Wooden stakes

[buckeye hunter]

I am going to be trapping coons along some shallow water creeks.  So drowning rigs will not be an option.  What is your opinion about using 24 inch 4"x 4" grade stakes to anchor coon in the soft mud and muck?

[Bogmaster]

Buckeye,hard to give you a guess on this one,I hold a lot of coon in 1 x1 hardwood stakes in my rats sets. You may be better off with something a bit narrower and longer.
 I would say,go try a couple first.See how far they go in the ground---then test their holding ability.
 Tom

[Wackyquacker]

Now, everyone knows I no nothing of coons, that being said, those Pogo cables seem to be just the thing in the soft o/ loose soils of fields and stream beds.

[dbl coil]

Im not sure I understand what a 4"x 4" stake is but the length you describe should be fine. Most of the coon that I catch are out of shallow creeks as well and Ive never had a wood stake pulled out by a coon. In fact, sometimes I have to cut the wire when I pull the set because I cant pull the stake out of the mud.

[Appleknocker]

4" x 4" is over kill.  I use oak that is anywhere from 1" x 1" to 1" x 3" with lengths from 1' to 30".  It is not as easy to get out because of the amount of surface it has to the ground,  mud or muck.  I have to dig them out which I always do.  You can leave them in the ground under the right conditions, but I never do, and you never want to leave them in a farmer's field.  I also use disposable, which I always dig out, only because it is harder these days for me to get the oak.  Other woods will split under the pounding.  Oak will too especially if you make your hole for your wire to close to the top.  I like to make that hole at least 2" below the top and go down to 3".  Have never had wood pulled by coon, fox or coyote.

[wormbobskey]

If you can find them, use dried and peeled beaver sticks. They are pretty tough and you will have an unlimited supply if you can find a beaver dam in your area. I use some that are up to 4' long and use those for drowning rigs. Worm

[buckeye hunter]

I must have been asleep when I made my original post.  The stakes are
 2" x 2" cut 24 inches in length.

[wormbobskey]

Where are you located in southern Ohio? I live between Athens and Nelsonville, close to the Hocking River.
I'd say that even 2X2" s are a little to big. Oak 1X1's would work, but you can hardly beat  1/2X24"  or even  3/8X24" works well too. Worm

[buckeye hunter]

I actually live in Marietta, but I plan to trap in the Bartlett/Cutler area and north in the National Forest.  As to the stakes, I may just split them with a table saw.  Thanks for the input.

[jim-NE]

I think as long as you can drive them down into the soil sufficiently, these stakes you mention should work fine. Remember coons chew the hell out of everything they can reach from the end of the chain. If the water is too shallow for drowners, you have to keep that in mind. Maybe wire the trap chains "low" on these stakes when driving them in, too. If you put the wire hole only an inch or so from the top, and don't drown the coon, you could have a lot of chewing on the exposed top portion of the stake. I also think if the bottom area of the creeks is soft and mucky, these larger stakes will work well for you holding in that stuff...again, providing you can pound them in far enough to hold a coon. In harder bottom areas and dry land, you will have a difficult time getting that stake worked in though.