Post by Trapper Everette Downing on Jan 6, 2012 22:43:47 GMT -5
Water trapping raccoon is not a fancy affair. For the part you need only one or two baited sets and be able to set good blind sets where you find them. Yeah, it is nice to have a large repetoire of sets but to be quick and efficient, its better to stick to just two or three.
One of those sets that you should be making is the pocket set. Pockets probably account for almost half of the raccoons caught during a given year. To make the set, make the opening about 6 inches and dig back into the bank as far as you can. Try to make the pocket so the back of the pocket is above the waterline. For raccoon, you want to have the trap outside of the pocket. Place your bait inside the pocket, if you use bait and squirt your oil-based lures above the pocket. After a few days splash a little water above your set and the lure will come back to the surface. I use the end of my shovel to put a hole in the pocket for lure.
Blind sets are great for raccoon though there are not that many places to use blinds sets on a wateline as a land line. Most of the blind sets are around culverts, places where the bank comes down to the waterline and you can see where the raccoons are entering the water. Also good blind sets are where the bank is vertical and the water in the stream forces the raccoons to hug the bank or where a rock forces the raccoon to walk around it.
To stake the traps, I prefer to use slide-wire drowners to drown the raccoons. Some people like to use long chains to hold the raccoons but I am just used to the drowners. To drown raccoons, you will need a minimum of one foot of water.
One of those sets that you should be making is the pocket set. Pockets probably account for almost half of the raccoons caught during a given year. To make the set, make the opening about 6 inches and dig back into the bank as far as you can. Try to make the pocket so the back of the pocket is above the waterline. For raccoon, you want to have the trap outside of the pocket. Place your bait inside the pocket, if you use bait and squirt your oil-based lures above the pocket. After a few days splash a little water above your set and the lure will come back to the surface. I use the end of my shovel to put a hole in the pocket for lure.
Blind sets are great for raccoon though there are not that many places to use blinds sets on a wateline as a land line. Most of the blind sets are around culverts, places where the bank comes down to the waterline and you can see where the raccoons are entering the water. Also good blind sets are where the bank is vertical and the water in the stream forces the raccoons to hug the bank or where a rock forces the raccoon to walk around it.
To stake the traps, I prefer to use slide-wire drowners to drown the raccoons. Some people like to use long chains to hold the raccoons but I am just used to the drowners. To drown raccoons, you will need a minimum of one foot of water.
