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Post by bigtwinhd on Mar 30, 2011 21:04:51 GMT -5
What do you guys use for drowner weights? And a minimum weight? I have heard of 50#s myself and am tending to agree. Flat bottom stream that is not steep drop off.
Also chain length on the trap targeting a front foot? I will be shortening them some this summer as my streambed goes from running bank full and furious to 3 foot once it cooled off and the snow stopped melting. I had two pull outs due to the slider lock freezing in after the water dropped..... The learning curve is steep with me!
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Post by Law Dog on Mar 31, 2011 12:48:47 GMT -5
I like 4 RXR plates in calm/semi shallow water and 3-4 in fast water deeper the better, if you can find any sandbags they work great and can be filled at the set so you can carry a pile and they don't take up much room! If a slick rocky bottom I'd go with the sacks as they hold more weight!
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Forrest
Administrator
Trapper
Posts: 1,000,271
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Post by Forrest on Mar 31, 2011 13:44:30 GMT -5
I am a fan of the sand bag too... Light weight to carry in and can be made as heavy as you need it to be....
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Post by Law Dog on Mar 31, 2011 14:14:15 GMT -5
I liked the old potato sacks but the new nylon ones are a bit slippery so they need extra weight on mossy bottoms. I used some old swingset anchors made of cement in the old steel antifreeze cans on a slippery bottom, they were heavy but were dragged to shore several times across the slime on the rocks!
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Post by ScottRainbolt on Mar 31, 2011 14:37:17 GMT -5
i use pants legs off old jeans wire shut and fill
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Post by Law Dog on Mar 31, 2011 15:02:06 GMT -5
I always wondered if a good solid 5 Gal pail alone would work in deep water? Just the mass of water that you have to move would be enough to do the job! Anybody ever try it?
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Post by hawkeye on Mar 31, 2011 15:07:07 GMT -5
I shortened some chains on my beaver traps, thinking the shorter chain would allow them to drown in shallower water. The problem was that it limited how far from the wire I could set the trap. Also, the shorter chain allows them to get a better push off the bottom with their hind legs.
I quit shortening the chain and started drivig a tangle stake along the slide wire for them to wrap around and drown. You can drown a beaver (or a coon) in surprisingly shallow water using a tangle stake.
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Post by ScottRainbolt on Mar 31, 2011 19:52:36 GMT -5
very true hawkeye i havent used a drowner in a couple years now have gone to the tangle stake drove out in a couple foot of water and just use a long chain or cable
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Post by bigtwinhd on Mar 31, 2011 20:12:23 GMT -5
I like that tangle stake idea, then I could keep my chain length long to keep it under water and away from the nightly surface freeze. I'll take a picture of my drowner weights tomorrow and maybe you guys can give me a few tips. I had a couple pull outs and if my 330's weren't all tied up it would have been a good spot for one.... Still learning.
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Post by hawkeye on Mar 31, 2011 20:30:06 GMT -5
I always wondered if a good solid 5 Gal pail alone would work in deep water? Just the mass of water that you have to move would be enough to do the job! Anybody ever try it? Water has nuetral buoyancy, the water on the outside of the bucket wighs the same as the water on the inside of the bucket. Fill 2 pepsi bottles, one full of water and one full oof sand then drop them in a bathtub and see which one sinks right to the bottom and which one just lays in the water. It won't float, but it won't sink either. A beaver would have no problem dragging a pail to shore.
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Post by happersilderness on Mar 31, 2011 21:08:40 GMT -5
I got access to concrete blocks and ive been trapping close to home. I just tie wire to a stake pound it in at shore tie the wire off to the block and chuck it out into the water
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