gonna start trapping this season, need some advice please

I

I AM the foxpro

New member
im very interested in trapping, the more i read the more intersting it becomes.i was fly fishing the butternut and saw a TON of coon prints, what traps are good for them, like size and stuff, and how should i do it, on land or in water, so on and so forth, lets have it with alllllll the info i can get for coons!!
 
1 1/2 or 1 3/4 are good all round coon traps, for both dry land and in the water. If I had to choose a long spring for water trapping I would not choose a 1 1/2 long, but would opt for a #1 long, and would move the chain from the spring to the frame on the other side, so that the animal pulls his foot toward the spring, the strongest part of the trap.

I would not use the longsprings on dry land, and if I get my hands on a pile of 1 1/2 longs I convert them into double springs by taking springs off of one, and putting it on another. I know I have only half the traps, but they are traps I can use.

You sound like you are going to do land and water trapping, and your best bet is the coil springs.

A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. If you are thinking about coon trapping, you should put just as much thought to coon staking. I would urge you to stake with rerod stakes, or some other form of steel stake. If there is something overhead for the coon to grab ahold of, for example tree roots, etc, you must consider the fact that the coon is strong and will pull your stake if he can get a good straight up pull on it. In those cases I punch the stake in at an angle so he cannot get a straight up pull, or cross stake with two stakes.

Wooden stakes are OK but you must drive the top of the wooden stake completely underwater, or the coon will chew off the top and be gone with your trap. I would not be afraid to use some wooden stakes on a 24 hour check, but wouldn't even consider them an option in an extended check state, unless used on a drowner rig. Even then some coons will still be alive due to Murphy's law, and held on the bank where they can chew your wooden stake.

A lot of guys go into digging pockets, etc which is fine if you have the time. In fact predigging pockets and that type of preseason work is a type of recreation for many trappers. However if coon trapping it is equally as effective to just squirt fish oil on a vertical bank where the coons pass by and put the trap down in front. Quick, effective, and you are on your way to set another trap while the other guys are still digging a pocket. If you are wanting mink too the pocket may be more worthwhile to you, however you will pick up some mink in the set I just described, especially when you learn how to read the creek and quickly identify travelways and bottlenecks.

Good luck.
 
I have used both 1 1/2 double long spring and 1 1/2 coils. Both work well. I don't care for the single long springs to well because they are weaker and harder to bed. The also tend to be slower. If you are targeting coons, which I usually do, water sets are the way to go. The last several years fur prices have been non-existant here. You literally can't give them away. But the before that, coons would bring more than coyote, or fox, so that is what I went after. Coons brought more, were more plentiful and easier to catch. Water sets usually assure you a coon and nothing else, although I have caught a dog, opposum, otter and one bobcat in them. The bobcat was actually a log set where the log way going across the creek. Oppossums are bad about screwing up a good dirt hole set. I have also had crows, buzzards, squirrels and dogs mess up the dirt holes especially when they were set and baited in the morning.
 
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