Setting muskrat traps is straightforward. All that’s required is to place the muskrat bait far enough into the trap that the animal will have to engage the trigger that closes the door behind it.

Trapping, which for fox, raccoon, skunk, opossum, mink and muskrat legally commences Nov. 10, requires diligence, expertise and effort. The remunerative awards almost assuredly are not commensurate.

Hurry or you'll miss it. The season for trapping muskrats in New Castle County ends on Sunday, March 10; it's over in Kent and Sussex counties on Friday, March 15. But, the eating of the muskrat ...

Larsen and Gollhofer, who share 150 traps, trap mostly raccoon, with some muskrat and mink along the banks of the West Fork River near Kingsley. They use fish scales or carp as bait.

No other trapping or hunting seasons have been extended. DNR reminds hunters and trappers that a furbearer permit is required for anyone hunting, trapping, or pursuing furbearers such as muskrats.

Muskrat pelts fetch as much as $10, depending on quality. Trappers, on average, catch between 50 and 100 each season. They take an average of eight hours after trapping to remove the fur from the ...

To understand muskrat trapping, we must push ourselves forward to the end of the season in late November and early December. This is the time of season when the muskrat’s fur is in prime condition.

Since records were kept beginning in 1990, trappers took an average of 149,381 muskrats each season from 1990 to 1998. From 1999 to 2006, the average dropped to 89,889.

VENTURA — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is extending the muskrat trapping season on Ventura Marsh from Feb. 1 to April 1 to reduce the muskrat population and preserve the ...