Simple Muskrat Floats

Kory Dikken from Southern Minnesota shares these pictures of simple homemade Muskrat floats that he has used with good success.
Thanks Kory! 






I thought I'd share how I make my muskrat floats and how they work.

They are all the pretty simple and work fairly well. They have a path for the rat to swim onto the float, and all have attached bait.  All traps become submerged when the float is in the water.

This is a more natural looking one. The bait is suspended in the air and stuck to the center of the float.  The traps are fastened to the log and will be slightly submerged when the float is in water. (All pics can be enlarged)

This one works pretty well.  It's very simple to make and light so it's easy to transport.

 

This one is light, small and works great.  It has wire trap supports and elevated bait.

These last three work well, and are the style I use most frequently. They are pretty light and easy to stack. They also have secured bait and the right sized guide paths for the trap to fit properly and guide the muskrat onto the trap.

 

If waterfowl are an issue I will use apples and/or carrots as bait. I also have some with screen covering the top of the float so birds can't get to the bait.  

The highly visible bait seems to help a lot with eye appeal.  Sometimes I will also add some muskrat lure on the platform to entice the little buggers.

I hope you find these pictures useful!