I'm so sad

[nube]

So I went to start hitting the lake I was all excited about today. Back when I looked at it there were about 60 houses that I saw. Well I started today and there were more like 100 houses. Then I started chopping into them to set some conibears in the houses. I chopped into about 40 houses or more and they are all frozen solid!!!!! There must be hundreds of dead rats in that lake now. There were only half a dozen that actually had water in them and the rest were frozen. Even the big mounds that you would think no way they would freeze.

Not sure what happened. One theory I got is that water levels dropped. The other is that with the freeze thaw and flooding earlier in January may somehow flooded them out and killed them off?
Any ideas guys?
I got permission on another pond as well that had a bunch of huts and the same thing there as well. I wonder if we will have a massive die off somehow due to the weather on rats.
I might not reach my goal this year lol

The only hope I have is that they have some bank dens and will survive somehow but I doubt it.

I even chopped into one house and found a small rat that was curled up in a ball in a soft dry nest froze solid.
Sad day for the rats.

[molly]

That is sad...Not sure if a rat would rather freeze to death or drown in a trap!
However, you should have signed up for our 2-day muskrat workshop last month. Gary Godberson knows everything about them and the students learned a lot.

Where was this anyway?

[Red Bullets]

Thus the cycle of nature...

don't worry though..
A muskrat has five to 10 young per litter. The same female normally has another litter a month after the first, and sometimes yet another a month after the second. a muskrat can breed up 4 times a year and their female offspring can reproduce in their first year of life. Just a few breeding females can produce alot of rats in a short time. It is possible that 10 out of a hundred houses are still active too.

[HunterDave]

They must have started dying back when you saw where a coyote dug one up.

The lake (slew) that I plan on trapping this fall doesn't produce rats in the winter/spring but by fall, it's loaded with them. The water isn't deep enough but the lake has numerous drainage ditches in/out of the lake. Those are what I'm going to concentrate on this spring, lots of den holes in the banks. Maybe you can find where the rats are migrating from in order to get to your pond and concentrate on cutting them off at pinch points.

[gordfishing]

Away back when I was a young buck trapping rats 1972 to be exact. I trapped 55 rates in 5 days and was even pulling the odd dead one out of the house. Never thought much about but in the spring of 73 the rats we non existent .
Funny how mother nature works.

[waterninja]

sorry to hear about the die off. hopefully some survived in the banks to replenish stock.
really interested to hear how your beaver traps worked out. have you checked them yet?

[nube]

Had one beaver trap sprung on one house and nothing on the house with 3 traps. Kinda dissapointing. I am thinking baited 330's is not the way to go. I got one other spot I am going to try and run a few snares and see what they can do. I plan on a dead stick tied to a green poplar stick and run it down to the bottom of the creek and push it in the mud and have 4 or 6 snares all the way up it. I think the creek is fairly deep and hope it works.

Not sure what to think about the rats though guys. 2 ponds and most of them are froze. Neve seen anything like it. Do you think it has something to do with the warm weather earlier last month and that flooded the huts? Then becasue of the water in them the rats left and then froze over becasue they were not active?

What about the ice freezing right to the bottom? I found that one dead one all curled up in a ball in his hut and it makes me think he had no choice but to curl up becasue he couldn't go anywhere?

What a total waste. I bet min. there was an easy 200 rats in there. Going to go check traps tomorrow and go hit a couple more spots as well and maybe hit another beaver hut or 2

[tomcat]

Many times when rats get heavily populated,as seems the case with the number of houses you originally reported, tuliaremia will set in and virtually wipe the population out.

[braggadoe]

could be, that gary was there before you?

don't give up on the baited coni's. in the other thread, you said the feed piles where hard to see/find, and you had to chip alot of ice. are you sure the lodges are active? do you see a frosty/melted chimmeny at the top of the house?

the one that was sprung, are you wiring the bait on the trigger, or pinching between the the lower jaws?

you'll get alot of sprung traps with it wired to the trigger, especially in any type of current.

lots of different ways to snare beaver. had good success. by wiring/nailing 4-6 green sticks( 2" dia) about 10-12 inches long around a dead pole. enough green sticks to go around the pole. just below the ice. arrange 4 snares to cover the green sticks. they'll circle the green sticks.





enjoying your posts

[nube]

Thanks Braggadoe, I am glad you enjoy my blabbering. I wish more guys would share but I get it why they don't at times. I got lots to learn.

As for the baited conis, I have one green stick as wide as the trap on the jaw and then a piece on the trigger. Both spots are in a slough so no moving water. You may be right about the number of beavers. I was there in the fall and only suspected one or 2 in each spot. No I don't see any breather spots either. I will give it 2 more days and move on

[Secret coulee]

It has been a real problem in my area in the last 5years nube with rats getting froze into there homes,our numbers used to be so incredible it was a free for all,and now that the rat prices are we're they should be it has really sucked,I do a pile of driving in the open water spring lookin for my little buddy's just to try and figure areas and movement from pond to pond or slough to slough and sad to say on my end it is still nucked in my area hopefully it comes full circle quick.
Hopefully they have just moved on for the winter to a little deeper water for you nube and I hope it all works out for you

[bill9044]

I tried chipping down in to 2.5 feet of ice I thought the run would be there cause it was the last spot to freeze over. I hit weeds and slough bottom. I was questioning my spot tried another known run ice to bottom of slough. I never opened up the huts. I just wanted to trap the runs. I personally don't like to disturb the huts (my values / opinion / thoughts) but I figured they'd be in trouble this year with no liquid water

[bill9044]

Hey Nube did you try wiring a plastic green leaf with willow or poplar stick to your trigger. I have had good success with the green leaf. I tried putting one coni with just green willow on it and one with the green leaf and boom green leaf every time. Got 4 in a row with the leaf 2 adult one mid size one small then I stopped didn't want to snab them all.

[PCP_ECOM]

heading out to a large marsh in morning that have permission to trap,hoping i don't find some of the same,sorrry to hear Nube,hope things else where are on the awesome side Peter

[nube]

I usually don't like to open the huts too early in the year beacause you might freeze them out by doing so. The lake I was at today I had only hit half a dozen houses earlier in the year and they were all just fine and got about 35 rats out of it before it got cold and I quit. I wanted to save this lake till spring and with the weather being nice I figured go for it. Looking back i should have hit it hard this winter I guess. I am afraid the whole zone around here is going to be the same. Sad but I think the rats will be scarce this spring

[PCP_ECOM]

Originally Posted by nube

I usually don't like to open the huts too early in the year beacause you might freeze them out by doing so. The lake I was at today I had only hit half a dozen houses earlier in the year and they were all just fine and got about 35 rats out of it before it got cold and I quit. I wanted to save this lake till spring and with the weather being nice I figured go for it. Looking back i should have hit it hard this winter I guess. I am afraid the whole zone around here is going to be the same. Sad but I think the rats will be scarce this spring

Well went to marsh i mentioned previously and it has an inflow from Cargill foods tons of open water,one would expect to see rat activity right,wrong i sat there for an hour and never even seen one,checked out a pushup that was still above the melt water and inch layer of ice,and the hole was frozen solid,maybe someone can shed light on whether i should of at least seen one rat swimming arround,this marsh has tons of cattail's,have i incountered the same senerio as Nube.The gentleman who pointed me towards this area said he trapped 300 from push ups easily,but not sure when was trapped last,have they over populated and Tulerium has wiped them out,this area has deeper water,Peter

[calgarychef]

It seems that when there is a big population in the fall that next spring they are all gone. I think its best to shoot them in those cases and clean them up before it ices up or trap them just after ice up. Better to get them a little unprime than to have them go to waste.

[C Taylor]

I didn't have a high population but every house is froze. I think the melt in jan must of took off the insulation snow then -40s froze it to the ground. I do have a couple mink picking off any rats that are left. I seem to be having as much trouble trapping them as Nube as his weasels tho LOL

[nube]

Well i checked my 6 traps today out of the 50 houses I cut into yesterday. I was 4/6 so I caught some but I am still so ****ed off. Hundreds of dead rats in that lake. Also checked out 2 more lakes today as well and they are all dead as well. I am done till open water now and will see what has survived then.

Beaver trap was tripped again today. Took bait off the trigger now and just have bait on the jaws. I think the one hut where I got 3 traps must not have beaver in it. No action at all.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by nube

Well i checked my 6 traps today out of the 50 houses I cut into yesterday. I was 4/6 so I caught some but I am still so ****ed off. Hundreds of dead rats in that lake. Also checked out 2 more lakes today as well and they are all dead as well. I am done till open water now and will see what has survived then.

Beaver trap was tripped again today. Took bait off the trigger now and just have bait on the jaws. I think the one hut where I got 3 traps must not have beaver in it. No action at all.

Try a bait pole instead of baiting the trigger. You'll have fewer tripped traps.

[nube]

PCP, sounds like we have the same issue. Pretty depressing eh! I think most of the province will be the same. My only hope is that the rats have found bank dens and are just fine somewhere else?

I found one rat frozen in a small little nest he made. I would think that there would have been more like this and not seeing more it gives me hope that thye just found another place to live for now. I will set traps when the open water hits and cross my fingers.

[jim summit]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

Try a bait pole instead of baiting the trigger. You'll have fewer tripped traps.

Keg, can you explain? Using snares or 330?

[Red Bullets]

Here is two examples of under ice sets with conibears and snares. I have also used 9 snares on a green pole, 3 rows of 3. With green sticks tied on to the pole between the snares, for extra bait.

[nube]

I got one set like the one with a green bait pol and i stuck a 330 on it
Going to try snares tomorrow
And a new hut

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by jim summit

Keg, can you explain? Using snares or 330?

Red has the answer.

Great pictures Red. Those sets can be modified to fit the situation.

We would put more then one trap on a pole, mounted the way they are in the picture then add a bait pole as shown in the snare set.

Picture the snare set with only one snare pole and the second snare pole moved to beside the bait pole. Then replace the snares with traps and you have the set we preferred for traps and snares.

Moving the second snare pole next to the bait pole is done to discourage the beaver from approaching the set from that side, and cutting off the bait from outside the set.



For best effect we would set this in the middle of a run or at the ends of the dam.

You'll want at least three feet of water for your set and not more then ten feet or thereabouts.

[nube]

Well I think I will give it a go tomorrow. Took my daughter out tonight and caught 5 rats in 8 sets. 2 of the spots there is no activity in the house still for the last 2 days so I am guessing all dead. Was surprised to see that I am connecting so well on the other spots so there must still be a few left under there somewhere. Not sure where they are going if they are not in the hut I am trapping cause the next open ones that are not frozen are hundreds of yards apart.

My daughter was so excited to pull the traps up and see if they caught anything. I also got here to drive the quad back to the truck for the first time. She did well as she is only 10. She said I was the best dad ever on the way home lol That made my day!!!!

[H380]

You know what nube ? You ARE the best Dad ..She will never forget that , she knows that you trust her and love her all at the same time . I remember when my kids have told me those same words and it means everything to me .. Good luck with the skrattin '..

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by H380

You know what nube ? You ARE the best Dad ..She will never forget that , she knows that you trust her and love her all at the same time . I remember when my kids have told me those same words and it means everything to me .. Good luck with the skrattin '..

Funny you should say that.

Today I got a call from my daughter. Our grandson is in Junior Forest Wardens and she has volunteered to teach the kids a bit of trapping.
Guess where she learned that? LOL

So she calls me to ask me to show her how to make a Squirrel stretcher, again.
Then she tells me how the group had a trapper stop by and show them some pelts and traps and to talk about trapping.

She says to me, "You know dad, when I smelled those pelts, I really started to miss those days on the line with you."
That made my whole year!

She's forty years old and she remembers and she misses those days.
I guess I did something right.

Cherish the time Nube. The memories will pay ten times what the pelts do.

And the real good part, you might be able to teach a second generation.
My grandson wants me to teach him to trap, with his mom's help of course.

[nube]

There is a real big issue though guys. On the way home I asked her if she wanted to make some fur mitts with the muskrats she caught. She got all excited and she says yes. She then told me how she wanted white weasel gloves lol She was so excited when I brought weasels home she wanted one taxidermied for her room. The problem is guys I don't have the heart to tell her I suck at weasel trapping and can't get enough of them to make her the weasel mitts she wants

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by nube

There is a real big issue though guys. On the way home I asked her if she wanted to make some fur mitts with the muskrats she caught. She got all excited and she says yes. She then told me how she wanted white weasel gloves lol She was so excited when I brought weasels home she wanted one taxidermied for her room. The problem is guys I don't have the heart to tell her I suck at weasel trapping and can't get enough of them to make her the weasel mitts she wants

Isn't it funny how that works.
Maybe let your daughter set the weasel traps.

You never know.. your daughter could become a great trapper. I met 2 sisters at the furbuyers once. About 14-16 years old. They were cashing in about 500 red squirrels, a few dozen weasels and a couple hundred rats. They trapped on their dad's longline, and they made some good spending money for a couple months in the winter.