TrapperJohn
08-27-2007, 02:07 PM
I wasn’t sure where the proper place to post this yarn would be, so here it is.
In my former home port in the Klamath Basin, the area is infested with ground squirrels. Whether viewed as an oversized chipmunk or undersized prairie dog, the colonies of these “diggers” – known locally as “squeaks”- can be vast and damaging. Farmers and ranchers even provide some shooters with bricks of .22 ammo to help clear out their fields. When the critters overrun residential areas, the control issue becomes more difficult.
And so it was that the campus of OIT (Oregon Tech) faced a digger crisis in the late eighties. At the conclusion of one of my classes, I overheard a conversation between some of my students that went like this:
“What are ya doin’ after school?”
“I don’t know. Wanna go trolling for squeaks?”
“Sure.”
At this point my curiosity got the better of my manners. I excused myself for eavesdropping and asked exactly what trolling for squeaks was all about. Here’s the basic drill:
Take an ultralight spinning rig spooled with four pound test. Tie a loop with a slip knot at the end of the line. Place the loop at the mouth of a squirrel burrow and let out forty yards of line. Sit down and wait. When the digger pops his head up, “set the hook.”
When asked what the resulting tussle was like, the student pondered for half a second and replied:
“They fight like about a five pound rainbow.”
I must admit I never tried this myself, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that remark.
In my former home port in the Klamath Basin, the area is infested with ground squirrels. Whether viewed as an oversized chipmunk or undersized prairie dog, the colonies of these “diggers” – known locally as “squeaks”- can be vast and damaging. Farmers and ranchers even provide some shooters with bricks of .22 ammo to help clear out their fields. When the critters overrun residential areas, the control issue becomes more difficult.
And so it was that the campus of OIT (Oregon Tech) faced a digger crisis in the late eighties. At the conclusion of one of my classes, I overheard a conversation between some of my students that went like this:
“What are ya doin’ after school?”
“I don’t know. Wanna go trolling for squeaks?”
“Sure.”
At this point my curiosity got the better of my manners. I excused myself for eavesdropping and asked exactly what trolling for squeaks was all about. Here’s the basic drill:
Take an ultralight spinning rig spooled with four pound test. Tie a loop with a slip knot at the end of the line. Place the loop at the mouth of a squirrel burrow and let out forty yards of line. Sit down and wait. When the digger pops his head up, “set the hook.”
When asked what the resulting tussle was like, the student pondered for half a second and replied:
“They fight like about a five pound rainbow.”
I must admit I never tried this myself, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that remark.