# Trapping rats through ice



## hunter5054 (Aug 2, 2005)

on a pond i have access to trap there are 4 muskrat houses and i was wondering if anyone had any good sets for trapping these through the ice....thanks alot ~mike


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## 2-BIG (Oct 17, 2002)

I have trapped muskrats throught the ice with home made platform sets but I have never trapped a location that has muskrat houses, just bank dens.


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## crittergetter (Feb 14, 2005)

Actually a 110 hanging just under the ice (usually thicker ice) with an apple speared on the trigger works then bend the trigger wires out to keep apple from slipping off. Long stick thru the ring and then pack snow around the stick to keep the trap just under the Ice (where rats travel) So does a foot hold on the shore where you chop open a hole and then put in some attractant.(best use commercial attractant, smells like anise? can't remember who makes it, but sure draws them in) Be sure to stake the trap where you can reach it during thin ice and yet let the rat reach deeper water to drown. make sure you bring a spud!! You'll have to spud daily to keep the hole open, but rats like to investigate ice holes and also use as airholes.


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## hunter5054 (Aug 2, 2005)

thanks guys...2 big can you explain your method in more detail...thanks alot~mike


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## Joe R. (Jan 9, 2002)

Wish I would of seen this post before I went to my fur shed. I could of taken some pictures of my set up for you. Trapping rats under the ice is fairly easy once you get the hang of it. I haven't trapped an open water rat in about 6 years now. If you have the huts wait until the ice is solid enough to walk on safely. If you have clear ice it will be no problem seeing the air bubbles and chewed roots where the rats are coming out of the hut and feeding. If there is snow or milky colored ice just tap a spud on the ice about 2 feet out from the hut and go all the way around. When you hit the air pocket your spud will either go right through or you will hear a hollow sound. I use the old board method. My boards are set up so they are adjustable, but I used boards nailed to willow stakes for years before I got tired of cutting new stakes every year. 
First you need some 1/2" plywood that you will cut so they are about 5"w X 8"l. About a half inch down from the top of the board drive an 8d nail through the board. About 2" down from that drive another nail through the board. The top nail is to hold your bait the bottom nail will hold the trap. The bottom nail should also be cut so there is only about a half inch sticking out from the board. Now in the hole that you cut stick your stake in at about a 45 to 60 degree angle so that it is seated firmly in the bottom. This will let you know where to nail the board on to the stake. Nail the board to your stake so that your bait is resting right under the ice when the stake is shoved into the bottom. Bait should face the hut. I use #1 longsprings for these sets. All of the ones that I own have a hole already in the base of the trap. This is how you hang the trap on the nail on your board. When you wire the trap to the stake make sure the chain is wired as far down the stake as you can and still be able to set the trap on the nail. Doing this will help keep your rats from freezing to the bottom of the ice. If I get a chance I'll take some pictures in the next couple of days and see if someone can post them for me.

Joe


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## redneckdan (Dec 14, 2004)

I used the conibear stick and the platform sets.


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## hunter5054 (Aug 2, 2005)

thanks joe pictures would be nice to give me a better idea...thanks alot ~mike~


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## 2-BIG (Oct 17, 2002)

Joe described the platform set to a T. Maybe trapperman.com would have pictures of the set. It sounds hard to describe but is very easy to make. I always used parsnips for bait but apple would work well also. I even caught quite a few curious **** that reached in the hole and grabbed the trap! :yikes:


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## David G Duncan (Mar 26, 2000)

If you have some 110 conibear traps, then the follow describes the best way I know on how to catch muskrats, using a 1" cube of parsnip as bait.

This pamphlet is no longer available, but I am sure that Wes would freely have shared this info with you if he was still with us.


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## MuskyDan (Dec 27, 2001)

The board sets are great!! I use to check about 100 of them twice day at Crow Island. My dad use to bid that, when I was young he would drop me off with the snow mobile over my Christmas break and I would run the line. I remember using old barn wood, 2X4's, or anything else we had laying around. We angled the board and stuck a carrot(shaved to shine) so it was 2-3 inches under the ice. Just under that the trap would hang on a nail. The ring on the chain was wood stapled to the bottom of the board.

I remember catching quite a few mink with this set, and the strangest catch was a beaver and that is a great story if anyone wants to hear it!!!


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## Bomba (Jul 26, 2005)

yeah, I'm always up for a good Beaver story.....Lets hear it.


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## hunter5054 (Aug 2, 2005)

lets hear the story muskydan.!.!.!.


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