austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 10, 2019 13:12:37 GMT -5
Any pics of your recent catches Austin? Haven’t heard how it’s been going out there this week. idle due to weather. Ran out of shallow water spots within 45min drive each way. Need hard ice to safely walk, we'll see what forms where around here by Monday. Too much snow first will be bad, cattails will never freeze up right unless cold air locks up ice before insulating snow falls. No way to tell what we'll have until after storm fronts pass.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 8:27:59 GMT -5
For the first time all water season since 11/25 opener. finally had ice solid enough to walk across 90% of the flows. Clear ice, endless active houses, bubble runs galore.
Just in time to pull stakes ahead of this weekend's blizzard storm to come
Hands down the worst weather conditions for land trapping season I ever recall seeing, and nearly as inclement for water trapping. All we ever had to work thru was flood levels, freeze-thaw shelf ice, and now 12" - 20"+ snow predicted. Oh well, the memories & fun are lasting and priceless
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tmc
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,447
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Post by tmc on Jan 16, 2019 9:58:16 GMT -5
Middle-of-the-road is never memorable. Only the extremes. And those all - good and bad - somehow mellow with age. But I always stop short of comparing them to "fine wine." Nice catches!!!
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Post by Dave Morse on Jan 16, 2019 10:26:21 GMT -5
lets here about your muskrat adventures Joe. Where you there yesterday with Andrew?
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Post by joerat3 on Jan 16, 2019 10:50:55 GMT -5
Well Dave..I usually put some traps in the water where I believe there are rats, then check them the next day. After 39 years of trapping them I don't really believe there is anything special about it. I see no need to take pics of every one I catch and recycle the pics for 15 years. I actually had more fun fishing Lake Ontario last summer with my girlfriend and kid and I am looking forward to it again this year. If you want to hang out sometime this summer and do some fishing let me know.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 11:10:40 GMT -5
Well Dave..I usually put some traps in the water where I believe there are rats, then check them the next day. After 39 years of trapping them I don't really believe there is anything special about it. I see no need to take pics of every one I catch and recycle the pics for 15 years. I actually had more fun fishing Lake Ontario last summer with my girlfriend and kid and I am looking forward to it again this year. If you want to hang out sometime this summer and do some fishing let me know. you do realize that digital phone-pics technology did not exist fifteen years ago? Only pear-shaped, dad-bod losers would say something like that. Maybe jealous too. I'll fish with ya Joe, any time. If you want to handle some rats and recall what that feels like, feel free to stop on over here soon before I sell
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 11:13:17 GMT -5
Middle-of-the-road is never memorable. Only the extremes. And those all - good and bad - somehow mellow with age. But I always stop short of comparing them to "fine wine." Nice catches!!! It's been a fun season. I'm actually donating +/- 200 frozen intact muskrat carcasses to a wildlife rehab center up near Hamburg. Also donating 3 male mink for them to (self) tan and display for education at their center and also workshop setups. They'd like a beaver pelt or two, and a good friends of mine wants a couple big beaver to tan for table throws. So once this oncoming snow blanket settles, I hope to pound some local beaver by Valentines Day.
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Post by joerat3 on Jan 16, 2019 13:02:05 GMT -5
Well Dave..I usually put some traps in the water where I believe there are rats, then check them the next day. After 39 years of trapping them I don't really believe there is anything special about it. I see no need to take pics of every one I catch and recycle the pics for 15 years. I actually had more fun fishing Lake Ontario last summer with my girlfriend and kid and I am looking forward to it again this year. If you want to hang out sometime this summer and do some fishing let me know. you do realize that digital phone-pics technology did not exist fifteen years ago? Only pear-shaped, dad-bod losers would say something like that. Maybe jealous too. I'll fish with ya Joe, any time. If you want to handle some rats and recall what that feels like, feel free to stop on over here soon before I sell That is really sad if you only have 200 rats .....there were digital cameras 15 years ago.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 13:26:09 GMT -5
why is it sad if I only have 200ish carcasses to feed their rehab wildlife with? Is there any certain amount that would not be so sad? Any amount that would be glad, or happy?
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Post by tony1967 on Jan 16, 2019 13:45:35 GMT -5
I’d be quite happy with 200 rats. Hell, I would have liked to catch 20. Can’t find em around me in any numbers at all.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 13:55:47 GMT -5
I’d be quite happy with 200 rats. Hell, I would have liked to catch 20. Can’t find em around me in any numbers at all. that crazy Joe, he's just never happy. Most negative, depressed man I know. We need to get him in the gym, get those endorphins flowing, pump that attitude up!
for the first time in several years, all of the flows in this region had ample rats. 95% because of high, stable water levels with no extreme flood events all year. 5% nobody trapped much in 2017/18 season. If water tables remain stable to high this year, next season will be even more populous. If there's a harsh drought, all that seed will die and there'll be none. Can't stockpile muskrats, everyone knows that fact.
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tmc
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,447
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Post by tmc on Jan 16, 2019 15:31:42 GMT -5
It wouldn't help, Austin. And I'd ask first what they're going to do with the carcasses - "FRANKENRATS!!!" Not good. Not good at all. We already have one on here, and look at the trouble it brings with it. Imagine two-hundred and one!!!
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 17:52:59 GMT -5
It wouldn't help, Austin. And I'd ask first what they're going to do with the carcasses - "FRANKENRATS!!!" Not good. Not good at all. We already have one on here, and look at the trouble it brings with it. Imagine two-hundred and one!!!
the place asked for freezer-burned wild game and other meat donations on a couple of FB outdoor group pages. I PMd and offered muskrats, they were all over that. Asked if I would sell them a beaver pelt for tanning & display, said I'll donate that and some male mink too. Gonna drive a load up there next week, got boxes of bagged up carcasses frozen solid outside.
One of several live-action catches on various locations this year. I actually doubled on live catches in a channel run last week. This little marshrat looked so hapless with his little bug eyes, I decided to name him "Joe"
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Post by herm on Jan 16, 2019 19:14:12 GMT -5
Austin, I have been at it for the past 58 consecutive trapping seasons without a missed season and I enjoy your post on here and on Facebook. I also have one of your books and know you are the real deal.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 16, 2019 19:52:17 GMT -5
Austin, I have been at it for the past 58 consecutive trapping seasons without a missed season and I enjoy your post on here and on Facebook. I also have one of your books and know you are the real deal. hope to see you at the Flatiron this month or next, Herm. As for trapping and trapper prowess... who honestly even cares? We're just a bunch of social misfits out there chasing smelly animals for recreation. And some pocket change net-net after ALL costs versus time in the end. I love fox trapping, muskrat trapping, spring turkey hunting and deer hunting dead-equal. I could not name one as a favorite over another. Next year I might chase muskrats more, ignore them for fox, ignore both for deer... who knows? Some people make too much out of what's actually nothing at all.
have had a fun season but brief. Two full days in a canoe is all, the rest all walking. Lost ten pounds since 10/01 deer season start and I wasn't fat to begin with. Would have melted a Fitbit down had I worn one! lol... a lot of outdoor exercise weekends and week days after work. It's been a good time
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Post by slyfox74 on Jan 16, 2019 23:13:42 GMT -5
I’m just in love with the lath stakes. Why the heck have I been lugging bamboo around all these years?
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 17, 2019 6:32:39 GMT -5
I’m just in love with the lath stakes. Why the heck have I been lugging bamboo around all these years? as with everything in life there are pros & cons. The two major criteria for me are weight and speed. I need the lightest possible rig because most of my muskrat work involves walking in while carrying gear, or floating by canoe. That's why I prefer Duke #160s over others, for example. lightest wire frame = weight.
speed is how fast can sets be deployed. With this lath stake setup I can walk or float along and just shove stakes into place without any fuss, or even get my hands wet unless I'm removing catches on checks. speed = more sets out in limited daylight hours. Goes for any target animals, all sets.
cons include they are only 4' long and won't work in real deep water locations. But these days if I can't set for rats in 3' of water or less I look elsewhere nearby. Now that said, the next time I run extensive muskrat lines it will probably include 5' fiberglass fence posts and hagz clips for #1.5 Duke DJ coils. I have seen enough situations where baited sets around floating feed beds and mass feeding areas in cover, traffic areas where no bodygrip locations exist to warrant greater mix of bodygrips and footers.
maybe next season, maybe years from now. All muskrat populations dependent on any given year
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Post by nyrat on Jan 17, 2019 18:32:25 GMT -5
have you been on the big marsh yet with no snow and clear ice . went down 90 today and looks great
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 17, 2019 19:52:21 GMT -5
have you been on the big marsh yet with no snow and clear ice . went down 90 today and looks great ice just got hard enough in cattails past two days... ask coni about that, he'll tell ya :/
By Monday night there will be +/- 24" of snow blown around there. Toasted for trapping after that.
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Post by nyrat on Jan 18, 2019 6:18:07 GMT -5
do there give you a spring season there if you cant get to it due to weather conditions in reg season
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 18, 2019 7:09:43 GMT -5
do there give you a spring season there if you cant get to it due to weather conditions in reg season we'll see. no one is active in admin right now due to Fed government shutdown. The season end there currently stands at 2/28 but long-range weather forecast is extended below-avg cold temps and snow thru February. They can do whatever they want as far as seasons go, something into mid-March would be great.
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 22, 2019 8:26:43 GMT -5
So, I had hoped to read about current muskrat sales prices from weekend fur auctions here, but those threads are colder than my thermometer reading of -8 at sunrise this morning. Oh well, taking my batch to the Flatiron gathering on Saturday regardless. Rockwood will write a check that covers non-resident licenses in OH, PA, CO, ND, IA or MO and a couple new guns for good measure. I need a new Marlin .45-70 guide gun, big loop lever and also a Rem 11-87 20ga full camo, shot barrel and cantilever slug barrel. This season's fur hobby sponsors next season's big-game hobby
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Post by coni on Jan 22, 2019 8:48:15 GMT -5
Gonna set up again had-17 here am just wondering about drifting in cattails
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austin
test results are back... I am joerat's daddy
Posts: 483
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Post by austin on Jan 22, 2019 8:56:56 GMT -5
Gonna set up again had-17 here am just wondering about drifting in cattails started out -10 here at 6am, now +4 and rising. I wonder how drifting is over there... gotta be rugged into the west and north facing edges. Show us some pics!
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Post by tony1967 on Jan 22, 2019 9:44:29 GMT -5
So, I had hoped to read about current muskrat sales prices from weekend fur auctions here, but those threads are colder than my thermometer reading of -8 at sunrise this morning. Oh well, taking my batch to the Flatiron gathering on Saturday regardless. Rockwood will write a check that covers non-resident licenses in OH, PA, CO, ND, IA or MO and a couple new guns for good measure. I need a new Marlin .45-70 guide gun, big loop lever and also a Rem 11-87 20ga full camo, shot barrel and cantilever slug barrel. This season's fur hobby sponsors next season's big-game hobby I only had a handful of rats, but averaged $3.95 and had a high of $4.50 on a few. This was at the Hinsdale auction in Catt County.
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