During inclement weather?
Im largely a river trapper so high water is a big deal to me. I’ve always looked for ways to fight high water falling water is worse and harder to fight as everything has to be adjusted everyday till it stabilizes. To stay on location. As water hunters will follow the edge of receding water. Mink coon cat what have ya.
Enyhow after nearly 30 years of river trapping. Prolly more like 28 or so. I feel I finally have enough gear and methods to adequately fight a rise in water as long as I can get on and navigate the river I can trap it.
I run DPS and boxes dry pockets crossing logs and high den entrances when the water is up and this keeps me in fur. I also have the options of back water (slack water) holes where I can set for beaver and rats that use these sanctuary’s as a safe resting spot outta fast current. I have an equal and extensive option for normal levels I can run upward of 150 traps for eaither situation.
I can also flip over and run these same technique’s on the road on large creeks.
Once every 5 years or so the river and creeks will freeze and that makes everything hard river is about done as my boat is not an ice buster and I don’t like getting in them situations where there is 1" ice sheets moving around grinding on my boat. I have and that’s how I know I don’t like it!
I can still function on the creeks though!
Know water trapping is my thang so most of my efforts have always centered around water trapping problems and solutions but I do and have land trapped pretty big in the past. I have several options for land trapping during bad weather. Peatmoss waxed dirt grass and leave clippings best thing I’ve found for k9s and snow is to get them in before the snow and hope you don’t cat h a bunch of possums the first night. I’ve always done best on yotes like that. I can’t ever remember catching a yote in a set I made in the snow while the snow was still on. Fox and cats yes yote no. I know it’s been done but not by me. Enyhow.
What do you guys do to battle weather!
Thought it would be a good worthwhile and educational discussion.
Colt
Colt, could you kinda explain what type boat you are using and why?
I trap a couple tributaries to a large river but I’m doing that from land. I can’t even imagine the headaches to do a large in a boat lol
My boat is a 1975 lowe 1648 it’s 48" in the beam that’s the bottom. I run a 25 horse Johnson tiller steer motor.It’s not a big boat buy today’s standards but when I was young it was a bigish boat and commercial fisherman used the same type rigs at home in the 80s and 90s it was considered big! Allot of guys who run nets back then was still running 1448s with 15 horse motor or even 9.9s
It is big enough for my river 18’ would be more than big enough and 20 would be almost to big for my proposes. Enyhow I like a aluminum boat cause i will put it on sand and rock and up on top of logs aluminum is tough and has give and will bend before it breaks I’d rather have an all welded boat as there a bit tougher but a rivet boat is plenty tough as long as you don’t over motor it and then do something stupid.
Rivets boats are a bit lighter and maneuver easier. My banks are steep and deep and you can’t get out in the water in most situations so being able to maneuver it by hand while laying over the gunnel is important to me.
I like a flat nose and a full flat bottom to me there more stable and are better for working off the bow. Dad’s boat is a 1648 tracker with a 25 hp everude it has a modified v on front and after useing it for most of my life I can say I like the flat nose better.
I commercial fish a little and can run 10 jumplines and 3 or 4 3’ hoopnets out of it when you have that much gear in it you kinda have to be nimble to get around in it. That or 100 traps eaither one.
Colt
First pic is dad’s boat hear is some more just to show the mess it gets to be.
Uploading: IMG_20220923_095438.jpg…
Sorry you opened a can of worms cause I love my boat.
I keep.it parked close to my bedroom so I can get up and look at it every morning.
Colt
Appreciate the pics and I do like your boat. Do you do any reinforcement on the front where you’re pulling to shore a lot?
I like you lure caddy. I bet you didn’t even buy that?
I been seriously thinking of making a tool holder/set making gear holder like that. I can’t find anything that like so to making it we go lol
Great pictures! You have got me wanting a boat worse than ever now! I have made do with a canoe for years, but I’m thinking it’s getting about time to start motoring more and paddling less! Of course, I may need to find my wife an extra job from time to time to pay for the boat maintenance once I get it; but she’s pretty tough! LOL!
I’ll give you a tip on the lure caddy take you a pallet and use a sawl-saw and cut the nails and.itll give you plenty of free thin lumber for little handy box makeing.
I also save that hard foam from packaging stuff and I cut some of it up then cut holes in it to stuck lure bottles down in.
Your right 100 percent free, I’m really bad about building stuff cause I can do it better mentality!
Sometimes I save money sometimes it’s down the rabbit hole!
Colt