Here we go into week four!  I’m writing this tonight (Sunday) as tomorrow I have to get away as quickly as possible and get on to the trapping scene.

I will be making my lunch (bologna sandwich) tonight and filling my hydration pack with water.  I have this anxiety about the run and I think this is the last full week of trapping…not because of our time available, but because the rats will do their thing and then it will be over.

I talked to Mr. Peterson about his seeps and he said “Come On”!  Since I started trapping his place 3 years ago, his place is looking better and this summer he is planning on doing some excavating around the water ways.

Last year Wapiti and I took over 100 rats off his place and he was very happy for that.  I told him that by myself, this year, I would only be able to set about 80 traps and I did not expect to catch 100 rats.  Maybe between 60 and 75.  He didn’t care, just catch what I can catch.  A rat gone is a rat gone!

So, there is my green light.  I have the traps on the toy and loaded up…I will hit Peterson’s first and then check the traps on Nicholas’ and Doris’ pond after I get some steel laid out.  I figure it will take me two days to set Peterson’s and I’ll have to pull some traps from Nicholas’ to do it.

So, what do I expect to catch tomorrow?

Well, the original 54 traps Bob and I set on Nicholas’ place netted 24 on day one and 8 on day two, so they should kick out with 5 (two nights of sitting, Saturday and Sunday).  The 27 I set the day after Bob and I were out there produced 9, which was low because of the amount of rain we had.  So, I expect to see about 10 rats in those 27 traps…so Nicholas’ place should kick out 15 rats.  Doris’ pond has been a real surprise to me and I expect 2 rats from there….17 rats tomorrow.

Up on the high land where the live traps are set, I expect 2 raccoons.

More to come tomorrow!

Bears Butt

March 2, 2014 (this is for the a.m. story on the 3rd)

P.M. REPORT

A long day out in the field today…left town at 8:15, got back at 4:30.

I managed to set 48 traps on Peterson’s today.  Now in perspective, go back to last years story on setting Peterson’s…If my recollector recollects correctly, Wapiti and I each set 40 traps…Me in one seep and he in another.  And then we set about 15 or 18 traps at the third one.  Today I covered the two big seeps with 48 traps.

They have been doing some digging on his place and trying to reclaim the dam.  There is evidence that they had it dried up and the ground cracked like it always does when it goes from very wet to very dry.  You can see the cracks in the mud under the water.

So my take on it is that we hammered the rats last year with our catch of over 100 from Peterson’s and now there are very few rats left.  The sign is very scattered and sparse.  The water is less as well on both seeps.  I didn’t go over to the third area because I ran out of traps.

Well, once finished setting traps I went and checked the Bull Arena and Doris’ pond….The Bull Arena produced 9 rats….and that is after two days….Doris’ pond once again surprised me with 5 rats!  Go figure!

The Bull Arena with sign everywhere the day(s) I set traps and over 80 traps catches 9 rats and a small pond with 13 traps catches 5…..hmmmm

What I’m seeing a the Arena is that the rats that were there have been all but caught out.  I’ll leave them set for a couple of days more, but I think I have dented them pretty good…It’s time to think about Club 41!

So as a recap:  I caught 14 rats, 1 skunk and 1 raccoon

Bob caught 14 rats and Weasel snared his masked critter…one raccoon!  Way to go Weasel!

Bears Butt