Well, the fur shed is filling up pretty good.  Not only have we pulled down a bunch of finished rats, we also are just about full again on the drying lines!  Our goal of 500 rats is getting very close now and with the trapping season beginning to wind down we should easily reach that goal.

Today, I’m moving a bunch of traps I have out on the Big Spring line.  The top end of the line is dead (no rats) while the bottom seems to have a pretty good supply.  Did the rats move once I set traps?  I don’t know for sure, but I’ve got to get some iron out on that end of the line.  My only problem is the toolies are soooooo thick and laying down it is very hard to get around.  The canopy of toolies lends itself very well for the life of a muskrat, as they can go anywhere they desire without the worry of overhead predators hampering their movements.  When I bust through that canopy looking for a place to set a trap it reminds me of the shopping mall…..trails going in every direction.  Oh, and for you planning and engineering folks out there, rats know just how many bathrooms they need to keep everyone happy.  No lines, no waiting!

On a negative (or positive, depending on your outlook) note, the amount of energy it takes to set even one trap in conditions like these is brutal!  If a fire was to consume those 20 plus years of toolie growth it sure would make trapping a lot easier.  High stepping through that mess takes a lot out of a short and old trapper like me.  For those of you who trap in the snow, someone needs to invent a toolie-shoe!  I come home with my butt dragging and wake up each morning with aches and growns a-plenty.

Well, my exercise awaits!

I placed walnuts on my dog proof traps and it is going to be interesting to see if the mice ganged up on them to move them, or if the raccoons were given that opportunity.  Either way, I placed fresh muskrat out for them and hope to nail at least one today.

The rat line should produce 10 on a light side guess, but I’ll gamble with a 12 today.  Look for an update around 6 tonight!

Pack up the mule fellas!

Bears Butt

March 5, 2015

UPDATE:

With my butt firmly kicked, I sit here writing to update you on todays catch….I managed to pull the top half of the Big Spring line and gave it my best effort to set the rest of the line out to the SE….I hit ice!  It was hard to believe there was ice out there.  We had a cold snap way back in Oct/Nov and then unseasonably warm weather for months.  Ice?!?  Well, I decided with ice holding up my trap setting efforts I would go exploring.  I drove around the swamp and ended up way out by some telephone poles.  Way out there I found a small patch of ice free toolies!  16 traps later, I was coming back to the truck.  I ended up setting 20 traps today.

Back home I counted 15 rats that dumped out of the bag!  Two of them will not be skinned as they are so tiny….baby rats fresh out of the nest.  So my count is 13.  Bob ended up with two and a weasel in transition…White underside and light tan back.  I’ll just bet Weasel will want that skin.

Butt