AGGHHHHH... I will be bald by the end of the week!!

[frozentoes]

Between the weather, traps, and critters I will either be bald or gray by Friday. No fired traps today-for once. Kind of hard to do when they are FROZE to the ground :evil:  :evil: . I have been using peat moss and has been working great until this morning. I went out yesterday afternoon after the rain/snow mix and relured and baited all my sets as well as tune a few not already done. I also moved a few to what appeared to be better set locations based on sign. Fooled again by the critters. Now for more questions.
1. How cold does it need to get before coon den up? At this rate I will not catch any before the big freeze.
2. How can I get sets to not freeze? I have read many ideas about the glycol and RV antifreeze. Please explain where to get it and how to mix and use it.
3. Is it too late in the year to get new traps? With everything I have read you need weeks before a trap is ready to use. By the time I get a trap bought,delivered, cleaned, rusted, dipped or dyed, waxed, and let dry in cold weather the season will be over or coons will be slow.
4. My trap tension is fairly tight compared to what it was before. Now it seems they are real sluggish when it is frosty in the mornings.
5. The location where I have had the most fired traps is really frustrating me. No fired traps this morning but the pvc has been robbed every time. It is a 16 inch pipe with about a foot stuck out of the ground. I have either sardines or jack mackeral in the bottom with a few leaves on top of that. I then dip a small stick in some lure and put that in the pipe as well. Is it coon or possum?
6. On the set from above I have two traps out. One is about 6 inches away at about 2 o'clock. The second is about a foot away at 8 o'clock. Both traps have been fired and dragged to the end of the chain. Do I need a ring of traps to catch one critter? Also how far away should the traps be on that type of set-up?
7. I am not sure on my dirthole sets. Only one of them has been fired and it was twice. The culprit could very well be deer. Bait is never touched. I am in a high deer populated area. Most of the other sets are not where deer generally travel.
Can you tell I am losing my mind,LOL.
8. How can I find somebody in my area that would be willing to take a guy as a ride along? I desperately need some visual teaching. The trapper ed course was good but could use more work in that area. Thanks again for any advice you might think of. Mike

[Bogmaster]

Mike, I just happen to sell propylene glycol--most supply dealers do--it is what is called food grade--so there is no odor--but it isnt edible.
 Warm spell is at our doorstep--so I will be back out breaking hardwater tomorrow--we are supposed to have over a week of warmer temps.Coon will definately be on the move,but alas I will put in rat sets first--I know I will get several more coon at the rat houses.
 Coon never truly den up--even during winter,when you get some warm nights, they are out and about.They are not true hibrenators.
 Have you watched any instructional videos--next best thing to being there.
 Hang tough,you have to make your own luck--at least I do  lol.  Tom

[trappnman]

1. How cold does it need to get before coon den up? At this rate I will not catch any before the big freeze.

Bog is right. coon will slow down, and in sub zero weather can den up for weeks at a time- but do move throughout "warm" spells.  You need a good powerful coon lure at this time of year.
 
2. How can I get sets to not freeze? I have read many ideas about the glycol and RV antifreeze. Please explain where to get it and how to mix and use it.

RV antifreeze wil work in the 20s, and a 2 to 1 mix of pure glycol and water wil protect ot much colder. Spray the bottom of the trap bed thrgoughly, bed the trap, spray everything again, add dirt, spray, add dirt, spray.  Make final thin layer of natural dirt to blend everything in.

3. Is it too late in the year to get new traps? With everything I have read you need weeks before a trap is ready to use. By the time I get a trap bought,delivered, cleaned, rusted, dipped or dyed, waxed, and let dry in cold weather the season will be over or coons will be slow.

For coon, buy them and set them.  If yo uwant to wax, it wil speed up traps in colder weather. once 1 coon is caught, any trap wil lbe shiny. Just take to car wash and spray off factory grease.

4. My trap tension is fairly tight compared to what it was before. Now it seems they are real sluggish when it is frosty in the mornings.

You found out what happens in cold weather! loosen tension and use a thinner dirt covering. Don't pack trap quite as hard around jaws.

5. The location where I have had the most fired traps is really frustrating me. No fired traps this morning but the pvc has been robbed every time. It is a 16 inch pipe with about a foot stuck out of the ground. I have either sardines or jack mackeral in the bottom with a few leaves on top of that. I then dip a small stick in some lure and put that in the pipe as well. Is it coon or possum?

I would say coon. Do you have the pipe angled say 45 degrees and the trap under the tip of pipe?

6. On the set from above I have two traps out. One is about 6 inches away at about 2 o'clock. The second is about a foot away at 8 o'clock. Both traps have been fired and dragged to the end of the chain. Do I need a ring of traps to catch one critter? Also how far away should the traps be on that type of set-up?

See above. also remember to put in stick next to dog as dog guide.

7. I am not sure on my dirthole sets. Only one of them has been fired and it was twice. The culprit could very well be deer. Bait is never touched. I am in a high deer populated area. Most of the other sets are not where deer generally travel.

Make coon dirtholes DEEP. Coon will work a dirthole from the top given half a chance.

Can you tell I am losing my mind,LOL.

Welcome to our world! :cb2:

[Wackyquacker]

See toes give em ole boys half a chance and they'll get you straight.  You know it just doesn't get much better that the above posts...not even when you're paying for it. :wink:

[jim-NE]

don't forget...at least you are getting trap set visits by target species, and that is half the job accomplished right there. That means you have good set locations and you are using the right baits, visual attractors (PVC), etc. so everything is working correctly, now the frustrating part is the fine-tuning.
prior comment mentions coon tend to work things from above if given the opportunity and that is a real key point to catch your bait stealers now. example: if you have a low bank (maybe only a foot or less) right above a water pocket set, a coon may actually prefer to stand on top of the bank and reach into the hole from above. You'll miss coons with that set arrangement every time if your trap is bedded below the hole. That's why if there is some slope to the bank a better arrangement is to take a shovel and completely shave the bank vertically up and down so that a coon is forced into the water to work the set from in front of the hole...where your trap is bedded.
for dryland coon sets, I either have an enormous backing or something completely impossible for them to stand on to work the set from above...or I have absolutely no backing at all and work on a very deep and angled dirthole set with my trap in front of the hole. that works for me. Even a large clump of grass with some sticks shoved into it will be enough to deter a coon from standing on the clump to work the hole from above.
anyway...just a thought and this is something that works for me.
Jim-NE

[jim-NE]

Also, if your state allows snaring...and if you are getting what sounds like some very good activity from coons at your land sets, snaring might just be the very inexpensive fix to both your freezing and your missed catches issues. A few snares set on good, well-traveled trails in that immediate vacinity will take coons under freezing conditions and will be "ready" when they are moving. Plus, you don't have to fret about the stolen baits, snapped traps, etc.
just a thought...
Jim-NE

[frozentoes]

Well this morning I had an interesting thing happen. On one of my 160 trail sets I caught a squirrel. No big deal, except something ate the thing while it was in the trap!!! All that was left was the head and skin. What in thw world would do that?
Now this afternoon I moved all but one trap to the water. After reading the posts from Bog, I figured I would give it a chance. I actually found real bona fide coon tracks in the mud! It has been a little warmer and the edges have unthawed. I set some pockets, pvc, and some sets on the dry ground next to the water. I also found some scat that I do not know what it came from. Really ripe smell to it. Don't ask why I smelled it, LOL. It was smaller tear drop shaped and green and soft. It also smelled musky in the area. After reading jims post I think I did things right. All my sets will not be worked from above. I also have a bucket set with a 160 in it.
While I was setting up the bucket a guy came over to me and asked if I was trapping. DUH! He was scouting for deer for next weeks deer season. He asked if I had caught any greys yet. I did not know they were down there. He said there are a lot of greys in the wooded areas and reds by the fields. I have only seen coyotes so far this year. After that I made a dirthole set on an old logging road that ended in the stream. I lured it with the only canine lure I have. Maybe I will connect. Well thanks again for the replies. Warmer weather should get the animals moving, I hope.

[Wackyquacker]

Toes, them Greys are sneaky little buggers...they are for ever mesing with my cat sets and the like.  The have a way of getting things with out getting caught...unless you are specifically targeting them.