Well now that that is done I am legal and fired up to set some steel. Our instructor was Don Biermann from Avalanche, WI. Very friendly and knowledgeable guy. We had 21 students with 90% being young boys and girls. We had a few older folks (me included). On the first afternoon after a long day of classroom/ book work we went and set traps. We mostly set water sets for rats and beaver. Dan Carrol (sp?) was a real help in the beaver sets. This guy has an eye for beaver sets. It was kind of funny; He had just set three sets and was looking for another place to set another when out of the bank den the beaver swam right out and knocked the coni over. He then went back and reset the tripped one as well as set another one right next to it. The next morning (today), we checked them and sure enough, we caught one!!! We also caught 4 rats. Not too bad. I had a blast, learned alot, and got to meet some good people. Now I just need to get some time to set my own little line. I have decided to go with coni's and footholds. I bought 4 160's, 6 #2 Victor CS, and 6 #1 Victor CS. Mostly looking for coon and canines. Oh yea, I also learned beaver and rats live in small trout streams. I honestly never knew that. I thought they lived on lakes, bigger rivers, and ponds. See what I get for thinkin'? Now I need to slow down and look for the " little things" that are out there.
