Trapping Small Stream
Muskrats
By Ralph Scherder
When most trappers get the urge to trap large numbers of muskrat
pelts, they immediately scan maps to locate marshes, ponds and swamps
for ideal habitat. Several scouting trips, a long first day of stringing
steel and a sleepless night of anticipation is the usual remedy for
muskrat fever.
But what if you don’t live near these muskrat meccas and still
get the hankering to trap some ‘rats? I have a simple solution:
small streams.
You’ve seen the streams I’m talking about – little
creeks and ditches that can be easily waded, even during periods of
high water. Don’t let these places fool you. They bear big gifts
to the trapper willing to invest time.
I grew up in an area where springs and ditches were plentiful, but
ponds few and far between. The ponds that were around really weren’t
prime habitat for muskrats. With flat, rocky banks and little or no
vegetation, these ponds were great for bluegills and bass, but not
for muskrats.
Because of this, I started my trapping career chasing raccoons in the
springs and ditches between cornfields that I assumed were void of
muskrats. It didn’t take long, however, until I realized how
wrong my assumptions were.
My first muskrat was an accidental catch in a raccoon set. The ‘rat
was covered in mud and severely ticked off. He kept trying to gnaw
through my boot as I attempted to release him from the #1 ? coilspring.
Muskrats were not yet in season.
When the muskrat realized it was free, it waddled upstream. Always
curious, I followed, hoping to find where it denned. Sure enough, the ‘rat
came to a little pool about a foot deep, dove under overhanging roots
and disappeared.
Just to make sure, I reached my boot up under the roots to find the
den entrance. Bingo! There it was, a nice big hole going into the bank.
I made a mental note of the location and returned a few weeks later
with a #110 bodygrip. I set the bodygrip in front of the hole and on
each of the next two mornings caught a prime muskrat.
What makes trapping muskrat in small streams so different from trapping
them in marshes is the competition factor. Marshes take the brunt of
the trapping pressure, whereas most small streams go untouched.
In my area, here in western Pennsylvania, there is one major marsh.
The first time I scouted it, I found an abundance of sign. Droppings
were everywhere and muskrat houses were like miniature beaver huts
in what mountain men would’ve considered heaven. I envisioned
myself taking big numbers of ‘rats from each of the huts and
feed beds.
I was quickly brought down from the cloud I was on, however, when I
showed up on the season opener to set traps. Six or seven trucks filled
the small pulloff at the edge of the marsh. Two guys were in the process
of loading their equipment into a canoe by flashlight. I looked out
into the dark, flooded waters and could see other errant flashlight
beams lighting up the brush and haphazardly spotting the pre-morning
sky.
I knew that by setting traps in this marsh, I would be giving up one
of the greatest aspects of trapping – intimacy with the outdoors.
Trapping is an individual pursuit. Every trapper takes pride in his
methods and catch. I knew the only way I was going to catch muskrats
in that marsh was if I set my traps right next to those of other trappers – in
the same runs, same feeding beds, and same huts. It just didn’t
seem right to me. I wasn’t willing to give up my privacy and
the special enjoyment of trapping just so I could catch a few muskrats.
I walked back to the truck. I was more than a little disappointed;
I was downright shattered. Everything I anticipated had gone down the
tubes. I headed home discouraged.
The horizon was quickly brightening, the sun setting fire to the morning
sky, as I made the final turn onto my road. I spied a culvert and a
little creek at the intersection that looked inviting to a coon set
or two, so I pulled over to take a closer look. I hopped over the edge
and splashed around for a few minutes studying the mud. To my surprise,
it was not coon tracks I found, but muskrat tracks.
I retrieved several #110’s from the truck and set them. I placed
one in the culvert and another about 10 yards above the culvert where
the creek narrowed before opening into a small pool. I placed a third
trap beneath some overhanging roots on one side of the pool. Good enough.
Any muskrat swimming down through was guaranteed to hit one of the
traps.
I set up similar small streams the rest of the day. I was still a little
disappointed the next morning because I knew I wouldn’t be canoeing
through the marsh to check ‘rat sets.
My disappointment was quickly forgotten when I checked the first traps
of the morning. The #110s in the culvert and at the narrow spot at
the head of the pool each held muskrats. I reset the traps and hustled
to the rest of my locations to find more muskrats waiting for me. In
no time I was neck-deep in ‘rats. I couldn’t help but grin
while I skinned and stretched them that night.
Most of the locations I set up are pretty much the same. You can almost
always count on muskrats using culverts or bridge abutments. These
are hotspots for all furbearers, including mink and raccoon.
Either above or below the culvert there is usually a pool. If the bank
is soft mud, I sometimes make a pocket set by digging a small hole
into the mud and setting a trap in front of it. I then place various
scents inside the hole.
More often, though, I stick to the blind sets under overhanging banks
or where natural funnels or shelves occur. Mink and muskrats travel
these shelves.
The stream usually narrows above or below these pools, depending upon
where they are located in relation to the culvert. I always place a
trap in this narrow spot as it’s a good travel-way for ‘rats.
I never pass up a feeder creek, either, no matter how shallow or deep
it might be. Feeder creeks are prime set locations. If I’m targeting
strictly muskrats and mink, a #110 will do, even if the water is only
an inch or two deep. If I am hoping to pick up a raccoon, I reach for
a foothold trap.
Because most of the streams and creeks I trap are too shallow to drown
muskrats, I rely mostly on #110 bodygrips. Occasionally, I will use
a #1 coilspring with the leg guard. The #1 coilspring is strong enough
for raccoons and the leg guard prevents muskrats from wringing off.
Perhaps the biggest key to trapping large numbers of muskrats from
small streams is trap rotation. It is important to set up new locations
every day to keep the catch ratio high. Small streams typically do
not harbor large populations. If I go two or three days without a catch,
I pull the trap and set it elsewhere.
I believe muskrats that inhabit small streams spend just as much, if
not more, time on land as they do in the water. In some cases, I have
followed tracks in the mud for 100 yards before the animal entered
the water again. Likewise, I have seen tracks lead to cornfields neighboring
the streams and I have caught muskrats in trail sets made for raccoons.
Every time I have caught muskrats on trails, there has been one constant:
a lot of brush. No matter how far muskrats stray from the water, they
always keep cover over their heads. I suppose I would, too, if I was
near the bottom of the food chain.
The smallest stream in which I caught a muskrat was less than a foot
wide. In late summer, the creek was practically dried up, so I had
second thoughts about setting it that fall. As I have learned, though,
muskrats seldom live in small streams year round.
As fall approaches and the water tables rise, muskrats migrate from
the larger waters up feeder creeks. They travel even farther when mating
season arrives and the spring thaw leaves an abundance of water.
By trapping small streams and ditches, I can rack up muskrat pelts,
as well as good numbers of other furbearers, in a short time with little
or no competition. Trying to accomplish that in a marsh with heavy
competition is tough.
To cure my muskrat fever, I have taken a prescription of a different
sort: a steady diet of small streams and ditches. And I am feeling
much better.
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