Muskrats ?

The ole man and I were fishing this morning and we had a muskrat come up our holes not once but 3 times ! Anyone else ever have something like this happen ? We couldn’t believe it !

Not lately but have had that alot in the past………and up in a spearhole.

then we leave for the nite and them dang buggers would pile up weeds in the hole!!!!!

Caught one years ago trout fishing and it came up the hole squealing. What a fight until it snapped the line. Glad my buddy was there to witness it as most wouldn’t believe it happened.

I was skeptical about posting cause I figured everyone would think I was nuts ! I thought those little guys hibernated or something ! Really wakes you up when it comes up the hole and just looks at you for a minute !

It’s when it comes up the hole and asks for a cigarette you gotta start worrying.

glenn57 wrote:

Not lately but have had that alot in the past………and up in a spearhole.

then we leave for the nite and them dang buggers would pile up weeds in the hole!!!!!

My Father used to spear many years ago and claimed the same thing. They’d pile in weeds in and around the spear hole for days. One time he said a muskrat came into the spear house too. He kicked the door open and booted the muskrat out on the ice. Then he went out there with the spear and killed it.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>glenn57 wrote:</div>
Not lately but have had that alot in the past………and up in a spearhole.

then we leave for the nite and them dang buggers would pile up weeds in the hole!!!!!

My Father used to spear many years ago and claimed the same thing. They’d pile in weeds in and around the spear hole for days. One time he said a muskrat came into the spear house too. He kicked the door open and booted the muskrat out on the ice. Then he went out there with the spear and killed it.

i always poked them with the spear to encourage them to move along, once i must of poked to hard and stuck it good.

dang there hard to get off the spear, when he did finally come off, i went back in the fishhouse. didnt take long and he was scratching at my canvas. i said no you dont and went out……that little mean rodent started chasing me. i finally Kabonged him with my shovel!!!!!

Lol those things are mean

I’ve had it happen twice that they’ve come right up in house quite a few years ago. Scared the livin Bjesus out of me. Not a real pleasant experience.

I’ve had it happen on lake zumbro a couple times while fishing in a portable. Scared the hell out of us

All they are after is a breath of air. Just hope you don’t hook them in shallow water.

gary d wrote:

All they are after is a breath of air. Just hope you don’t hook them in shallow water.

oh i get that!!!!! and i may carry alot of extra really unneeded stuff to my fishhouse but a clean pair of bloomers aint one of them!

Been chased by a rat while duck hunting on a shoreline…. nasty little critters.

Load of #4 shot finally put an end to it; would not leave me alone.

I’ve had it happen a few times and always makes your heart skip a beat! Sometimes they are nice enough to hit the trasducer first, so you at least know they are coming.

I fell through a local lake where the muskrats would swim under the ice. They made the ice thin and I was walking along and boom, straight down in a hole as big as me. Scared the living daylights out of me. I was lucky the water was shallow so I only got soaked up to my chest.

Quite a few years ago I had a tipup flag keep going up with only a few inches of line out. sometimes minnow gone this was a shallow pike set after a dozen or so trips finally hooked the rat. fun time until we could club it.

I had it happen twice. Both times on Stump Lake in Rice Lake, long time ago. One time sitting outside and one day in the portable.

The one in the portable came up facing away from me and hung out for a few seconds looking around until he saw me. He looked just as surprised when he saw me as I was when he came through the hole!

Sure made my heart jump!

Had it happen once on Balsam Lake. I was in a buddies permanent, tossed a couple rattle reels down and took a nap.

A “fish” woke me up. I ran over barefoot to the hole and found a rat coming into the shack!

I pinned him against the wall with a throwable and used an ice chisel….to ummmmm….scare it away

The crazy thing is that I was in the basin in 30+’ of water. He used old holes to breathe and work his way out to me.

Deuces wrote:

It’s when it comes up the hole and asks for a cigarette you gotta start worrying.

Lmfao

That wouldn’t bother me too much, but if he pops up again and says, “uh..hey bud..got a light by chance?” That would be the final straw for me.

18” of ice in front of the excelsior bay bridge, setting a tip up after a 6” snowfall, I stepped dead center in a rat hole full of weeds & covered by snow, went all the way down above my head… my younger brother built a little 5x5x5 plywood shack one year, he pulled it out in front of our parents house & I went out with a jig pole, I’m 6ft4 pushin 250 at that time. Cut a hole & put a line down while looking at the hole, then a big monkeybutt rat came flying up the hole into that tiny house… 2 seconds later I look back at nothing left standing of that fish house, I didn’t look for the door to get out.

Had one come up the spear hole several times. It’ll scare the crap out of you. Also had one randomly come up The angling house several times over 25’ was really surprised about that one. I have heard they get pretty damn mean. Luckily have always had them swim away. One gross tail on them.

Chewed off my vexilar transducer in 30′ of water. He came back a few more times after the other vex in the house.

An episode of MeatEater’s Fur Hat Ice Tour talks a little about them. Here’s the link and time stamp if anyone’s interested.
httpss://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8zWcGXHfm5Y (go to 7:20)

Years agp, I built a spearing house for my wife,(her birthday). She loved to watch dowfn the hole, and very seldom actually speared anything, but carried a gunny sack, just in case….One day she came walking back with something in her sack – turns out it was an muskrat – it popped up in the hole and tried to join her in the house – she poked it. I told her she had the beginnings of a fur coat…