Water set for fox...

[rzwieg]

I fooled around with it when I was a kid but has anyone here had success using it?

[Asa Lenon]

I'm sure they are successful sets if one can find suitable locations for them but I never found such sets to be practical. Ace

[jim-NE]

I made a dirthole on the bank at the end of a old beaver dam where fox were crossing, and ran a drowner out in deep water off of the dam. The drowner wasn't necessary but there was some people activity in that area so I wanted to put the catch down out of site. On the drowner, the dirthole set location basically was remakeable several times for me, and that old beaver dam crossing took 2 coon and 2 fox for me before I had to pull up for the season. I have heard of the set you mention but have seen many variations of sets called this for fox. Just thought I'd share one that worked for me anyway.
Also, after a hard freeze, I noticed that fox and coyote tracks were everywhere on the little streams where I trapped coon earlier in the season, and the tracks went up to every old pocket set I had dug into the banks and the fox and coyotes were digging out the old fish bait and coon lure.
I chopped shallow beds in the ice and laid a piece of clear plastic wrap in the bed, then a layer of white plastic bb's, and bedded a trap in this. for an ancher wired my chains off to a 4' long thick branch and slid this into a hole in the ice so that the branch was completely under ice and could not be pulled back up. I only caught one fox for my efforts, which was a lot now that I think about it, but I always remember seeing those old pocket sets visited and wish I had a better way to nab the late season predators at those same set locations.
Jim

[rzwieg]

Asa...As a kid, around my area there were lots of small, unfrozen springs. Foxes often visited them. When I tried that old spring set ( I was 12), they would stop, investigate and move on. They wouldn't really work the set.  Even tried making the set wading in the spring. That still nags me. I would like to like to learn it from someone who's had success with it.

[Bogmaster]

 That set is more from the dark ages of trapping.I read about its use ,mainly from very old time trappers.Remember,a lot of the old time sets were used,because trappers didn't know of good alternative sets.
 When snow and cold weather set in ,it shut most of the dirt trappers down.Anti freeze methods ,such as waxed dirt,calcium chloride,peat moss etc.,were all in the distant future.The spring set,offered an alternative to hanging up your traps for the season.
 I never heard of anyone taking big numbers of canines in these sets,though I would guess some had fair success with it.
 Dirt holes and flat sets have pretty much done away with a lot of old time sets.
 Remember an apple on a stick?How about bait hung from a tree over the trap?
 Evolution in the trapping industry has changed a lot of things.
 Tom

[rzwieg]

Apple on a stick...oh yah. Twenty years ago trapping for me was better than half my income. Now it is a hobby. I like to try different methods. I do it for the experience.

[MacinMaine]

Johnny Thorpe covers the spring hole set in his Coyote video, and in his fox video.  The NTA videos have a segment in which Mike Maraysada (spelling?) demonstrates the spring hole set.  I have been forunate to know some old timers that make the set work.  Thorpe's videos offer a lot of information on getting the proper approach so they will work the set and his style is an interesting twist.  It would not be fair to him to explain the set the way he makes it but I thought I should let those know there is information available.
Once you start looking around there are several areas or spots that have potential spring hole set locations. At least that is true for my area, but I can not speak for other parts of the country.
Yes it is an old fasihed set but it has a lot going for it.

Mac

[rzwieg]

Thanks Mac. I'll check that out.