A. M…..March 8, 2012

March is marching right along!

What a beautiful night it turned out to be.  Lows near 30 and todays high is expected into the 40’s…rats love this weather and so we expect to do some substantial catching today.

I put a call into the Club 41 president yesterday for a key to the gate.  It looks like we might be moving into there as early as Monday.  There are two things about moving into there…one:  A new area to capture unsuspecting rats and two:  I culminates our trapping season.

This year will be Bob’s first year trapping on that club and he will learn a thing or two about how different the rats are to catch.  They live differently than most other places where rats live.  I have learned they like to live in tiny openings in the clay banks.  Tiny like holes just a bit larger than ones that mice live in.  I think they make their den openings small in order to keep the raccoons from discovering them…what do I know?

With 93 traps out, my expectations for today is 20 rats.  Yesterday would have been 18 if the 6 set off traps would have captured their intended prey.  So in reality, 20 is not a high goal.  I set 2 colony traps yesterday that could easily catch 6 rats each…wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants?

More later!

Bears Butt

P.M. Report

The weather today was perfect for doing most anything outside.  Wonderful day.  Our problem on the rat-line was the locals told us it blew hard all night long.  BOOOO.  My catch showed it….6!  That is awful for this time of year.  However, and on a bright note, brother Bob kicked my butt with 9 rats!!!!  That’s twice this season he has out caught me.

I also had 3 other traps set off with nothing in them, caught two “baby” rats, a bird and a field mouse.  The colony traps came up empty!  Another BOOOO!

As for the three ponds that Stein helped me with…all three came up zero with Big Pond having one set off trap and nothing in it.  I moved three of the traps, one on each of the ponds.  We will see what happens the next time I check them.  I have high hopes to catch at least 2 more rats from those three small ponds.

Check this near catch out:

That pan is down and the only thing that kept it from catching a rat was the rust that built up on the dog…1/1ooth of an inch and that rat would have been mine!  OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I was in a bit of a hurry today to get the trapping done, but I still managed to set 5 more traps out on the end of Big Spring.  My hope was to have enough time to go into Brigham and gas up the rig for Saturday and also to get a hair cut.  I managed to do both.

I love my new “do”.  Instead of looking like a “bald hippie”, I look closer to just plain bald…Thanks Brent!

By the way if you want to hear some B.S., go to Wyatt’s Barber Shop at 25 East 700 South in Brigham City, Utah for your next hair cut!  Great barbers at a Great Price…Tell them Bears Butt sent you and you will really get an ear full of B.S.  Discount on the hair cut?  NOPE!  Just good old home town B.S.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off trapping and going to a funeral and then to a granddaughters show at school.  Both are more important than trapping.  Bob will kick my butt again tomorrow on the catch, but I’ll kick his on Saturday when I pull two days worth of rats out of the swamps.

Bears Butt