There Ain't A Mink I Can't Catch,............

[BK]

I'd like to pose a simple question, how many mink make it past your best efforts, and why?

[chub618]

seems as though every one has got past me! thus one of my goals for next season is to at least catch one mink and try and become a decent mink man. oh by the way our mink season does not end till feb 28 so ill be after rats and mink as soon as these creeks recede! total rainfall so far in the month of jan for ohio has been 8 inches

[dj88ryr]

BK said:

I'd like to pose a simple question, how many mink make it past your best efforts, and why?

I would say more get by than don't, I am NOT a mink trapper, but I think that their total unpredictability is what makes it so hard. Was a little easier once the big freeze came and then started using bait, before that, I think double the amount of traps would have helped. More next year, I did better than I thought I would though, Nittany Lion is a good teacher.

[trappnman]

I would not have a clue!

The times i know a mink is in the area, i usually have a mink next check or two....

On some of my streams- I believe 100%- I believe that I have that stream covered so that NO mink will work that stretch without getting caught.

I have other stretches of creek where...more random.

I do know this- snow 6-8" or more- I'll take darn near evey mink that runs that stream.

[NittanyLion]

I have no clue how I could tell. I guess if I said none, next year the mink catch would really be low. I think for every mink I catch there are at least one or two more that I don't catch on my line. I've often wondered how many mink are in the vicinity of my trap line. I am sure I am leaving plenty of seed.

[BK]

For shure having traps in an area they care to hunt in gives one an edge verses a section of stream they just want to pass through.
Snow narrows things down a lot,....... next the point in question would be how many pass by a given spot underwater? This is one point I must admit I've found staggering.
It's so easy to feel you have all the bases coverd because you see no tracks............

[dj88ryr]

The BE worked, I will use it more next season, and hopefully get better at picking locations.

[BK]

On early mink DJ if the conditions hold still I'm very hard pressed to compete with good pocket sets.
Fact is if mink go up in price where they're not picking on tick bites and a slight blue hue to pelts that have good fur,.......... I'll punch in pocket sets in the beginning.

[trappnman]

you mean early "mink"..... or open water?

[BK]

Steve the bulk of the mink I've trapped the last few years have ben from mid November on.
Last year was a little differen't as I ran into mange in the canines, became a little disgusted and went to mink.


Groenewold paid better. ;D

[trappnman]

I was referring to your comment that early you preferred pocket sets..so was wondering if by early you meant open water.

[lumberjack]

BK-
If I understood correctly,your saying that winter mink have less tick spots?
It almost seems the opposite here in my section of Pa,they seem to get worse with them as time goes on. Males moreso than females-some none,some loaded.
Kinda like the ticks know its getting colder and need a more permanent host for winter.
Ive never actually documented it,but it just seems that they never seem to get noticeably better (around here) closer to winter.

[BK]

Steve at today's mink prices more than anything else I want to do my mink trapping with BE sets.
If say male mink went back up to say $50 I know for a fact mink trappers would come out of the woodwork and the grade wouldn't be as tough.
By early mink I mean mink caught the first week of our Wisc. season (the fourth week of October).

Lumbejack, as a rule our males have the most tick bites.
While later im the season I get more males,................
as the season goes on the tick bites fade then for the largest part disappear.

[NevadaTrapper]

If you think there ain't a mink you can't catch.... You're right! Its all the way you think. If you think you can catch the mink you will. If you think you can't, then you won't.

[trappnman]

you got that right nevadatrapper.

Lumberjack- here, same type of area for all practical purposes as bk's- what I notice is this.

Early mink have fewer spots. But for me too, early are late oct early nov mink- and are for the most part the females and young- who live by the water much more, and have less tick spots. The males are out and away- where the ticks are.

As the season wears on- ice, snow, freezeup- as the prey bases diminishes i nthe fields andm eadows, these males come back to the streams- and suddenly the number of mink with tick spots goes up.

And least thats my theroy...

[NittanyLion]

I found more ticks on my early mink than on the one's caught in December.