I trap a few. I start mid October and trap Muskrats like they killed my dog until freeze up....then keep going under ice until it snows (sometimes same day, sometimes a week or two, this is optimal time).
I then concentrate on bigger higher value, lower volume animals.
Time permitting starting in Feb, hit the feeder houses and push ups when temp is projected to stay near the freezing mark for warm spells.
Begin trapping Muskrats in the warm March/April days until ice out with vengeance. These are the best Muskrats to catch, but the hardest to catch.
Once ice is gone, I will trap rats for a max of 1 week, or until they show any sign of fighting. Pelts will degrade from excellent to poor in 24 hours. Last year fighting began before ice out, I think I trapped 60 open water rats first day then pulled sets.
My 2 cents.
|