February - Muskrat month

[stillkickin]

Nice batch! I really like the photo of your "rat" hunting partner........A pup of many talents!

 

[Foxtrot1]

Nice haul. Now mtmiller has some competition with the dog photos.

Ever try eating the muskrats? Of all the non-game animals I've always thought they would be the most palatable. They eat them in Louisiana, but then again that really doesn't narrow it down, haha

 

[VanHook]

Sweet. Did it take many points to get into that unit????

 

[huntin24/7]

Awesome! I grew up in ND and we trapped a lot of rats. We always dug a small shelf into the bank and set the trap there with a carrot of piece of apple above it and attached to a couple small bricks out in the water. It worked great but I definitely need to try this.

 

[Hunter&Huntress]

Are you putting a carrot on the trigger of your body grips?

 

[Big Fin]

Are you putting a carrot on the trigger of your body grips?

Yup.

Ever try eating the muskrats? Of all the non-game animals I've always thought they would be the most palatable. They eat them in Louisiana, but then again that really doesn't narrow it down, haha

Never have. They have a very high incidence of tularemia in some areas, and I have been told you cannot "cook it out of 'em." I suspect you can cook it out of them.

Also, Scott Layseth, who has a cooking show on Sportsman Channel, did a segment on cooking and eating muskrats in the Chesapeake Bay area. I asked him how they tasted. He furled his brow and kind squished his tongue around, then told me he would eat many other road kill items other than muskrats. He claims they have a "dirty" taste.

Rinella tells me that some guys really make a good meal of the hind legs, or as he called them, hams. That guy will eat anything, so I do not use him as my indicator as to palatability of anything.

So, for now, the magpies get the carcasses.

 

[Big Fin]

This morning I was joined by crittergetter and his enthusiastic side kick, Braden. This is a partial load of the 13 rats that got hauled in this morning.




Fishermen (I assume, given there were wader tracks along the river) pulled two sets, tossed my stakes up in the brush and no traps to be found. So, I just pulled the entire batch, even though you need to cross private to get to this part of the river. Those have always been good for 4-6 rats on each check, but just not worth the headache anymore. That is a dozen fewer traps to check.

 

[shoots-straight]

You can freeze their body and use them next year for cats, or K-9 variety.

 

[BlakeA]

Nice work and great pics!

 

[recon6036]

Great post. Sure wish I would have learned how to trap.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Thanks for sharing Randy.......

 

[1_pointer]

Well done. Thanks for the pics of the setups. Trapping is something I have always wanted to try, but I have never had the time, given where I've always lived, to give it a try. I'm thinking of picking up a few and putting them out next fall while deer hunting. I think it would be a great learning experience to share with my boys.

 

[sbhooper]

Our rats had a die off when dry conditions hit a couple years ago. Rats are great fun to trap and I hope that ours rebound soon. It is too bad that the prices have plummeted so badly. Great job.

 

[Dave N]

What kind of price are you getting nowadays? I used to run a line back in the dark ages after high school but stopped.

 

[MNHunter]

Thanks for sharing Randy. I recall my Dad trapping rats when I was really little.

 

[mn taxidermist]

Looks like fun Randy,I wish there was something to trap here now. I guess I'll have to wait for spring beaver trapping, always one of my favorite times of the year

 

[shoots-straight]

What kind of price are you getting nowadays? I used to run a line back in the dark ages after high school but stopped.

I think for those larger ones he'll average around $5 each.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Great sets - and congrats on a good haul.

Sorry to hear about the fisherman conflict. It sucks when people don't realize that there are other LEGAL users participating in the great outdoors.

 

[huntin24/7]

I can't quite tell from the pic. Is that white pole PVC or what? Definitely going to rig a few up.

 

[MThuntr]

http://wildlife.org/cat-disease-detected-in-minks-and-muskrats/

Bad news! As with most animals these days it doesn't hurt to wear gloves.