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10-07-2014, 10:23 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Ratzilla!!!
I was moving some sets in a different area today when I saw what I thought was a beaver swimming. She went behind some reeds where I had placed a float set and I heard the snap of a 110. When I pulled her out of the water I was surprised by the weight of her! I've caught quite a few muskrats the same length but never one with a girth like this. I think that she's pregnant but I'll have to wait for her to dry to find out.
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10-07-2014, 10:25 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: On a farm
Posts: 1,572
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That's a sumo wrestler sized rat ! Congrats !
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Living for the adventure, enjoying the ride ! BRAD
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10-08-2014, 07:46 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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Hey Dave what has been your daily low temperatures up there?
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10-08-2014, 11:40 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bill9044
Hey Dave what has been your daily low temperatures up there?
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Last week it was cold at night and the ditch and sough actually froze over one night/day. Since the weekend it warmed up and the nights have been about 5 degrees. The days have been gorgeous except for the wind. Yesterday I was out moving sets around with just a tshirt and working up a sweat in sunny 17ish degree weather.....not even a whisper of wind. I felt like I was cheating by trapping in such nice weather.
As long as I keep the trapping shed door closed during the day it keeps the cool inside. The fan goes 24/7.
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10-09-2014, 07:17 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Ratzilla on the wire. Almost ran out of room.
Four more like her hanging makes the juveniles look really small.
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10-09-2014, 10:37 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: In a house
Posts: 7,770
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Looks good Dave. How many are you at this year? Whats the best way your catching them? Did you try my sticks setups yet? Oh ya we need more pics as well lol
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10-09-2014, 11:04 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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Damn that is a big rat.
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10-09-2014, 11:50 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nube
Looks good Dave. How many are you at this year? Whats the best way your catching them? Did you try my sticks setups yet? Oh ya we need more pics as well lol
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I won't have a chance to try the lathe sets this year but I will next Spring.
I have 95 Fall rats for the week and 39 Spring rats that I had in the freezer that I put up. I should have a lot more but I committed to trapping a drainage ditch for a landowner that gave me permission to snare coyotes. In 5 days with 12 float sets I only caught 7 rats (I think?) before I pulled the plug and moved them to a slough. Initially I didn't set my float sets in the best locations in the slough but I have that sorted out now. Part of the learning curve I guess.
Since Spring, I changed the way that I secured my 110's to the float and that's causing issues with missed catches. I think that I know what the issue is so I have to sort that out. No issues with the #1 stoplosses on float sets except to make sure that the caught rats don't trip the second trap.....more weeds in the middle of the float. All lessons learned.
For some reason today's check was poor, I only caught 3 rats last night where I've been averaging about 14 per day despite my mistakes. I have no idea why, other than maybe I trapped the first area out, but why in the second, new area as well? Anyways, I scouted another spot that has tons of rats and if my check goes the same tomorrow I'm moving all of my sets there.
It's probably a blessing to start with fewer rats per day than I expected. It gave me a chance to break into putting them at a slower, steadier pace and develope a routine. Humping around the slough is getting easier and putting up the fur is getting quicker. It's all good and I'm enjoying the beautiful weather and exercise!
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10-10-2014, 02:28 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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Thanks for the info and the pics. That rat will be like $25 way more than most beaver. Hahaha. Great thread glad you are having fun. Your thread made me scout out a couple more shallow sloughs. If it is under 2 feet I'll be trapping. I also noticed more huts poping up. Is that hut in previous pic a feed hut or shelter hut. I don't know the difference. All I noticed was all my huts are black mud not nice tan reeds. Keep the posts and the pics coming. Very inspirational.
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10-10-2014, 10:57 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Bill, the huts are starting to go up pretty quick right now in this area and they are getting easier to find. I'm relatively certain that the hut in the picture is a shelter hut because of the large number of rats that I caught in that area. The picture doesn't do it justice, it's huge! The area that I may be moving to this afternoon has a lot of these huts so my expectations are rising. I chatted with a duck hunter yesterday and he said that there were muskrats swimming everywhere. I'm going to mark the entrances to the huts and put colony/submarine traps at them once the slough starts to freeze over.
It's a beautiful day today so I'll take a few pictures while I'm out there.
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10-10-2014, 11:28 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bill9044
Keep the posts and the pics coming. Very inspirational.
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That was kinda the idea when I started the thread. I can't wait until you fellas down south start posting some "Muskrat Porn" of your own.
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10-11-2014, 07:40 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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soft porn
Here is a shallow ditch that this little fella is living in. I'll be seeing him in my float in 2 weeks or so.
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10-11-2014, 08:24 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,308
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cool pic
ditches on such, where it's pretty easy for them to find a place to get out of the water.
the old school, basic pocket set works well. bait or no bait, just the hole gets there attention.
just throwing that out there.
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10-11-2014, 08:56 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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Hey braggadoe did you use a 110 or a foothold there? I am assuming a 110
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10-11-2014, 09:19 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,308
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foothold
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10-11-2014, 05:51 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Glad to see you guys posting up pictures.....good stuff!
I wish that more people would post pictures up.
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10-11-2014, 06:24 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: near insanity
Posts: 836
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Here you go Dave this is hard core porn http://
http://
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Somewhere between ragged and right. Like a bus load of taxi drivers learning how to fly.
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10-12-2014, 10:40 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Nice haul, Coy! In the first picture it looks like you've been having a little fun with your .22.
I'd be interested in seeing those ones on a board.
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10-12-2014, 11:10 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: near insanity
Posts: 836
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HunterDave
Nice haul, Coy! In the first picture it looks like you've been having a little fun with your .22.
I'd be interested in seeing those ones on a board.
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If there's one out of 10 thats shot below the head it's a lot. I had them in a five gallon pail on the way home so there's blood everywheres.
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Somewhere between ragged and right. Like a bus load of taxi drivers learning how to fly.
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10-12-2014, 12:07 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 22
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Nice work! Thanks for sharing.
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10-12-2014, 08:14 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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10-12-2014, 08:27 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: near insanity
Posts: 836
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The ones she's holding is it a spring rat? Pretty nice color for a fall rat
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Somewhere between ragged and right. Like a bus load of taxi drivers learning how to fly.
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10-12-2014, 08:46 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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I caught it yesterday. Some of the smaller ones that I've caught this week have a clear belly, others only have a bit of black around the front legs, while others have a wide black stripe right down the belly. The back of her's had a wide black stripe down the middle but a clear belly. I'll have to get the manual out and look, maybe they are starting to lose the black off their hide already. Pretty darned quick if they are.
EDIT - Oopps! That's the back and it does have black in it but not as much as most in comparison to ones I've been catching. Usually the belly has less black but this one is opposite.
Back
Belly
Last edited by HunterDave; 10-12-2014 at 08:58 PM.
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10-13-2014, 08:12 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 970
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I couldn't resist I was out scouting for deer and this rat was sitting at the edge of the slough. All the rat porn I have been hooked on (damn internet) made me do it. My psychiatrist told me I have a problem I'm a trap-a-holic.
This ones back was starting to prime but you can see the sides and belly aren't quite there.
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10-13-2014, 09:59 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 1
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Great thread. Hoping to get after some muskrats this weekend.
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10-13-2014, 10:14 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Time to head into the depot to drop off some fur. Boxes from right to left.....Spring rats, small Fall, medium Fall and large adult Fall. I'm going to see if they will accommodate me by tagging them in that order. It might give me a better idea of how they grade them for size and damage.
39 Spring rats, 100 Fall rats and 20 more to process or are drying. Happy, happy, happy!
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10-14-2014, 06:01 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: edmonton
Posts: 11,434
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All I can say is that It's a good thing you built that skinning shack. Great to see your daughter involved.
From the look of things, you'll be building a bigger shack soon.
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10-14-2014, 02:18 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Nanton,AB
Posts: 1,025
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Porn Debut
Well truck is loaded full of gear and boat strapped on top,tomorrow morning the rats of Siver Lake are in for rude awakening,will post up some pictures of sets and area tomorrow evening,I will also be tagging some yote's there as well later on,cheers Peter
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10-14-2014, 04:27 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,308
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we're putting everything off to the last minute. that way, it'll only take a minute to get ready and go.
could of almost completed my 1st year welding apprenticeship, just getting 4 doz coyote traps/chains/stakes and snare supports ready this last week.
looking forward to starting.
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10-14-2014, 05:45 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Copperhead Road, Morinville
Posts: 19,289
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Good luck to all of you fellas getting at it tomorrow!
Don't forget to post pictures up.
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