Staking down traps!

prescott

New member
Well my second Duke #2 was pulled out today. This is my second one this year. I am gong to cables at the tree. This could get costly, losing traps. By the way I was tying chicken in a tree about 2-3' off the ground! Seems to work, When it rained the other day the scent was dripping to the ground. I caught coon and lost a trap! progress???
 
if your going after yotes, then you better be X staking with at least 18 inch stakes or you should have earth anchors attached to the chain, a yote will pull a single stake that is shorter then 3 foot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif. but wont pull a earth anchor with a 18 inch piece of cable on it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

with loosing your traps, instead of stakeing you should have used drags. at least that way you would have gotten your trap back after you found the animal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Ya I was just using 18" rerod with a welded washer on top, through the last loop of the Duke chain. GONE! So I am getting a thin gauge cable with two loops crimped and circle the tree and back through one loop. Then bolt the loop to the trap? Sounds like it will work and also what is this swivel talk about? And is length a issue? Slack?
 
If ground conditions are "iffy" I always use a drag. A branch about the 3-4 feet long and as thick as your wrist or thicker works well. Wire your trap about the 2/3 point so the animal can get it to the brush. They will quickly head to cover and are generally very easy to find.
 
hi i use the old cross double stakes 24 inch rebar with a nut welded to the end. never had one pull up yet and i have used them in sandy soil. try double staking them. if they give me trouble getting out of the ground i hook my 3000 pd winch to them on my 4 wheeler. will pull them up. try the double stakes dont single stake for coyotes any more. i use drags alot to.
 
I have a ordered some new Dukes and have learned my lesson thats for sure. So I will keep ya posted this week when I rest them. Oh and this boiling,dying,and waxing part is for the birds. But it's good excuse to have beer with guys. Thanks for everyones help!
 
Prescott,

I use the pogo stick anchors. Google pogo stick anchors and see what you think. There is a demonstration on youtube. I use the pogo system for all my traps. I never have pullouts even in sand. Give this a try you will be impressed.
 
with the wire there twist the wir intill it breaks try some cable like you use with pogo anchers or thing like that and crimp a loop at each end with one bigger and go around th tree with it run the small end thought the big end and hook to your trap works great
 
Hey thanks, those look great, So I think instead of a rerod that looked like a piece of angle iron. I am gonna cable to trees from now on. Thanks for the hook up! OH and that dying I did with my new traps last time, thanks i'll save some time. It took a few hours with all three steps before. Thanks guys I love this stuff!!!!
 
the angle iron is the driver to get the cable stake in the ground. the thing i like about those stakes is they are reuseable. you attach one cable to the trap chain, and the short one is used to pull the stake back up out of the ground /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.

when cabling to a tree, make sure the cable is loose around the tree so the critter can move around the tree and not get hung up so they can pull out of the trap. when is your season over up there?
 
I would definitely double stake, use a drag or one of the disposable kind. Cabling to a tree has never worked well for me. If a racoon can get a hold of the tree it gives him leverage to pull out. too much slack will do the same. It also can create a bind point that will some times allow an animal to break the cable. It will also damage the tree which will make some land owners ugly. And finally there rarely seems to be a tree near "the perfect" spot at least im my experience. There is absolutely nothing worse to a trappers future than to have an animal running loose with a foot hold on it. You never know where it will end up or who will find it, weather it has your tag on it or not we all get a bad reputation out of it. Even with a perfect set up crap happens so I prefer to error on the site of caution.

Good Luck!
 
This may have already been mentioned but I would buy some double stake swivels and cross stake the traps. I had a coyote this morning had it crossed staked with 18inch stakes held him tight...

Ben
 
I don't want this to happen again thats for sure. I just started trapping and it could be over quick if these turn up around the land owner. I have learned my lesson and getting away with the trap is top concerns now. Our season for trapping is over March 1st. BUT I can trap year around for nuesence yotes, no tag, or written permission. Private Land only. Thats why I needed to get this figured out before the calves start dropping. I have a cattle farm thats gonna let me trap the spring.
 
Sounds like you have the perfect additude to make trapping a success for you. And you are right, there is definitely a learning curve to the process and even when you do things 110% right Murphies Law kicks you in the butt. It happens to everyone eventually.
 
Cable stakes or crossed rebar, cabling to a tree will limit your set-up too much. I can't imagine only being able to set where there was a tree to attach. I like my sets in the open, road intersections, field edges, etc. Also, like mentioned earlier, the large object will cause more pressure on the trap. May not pull out but could cause more foot damage or trap damage.
The cable stakes haven't worked real well for me because of the rock in my area but they are great under most conditions. I've used them with good luck in the fields around here. I stick to cross staked rebar, works everywhere for me, rock or not. Take care and no more single stakes! Good luck
 
hey Prescott, heres a tip to help ya get those yotes at the cattle farm /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

get ya some yote urine and a spray bottle. go to the corner of the pasture and on the outside of the pasture, take your spray bottle and spray the post with urine about 8 inches up. before spraying, dig a trap bed and sift the dirt like you would a trap pattern, but don't put in a trap, yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif. go about 50 yards both ways and do the same, if the fence is barbed wire, pick an object that is way from the fence to spray /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif. that saves the fence and yote from being tore up. since yotes are territoral this time of year, they will think a intruder has showed up and will mark the object with their own urine to tell the intruder to leave. go back after about 2 days and do it again, no trap. let them get used to this game before you put the trap in. if you sift a big enough pattern, you will see tracks in the loose dirt, the yote is showing you where to put the pan /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.

if the farmer has a dead pile you can get some rib bones out of it and drive them in the ground and put urine on them and use them for scent post set out in the pasture.

just be sure to stake your traps solid, if you can pull the the stake up so can a yote.

heres a pic of my chain (or should I say swivel set up) it keeps the yote on the ground so he can't pull more then a couple of inches. the more chain, the higher he can pull straight up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

68c1531a.jpg


its nothing more then a swivel at the D-ring, a chain loop,and a swivel, then a Quick link and the earth anchor. I use the chain off a fire hydrant, (here they cut them off) so check with anyone laying waterlines along the road way to see if they will be putting in any hydrants and see if you can get the chain, its some strong stuff)
good luck and happy trapping
 
Hey thanks guys! I have nothad time to boil traps and get them ready. My brother and I hunted Friday at Ted Nugents ranch. He shot 300lb Barborsa Sheep and I shot a 200lb Boar. We both used our bows. We had a great time I highly recommend it. I am getting those traps around for this week. Our trappers season is over today. Now I move over to the cattle farms. Thanks guys!!!
 
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