dog proof traps

[tipiguy]

I bought a couple dog proof traps last summer.  I didn't have any luck with them and was considering doing some modifications. 

These two dog proof traps have the typical pipe style with a trigger that activates by pulling up on the lever.  Is this normal?  I would think it better if the trap sprung when a coon pushed the lever down in trying to get more of the goodies.  I had bait removed several times but never had a trap fire.

The color is a flat silver.  How about a bright color?  A bright yellow or blue.  Would this make for more eye appeal and improve their effectiveness?

I know there are coons in the area where I set them.  There was sign and I even caught some after I pulled them and set some foothold traps. 

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Tipiguy

[Bogmaster]

 I use the coon cuffs myself,have had good luck with them.
 You may try placing something on the pull trigger--mini marshmallows or a piece of rubber or plastic on the pull trigger ,in addition to your bait underneath the trigger.
 Tom

[Macthediver]

Don't always assume it is coon cleaning the bait out of your traps. I have had mice clean out the dog proof traps plenty of times. Try using one large marsh-mellow under the trigger. Also as Bog stated putting something on the trigger helps. Personally I have used the little rubber tube baits made for crappie fishing.

Mac

[tipiguy]

Thanks for the ideas!  I have tried a large marshmallow but will add something to the trigger.  Hopefully I will start to catch some stuff in them.  They sure are easy and quick to set on the way to work.

Tipiguy

[Bobber]

I also had poor luck with the coon cuffs at first. I was burying them in banks and along trails as was suggested , to look like crayfish holes. In short, I was trying to hard to find a way to make them seem natural  or make a natural type set with  them. I was hiding them to well to work! It was suggested to me to just weld a couple of eight inch landscape spikes or 3/8" re-rods to the side of the trap and just leave out in the open, so the coon could see and find them easy. I then just put a good amount jack mackerel inside the trap and squirted fish oil as a trialing scent. I even stuck one inside a McDonald's bag from a road side ditch for more eye appeal, and to hide them from passerby's. Made all the difference in the world. Went from zero catches to just about a sure thing, if the coon were still there.

[jim-NE]

I had a 1/2 dozen of those DP Duffers traps that had a trigger that was "pulled" vs. "Pushed". I found I had to bed them very firmly into the side of a bank near a trail, or in the trail itself for them to work well. The trap has to be bedded tightly so that the trigger can be pulled without the entire trap pulling out. For baiting these traps, I used a wad of cotton behind the trigger soaked in fish oil, or, very small pieces of smoked salmon. Coons have those claws on their front paws and they can't tell what is trigger and what is bait so as long as you can get them to hook the trigger with a claw or get a finger or two under the trigger to lift or pull on it, these traps work. Incidentally, they work well on possums, too, baited with same as noted above. One season this model was my top possum taker. First one I caught in one I shook my head in disbelief and chalked it up to one of those "well I can say I caught a possum in that set too, now" but after several more in a short time I could see some potential for this to be a possum trap itself.
The coon cuffs model the trigger must be pushed, much like little conibear triggers. I dig a deeper hole and put the bait in the back of the hole, then slip the coon cuffs into the hole and not much else to it. The coon has to reach in and pushes the triggers on the way in to get goodies. When they feel the triggers, sometimes they just grab the triggers anyway but these are fairly sensitive and fire anyway. I use dark black dye or paint the face of this trap black so it really stands out on a bank near a trail, or again, right in the trail itself. This trap also fits nicely into the end of a 4" PVC pipe, so if you have some 1.5' lengths of pipe around...shove one end in the bank or just out in the water at edge near a trail and lean the pipe toward the trail or have it straight up in air. I cut a notch for the chain a little down the side, and the trap will slip right in the end...a set that has a lot of eye appeal and is a coon killer for me. I run these on drowners, too.
Of the two models, I prefer the coon cuffs due to the trigger design, but both have places on my line depending upon the situation.

[fishdaddy]

i had one little grizz did real good on coon with it then it got stolen