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Post by rjvr1122 on Jan 1, 2014 8:12:51 GMT -6
I read a comment, recently, on this forum that multi-species trapping was an inefficient way to trap. I think we would all agree that coon are the "bread-and-butter" of trapping in Iowa, but I enjoy the variety of fur bearers that we have here and enjoy targeting multi-species for the entire season. Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this topic?
Russ
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Post by x-demoman on Jan 1, 2014 8:27:21 GMT -6
I have found it difficult to run and effecient fox and coyote line and alos trap mink and coon in numbers. If you are running low numbers of each I think you could do it and be somewhat successful. However if you plan to catch 100+ for and coyote and/or 500-1000 coon the mind set is always changing and you can not consentrate on each specie like you need to to put up the numbers.
If your goal is a few fox and coyote and maybe some dry land coon along the way that would probably work. It has been my experience that mixing dry land and water trapping just does not work on a larger scale.
I do wear my hip boots for both tyes of trapping and would not hesitated to make either type of set along the way but will never again try to do each 100%,
Multi specie can mean coon, mink and rat. It could also include dry coon, fox and coyote. When it means water and dry land I believe that is where it becomes complicated.
Just a few thoughts Gene
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Post by muskrat72 on Jan 1, 2014 8:29:23 GMT -6
If you are small time then its not so bad to multi species trap, but if your big time like a few of the members are then your space in truck to haul gear is allready taken up with coon gear for example. Im sure others will explain better. Good topic, and probably a lengthy one.
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Post by TRapper on Jan 1, 2014 8:52:59 GMT -6
On this site, Larry is a great example...he targets coon...that is it unless coon ain't movin much and he hits a few canines until coon start movin and he then goes back to killin coon only...all other catches are from his coon line...only setting for coon
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Post by centraliowa (ryan) on Jan 1, 2014 9:12:32 GMT -6
multi species let alone multi coon trapping is difficult. i say that because i have different boots, gloves and bait i use for water trapping coon and land trapping coon. early season i focuse more on water trapping with hip boots, liner gloves that fit under gauntlets and cut up fish. i will run a few dp's and snares but i mainly want to hit the water before it freezes. when i shift focuse to dp's and snares i where knee boots and thicker gloves and a 10 gallons of coon crunch. only so much room in back of truck. when i do run both at same time it is because the line is smaller. trapping a 100 bridges with water takes a lot of time, and so does running a line of 10 dozen dp's so i cant do both, i have to work at my paying job also. so i guess what i am saying like all ready mentioned, is that if you are running a small line you can do multi species, but if you want large number of catches i think you would be best off targeting one species or method and getting the incidentals along the way.
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Post by hooter on Jan 1, 2014 10:14:23 GMT -6
The 1st 2 weeks of the season is about coon for me. Like stated above concentrate on one species and choose water or dry but not both to be really efficient. I like to use everything at my disposal to hammer the coon during this time. Most of my sets are prestaked so I'm not hauling around a lot of stuff when season starts. This is not as efficient as doing one or the other but I enjoy doing it this way and still catch a fair amount of coon. Usually after thanksgiving I'll start a multi-species line. Really its all about you and what works for you.
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Post by ntg2 on Jan 1, 2014 10:40:10 GMT -6
What are you and what are you hoping to become? There are many variables. Are you a weekend warrior or a professional long liner? Location location location, and of course what season are you in. As the season goes on here its best to be diversafide because there is not much money in chasing one species, were as early you pound the coon until the water season opens the coon start to slow. So I guess what I am trying to say is every week is different, every mile of every road is different and every person situation is different. For me less miles and less minutes between sets are the most import, no mater what the set is for. Most of the time, my time is so short, I should not be out trapping in the first place. But I do it anyway
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chadt
Hyper-Active Trap Talker
Posts: 152
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Post by chadt on Jan 1, 2014 11:13:30 GMT -6
This year is only my third year trapping and with a lot of theft in my area last year I ran a river line. Not running a river line before was not sure what to expect. I was geared up for coon with 1.5's and dp's I had it figured out. I did catch coon and had a lot of fun. But when setting for coon i would notice that I was seeing coyote tracks along with coon and a lot of beaver slides going into the river. Next year I will be taking some #3 and some coyote bait along with some snares for the beaver slides. I think that as long as I'm in that boat and going down river just as well set for some of the other animals along the river that probably have never seen a trap not much access to the river other than private ground only saw two other trappers and I'm sure one was on foot because I stopped and talked to him and the other was a dp set next to a bridge. My line on the river is maybe a little different because I'm close to the DesMoines river that is public hunting and check first not all water is public for trapping.
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Post by jbruegge on Jan 1, 2014 11:27:09 GMT -6
This year is only my third year trapping and with a lot of theft in my area last year I ran a river line. Not running a river line before was not sure what to expect. I was geared up for coon with 1.5's and dp's I had it figured out. I did catch coon and had a lot of fun. But when setting for coon i would notice that I was seeing coyote tracks along with coon and a lot of beaver slides going into the river. Next year I will be taking some #3 and some coyote bait along with some snares for the beaver slides. I think that as long as I'm in that boat and going down river just as well set for some of the other animals along the river that probably have never seen a trap not much access to the river other than private ground only saw two other trappers and I'm sure one was on foot because I stopped and talked to him and the other was a dp set next to a bridge. My line on the river is maybe a little different because I'm close to the DesMoines river that is public hunting and check first not all water is public for trapping. Chad, I had that same idea this fall, more so with the beavers than the coyotes. But I made a few high percentage beaver sets on hot sign figuring, they are there and so am I, so I might as well catch them. My problem with this was once I got in the fur shed. It takes me 4-5 min to skin a coon and toss it in the freezer. I was eating up my available freezer space really quick, so I had to put up the larger beaver pelts right away. So 10-15 min to skin the beaver, another 10 to flesh, another 10-15 boarding it... I quickly realized that being focused on coons was a more important use of my time early on, so I ended up pulling my beaver sets after a couple days and concentrating on coons.
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chadt
Hyper-Active Trap Talker
Posts: 152
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Post by chadt on Jan 1, 2014 11:46:52 GMT -6
Thanks Jbruegge something to think about.
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Post by LLLTrapper on Jan 1, 2014 13:05:06 GMT -6
I have one or two thoughts on this. My first thought is when life throws you lemons you make lemonaid. What I mean is if it is going to be snowy and cold I am going to set snares on trails on private ground since I will have extra time because the coon hole up. I also will push my traps further in the pocket for mink or add some fishsticks in non freezing spots. My second thought is when I see a warm up or moderation in temperature I am closing snares and putting 100% effort into coon trapping. I put the blinders on and do not stray from the prize. LLL
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Post by iayogi17 on Jan 1, 2014 13:18:20 GMT -6
my 2 pennies worth- if your trapping for fun or don't have the gear to run a big single species line, you could run a multi species line.
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