Muskrat Porn

[HunterDave]

I was moving some sets in a different area today when I saw what I thought was a beaver swimming. She went behind some reeds where I had placed a float set and I heard the snap of a 110. When I pulled her out of the water I was surprised by the weight of her! I've caught quite a few muskrats the same length but never one with a girth like this. I think that she's pregnant but I'll have to wait for her to dry to find out.

[crazyfish]

That's a sumo wrestler sized rat ! Congrats !

[bill9044]

Hey Dave what has been your daily low temperatures up there?

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by bill9044

Hey Dave what has been your daily low temperatures up there?

Last week it was cold at night and the ditch and sough actually froze over one night/day. Since the weekend it warmed up and the nights have been about 5 degrees. The days have been gorgeous except for the wind. Yesterday I was out moving sets around with just a tshirt and working up a sweat in sunny 17ish degree weather.....not even a whisper of wind. I felt like I was cheating by trapping in such nice weather.

As long as I keep the trapping shed door closed during the day it keeps the cool inside. The fan goes 24/7.

[HunterDave]

Ratzilla on the wire. Almost ran out of room.

Four more like her hanging makes the juveniles look really small.

[nube]

Looks good Dave. How many are you at this year? Whats the best way your catching them? Did you try my sticks setups yet? Oh ya we need more pics as well lol

[bill9044]

Damn that is a big rat.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by nube

Looks good Dave. How many are you at this year? Whats the best way your catching them? Did you try my sticks setups yet? Oh ya we need more pics as well lol

I won't have a chance to try the lathe sets this year but I will next Spring.

I have 95 Fall rats for the week and 39 Spring rats that I had in the freezer that I put up. I should have a lot more but I committed to trapping a drainage ditch for a landowner that gave me permission to snare coyotes. In 5 days with 12 float sets I only caught 7 rats (I think?) before I pulled the plug and moved them to a slough. Initially I didn't set my float sets in the best locations in the slough but I have that sorted out now. Part of the learning curve I guess.

Since Spring, I changed the way that I secured my 110's to the float and that's causing issues with missed catches. I think that I know what the issue is so I have to sort that out. No issues with the #1 stoplosses on float sets except to make sure that the caught rats don't trip the second trap.....more weeds in the middle of the float. All lessons learned.

For some reason today's check was poor, I only caught 3 rats last night where I've been averaging about 14 per day despite my mistakes. I have no idea why, other than maybe I trapped the first area out, but why in the second, new area as well? Anyways, I scouted another spot that has tons of rats and if my check goes the same tomorrow I'm moving all of my sets there.

It's probably a blessing to start with fewer rats per day than I expected. It gave me a chance to break into putting them at a slower, steadier pace and develope a routine. Humping around the slough is getting easier and putting up the fur is getting quicker. It's all good and I'm enjoying the beautiful weather and exercise!

[bill9044]

Thanks for the info and the pics. That rat will be like $25 way more than most beaver. Hahaha. Great thread glad you are having fun. Your thread made me scout out a couple more shallow sloughs. If it is under 2 feet I'll be trapping. I also noticed more huts poping up. Is that hut in previous pic a feed hut or shelter hut. I don't know the difference. All I noticed was all my huts are black mud not nice tan reeds. Keep the posts and the pics coming. Very inspirational.

[HunterDave]

Bill, the huts are starting to go up pretty quick right now in this area and they are getting easier to find. I'm relatively certain that the hut in the picture is a shelter hut because of the large number of rats that I caught in that area. The picture doesn't do it justice, it's huge! The area that I may be moving to this afternoon has a lot of these huts so my expectations are rising. I chatted with a duck hunter yesterday and he said that there were muskrats swimming everywhere. I'm going to mark the entrances to the huts and put colony/submarine traps at them once the slough starts to freeze over.

It's a beautiful day today so I'll take a few pictures while I'm out there.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by bill9044

Keep the posts and the pics coming. Very inspirational.

That was kinda the idea when I started the thread. I can't wait until you fellas down south start posting some "Muskrat Porn" of your own.

[bill9044]

Here is a shallow ditch that this little fella is living in. I'll be seeing him in my float in 2 weeks or so.

[braggadoe]

cool pic

ditches on such, where it's pretty easy for them to find a place to get out of the water.

the old school, basic pocket set works well. bait or no bait, just the hole gets there attention.



just throwing that out there.

[bill9044]

Hey braggadoe did you use a 110 or a foothold there? I am assuming a 110

[braggadoe]

foothold

[HunterDave]

Glad to see you guys posting up pictures.....good stuff!

I wish that more people would post pictures up.

[coy coyote]

Here you go Dave this is hard core pornhttp://
http://

[HunterDave]

Nice haul, Coy! In the first picture it looks like you've been having a little fun with your .22.

I'd be interested in seeing those ones on a board.

[coy coyote]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Nice haul, Coy! In the first picture it looks like you've been having a little fun with your .22.

I'd be interested in seeing those ones on a board.

If there's one out of 10 thats shot below the head it's a lot. I had them in a five gallon pail on the way home so there's blood everywheres.

[Leeroy25]

Nice work! Thanks for sharing.

[HunterDave]

My Daughter was interested in learning how to process a muskrat so I kept a couple of small juveniles to show her how it's done. I skinned one and she skinned one.....I fleshed one and she fleshed hers.....the same for putting them on the wire stretchers and then she took about a dozen off the stretchers and made the finishing touches to them. Now that she knows the process I told her that I was going to put her to work in the skinning shack.

She made me put a clothes pin on the stretcher so we knew which one is hers. I'm gonna mark down the receipt number when I turn my fur in so she knows how much it brings in at auction.....LOL! It was nice and we both enjoyed it.

[coy coyote]

The ones she's holding is it a spring rat? Pretty nice color for a fall rat

[HunterDave]

I caught it yesterday. Some of the smaller ones that I've caught this week have a clear belly, others only have a bit of black around the front legs, while others have a wide black stripe right down the belly. The back of her's had a wide black stripe down the middle but a clear belly. I'll have to get the manual out and look, maybe they are starting to lose the black off their hide already. Pretty darned quick if they are.

EDIT - Oopps! That's the back and it does have black in it but not as much as most in comparison to ones I've been catching. Usually the belly has less black but this one is opposite.

Back



Belly

[bill9044]

I couldn't resist I was out scouting for deer and this rat was sitting at the edge of the slough. All the rat porn I have been hooked on (damn internet) made me do it. My psychiatrist told me I have a problem I'm a trap-a-holic.



This ones back was starting to prime but you can see the sides and belly aren't quite there.

[Beaver Stretcher]

Great thread. Hoping to get after some muskrats this weekend.

[HunterDave]

Time to head into the depot to drop off some fur. Boxes from right to left.....Spring rats, small Fall, medium Fall and large adult Fall. I'm going to see if they will accommodate me by tagging them in that order. It might give me a better idea of how they grade them for size and damage.

39 Spring rats, 100 Fall rats and 20 more to process or are drying. Happy, happy, happy!

[waterninja]

All I can say is that It's a good thing you built that skinning shack. Great to see your daughter involved.
From the look of things, you'll be building a bigger shack soon.

[PCP_ECOM]

Well truck is loaded full of gear and boat strapped on top,tomorrow morning the rats of Siver Lake are in for rude awakening,will post up some pictures of sets and area tomorrow evening,I will also be tagging some yote's there as well later on,cheers Peter

[braggadoe]

we're putting everything off to the last minute. that way, it'll only take a minute to get ready and go.

could of almost completed my 1st year welding apprenticeship, just getting 4 doz coyote traps/chains/stakes and snare supports ready this last week.

looking forward to starting.

[HunterDave]

Good luck to all of you fellas getting at it tomorrow!

Don't forget to post pictures up.