Trap Preparation

[Penny_Plinker]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1047863/trappic.jpg





The first trap is how all my traps looked. (They looked so bad because they had to stay out for several months till the creek got low enough to get them out.)

The second one is after derusting treatment. The technique goes like this: Put the rusty traps in a cement mixer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours with 3 or 4 shovelfuls of crush run gravel. I only did 4 at a time, because i was worried the chains would get all tangled up. But they didn't, and you could probably do 7 or 8 at a time.

The traps may be down to shiny metal in some places but mainly it is just the rust knocked off. Some of that lightness showing in the picture is the chalky gravel dust. I didn't want to take all the rust off, just knock off the worst then dye and wax.

I have to sift through the gravel, i lost a trap pan off of one

Penny

[ol_hoot]

What do you die them with Penny ?

I used to use green walnuts.
I never could tell it did me that much good.

[Penny_Plinker]

I use logwood trapping dye. Have used the same batch for 3 years. After using it, i let it cool down and store the liquid in plastic jugs till the next year.. It doesn't seem to lose any potency.

Penny

[Penny_Plinker]

Ol hoot,

I know what you mean about not being able to tell it did that much good. I guess it keeps the traps from appearing shiny and may disguise them a little. The boiling probably does the most good in getting rid of scent and of course the final step of adding the wax does good for waterproofing and the wax keeps the metal odor from coming out. I actually start out the season taking scent precautions using gloves and all that but the traps are soon in bad shape again. Once you get them out there, staked down and all that work, it's no fun to take them up and treat them again after a catch. So i don't. I don't catch a whole lot either, LOL, but i have fun. Good luck this trapping season!

Penny

[ol_hoot]

What kind of country do you trap in ?

I got a killer coon set that works good along creeks.

[Penny_Plinker]

along a good size creek. I'd like to hear about your killer coon set.

Penny

[ol_hoot]

I look for a place where the water is not very deep along the edge.
I'd normally use a 1-1/2 coil spring like in your pictures.
Take some shiny tin foil and wrap it tightly around the pan and set along a trail, like on a sand bar or where the water ain't deep right along the edge.
Just deep enough the pan is under water.
You don't have to dig a hole or nothing.
Them coons will see the moon reflecting off that tin foil and they just got to have it.
I guess they think its a minnow or a fish.
I used #11 size victors to.
The little jaws on a small trap snap through the water better I guess.
Caught a bunch of coons with that set over the years.
I used to be a coon catching son of a gun back in the 70's

[drat]

you can soak the trap in white vinegar over night. it will get the rust off as well.

[Penny_Plinker]

ol Hoot, thanks for the trapping tip. Will give it a try, i saved the foil (peel off top) from a coffee can. It's shiny enough and should bend right around the pan. I have a couple 1 1/2 size traps, the ones in the picture, however are 1 3/4. The compression feature here on the forum may make the traps look like the smaller 1 1/2 size.

Drat, good idea, not everyone has a concrete mixer so great tip using the vinegar, and good way to get it done.

Well i'm dragging the trap prep out to do it as i have time, and right now i'm getting around to the dying and waxing. First i took all the traps into the garage and tuned them up a bit. Made sure the pan screws are adjusted right and a little filing and testing to make sure they're firing okay. Last year i skipped the tuning part and only dyed and waxed. When i set them out, the bait was getting took and after about a week i realized the pans were so tight it would take a horse to trip them. Then after that i never did catch much besides feral cats and dogs, but maybe this year will be better.

Penny

[ol_hoot]

Well I'll dang near guarantee you that if you trap along a waterway that has coons walking the banks and you make this set in the edge of the water there you will catch some of them coons.
You don't want to put the trap to deep though.
You want the foil reflecting some moonlight and them coons can't help it, they'll go for it every time
I think they see it as a fish or something

[Penny_Plinker]

Sounds great! I'll try it alright. One nice thing wouldn't have to worry about catching any cats or dogs off of tin foil ;D Trapping season opens first week in November here. Will let you know if i catch any coons on the tin foil bait. thanks again!

Penny

[ol_hoot]

Wondering if you ever tried the set I decribed "bump"

[Penny_Plinker]

Thanks for remembering. I tried it and left it out a few nights, but no coon. Then i laid off trapping because of a hurt shoulder problem. Will try again next year.

penny

[jjspirko]

I always used black walnut husks to dye my traps and it worked well. Yet unlike ol_hoot I used them once they turned all black and nasty. It always seemed to keep rust off em for a full season even water sets.

That said I never got any stranded in a creek! Great method to get the rust off there. Kind of like a giant rock tumbler, which is basically what I guess a concrete mixer is ;) but ya'll know what I mean.

[SkooliesRock]

I see you're running modified (laminated) traps.....Victors?

You need a coat of light rust on the traps for the dye to stick. I always used walnut hulls, because they're free. Tried logwood once but liked the walnuts better.

Alot of my K9 traps I didn't bother with dye, just cleaned, adjusted, and waxed them. lol I've caught alot of coyote in new-looking traps.....they couldn't tell what color they were with dirt covering them.

[medic]

For years I used either walnut hulls or logwood extract with a good coating of wax after a half hour boil. I switched to speed black a few years ago and find it to color all my traps well and lasts a long time. I find five gallons last a couple of years and you can always recoat during the season. The downside is letting your traps air out a few days after dipping them. I ran a large 500 plus set line for several years and never had a problem with any of my dry land sets getting dug up by foxes or coons. Everything that was in the water came out as good as when it went in too.

That shallow water coon set with aluminum foil on the pan is a killer. Another good one is a shallow water vertical bank. Poke several holes in the bank and fill one or two with lure. I prefer a sweet type lure here but anything seems to work. The smell and the holes just are too much for the passing coon. They can't seem to resisit spending time at this one either and it's a great producer.

[SkooliesRock]

Hey Medic! Glad to see another trapper, even though those days are over for me. I tried speed dip once, I didn't care for it. lol....I know dip-vs dye used to get some folks pretty riled ;D

I'll explain the one biggest reason I prefer dye/wax over dip.....wax makes for a faster trap. Wax will act as a lubricant where dip won't. Now is it any great amount? Don't know....lol, faster than my eyes can tell, but if it puts a couple extra critters on the stretchers then I'm game.

Besides, nothing like a crisp fall day, a big tub of traps boiling over a fire....... ;)

[medic]

Now you went and made me nostalgic for boiling all over again. Yeah, I can honestly say that for a time, the trapline did keep a roof over my head and food on the table. Of course that was back in the early eighties when fox were bringing in $75.00 a pop and coon where in the $50.00 neighborhood here. Those where some tough times, but I loved every minute of being out there. I still got my steel, but don't get to use it much anymore. One good thing is it doesn't cost anything to just store it till needed and you never know when that may be.

[Toad_Sticker]

When I lived in Colorado I always used sage to boil my traps in. Worked well.
TS