Trapping questions.

[Carlos Viagra]

A buddy of mine wants some help trapping some raccoons on his lease. I'm gonna give him a hand for a few trips, and wanted to check with you guys on here who are more familiar with trapping.

I plan to set out 5-6 DP traps and maybe a couple of coyote traps. The regs say the traps need to have the owners TWRA id number on them. What's the best method for this?

Also, in the past, I've always used a swivel and a cable with a loop on the end to go around a small tree to secure the DP traps. Is this a good way to do it, or is there something better?

Thanks everybody!

 

[CATCHDAWG]

Cheap Harbor Freight engraver for the number. I stake my dp's and remove any kind of limbs/branches from around the set. I do not want them to be able to reach ANYTHING.

 

[Carlos Viagra]

Cheap Harbor Freight engraver for the number. I stake my dp's and remove any kind of limbs/branches from around the set. I do not want them to be able to reach ANYTHING.

Ok- I figured there was a possibility of them pulling out if they could grab onto something. I haven't had one pull loose yet, but they can make a tangled mess with the cable on the tree.

What kinda stakes work best?
I don't want anything too permanent,
Needs to be easy to remove and relocate.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

Ok- I figured there was a possibility of them pulling out if they could grab onto something. I haven't had one pull loose yet, but they can make a tangled mess with the cable on the tree.

What kinda stakes work best?
I don't want anything too permanent,
Needs to be easy to remove and relocate.

I make my own stakes for dp's. 1/2" rebar with a washer welded on top. Probably 2' long, I don't really measure, just cut where it "looks about right". Lol

 

[6.5swede]

Most people buy copper or brass trap tags, they sell temp tags you can write on with a pen, they are soft enough to imprint. Cables work but you could just buy anchors and a driver because you need them for coyote traps anyway.

 

[6.5swede]

Wolf fangs or super stakes I don't care for berkshires

 

[tacoma2002]

x's 2 for staking traps with rebar and a washer welded to the top.

They're pretty easy to catch as long as you hide your set properly.

Coyotes are a bit harder to get if you don't know what their normal route of travel is...alongside a field road or other natural trail/funnel are good spots to start.

 

[readonly]

You can order pre-stamped non-ferrous tags from most supply companies. Minimum of 50 or so, wrap around a swivel tight and the a catch won't bite it off.

I have been running DPs for over twenty years. In most situations and especially along creeks I wrap a cable around a sapling so that there is no slack left and pull one end loop through the other other and attach to the DP chain swivel with a spilt ring. The no-slack keeps them from cling the sapling or getting hung up. I have had zero issues with this setup after more coon than I can count. In a situation where that is not an option I either wire it off to a dead fall or use a stake. I have had issues with both of those.....largest coon I ever caught pulled the drag into the creek and I found him 100 yards or more down stream. I have had a couple of coon pull stakes and luckily got hung up nearby. You could go to earth anchors but that is more work and expense than my first option. A lot of creeksides and other good coon ground is either too soft to hold rebar stakes or too rocky to drive anything. On footholds I have used long drags. I have also used kill boxes in rocky creeks or where I won't be checking early in the day (kill boxes are legal in my state).