearly as much as sustained floods (like we've got this year) or sustained droughts (like several years ago).

As many 'rats as he's spanking in this short of time, IMO, it'll be just fine. It's just a good thing this number was removed from the marsh. Add all these hungry mouths to the surviving population and winter would have been gruesome under the ice for all.

Wasn't CableAble posting pics like this last year in the same area?

Well said. I agree 100%.

Nice post folks, really enjoyed the photos.

Thank You


B

74 more makes 628

i know its healthy but that dont mean its profitable haha i know it will be back to its former glory one day but im the kind who likes a good thing now not later its just a very drastic fall is what sucks about it not like they ate a few holes out but they turned some parts into an actual lake now oh well like you say its the natural cycle im sure ill be back here next year haha

muskrat yes i trapped this same marsh last year

glad everyones getting some fur!!

Keep up the hard work CableAble. Your doing well and probably not many if any others out there now.
I set up 3 sloughs around my home today. I got 100-120 sets today. Sign is about the same as the last 3-4 years or a tad better in the larger slough. I hope they yield better than last year. The rivers I wade are pretty high yet. Hope it does not rain too much tomorrow and Tuesday or those lines will not get set out.

Bryce

Enjoying the show! Keep it coming!

Only got 6 more today, two of which were babies. I'm only seeing g half as many hits as last year, and most seem to have gone dry already. I'll keep at it another week and a half then pull before gun deer season. Discouraging there isn't more sign, and 4 of the rats I've caught were too small to even put up.

good deal bryce hope they hit for you good

to bad tlguy what can you do

Got out this weekend with my buddy and his boy set a small creek and a a farm pond the landowner wants the rats out of. Picked up 7 and my buddy learned a bit about setting fresh sign. He and his son were trapping in the new mentored trapping program. Thanks to all who worked so hard to get it passed I know it took a few years but y'all got it done!!! Here is the results of their and your hard work.

thats great trap setter! that weather is not so great...i stayed home today haha

We got a black one as well second from the right. A first for me going to have Wild Things in Rockton tan it.

Rough one today with the rain and the 25 mph wind. Canoe control was difficult. The two small sloughs were OK with 12 rats from 20 sets. The large slough not so good. Two coons with one looking like it has a bullet hole right in the hip area, not so good for value. 22 rats with two of those ripped up by coons and lots of really small rats on one end of the slough. Of the 8 rats caught there 5 were kits. That don't add up quick.

Got a statement from NAFA yesterday. My 54 hold over rats sold PT with 42 at $5.25 and 12 at $5. I will net about $4.60 or so after commission. These were 2xl-3xl 1* rats so there is a market but it is not strong.

Bryce

Snowing up here today. Seen a few cars in the ditches. Be careful out there

That was about what my rats got as well Bryce 1* rats $5.00 minus commission. Those were some nice rats too.

Brian

Thought I'id chime in on this season for me. Found 3 rat houses in a half mile of lake shore. So set 5 traps at house 1 and caught 23 rats in 5 days. 3 traps at house #2 11 rats and 4 traps at house #3 17 rats. Never in 50 some years of trapping have I caught 51 rats in 3 houses during a season let alone in 5 days. The amount of sign was almost none so I was thinking maybe a dozen or so if I'am lucky. Trapping for the other types of critters not so good. 1 coon 1 red fox and 2 skunks.

83 today skipped yesterday didnt feel like fighting haha up to 711 and the first coon anyone has ever caught out there as far as i know

Those coon sure make a mess of things when they're caught on/near a hut!

Using Lenon's 'rat lure by chance where you got the 'coon?

The last two days on the sloughs here have yielded 46 rats and 5 coon. Several kits as reported earlier and 4 rats ripped up by coons I presume. I get a lot of coon on my rat line here.
Will pull in two days and with close to an inch of rain yesterday and last night most fields are mud and rivers are high. Could be a short season as several nights in the lower 20s and high teens coming over the next 5-10 days.

Bryce

It's been brutal here. Just set out a water line Saturday and had a decent catch Sunday with 7 coon, 7 rats and 4 mink that must have gotten in shortly after dark. Then the rain started. Sunday all sets were flooded and we had a mix of snow (sometimes blizzard) and rain. t was soaked to the skin by the time I was finished. Monday produced only 1 coon, 1 mink and 3 rats. The rats came from a small farm pond, the mink and coon from feeders I set. The only areas producing now are the small feeder creeks and they go up and down 6" each day with the monsoon rains. Tomorrow should be another slow day with the all-day rain today. Going to be a tough week to be on vacation. On the bright side, I have no problem keeping up with the skinning. HA.

Will be pulling the 3 sloughs tomorrow. 55 rats and 5 coons, with many small rats. Had a coon pull out today as I approached to dispatch!!. The two small sloughs are doing well the large one is not. With 1.75 inches of rain in two days with the water high b4 that, the rivers are out of their banks as are the streams. The sloughs are too high to wade now too. Setting out a small coon line over the next few days. Probably won't trap the rivers this season. Not only high but fast and muddy, can't see a thing.
Several things to repair on my 25 year old canoe. It has seen some very hard work.
Total to date is 149 rats and 5 coons.

Bryce

Tough here also, went in to one pond and the water is up so much there is no sets to be made and with no houses will have to wait til freezing and hope for the best. Got 52 rats today but I'm pulling as it will freeze tomorrow night.

I have not even been able to prospect the rivers I wade this year. They have been high or out of their banks for most of the spring, summer and fall. We had a real dry spell here in late May through mid June and then again about mid July, but other than that when it rains it rained a lot, early and in between the dry spells. All the combines, manure equipment etc. etc. set motionless waiting for things to dry or freeze hard enough to drive on or at least carry some. Lot of disease in the corn as well so a lot of feed needs to be tested for molds and some are virulent molds. Just what our farmers did not need at this point in time.

Bryce

I was just gonna get started this weekend. But with below freezing temps coming. I’m gonna wait a while. Maybe I’ll go after some reds and a few coon.

^^^^ SOFTY ^^^^

Maybe a little? Water is on the rise. AGAIN!

Whew!!! got pulled in the wind today. 4 rats and a coon and the sloughs are done for another season. A few dry ( I mean mud) line coon traps and that will be it for a bit.

Bryce

Looks like this guy could use a dump box on the Tacoma ! Thought I would catch him at the parking lot at 8 AM no luck, and he was in the marsh at 9 AM, maybe next time.

haha i was found out!! yeah i have a buddy who wanted them it was a good load somewhere around 500 in there haha.... hey now thats pickup!! not tacoma yet its the last month before they started making them haha

79 yesterday and 48 today hard to find fresh sign out there up to 838

Keep up the hard work CableAble. Are you" flying solo" in the marsh?

Bryce

I'm glad I don't have any traps out right now. Would be not just mud pies but frozen mud pies.. Going try run few fisher traps this next week before deer season. Not real enthused right now though. Did go out on the river Wednesday morning shoot a couple ducks.. was skim ice on puddles and some shallows.

Mac

well i got everything pulled to the dike friday most everything that is ran out of daylight but strtigily planning my pulling to leave the ones in the wide open for last figuring if i had to come back saturday it wouldnt freeze over as fast well turns out i was wrong haha open water froze better than tight in the cattails somehow so ive got about 100 some still out in the ice oh well hope it warms up enough to melt so im at 51 friday and 15 satuday bringing me up to 904

Cable, I think you killed them all last year! It just takes a while for them to grow back the numbers.
No big loss though, what are you seeing for fur pricing? Do you put them all up?

haha i dont think i could kill them all if i tried everything ive seen is about the same as last year and yeah i put up all my fur

1st night check had a cottontail in a flat set- eaten by a Bobcat. Here's 7 days later on a scent post, also the easiest way to get the Bobcat in a tote that I've found lol.

nice wtg

Eagle eye that's awesome!!! Congratulations what a prize. How long did you apply for the tag?

Thanks- I believe I had 9 pts going into 2018, the information I received with my tag said 6-7 pts are starting to draw tags. We have been releasing cats every year in our yote sets, the population is healthy but the Warden that put on my CITES Tag said it can be cyclical?

Got my first sets in yesterday afternoon. Consisting of 3 colony traps in the lagoon in my backyard. I’m going all out this season. lol

I will do quite a bit more after the 9 day gun deer season.

I wish we still had open water. I paddled and pushed my canoe through ice last night for 2 hours to pull the last of my rat sets. Picked up 2 more, one of which was a kit. I had hoped to get one more check on Wednesday, but with lows in the teens last night, I knew that wasn't going to happen. Didn't catch half as many as I did last year, but the ice came sooner and the sign just wasn't there. I might try after some through the ice after deer season, but by then the ice might be thick enough to ice fish.

Good luck to those who keep after it.

Some ice this morning. But not too bad yet. But more cold coming. I’ll chip them out if need be. Can always go back to them in the spring. Got some foxes to get after soon.

I quit the drawing for a cat tag after getting this one in 2010. At the time I think it looked like 12 years for the next one, so it is a little better, so what do you mean Eagle Eye by getting them in a tote?

Fishdog One,
Beautiful Cat and great mount! There was another thread about the challenges of releasing a Bobcats with a tote for incidental catches.

Boy and I got a half dozen buckets out yesterday in the area we deer hunt, for fisher sets. Nothing snapped this morning when we checked. Will run them threw weekend while deer hunting. Never know might get lucky know there are some around.
Lake here is frozen to where I almost think I could sneak out on the ice..as are most all the marshes and swamps. Winter might be here to stay, in central WI. We are currently at Hatfield north of Black River Falls.
Head Home Sunday or Monday.

Mac

Good luck Mac and son, have fun and score.... enjoy the land..

Hatfield Mac that is about 12 miles east of where I grew up in north-central Jackson Co. Used to be a ton of deer over in that area. I see the harvest numbers and antlerless tags etc. are a lot lower now than when I was there back in the 50's. 60's and 70's.
Shot some nice bucks a few miles west of Alma Center.

Bryce

Happy Thanksgiving Day Beaver

Good job deerfly. How much ice you having to work thru?

About 3-4". Guys ice fishing locally are saying up to 5". Good rat spots to hit, walleyes and crappie are pounding, and deer tags to fill! Dont know which way to turn it all came so fast. Good luck to all out and Happy Thanksgiving

That’s some pretty ice!

With walleyes and crappies pounding. I know exactly where I would be.

nice beaver deerfly! yeah that ice looks better than the crap around here cant see much

well i set some coon traps back out yesterday might as well take advantage of the weather! see what tomorrow brings looks like rain all night no fun but hope the coon dont mind

Couple big boys there cable.. I'm still watching

Mac

Well got the deer tag taken care of. Went with my daughter yesterday evening. At 6 years old it was her first time coming with. She did well and was able to keep quite and still long enough for me to squeeze on a doe. My dad was hunting nearby and helped drag it out. He is pictured with her. My muskrat addiction took over and I opted for under ice rats over ice fishing. I have never experienced under ice muskrat conditions like this ever. Nimzy I believe I now know what your talking about in regards to these ice conditions. I used 159's for the first time. I also used some hagz brackets and bait clips to try and catch some using 1.5 coils. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

well i kept 14 out of 16 could have been better could have been worse haha mostly big ones at least tomorrows probably the last day with this gonna be cold i guess!!

man deerfly if i had ice like that i know what id be doing looks like a real bonanza!! hope they hit good for you cant wait to see

glad to hear it mac at least someones out there haha

deerfly- chasing those under ice bubbles looks fun but I just don't know if I have the nads to be out on 2 inch ice in a slough. At least its probably shallow enough if you go in...

Calbe able- some fatties you had there. What regions do your coons generally grade if you send to one of the auctions?

11 more!!

nonpcfed well i send to fur harvesters and they dont really have them listed in regions but i get a pretty good mix it seems probably about a 50/50 split on good color vs bad some parts of the state ive seen guys who average mostly all good color usually the western part of the state south west i will say though that the last few days have had some good color in them probably better than i normally get

Some good color on that bunch. Other than the one on the right.

Nice pile Cable Able!! I see you're south of the Midwest grinner line. Occupational hazard I suppose

As always, nice catches Cable! A few more days and youll be back to cables. Looking forward to following that adventure as well. Might try and rope something with one myself. I checked today with great anticipation, didnt meet my goal but had fun.

yep plenty of possums in south east wi haha what can ya do

better than coon trapping deerfly haha i know i wish i was after rats right now man that ice is amazing it might get like that here i hope ill have to go find something but yep back to cables hope we get some snow on the ground by then be pretty blind without it hope it will be hard enough water to get into the marshes right away to nothing like a marsh for snaring!!

nothing worse than cold weather haha figured this was coming probably be pulling tomorrow i got snare supports to make anyway

how was it today deerfly??

No check today. Both my daughers are in dance and gymnastics a couple nights a week. Ill check tomorrow and report! Nice coons

5 more big ones and snapped everything till Thursday it looks like

wtg guys I like watching your post keep them coming

That clear ice is so much fun, just never last long before our stupid weather clouds it up. Always wet snow or rain seems to do it in. Enjoy the days you have it.

Mac

I set a few #3 Bridger four coil on 15' drowner to 35lb cinder blocks in a small river channel near the house. I don't have too much free time to trap so I don't have too many sets out at a time. It's been a good 3 days.

(This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) snow...that’s it for hand outs!
It was a good run

I am finally setting out some colony sets. Not easy with all the shelf ice to find the better spots. I need to learn a lot about these traps. Set 6 and got two rats this AM. Water is lower but still really fast in many places where I am at. I talked with a farmer today and they still have 12 million gallons of liquid manure to inject and on good days they can do about 1 to 1.2 million gallons so they will be busy for a few weeks yet.

Bryce

Checked some traps tonight. Added a few and moved a few. Great evening to be out in the marsh. My brother joined me tonight. Hope to check and set more Sunday. A few pics

deerfly,,,just curious what size traps are you using in the above pics. they look like a single spring 220? thanks.

Fossil, bridger 159's. Trying them for the first time this year. Great trap

I like the bridger conis too, but ive never tried any conis baited under the ice. are the 159s a 160 sized trap? ive heard the 110 and 150 sized ones don't have enough jaw spread for these sets. are these bigger? are you running a decent catch rate with the baited sets. sure would beat busting huts all day. thanks.

We don't have enough Ice to venture out on the marsh.

They are a 5” jaw spread. We can’t bust huts in Wisconsin

The 159s are a 6×6" single spring and 150s are 5×5. They both work great in my opinion. But the bigger jaw spread has not missed yet. The catch rate is about 43 percent so far and that is setting up with good ice. The ice is now thicker and about 6" of snow for tonight. Ill check and set more tommorow and keep rotating traps towards the refuge area as it opens the 11th of Dec. Good luck

thanks for the info deerfly. I think the extra inch of jaw spread would be a big plus, and well worth the extra cost. as I said, ive never used baited conis before, but today we set 25 160s baited with carrots. curious to see what the catch rate is after a day or two. if they catch at an acceptable rate, i'll pick up a few dozen of the 159s. the single spring would be a lot easier than the 160s we set today. second spring is a pain with the safety hooks dangling there, waiting to hook on something. again, thanks for the info.

Find some used 160’s for a cheap price and remove 1 of the springs. That’s what I did.

Fossil2,keep us posted with your results on the connies and carrots,...always been a hut buster here,just cant imagine busting ice vs vegetation?

I have a couple hundred 160s so no shortage of them, if I want to remove springs.

mnsota,,,we were out there busting huts too, but we never mess with the bigger huts as theyre too much work and take too much time. right now, those big huts have open water strips where the rats leave the hut. with a baited coni we can drop the trap right into these active spots, no chopping involved. a month from now, with thicker ice, its still much thinner over the active bubble trails, and its faster to chisel through that thin ice and drop in that baited trap, than busting the huts. I have no experience with baited conis, but we always set the bubble trails this way around the biggest huts. im just hoping the bait will increase the catch rate. i'll let you know how the check goes.

2 more on today's check, that's 5 in 6 day's for me. Now I get to work in the shed.

Nice beavers Wigray! Checked early this morning before the sun came up. Another great day to be out. I guess Dec wasted no time getting here when it came. A few new inches of snow and 15-20 mph winds made me feel like winter trapping. Rotated most of my traps to new area this morning. The catch was not great but picked up a few. I have a few 1.5 coils on hagz hardware and fiberglass poles that im learning how to use as well. Ive made a handfull of catches with these, but not even close to the hookup of a baited bodygrip. Throughout several misses in the last week ive moved the baitclip and carrot maybe 2" above the trap and have started connecting. The snow also has the weasels moving a bit more!






Although beneath the snow the ice is still somewhat clear, reading the top side of the ice also helps in trap placement. Near a feeder the the discarded feed often floats up into ice, making that area almost cloudy and vegitation packed. After chopping a hole many of the chewings float up and under the mess is a clear area of travel, perfect spot for a trap. I tryed to photo it, but real time outings will paint a better picture. This


Vs

A lot of rain here. Rivers up about 18 inches here if not a tad more.

Bryce

good job deerfly! keep after 'em. we checked everything today on the one slough. had 64 rats total.

on the baited 160s, 2 of the sets were really bad, with the triggers rusted enough that rats ate the bait w/o firing them. had 16 rats from the other 23 sets so we were happy with that. sons wife and 14 year old son came along so that made it a great day. 3 generations out on the ice together.

the check on the baited conis was a one-day check, so they weren't soaking several days to get that catch rate. when we pull this place in a couple days, we'll remove one spring from the older 160s and turn them into rat traps. checked out the bridger 159s on tims website. they look to be the perfect trap for these sets.

deerfly, thanks for the help and info. the family loved peeking down the holes in the ice.

well the mudballs finally moved 14 for today yesterday i got some cables out not very many set some new trails i found and some old ones anybody else get cables out?

great rats deerfly!

I was wrong with my earlier post. The water in two of my rivers is up over two feet yet. Tried wadding in to see my sets and the current is two fast yet as well as deep.
Those coons will bring on some work at the put up shed CableAble!!

Bryce

oh yeah nothing worse than mud and coons haha and the motor on my tumbler died of course somehow haha

well yesterday marked the end of coon for a while pulled all the dps but check out that possum first white one ive ever got kinda cool eh

Beautiful looking possum CableAble!

Dave

Great pics cable. I didn't set any restraints yet but did put out a couple thousand pounds of bait this past weekend. Got 6 dozen restraints ready to go and some that need to be finished yet. Got a few inches of snow and I'm seeing an incredible amount of coyote tracks. Can't wait for this weekend!

that grinner should be worth some coin in the taxidermy world!

second check on the baited conis today. 17 rats from 23 sets. happy with that. will be pulling these tomorrow afternoon.

What are you using for bait?

Finally! 14 lbs.

Nice one keets. Looks to be a male?

That is a nice colored fisher.
Too little ice here yet for the overweight Norsky. By tomorrow we should be better. Went through a lot looking for rats today.

Bryce

yes sir...already have one tanned, but hate to sell it for $20...what to do??eh...I'm sure taxi would be 5-600 bucks

Cable could you post the full picture of your trap puller? Want to make this winter.

mike mason,,,using carrots for bait on the conis.

Thank you!

keets-That'a a nice one! If it were mine I'd have it tanned.

Moosetrot

Nice Fisher keets!
Great catches as well Fossil! How do you like the baited sets vs. hut busting? We dont have that opportunity here. Pretty cool too 3 generations on the ice. I enjoy taking my daughters too, partially the reason for getting into under ice rats. It made it alot easier for them to come with and have fun at the same time. I checked some traps tonight. Cold nights the last few has been making ice. Also picked up an otter in the baited bodygrips. As I approached the last set in the darkness I was thinking to myself how nice it is to end a check with a critter in the trap. Otter tag filled! A pic ive posted before but one ill always enjoy!

Nice action deerfly!! I hope your young ladies can keep the idea of wildlife as a natural resource use in their heads through adulthood. We need more people who can think past their fancy coffee drink and their Twitter feed... The critter in your 3rd pix, is that just a mrat? It seems so big. I bet you pulling that otter out was a surprise! That's part of fun of trapping, sometimes you never know what your going to catch, especially when you can't see the trap until you bring it up!

Keets- Cool moves with the fisher!! Its one critter that's on my bucket list before I kick off from this piece of rock. I won't know if you've home tanned anything but with fisher being a fairly rare critter compared to more common ones, I think even a rough tanned one could be sold for more than an Andy Jackson on ebay. The cleaned up skull is probably worth more than a Hamilton as well. Check with your state regs about doing these things. Rules are different across the country. Good luck on your decision on how to market your fisher.

deerfly,,,,good job on the rats, and filling that otter tag too. was the otter in a rat set, with a carrot, and a single spring trap?

we like setting the push ups and feeder huts but we never mess with the larger huts, and always just skipped those. with the baited sets, we can set the ones we used to skip. some sloughs seem to have mostly big huts and few feeders, so we now have more opportunities on these same sloughs. looking forward to getting back out on a new slough soon. we haven't set baited conis near any smaller feeder type huts, only the biggest ones. anxious to try them on the feeder huts next. keep after 'em.

Fossil, otter was in a carrot baited 159!
Cable nice opposum too!

deerfly,,,no wonder that otter was such a surprise. not many trappers can say they've caught a vegan otter in a muskrat trap. haha. years back, I walked past someones rat set. they drove a steel rod fence post down through the trap ring, and impaled an apple on top of the fence post. just shook my head as I walked past, as there were feed beds and huts everywhere the other trapper could've set instead. a couple days later there was an otter in that apple set. back then, you couldn't take otter in that zone, and I wondered how the other guy released that thing. catches like your otter really make things interesting.

finally got something to post first fox of the season and got some under ice rat gear out yesterday for number 920 haha

nice rats to deerfly this is the first time since my first season im really trying to get some under the ice got to get some footholds out tomorrow in the small feeders

Just a few critters on my mixed line but got to get a buddy and his boys out today. The skunk was a surprise and really got the littlest one fired up. I am thinking of having it tanned for him.

Got a nice mink Thanksgiving day.

My biggest beaver so far this year is this 53 pounder that I snared

nice job guys!! pretty skunk

Nice pics guys! That skunk is a beauty...

12 more got some huts sleeved herd a rat jump at a few of them feeling pretty good about them got alot more to set who knows maybe this winter trapping thing isnt to bad...

nice critters guys!

I have to give a shout out thanking Muskrat for his great demos at the WTA events. Most notably, I've implemented his advice on bottom edge sets. Wow. The results are great. It's safe to say I'm a huge B&E set fan. I've trapped 23 muskrats on 1 farm this season...mostly all on bottom edge sets. I see very little rat sign at this farm, and haven't found any dens/huts/runs there, but I'm nailing them on the B&E set. It's been fun. Got that mink in a B&E set there, too, with a carrot on a 110.

another 12 looks like its gonna warm up quite a bit might have to set coon traps out again haha

never tried the bottom edge set but i dont mess around rivers very much

This, to me, is the most exciting attribute of the bottom edge set. No sign, no tracks, no scat, no huts, no bank dens, no chewings, no diggings . . . and yet the bottom edge set will take muskrats.

Reminds me of the title of a book on muskrat trapping written back in the 80s by Gerry Barcella entitled: THE MUSKRAT: MARSHLAND WANDERER. Indeed, the muskrat may be more of a wanderer than most of us realize.

I am setting one small stream with some bottom edge sets. Not doing real well with about 6 in 5 sets over a week. I put out 5 colonies two days before we got the 1.75 inches of rain!!! Took a while to get the water down enough to wade in and pull them. Sure glad I secured them well. 3 of them were chuck full of wet leaves and debris.
Have been doing some sloughs and marshes the last week. Sign is down in most areas. We got 36 in two checks with 45 sets. I got 4 off a small slough next to my house.


Bryce

23 more and another fox

getting some at least eh bryce

I set no BE colonies or bodygrips 'til winter sets in. That usually translates into stable water conditions, little or no debris flowing downstream, and, IMO, the 'rats and mink are more on the move underwater than prior to cold weather and ice up. Plus . . the kits have had another month or two to grow.

up to 982 today 15 more and first mink i kinda like this sleeving game

Nice catches Cable! Way to keep crackin' Im taking my daughters out to set a new area this weekend. Hopefully have some pics to share. If not sure to enjoy the time out and weather.

Yup Mike these were the only setups I could make on the 5 miles of my river line this year with all the high water. I do believe the several storms and the flooding did a number on a lot of those rats. One trapper near me typically traps about 3 miles of the same river and this year got into about 1/3rd of that and found 3 rats! I am finding several of the smaller areas typically dry that have a house or two now as that is where the rats went during the floods. Not able to get permission on several of those. Got into one today that has some potential. Made about 17 sets will watch this for a few checks.

Bryce

had a late day today set at the big marsh and didnt even get to check all my sets there and at 2 other marshes set back out my coon line in the dark for the 3rd time this season haha they were moving i ran one up a tree and hit another haha just counted up my rats and im at 999 right now if i would have checked just a few more sets haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IobpIKshr8, you'll cross that threshold unless someone smokes you driving to the slough

CableAble, you are a hard working dude!!

awesome job CA...hard work paying off

Lots of good Pictures ...keep it up!

well i broke 1000 was lucky enough to catch the one more i needed shockingly haha ended up with 44 for the day 1 fox and 2 coon had a buddy along to so it was fun glad he got to see a fox wanted to learn more about how i cable anyhow that puts at 1043 hope i can get a few more need to find some new marshes and set more and more and more!!! haha

thats great nonpcfeed haha

That last pic needs to be on the cover of a trapping magazine with the total number of 'rats stated somewhere.

NIce job!

Nice job Cable! Nice pics

Nice work Cable! Those are crazy numbers, that's dedication!

It's been an extremely slow season for me. I'm more of a hobby trapper, and have wasted too much time chasing deer this year. Still working on my cat and fisher tags, but filled my otter tag yesterday. I enjoy seeing all the catch pictures! Good luck the rest of the year!

Here's a video I made: 2018 Otter

well today was a not so great day...didnt check any off my smaller marshes in hope of doing some prospecting for new areas so i checked my land line and went to the biggest marsh i have set got it a little less than half checked and fell though!! haha didnt hit bottom but was able to pull myself out so that ended the day there went home ended up with 11 rats and 2 coon

CbaleAble- What is your personal record of mrats in a year...?

That one coon is a fattie. I sort of tired of fattie coons. All that fat doesn't necessarily add that many more inches...

great job guys

CableAble,
Great catches and great numbers and a lot of hard work!

29 rats 4 coon and a fox was a good day managed to stay on top of the ice haha

nonpcfed-- ive said it a few other times but this is only my 5th season so every year has been better than the last thankfully haha for rats its been

112- first year all baited 110s under the ice

250- first time open water trapping

350- 2 weeks before freeze up at the good marsh

1710- last year

1083- so far this year

i hope i can beat last year but we will see this under ice isnt so bad now that i figured it out a bit lot of season left i guess

Great job cable able!

Nice cableable!!! Are you the guy I seen in one of Sam Woods YouTube videos? You look familiar.

Real nice. Cable!
I've really enjoyed following this post..

Mac

11 more rats only checked one marsh today went scouting for another spot i looked at came up empty oh well theres a full marsh out there somewhere!

wisconsincooner- yeah i ran into him last spring when i was out on the wisconsin beaver trapping haha did an interview of me was pretty funny to run into him out there

Great catch and pics Cable.

Not trapping but is my current WI outdoors adventure. Got out on the river by myself Monday boated some Walleyes. Then again yesterday with my son. Monday I managed to boat just two keeper walleyes both in the 5lb range didn't weight them but they measured 22 inches. Yesterday we only boated just two fish total but both keepers. The one my son is holding in the pic is a 22 inch 5lb fish which I did weigh. Two in the cooler are the ones I boated Monday. No one to take a pic of me and I don't do selfies. so just fish in the box.
Most the time we throw these bigger fish 20 inch or bigger back. But I took every bit of fish I had in my freezer to the T-man cook out at WTA in September. Haven't been fishing since then.




So being I wanted some fish for New Years Eve fish fry. These are first fish came home since September, I don't have to buy any for our annul New Years Eve -- Surf & Turf.

Mac

Dresbach?

Yep Muskrat pic of my son is Dresbach I was at Genoa on Monday. Caught more fish at Genoa on Monday and the landing is easier dozen boats out. Was kind of looking to get into some perch but didn't find them or at least they didn't bite, I'm sure they are there. So we went to Dresbach yesterday thinking maybe we could find the perch there but didn't.. That landing is a bit sporty with ice so was only two other boat out. That at least keeps the bigger boats and guys away. Fish just didn't turn on while we were there and that is how it goes.
This time of year it can take just one or two cold nights to freeze out Dresbach completely. Genoa take several cold days, even then I can usually get in below the power plant just is a very small area to fish.

Mac

20 more puts me at 1115

nice fish mac!

Your about 900 ahead of me on the rats CableAble. Nice surprise this morning pulling a short line. Got a big male mink in my 160 set for rats under the ice. We got one two days ago in a push up.

Bryce

Haha, hes about 900 ahead of me, too! Hit 218 on rats today and 5 mink, all under ice. Tomorrow should be a good check, conditions are getting better up here. Lots of thick, cloudy ice and already froze out pop ups...., just gotta find that thin ice, or bubbles!!!

I don't know how you have time to skin all those critters CableAble.

well i got the first one of these darn things rather have seen a red critter but oh well haha never checked any rat traps today either didnt want to get wet after all haha

man 5 mink under the ice eh? thats pretty darn cool!

that mink i caught the other day was the first one of the season i never get very many

Great job as always Cable. I follow your thread every day to see how you're doing.

Cables are working are they not John!!

My first year trying colony traps so I am learning. Even with the warm weather still a lot of ice on sections of the rivers so finding some open areas takes some hiking. I only have 6 but have got 9 so far and my first double! Learning for the future. Boy can I feel it these days. Turned 71 today and there are parts of my body that ache that I did know I had.

Bryce

haha well happy birthday bryce! at least your still going! ive never played much with the colony traps myself but i never find many runs to set them in

i havent done a check of rat traps since Wednesday found a pretty good looking marsh out by my buddy in portage set it tonight got a little more than 30 sets out mix of conibears and footholds going to do a full check of my marshes around here tomorrow then check and set more at the portage marsh sunday should be interesting!!

Rattrappers got a lot of extra parts and loose screws.

“Back when I was thirty it wasn’t this hard”. Benny

id say we are pretty crazy eh chris haha oh well sure is fun!

Let er rip CA. Live life to the fullest. For guys like you and I that’s in the solitude of the Marsh. As peaceful as it may seem it is an incredibly complicated place. Always full of surprises. I hope you find what you’re looking for!

you said it b'y! well i didnt find very much of what i was looking for but did find some haha

set my new spot yesterday only got a little over 30 sets out checking tomorrow and hopefully get a bunch more set

set some new area on the biggest marsh im on over here knew there was some huts back there but was alot better than i thought had 2 in conibears i just set half hour before ran out of traps setting it more going in monday when i check

so thats 28 for today making 1143

well only 10 out of the new spot had a buddy with me made it fun at least got alot more set there see what happens

Keep plugging away CableAble, I am pulling my couple dozen sets tomorrow. Will decide over Christmas if I try some more bottom edge sets or not. This line has gone pretty dead the last couple days.
Water levels are slowing going down and seem more stable for now. We made quite a bit of ice the last day or two and nights.

Bryce

Way to keep catching Cable! Not much going on here, simular thoughts as Bryce. Ups and downs throughout the winter after the ice is over 10". A few rats coming in from smaller creeks and trickles. Still on the ice too, just participating in some of the other outdoor activities too.

Short line is pulled. 1 token rat for the ending day! Will have a a few days to contemplate my next efforts.

Bryce

17 and a mink yesterday and 20 today yeah ice has been getting thicker last few days but i have a chainsaw for that haha

need to do some more looking around out west see what else i can find out there hope i can find a few off the road would be handy

New Years's fish fry!!!

another 20 up to 1210 even managed to get some new cables out with the snow

Your a hardworking trapper cableable.Good on ya.Hope you do well at the sale.

Made it thru a wet day at work & got my first otter today,
Pretty happy about that!

only 10 had a break in the rain just before dark checked what i could melted pretty good around some huts had to pull them water on the ice up side is i didnt have to cut any of my holes back open

i hope to boco!

nice looking otter there guy!

Yes CableAble I was going to try and go into two very small sloughs with a couple houses each. No go, not enough ice. These two are newer ones due to higher water and still enough water for the rats but a lot of vegetation and thus ice is thin. Visited a fairly large marsh today that is part of a river system and the water is mostly open. It will take some really cold weather to get enough ice out there. Lot of current yet too as water levels are still well above normal for this time of year.

Bryce

Give it 2 days and she’ll stiffen up. Watch the narrow spots! Don’t forget your life jacket. I’ve been wearing one since the Thursday before deer season, when this madness started.

Opportunity awaits! Lol

Filled my otter tag today, this pic is in correct on my computer?

17 more rats today didnt check any yesterday so much for nice clear ice oh well! yeah it grew well enough for me overnight good inch and a half of snow ice where it was open thusday when i was out haha just enough sleeved one hut today standing in water oh well!

oh also got a pretty good coyote its no fox but ill take it haha

nice otter fishdog!

Sweet coyote shot!

Ya that snow following the rain really sucked for our ice conditions. During that rain it was like looking through a window at the world below. The only constant in the marsh is change. It will shine again.

Pretty coyote shot..

Mac

yeah didnt realize it at the time haha would have been cool a little closer and coyote more at the bottom with the way that snow was to oh well haha

24 more

Cable Able-

You're like the Energizer Bunny of rat trapping in Wisconsin! Congrats on the great season!

Moosetrot

Congrats on the first otters guys! Cable, you are a trapping machine!!!

haha well ive been more like if ya took the things batteries out the last few days that snow really has me down havent checked a rat trap since monday i dont like it but at the same time im glad so i can get more snares out oh well if i was smart id pull the marshes that are stand alone and just snare as much as i can probably should do that actually hmmm haha

anyway this was monday "last year" 11 rats and my specialty public land ditch fox haha

X2

yesterday was pretty fun few different critters 20 rats







and today was less so but got a mink and 16 rats new number is 1308

Pretty good looking yote you got there.

Got to love it when can do a mix bag just makes thing interesting..

Keep snapping them.

Mac

16 and just one beaver out of that house today

yeah that was a pretty good yote fairly big to

you got a great work ethic, and great access to fur CA...I'm kinda jealous

I have a couple friends in the Waukesha area {they don't trap} and when I travel down south I'm just amazed at the habitat...I was also down to Madison for new years and WOW much better stuff than up north . saw some orange flags in marshes between Portage and Madison, I'm telling my wife.. "look" theres gotta be a hundred traps there!!

You must being doing something right, the light color new stakes produce way better than my old red dogwood stakes for under ice trapping, at least from what I see by the pictures. Other than that I do not see you setting them any different, or you have 200 sets out to my 10, LOL

only 9 but i spent most of the day trying to get some more snares out got some but nothing crazy

keets i hate to say it but them were my flags you saw out there!! haha i think there is only abut 70 or less out there would have been a great open water marsh then there would have been at least 400 out there!!

thats the secret fishdog got to have new stakes haha when k9 ends im hoping to set like crazy if i can find the spots

Way to keep going CableAble
Do have smaller site locations set up for rats to and from your main set areas? I was scouting a large marsh with a friend today and the sign was limited at best and also we did find several spots that were open and did go in a time or two. Did not see rat sign near those open areas which surprised us. Not nearly the coyote tracks either as on some of the other marshes we have hiked. When these high density cattail areas are open like in deer season I wonder how many deer just hole up for a week or two in those cattails as there is water and some feed as well.


Bryce

You’re definitely in a hotspot when there’s dead rats laying all over the ice. lol
beginners luck.

My guess their just dieing to go home with him so jump out on ice an surrender. lol!

Mac

Are the snow owls not down there yet? Otherwise, wouldn't they steal all your breadcrumbs?

https://www.facebook.com/pg/furandwoolmarket/videos/?ref=page_internal

I see GFW is doing a Facebook live today at 10AM on Under Ice muskrat trapping on Spirit Lake IA. Any one going to check it out?

If we really need any tips on under ice rat trapping? All we need to do is PM nimzy or CableAble. They’re like the muskrat (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) of Wi.

You must have a leak in your otter sled!!! WTG. Lot of ice melting up our way last night and today.

Bryce

ah horicon i would have been out there if the stupid auction didnt happen in the middle of the week must be nice ride around on a 4 wheeler next year its gonna happen!

Family has kept me out of the marsh this year, but the kids convinced me to go set an otter set yesterday with the warm weather. First check and it looks like we have fur....


A big male came through last night, but his offspring beat him to the trap.

Now that you mention it I haven't seen any. Plenty of eagles tho. GFW trying to promote/ recruit prime rats??




Yesterday it rained and rained. I got plenty wet:) I like trapping in the rain. Bays are hard yet but getting to them is a problem, many of the narrows are opening up. driving out last night over the swiss spots the water was shooting up out of the sucker holes...that ice just rolls ahead of ya. Didn't freeze last night, Im gonna let her stiffen up today. Man, I was really getting into it!

They had a couple other FB live video yesterday on fur put up. One even had Dave taking about how he puts up coon. Probably does help promote and get some more folks out there.

Rain can be a trappers best friend... When it is working for you and not against you.

That doesn't happen too often.

It’s a little rough on the ice fishing too.
I’m gonna head north tomorrow for a while and try to fill my cat tag.

what do ya get out there chris 2 days for under ice?

If it did, we would all be waiting.

That would be in winter and spring. May cause slight delays but usually improves conditions for me.
Unless it changes to snow then it sucks.

CA state end has state regs. Federal end 3 days under ice.

Well, it may improve conditions for you boys, but here at the tail end of the Wisconsin River rain anywhere along its 400+ miles means high water coming sooner or later. This last year was ugly.

Pound Town

With this wind I bet it was brutal out in the big open marsh today!ds
We have a lot of small sloughs around where I live. This last rain raised the water level in several of them over the top of some push ups I was setting 16 days ago. Several places now have two ice layers about a foot or more apart.

Bryce

Yup, Lotsa rain, lotsa run off. Swamp is up a foot. Bays raised, weeds got two layers. Cut your hole and the water boils, hence the buildup. Dealin with it...Hopefully she stiffens up a bit more and drops. We started very dry (mud) now were swamped. Think it will stay that way with the Government shut down, whos gonna open the gate?

yep thats how i looked today to haha

everything i got is frozen to the sled im thinking ill pull my snares and just chase rats

well yesterdays frozen sled was 21 rats

and today we started off with a coyote then a fox double true double 30 yards apart same trail and finished off with 19 rats

CableAble- You're bold to put your yote sets that close to a road. But if it works for you and no one's ripped you off yet, go for it!!

awesome days there

Looks like a great day and a lot of fun Cable. Congrats!

yesterday i got another fox on the trail with the double and 15 rats








and today was a coyote and 9 rats

I gotta up my game

Cable-
Really enjoyed watching your season here. I used to hit it just like that. I even have the exact same Toyota. I never quite caught that many rats in a year, and my truck is a little rustier though! My hat is off to you. Those were some of the best times of my life. Most people dont realize the amount of work that involves. You have much to be proud of.

finally checked some rat traps todays been spending the last few days trying to find a good marsh not much luck so far oh well this snow is gonna ruin everything with that pretty well haha 21 rats and a fox

Looks to me like that rat got caught from underneath the jaws?

Had a double on otters and a beaver with a white patch.

JSell - Nice catch, congrats guys. I've caught beaver with white on them also but not to often. Beautiful otter.

yeah caught from under the jaw haha funny eh

checked a few rat traps and set more before the snow 9 rats and a beaver

that white patch beaver is pretty darn cool!!

What’s your totals cable, great thread... your a great trapper

2 little beaver the other day out of 2 sets worked out good got a few more set out first check is thursday going to try and set some more tomorrow if the snow aint to bad










and today i checked 30 rat traps i set the other day got 18 out of it then another little beaver and a fox in the good old ditch!!!

5 coyotes

11 fox

140 coon

9 beaver

1440 rats been stalled for a while now nowhere new to set oh well someday ill find find something

You rocked it.. wish I still had that much powder in my load LOL!

Mac

I know the feeling, Mac! Oh, to be 8 ft. tall and bulletproof again!

Moosetrot

NICE JOB CA!! KEEP IT GOING

I used to have a Toyota like that, I think it was a 1994... 5 speed manunal... truck rocked with the 22r motor
Same color too

set this one yesterday love when they come right back though not like yotes haha


last year i felt i rocked it this year not so much only thing i have left to try and redeem myself is beaver just have to beat 61 im hoping i can get up to 100 plus


bulldozerjoe-- i love the thing its a 94 manual 22re same exact truck you must have had if it was a 94 yeah i repainted it this summer did the bodywork and all that good stuff put a nice dent in the bedside the other day trying to get a tote of traps into it haha oh well my plan was to 2 tone it silver anyway along the bottom we will see if i feel up to that this summer haha

Just sat down and read all 16+ pages of this thread. Really well done by everyone posting. CB, I'm really digging your tenacity and dedication. Keep up the hard work, we are all watching/living vicariously.

First one for the year on a snare pole and it was a pretty good one

well it didnt go as planned yesterday only 3 out of 13!! not sure why every huse had active sign on it and good chimneys oh well!! the double was pretty cool


nice one jsell!!

40 plus years ago I met a guy on the rat marsh ice who said as soon as the rivers opened in northern WI he would be trapping beaver in open water. That will be a little bit with temps today, but he expected to catch close to 200 in the spring, ten grand back then.

Odd looking tail on the last beaver! Any ideas?

Chris

It's getting down to crunch time for cats. We had planned on running one with hounds for this guy but the snow conditions have been so poor that hasn't been an option. Set on Sunday and had the tag punched on Thursday!



Nice spotted female

Well done!

Mac

Beautiful cat JSell. I didn't know we had cats like that in Wisconsin.

To much snow I had to borrow my buddies snow machine so I could go In and knock down my CRs. The Old F150 just wasn't up to the task.

Lance, just down the road from you by Osseo

Fair amount of nicely spotted cats it seems but a lot of
Them tend to have a reddish tint! Nice job on the
Bobcat. And great job cable able, hope you get to 100

hodagtrapper its just the picture tail was normal


what a super looking cat there b'y!!

that's pretty WI cat fore sure

2 in side x side runs CA?

I picked up a nice 50# under ice beaver.

keets-- it was the same run both coming out of the house to haha


nice beaver AJE baited set or what?

picked up a big beav yesterday from a colony I'm lightly trapping ...nothing on todays check as the ice went too far down this week..and appears the beavers knocked down the snares..maybe

It's time to switch from spud to chainsaw

checked the beaver traps yesterday got 6 out of it anyway the biggest one was 65

I had a small popple stick on the trigger, but I think I got it because I was set in a good run.
I got a beaver today in that same set, but unbaited. Interestingly I got it by the tail today. It was under ice so obviously a positive drowner set. I was surprised how well the Bridger 330 clamped down on & held it by the tail. The other strange thing was something chewed 1 of its eyes out & took a small bite from its nose. I wasn't expecting such biting in an under ice pond set. Hmmm.
Anyway, thank god for snow shoes. Without them I don't know how I would've gotten around today.
Picked up my 3rd mink of the season tonight...each mink was in a different small stream in the area.

Nice work!

Chris

I've been wondering where Cable Able has been?

Heck keets he doesnt have snowshoes and he is still wallowing in the deep snow. Probably set up camp and eating bvr and muskrat over an open fire

Been gone for quite a while from the forum and just getting back to trapping. Picked up my first otter this year, what a rush.

Hey guys just wondering how you approach the spring beaver season with all this high water we are having/about to have. Just moved to southern WI from Stevens Point so trying to find some last minute beaver before the season shuts down in a few weeks. Have some spots to set in but not sure what my best plan of attack should be. I’ve been thinking about building some beaver floats so my sets will be active no matter what the water level does, any thoughts or suggestions on sets?

just when ya think i was dead haha well i went out to the river again this year had a good time but the high water and ever worse changing depth everyday made for a real pain best day was 16 and so im now at 85 for the year and thats pretty dang close to 100 to close for me to just leave it at that haha so i think im gonna go up north and stay with a buddy and see what i can find did anyone else get out and kill some?

Way to go guys.

Heading out tomorrow to make a few beaver sets. Should be able to drive pretty close to the location. Guaranteed to average $50.00 per beaver. LOl

I remember those spring boat trips On the WI river and the big and little sugar rivers. One check brought us 28 flat tails.
I'm glad those days are over. I'll leave that grunt work to you young guys.