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Post by cnyh2ofowler on Mar 2, 2015 8:06:08 GMT -5
What causes the male muskrats to start traveling. Is it the photoperiod or the break up of the ice. I have a few spots I did well in last spring but they are both a half mile or more back in off the road and still real iced in. Just wondering if they move much in these conditions.
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Post by johnrockwood on Mar 2, 2015 8:28:27 GMT -5
Hormones! Often they start breeding while still under the ice, they just cannot travel as far. This season, with all this snow and ice, there may be very little spring trapping for us and much less muskrat love going on in the bright sunshine of spring!
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Post by whartonrattrapper on Mar 2, 2015 10:47:48 GMT -5
The rats have been on the move here, every place there's open water on the river they have been on the ice. The problem is there's no way to get off the road to park. but then if you could there's 3/4 feet of snow to wade through. Even local fishing access points remain unplowed.
On a side note, went fishing this weekend and the rats on the lake have feed beds all over the ice where prior holes were drilled.
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Post by johnrockwood on Mar 2, 2015 11:46:42 GMT -5
What is open water? I have forgotten...............
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 2, 2015 12:45:38 GMT -5
This season, with all this snow and ice, there may be very little spring trapping for us nnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by whartonrattrapper on Mar 2, 2015 12:56:33 GMT -5
What is open water? I have forgotten............... There's not much here and what's open is maybe a few feet in diameter with a foot of ice at the river bank tapering to 1/16 of an inch next to the opening, with deep, fast moving water below! lol I'm still holding out hope! 36 day's and counting......
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tmc
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,447
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Post by tmc on Mar 2, 2015 15:09:00 GMT -5
What is open water? I have forgotten............... Usually it's a plastic bottle with the screw-off cap removed.
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Post by saquelie on Mar 2, 2015 16:51:30 GMT -5
Thinking about hitting the river after the storm if I can get the town to plow out the access.
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Post by k9goodtimes on Mar 2, 2015 17:33:01 GMT -5
We haven't had a plowed parking area, other than the boat launch, since mid January. Frustrating.
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Post by saquelie on Mar 2, 2015 19:48:47 GMT -5
Talked to are supervisor today there gunna send the loader down in the morning and plow to the water falls I should be all set.
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 3, 2015 6:22:28 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I don't see a spring season trip potential for me. Long-range forecast into 10th of this month is still 20s and teens for temps. That will not open up enough water for a serious line anywhere. Second year in a row where cold, harsh temps persist deep into March. Not gonna happen this year, again
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Post by minkwaders on Mar 3, 2015 6:38:53 GMT -5
Austin.....i thought you were the self proclaimed super trapper? Put your man pants on...every year you claim you are going to get so many rats then you come up with every excuse in the book as to why you can't reach your goal...lol
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 3, 2015 6:50:03 GMT -5
Austin.....i thought you were the self proclaimed super trapper? Put your man pants on...every year you claim you are going to get so many rats then you come up with every excuse in the book as to why you can't reach your goal...lol The main reason I spend much less time on trapper message boards is because of stupid immature f(people)s like you posting stupid s(tuff) all the time. Your post doesn't dignify any further response at all. I much prefer my social time spent on facebook with real trappers there
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Post by k9goodtimes on Mar 3, 2015 7:26:51 GMT -5
We can still wear our rubber pants come April 1st Austin...*bleep* the haters. With the market being what it is, if you cant walk outside your door and trap it, it doesn't pay to chase it. Economics 101. Better off fishing and making Sun rendered trout oil, I will be.
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Post by minkwaders on Mar 3, 2015 7:35:41 GMT -5
They are still paying pretty well for rats unless you ship to nafa.
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Post by Dave Morse on Mar 3, 2015 8:55:39 GMT -5
minkwaders we missed you at the flatiron, did you sell your rats yet?
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Post by minkwaders on Mar 3, 2015 15:46:49 GMT -5
I sold 800 a few months ago. If i new Bob was going i would have went to the event.
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Post by newfox1 on Mar 3, 2015 19:11:47 GMT -5
carefull out there saqulie, your sporten a nice crop of whiskers,getting ready for the end of the season "RAT DYNASTY" pic. SILVERFOX and I are waiting for the thaw, last year we had just 7 checks, hoping to get on the river early enough this year to catch a few beaver also.
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 3, 2015 19:46:56 GMT -5
the forecast I see calls for cold temps thru the weekend, then 40s for highs early next week with up & down temps continued. Also nights in the 20s and teens. that leaves about four weeks until April 7th to allow even one full week of trapping. I would guess the local guys will have spots to work before then, but in my case to drive three-plus hours it has to be a lot of open water and enough space to set all day or the effort ain't worth it. Certainly won't be March 2012 repeated, when we trapped open water with daytime temps in the mid 80s for a week straight.
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Post by mrlongbeard1 on Mar 3, 2015 22:48:14 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I don't see a spring season trip potential for me. Long-range forecast into 10th of this month is still 20s and teens for temps. That will not open up enough water for a serious line anywhere. Second year in a row where cold, harsh temps persist deep into March. Not gonna happen this year, again Austin: Does that mean that we'll have to pass on Walleyes invite to stay at his place. While he skinned our rats this year???
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Post by whartonrattrapper on Mar 4, 2015 7:15:48 GMT -5
the forecast I see calls for cold temps thru the weekend, then 40s for highs early next week with up & down temps continued. Also nights in the 20s and teens. that leaves about four weeks until April 7th to allow even one full week of trapping. I would guess the local guys will have spots to work before then, but in my case to drive three-plus hours it has to be a lot of open water and enough space to set all day or the effort ain't worth it. Certainly won't be March 2012 repeated, when we trapped open water with daytime temps in the mid 80s for a week straight. I believe the northern zone is open until the 15th this year. Southeast closes on the 7th.
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 4, 2015 7:17:29 GMT -5
yes, I meant getting started by the 7th so there is at least one week to roll sets thru
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 4, 2015 7:19:12 GMT -5
Austin: Does that mean that we'll have to pass on Walleyes invite to stay at his place. While he skinned our rats this year??? we can probably all take a rain check on that until the fall 10/25 opener. I'll talk to him about that during my fully-guided walleye fishing trip up there with him in May
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Post by mrlongbeard1 on Mar 5, 2015 0:27:13 GMT -5
Walleye is a nice guy. I bet it would be fun to go trapping rats with him for a week
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Mar 8, 2015 17:20:34 GMT -5
While visiting my homestead in Mt Morris today, one of my errands was to check the Genesee River and see how much open water was running below the falls for walleye fishing before season ends of 3/15. Most years it is wide open in March, some of the colder years there will be icing over the slow moving pools.
Not this time, though. The entire river is locked up and snowed over from below the dam in Letchworth to miles downstream of the falls at Mt Morris bridge. Nobody will be fishing anything there for a few weeks, between thaw and water rise.
I asked my uncle who was born & raised there, fished the river his whole life if he recalls seeing that much ice in mid-March. His reply was "never"... and he turned 89 last Saturday.
Been a winter for the ages, literally.
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