I am really running late with this report from yesterday…please accept my apology!  And then I will tell you “tough chit”!

With a hair cut in the works it really cut into the trapping time, making me very late to get to the lines.  I had to check them all because I’m taking today off and any rats that were caught would surely spoil before I got to them tomorrow.  I rushed as quickly as my toy would take me to get the job done.

Little Spring had no rats and I will be pulling that line tomorrow, for a couple of reasons…one…no rats (that’s the biggest reason), two…we need the traps for other lines…I’ll get more into that later.

Big Spring kicked out its share of rats and at the end of the line I added 8 more traps.  I have yet to hit ice out there and for sure with the melting situation we are seeing right now, I don’t expect to find it.  So, that line will continue to produce until I pull the traps in a few days.  Again, we will need the traps on other lines.

The Trellis also share its bounty of a few rats which was very nice to see.  I hate checking dead traps on a dead line and so far this lines has my favor.  It’s worth the time and trouble to continue to check it.  But just like Big Spring I’m being forced to pull the traps soon.

Bull Run continues to amaze me with the rats that are coming out of it.  Yesterday I caught 7 more rats out of there.  I have been keeping a running daily count of just that line alone and with yesterdays count, I have caught a total of 99 rats just from that line!  How many more are in there?  This line will be like the others and I’ll have to pull the traps, probably by mid week.

We have commitments to trap Club 41 and Johnson’s place and of course the Bull Arena is still haunting me…close to 100 rats in there is the only drawing factor that has my interest.  If it were less of a count I’d ignore it…but with $1,000 on the line…those bulls are starting to be tamer than my worried mind has them pictured…In my dreams, I am bent over pulling a rat out of a trap, when suddenly I hear something behind me.  I look over my shoulder and see 19 bulls all within arms length, breathing hot snotty breath and pawing the ground…I’m a dead man.

Back to the rat trapping story.  I mentioned I set 8 more traps yesterday out on the end of Big Spring Line.  Here is Big Spring as viewed from “out there”..

The patch of toolies and bull rush goes for miles and is about 500 yards wide.  Tons of rats live in this place and I just can’t get it all trapped by myself.  This line alone could handle 10 trappers, each with their own 400 yard segment of the line and still it would be a tough place to completely trap.

As I was setting the last of the 8 traps, I found a very likely place for a conibear.  A hole coming from under the toolies.  I plopped in a trap.  But right next to it, where the rats come out of the hole was a nice pile of rat poop.  A perfect place for a bait set.  I set a trap there as well and made sure that a caught rat could not reach the conibear trap.  Baited up real good I am really confident that I will catch two rats there.  As I stepped away from the bait set, I saw another hole coming from another direction just a few feet away from the bait set…I thought to myself, another perfect place for a conibear…then I said to myself again, Bears Butt, are you here to catch rats or just think about catching rats…I went to the toy and got another conibear and set that hole.  Then readjusted the bait set trap so that a caught rat could not reach that conibear too.

Here is that set.  Besides seeing my clippy flag, you should be able to see the three stakes with small flags on them.  All three traps are in an area not 8 feet across.  Tomorrow I will take my camera with me to take a picture of the results of this strange setting.  For my trapping friends, sometimes you just have to think outside the box to catch a bunch of rats.

When the trapping was all done for the day, I had 19 rats in the bag…oh I almost forgot number 20, but we didn’t skin him…

These conibear traps are only 5 inches across and this little rat was only about 10 inches long including the tip of his tail.  Trapping is pretty much a non-selective sport when you are trapping water ways.  You will catch most everything over time that frequents water.  I feel bad for this little guy as he was probably out looking for momma, who is no doubt hanging in the shed.

With my 19 rats I headed for home.  On my way, I saw Bob’s truck parked inside Pete’s area and he was “way in the heck away from it” setting traps.  I thought to myself, you work too hard for these silly rats Bob.  On my way I called the Weasel and told him to invite Conner up for some more money making activities…later the Weasel told me that Conner just wasn’t up to it today…That’s ok…priorities persist.  So Weasel came up to help me skin and as we sat there talking, in walked old Skinner Man himself…Brek!  I told him, jokingly, “I’ll give you ten bucks if you will skin these 19 rats”!  Without hesitation he jumped on the chance and donned his skinning attire…he had them skinned in less than a half hour…and that included getting his skinning clothes on and off when he was done!  Amazing skinner.  Thanks Brek, Good Job!

That freed Weasel and I to pull down 50 more rats from the stretchers and put them on hangers.  Just after Brek left, here came Bob, carrying a bag over his shoulder…This IS a GOOD sign…Bob has rats…

He looked down at the floor and there were no rats piled up…he said, well how many did you skin…we told him about Brek and that he had skinned all 19 rats and was headed for Plymouth…

Bob then proceeded to dump his bag of rats

…11 rats for him today!  Finally Bob is catching rats and it’s been a long time coming!  Times have turned the corner for his trapping and from now on he will be bringing in bags of rats…A 30 rat day for us today!  Good Job all!

Take a look at this trapping shed now:

Rats on stretchers, rats skinned and drying..

And others on hangers, ready for the buyer!

Bob and I are both taking today off and will be back at it tomorrow…Oh and tomorrow brings in another partner…Wapiti Dung has offered his help in our trapping dilemma for the next two and final trapping weeks of this year.  Bob and I are so relieved that he is willing to come out and help us!  Club 41 here we come…Johnsons ranch…Unlock the gate, we are coming in…Bulls make way for our machines (oooooo, I don’t like bulls).

Bears Butt

March 9, 2013