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Post by davet on Jan 27, 2015 19:41:44 GMT -5
Learn from the best. This year I've pinched two grey's.....and missed one by 1". I'm still gonna get him!!! I've paid attention to LB and to the post on Trapperforum. The best part was, I pinched the first grey on the first trap I set, on the first night I set it. Then (of course) I said....."hey...what's so tough about this trapping stuff!!" rofl
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 27, 2015 19:58:03 GMT -5
First trap & first night! That's great. I rarely pinch anything other then coon on the first night. Fox always seem to be 2 or 3 days out. I think they come in on the 1st night sometimes but the set is " to hot" with scent for them to commit. When it "cools" down a touch it's game on. Another thing I've noticed is if they seem to be coming near but not commiting sometime I hit the set with some bobcat pizz. For some reason it seems every canine can not shy away from the cat pizz. Just watch a house or farm cat pizz somewhere and then let your dog out. As soon as he gets down wind he's on that spot in 10 seconds and won't let it alone. Another thingg is once I get a set working I very rarely rebait with nothing more then a squirt of pro mix. Next year I'm gonna try some of Leggett's fox exciter and see how that stuff works. I have heard nothing but great results with it. Oh and another thing I forgot to add to the pic post was those 3 sets are on a 70 farmette and everything was pinched from Tuesday night to Saturday's mornings check. That's the best I've done with just 3 sets all within 80 yds of each other.
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Post by davet on Jan 28, 2015 8:59:43 GMT -5
LB....I also factor in "beginners luck" into that. I knew it was too easy on that first night. I thought...if it's this easy, I should have done this years ago....and I'd be driving a corvette to check my traps!!!
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 28, 2015 9:14:31 GMT -5
When I set this one set in the pinch point on the creek (secret spot) the guy goes you will get one well I got the claw just nothing attatched to it. It is secret because its like 20 acres and it has a creek that is atlease 20ft wide all the way along so unless by water they would have to tresspass anyways but he is the only one with a bridge to get there and it has fox coyote and coons crawling all over it and deer gets hunted once a year and thats it so its man against nature. I hope it will pay off I need a few bigger traps tho. Only has long spring to set overthere they were used for yotes when they only had long springd but they have seen there better day. Still work tho
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 28, 2015 9:15:24 GMT -5
It was -9 at 6:45 this morning im waiting for it to warm some
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 28, 2015 16:22:41 GMT -5
Is it a foot bridge, ATV bridge or a regular roadway bridge? If its a foot or atv bridge in the woods I would set each side of it. The critters hate to get thier feet wet. You can catch fox on top and coon and other creek runners under it.
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 29, 2015 12:47:48 GMT -5
suspension bridge with two wood runners they cant jump it coon could climb but i bet it would denture fox and yotes. if they really wanted they could but probably wont
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 29, 2015 12:50:17 GMT -5
almost went into creek this morning the runners were ice covered slid but caught myself found fox den so i set around it about 30 ft away
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 29, 2015 12:50:34 GMT -5
im willing to give em a chance
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 30, 2015 6:03:37 GMT -5
so much for all my extra sets for last night... long day re-bedding them all in the nice 5ish inches of wet snow
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 30, 2015 15:40:08 GMT -5
Are you using peatmoss and salt?
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 30, 2015 16:24:06 GMT -5
Are you using peatmoss and salt? no i dont got any peatmoss and sometimes salt but mostly wax paper i have had good luck with..... today was a terrible day. i first had to shovel through a 20' long x4' tall snow drift then got about half way down trail saw a huge drift probably 3 or 4 ft tall only a few feet wide gunned it made it through but no sooner did i think i could go through a 6 ft one i then buried the wheeler.... it is now resting in place until i can get the tractor in tomorrow.. i need to get another snowmobile but until then i will complain about alot of snow and getting stuck..
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 30, 2015 16:41:29 GMT -5
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Post by davet on Jan 30, 2015 19:20:27 GMT -5
Snow?.....What snow???
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Post by hunternotakiller on Jan 30, 2015 22:54:33 GMT -5
your funny lol. i hope i get something tomorrow for all this hard work
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 30, 2015 22:59:04 GMT -5
If you are winter trapping peatmoss and some kind of anti freeze is a must if you are bedding traps in the ground. I dig or pound my trap bed in. Then dust it with a 1/4" of peat and sprinkle some salt on it. Then I bed the trap with a couple of twists till its solid. Then I cover the whole trap and the bed with peat packing the peat as tight as I can around the outside of the trap. I dust off with peat until that area is flat. After that I use some dry topsoil and sift it on top of the peat. No more then 1/4" thick, just enough to keep the peat from blowing away.. I then sprinkle a heavy coating of salt on top of the topsoil. This will 9 out of 10 times keep the topsoil frost and freeze free. A lot of times the snow will not even lay on it. I have plans of putting a set in tomorrow. I will take pics as I make it to better help you understand. I have had sets in the ground useing this method and had sets in and get 2" of rain and then 4" of snow a couple days later. I figure there's noway that set is operating. It has to be froozen. Well I set it off and it works as it should and the peat moss is COMPLETELY dry!!!
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Post by trapperrick on Jan 31, 2015 6:49:59 GMT -5
I quit using dirt a couple of years ago. I started using grass clippings from the yard after watching a video on the pipe dream set. After digging out a place to set the trap, I sprinkle some grass clippings in then bed the trap solidly in the hole. Another key to it is to have your trap bedded slightly below the surface of the rest of the ground making the furbearer step down and giving it a better chance to step on the pan. After that I use a mesh screen pan cover and cover that with grass clippings. It blends in surprisingly well. The only problem I've had other than deep snow was any amount of freezing rain we may get. But all you have to do is remove that chunk of frozen grass and put fresh stuff on top. It's a heck of a lot easier than messing with waxed dirt or anything else I've tried.
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Post by davet on Jan 31, 2015 13:15:46 GMT -5
You can help me out here, I've just been using peat. About 1\2" to maybe a bit more. I've packed it down around the outside of the trap but not the pan itself. (Got too close once....lesson learned...ouch) With the snow and the rain I just quit using dirt. Now, when I check 'em and if it's just a light snow I know (after checking 'em a few times) they are fine. Nice and dry and they will work fine if stepped on. If they are snow covered, I will put on my rubber gloves and clear the snow down to the peat. Then with a small branch (and by small I mean 1\8") I will check the peat to see if the top of it is still dry, wet, or frozen. Then I will proceed accordingly. It the trap needs redone...which is usually not the case...I will do that. But usually if the top layer has had water seep into it, that has frozen and it just needs to be "skimmed off". Then I will sift on some new peat and attempt to make it look as if a critter has dug his way into a log. I will re-bait\lure the log hole and be off.
Right now I'm a bit perplexed as I have traps set where I've seen sign.....but now the sign has disappeared. I know the fox are around the general vicinity and I think they will make a circle back. So, I believe I'm banking on patience. Either that or I'm learning. (You know....."dumb beginner) *banghead*
Dave
BTW, tomorrow night we are suppose to get a minimum of 8" of snow. OTOH, the way the weathermen do forcast, I may be wise to break out my swimsuit. If I do that I'll post pic's. Me in my Speedo....you all could lose weight from barfing!! *excited*
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 31, 2015 15:01:06 GMT -5
Ok here goes with the pics and process... 1st pic is the area I am trapping. Just past the tower you can see a open area. This is where the set will be... sorry about the sideways pic... And look what I found! A spot where a fox dug for a mouse or vole just last night. I think I'll put my dirthole right here. Dirthole is the top hole and trap bed is the bottom hole. Peat moss in the bottom of the bed. Chain stake started. Trap set with pan and not night latched yet. Polyfill under the pan. Trap bedded, peat packed around outside of trap and the pan is now set at the night latch postion. Top layer of peat now put on top of trap. Peat is approx. 1/2" thick and has a sprinkling of table salt on it. Topsoil now put on just enough to cover the peat. The rough stuff at the 10 & 5 o'clock positions is what is left in the sifter. I place these here in the area of the trap levers to help guide the fox's paw to the sweet spot just between the two rough spots. Should be a right paw catch. A final good sprinkling of salt before baiting. The salt may look heavy at this time but the moisture in the topsoil will soak it up and it will stay un froozen for atleast a week probably 10 days. Set is now baited with Violator 7, Garmean's pro mix and Minnsota red gland lure and my tracks are brushed out useing the loop in the cable of my catch pole. Pic is taken about 12 feet away. This is what the set looks like from 40 yds away. As you can see the fox and deer tracks working through this area. The next pic is of a set that I made on the Jan. 22 and I haven't touched it since. Relured for the 1st time today. Doesn't look to bad as far as being froozen. It just hasn't produced yet. Dave you are doing what I do but I always use topsoil on top of the peat. If it does freeze you can just flip the froozen patty off and put fresh on and salt.
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Post by davet on Jan 31, 2015 18:14:18 GMT -5
LB, I've read a lot about Calcium Chloride instead of salt. Do you have a preference or do you find that it doesn't seem to matter?
Oh, and thanks for the pic's!! Very nice and very helpful!! I'd be unsure of whether or not to just put the dirt hole right there or move it away ten feet or so. Now I have my answer. getting rid of the boot prints is something I currently don't do...but will now do as well. Of course, my boots always remain in a bag in the garage when not on my feet.
Thanks so much for your time!!!!
Dave
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Post by longbeard2372 on Jan 31, 2015 23:53:25 GMT -5
I use what is cheapest and easiest to find. I buy the 1 lb. salt containers when they are on sale when I see them at 2 for $1. Can't get much cheaper then that! Now with salt it tends to rust your traps a lot if you don't get it off after the season is over ASAP. I take them to the car wash and wash them very very good with the high pressure soad and rinse. Then bring them home and boil them off in clean water and then rewax. Then hang them on the side of the shed till I'm ready to dye and wax for the next season. Waxing them for over the summer storage will keep them protected from rust and allows me to store them out in the fresh air all summer.
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Post by davet on Feb 1, 2015 11:25:44 GMT -5
Once again, thanks for your advice LB!!
Dave
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Post by hunternotakiller on Feb 1, 2015 11:32:30 GMT -5
thank you so much for the pictures!!!! i will try but no guarantees because the ground is frozen solid about a foot down and it is real wet so its not just frozen dirt its solid ice. plus the 2 ft of snow and more in spots
ive got a fence line that the pack of yotes (think there r 4) they use all the time and more often than not they cross in one spot going to just put some #3 4 coils right there. as long as i can get my hands on em
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Post by longbeard2372 on Feb 1, 2015 12:53:59 GMT -5
Hunter if you have that much snow I would blind set that trail the yotes are useing. At all cost I would not walk on that trail to even place the trap. Stand off to the side and use a trap on a drag and put it in position useing a flat shovel to slide it in where they are stepping. Use the shovel then to throw snow into the air over the trap covering it. Be sure to use polyfil under the pan. Do not sift snow over the pan. For some reason when snow is sifted it turns to a block of ice.If you throw it into the air 4-6 feet it seems to dry or stay the same moisture level. I have made a wooden fork type of tool out of 1x8 pine that will hold the trap while you slide it in place under the snow from 8 feet off to the side of the trail. I learned this from a great trapping legend in Michigan named Asa Lennon. He called it a snow spoon and it can also be used to toss snow into the air to cover a trap if needed. When doing this it is best to use drags.
As far as the froozen ground I just use a sledge hammer to beat in a trap bed a touch bigger then the trap & in the shape of the trap. Then use the peat & topsoil & salt the same way I did above. Then use a trap stake or piece of all thread to punch a bait hole in. When making blind or post sets when there is no snow I use this method. Esp. with blindsets. You can use a trowel and take off the gound litter where the trap will set and save it. Pound the bed in and place the trap. Put peat on, then put the ground litter on top of that and it should blend in with the surrounding area.
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Post by hunternotakiller on Feb 1, 2015 13:18:30 GMT -5
waiting to get some bigger size traps from a friend to set on the yote trail. but i just stuck a camera on the trail to get a count on how many i got to deal with. the farmer wants em gone so i may just have to resort to calling them the last few days of season.
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