Long chains

How does super long chains on muskrat and mink traps like 3-12’ help drown in shallow water? And why do you use the long chains?

It has been a while since I read them but I know there are several good threads on this topic in the water trapping archives.
They are a great resource

Longer chains let you stake the trap out in deeper water so the weight of the trap can hold them under water.




Charlie

This! And don't forget the swivels!!!

My longer chains are not 3'-12', maybe 2' . I would have to measure. Add the swivels and I do not have any losses.

Should I put long chains on all my rat traps? And will a #1 ls be heavy enough to hold a muskrat under water

Buy a roll of 18 gauge rebar tie wire. A lot cheaper than chain and you can easily adjust to the length you need at the set. I, generally, use two strands of wire. That stuff is super flexible and takes a lot to break it.

Do yourself a favor and get some #1.5 coilsprings for rats and mink. Much better rat/mink traps IMO.

Add a railroad spike to the #1 traps if you need more weight.

Do you have otter? I don't think that would end well with otters. We have them everywhere here so chain and swivels is what works for us.

The same here, even a good size coon can do a number on wire, I gave up on it years ago except to wire the trap chain to a wood stake when I use one for some reason

What is the definition of "long" I have been all over the board on this. My first rat rigs were mostly 1.5 long springs and 1.5 coils that I added about 3 foot of chain to. That is too much as the rats and coons could move quite far.
Today I have almost all 1 stoploss and add a double loop 9 inch cable with a slip loop to the existing chain, probably 2-2.5 foot total which works well. I don't use any wire and can tighten the cable loop to my stake with no wire or ties. When trapping through the ice in pushups I take the cable extenders off as I don't want rats getting that far from the pushup and freezing in the ice or wrapping around more cattails.

Bryce

While otters and coon are not the target species, I had no trouble holding either species. I did have a few pull the stakes and tangle up nearby. I was running 200 traps on marsh/Missouri River. Again, I am setting fast and frequent, primarily on rat huts and feed beds. If I had been running sets that would have a higher percentage of non-targets like otter or coon, yeah, I would manage things differently. The key to holding non-targets at rat/mink sets with wire is to not allow that animal access to land where it can tangle the chain or wire on something solid and pull out or cause harm to itself. I have taken thousands of rats and hundreds of mink this way, not to mention quite a few coon and 3 otters that were released, unharmed. It is the ONLY time I use wire to secure traps. Never on land or for target species larger than mink.