# muskrat trapping



## zachary (Dec 28, 2008)

what are some muskrat baits and rigs that work good and what kind of traps are good also cause i just started trapping this year and its not paying off for this 13 year old


----------



## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Hi Zach, thanks for coming by Nodakoutdoors. You might get more information here, http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=80 as that is where the trappers hang out. Maybe one of the moderators could move your question there.

I'll try to help a bit if I can. You didn't mention what kind of conditions you are trapping in. Open water or froze up? To start with you always want dead 'rats in your trap because they will twist out if left alive too long. That said there are two options. Connibear body grips that kill them or leg hold traps set to drown them.

You might try an open water set of a #110 Connibear on stick pushed vertically into the bottom mud. The 110 will be half exposed above the water, trigger side away from the stick, and a carrot wired to the stick, not the trap. The loop of the spring goes through the stick and the non-trigger jaws are just barely on either side of the stick. Set these along the edge of the cattails or out from the bank.

A floating set can be made on a piece of plank. You may have to make a ledge on one end for the leg hold trap: an #O or #1 would do it, with the ring stapled to the plank, Anchor that plank so it doesn't drift away. Carrot or cattail roots are the bait set just past the edge of the plank. The idea is for the 'rat to see the bait and when he hauls out of the water he steps in the trap that falls off the ledge and then drowns. The plank will float with one end lower than the other.

If you are trapping houses on the ice you have some work to do. Each house always has a platform inside where the muskrats eat and rest. The larger houses are the best as the platform is more solid and a better base for the trap to rest on. And they don't freeze up as quickly. Chop a hole in the house from the side. You can use a hatchet or a hay knife. You will be able to feel it when you punch through. Clean out the hole large enough (about 8" square) to get the trap easily onto the platform. Wire an extension wire onto the chain with a good stick on the one end, (about two feet of wire). There is no bait used in the house. The rat has to come in to rest and eat cattail roots. If a leg hold trap is used, set it where the rat comes out of the water onto the platform. You will find this by feeling around with your hand inside. Sometimes a big house has several of these exits into the water from the platform. Your extension wire on the chain gives the rat enough slack when he dives with the trap on his leg that he will drown. It has to have enough slack to do this. If you use a #110 Connibear just use the widest setting on the trigger so it is stable when set on the platform above the exit from the water. The trap must be stable so it isn't tipped because then it will snap empty. Make sure you plug the hole in the house so the house doesn't freeze, both when you are trapping it, and when you pull your traps.

To plug the hole chop some cattails to lay across the hole and then use the material you removed to fill it back in, then cover with snow if available. Good luck to you.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Some more tips on trapping houses on the ice.

I've had luck using a #110 over the entry whole. Basically causing the rat to stick his head straight into the trap as he's trying to climb in. A quick snap and it's a done deal. This might not be the best way to do it, I'm not an expert in any way, just thought I'd throw it out there.

A trick my dad taught me was to use a sheet of plastic like a garbage bag to line the hole you cut when you fill it back in. This helps to assure no wind is blowing through the hole. It also allows you to pack it a little tighter, which will aid in keeping the water from freezing up. Just make sure you don't leave any junk behind when you pull your traps.

I've also been told that if the rat sees any light from above while entering the house he will immediately turn around because it's obvious that there's possible danger. So one of the most important parts of this technique is to do the best possible job when re-stuffing the hole. I'm not sure if this is true, just another thing my dad told me.

Like Dick said, check out the trapping forum, read up on some of the old posts and ask any questions you didn't find an answer to. They'll be happy to help you out.


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

One of the most productive methods up here (North Dakota) is to trap the huts after freeze-up.
Pretty simple process. Cut a hole in the hut (dont worry what side to cut on, its an old wivestail that the north side is thickest). Take your gloved hand (or if your real tough your bare hand) and feel around in there for the entrance. Take a #1 coilspring or longspring and place it down the entrance tunnel about where the water starts. I liked longsprings as the spring doubles as a nice "handle" when your up to your armpit in a rat hut. Stake the trap outside the hut securely. You may have to add length to your chains, I always used heavy wire (cant remember what gauge). I used full length lath for a stake with the last four inches painted orange so I could find em easy if the snow got deep.
Make sure you plug the hole back up well. Not only is it state law here, but you dont want your trap to freeze in there and you want the hut to remain servicable so the rats come back and you catch them. Plug it well again when your done trapping for the season so remaining rats can still use it.

My favorite way to trap them was in the spring RIGHT after the ice started to recede from shorelines. You have to be fast as within about a week they start fighting and can get pretty tore up thus reducing their quality and hence, what youll get for them.

What we did was simply walk banks (along roads were easiest) and place a foothold trap anywhere rats were coming up out of the water. Rats leave lots of sign if there present in any numbers.
Another great method was using 110 conibears in cattail or weed runs. These are simply "paths" through heavy weeds that the rats are swimming through.
A lath is the perfect size to run through the end loop on a 110 spring and suspend in these runs. Put the lath through the spring loop, set the trap, push the lath into the bottom and suspend the trap in the middle of the run with about 2 inches exposed above water. GREAT method, I used to put 3-4 traps in a short run and have catches in every trap. Heres a trick, set the trap so the triggers and dog are on the bottom. That way there is no obstruction for the animal to see above water as it swims through. These runs are also great places for colony traps.

Good luck.


----------



## FowlBoysInc (Sep 14, 2006)

I have not done it for a long time now.When I did, in the winter time I always cut into the small (air huts) never the large hut.Do not know why, was just taught to do this way.Took a tileing spade and cut the top out like the top of a pumpkin.There is a ledge inside that they come and sit on for air or whatever.Set a leg hold trap on the ledge with a chain fastened to a stick.Lay the stick outside and pop the cap back on the hole,and pack some stuff over it to seal it good. Would check these sets often,they need to get air.


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

FowlBoysInc said:


> I have not done it for a long time now.When I did, in the winter time I always cut into the small (air huts) never the large hut.Do not know why, was just taught to do this way.Took a tileing spade and cut the top out like the top of a pumpkin.There is a ledge inside that they come and sit on for air or whatever.Set a leg hold trap on the ledge with a chain fastened to a stick.Lay the stick outside and pop the cap back on the hole,and pack some stuff over it to seal it good. Would check these sets often,they need to get air.


These are good too, and used VERY often.

I trapped them when it was warmer, but shyed away from them if it got real cold, they were always hard to seal up and had a tendency to freeze up. Its no fun chipping traps out of the ice. We always just suspended a 110 in there. We'd put one or two 110's on a pole and many times have double catches.


----------

