Why many good trappers fail at minking...

[trappnman]

It is odd how one trapper prefers one set over another.

I grew up blindsetting. We never used lure or bait for water.

When I first read of baited pockets for mink- I made a bunch of them - heck, one year even went out and dug a ton of pockets preseason. That was a mistake btw- most were unusable by seasons opener. Anyway- never picked up enough mink to stick with the set. I love baited pockets for coon and I set my trap the same way Gerald does in his video- and I still catch very few mink in pockets.

Same with BE sets. When I read the original Bob Noonan article in T & PC- I went wholehearted on BE sets. And I DID catch some mink.

But- hard to make in my streams AND I caught more mink with less effort in my blind sets.

So- I still make a few BE sets- but not many.

Does that mean blind sets are better....Yes- FOR ME.

The pocket sets is what surprizes me. BE I could see i'm not looking for the best locations..but Pocket sets- as Gerald says- their beauty is set them at easiest access point where YOU want them- the mink will come.

So is it mink in my area? Maybe. Maybe different feeding habits. I don't know.

I think a large part of it is what your mindseye tells you. I can "see" where blind sets HAVE to go.

So I set up the prime blind set locations.

Stands to reason- most of my mink would come from them.

[trappnman]

As NL says- effort. And time.

keep plugging away- and keep those traps out.

[jim]

I use all baited pockets (fish) and get an average of 60 mink a year trapping for about three weeks. They are like rifle deer season you get the most the first days of the season, could move after a few days but where to? Mostly public land and most is covered by some trapper.I don't know of anyone that catches very many after winter comes , I have set on a few open spring creeks in the winter but never caught very many.
Jim

[trappnman]

I haven't set a mink trap or taken a mink before Thanksgiving for many years.

Winter minking is like winter coyote trapping- a whole 'nother ball game.

[Edge]

**Edge.......You are welcome to go with me on my line anytime. Get your reservation in for next year **


Excellent;consider this my confirmation;exact dates to be named later.......!!

Hopefully TMan will still be chasing mink when I go out there to call;running water in Feb is hard for me to fathom.BUT,I think I found enough late water this year to be able to run a good sized line.Just cant spare the time in Oct/Nov up here.

Edge

[trappnman]

It all depends on the weather from now out- I won't be caught in spring floods if I can help it!

I'd like another 3 weeks- more so for coon but I'll take the mink.

[Edge]

The only possible downside to the PA trip would be

A)A certain somebody burns up his vacation before then;and

B)I will find out for once and all that NL is actually *taller* than *I* am.........

Edge

[Computerhater]

As I've evolved as a mink trapper, I've went from setting probably 90 percent blind sets and 10 percent baited pockets to I would guess roughly 70 % blinds and 30 percent pockets. I used to hate setting baited pockets for mink because I couldn't keep the coon out of them. I wanted the coon but in other sets that I was specifically making for them. I also didn't have much luck as far as mink were concerned. But I kept plodding along and gradually started to catch a few more mink in my baited pockets. I also noticed how a mink would work the bank after he found a muskrat in one of my traps. I started using bigger baits such as half a rat or mink carcass or a big chunk of fish My catch in pockets improved even more. I started setting more and more pockets as my confidence grew and as the mink started showing up. I'm now to the point where if I see good blind sets that is where my traps are going BUT if I don't see good blind sets I just dig a few pockets, bait them and go. I am now trying to put at least one baited pocket at each location and preferably one on each side of the creek. I may have 4 to 6 good blind sets but I still want a baited pocket. I may have a location with nothing but baited pocket sets but I don't want a location with nothing but blind sets if I can help it.

I just went and checked my records for this year. 36 percent of my total mink catch has come from baited pockets. The other 64 percent has come from a myriad of blind sets such as BE sets bridgewalls, snares and conis in trails, etc.

For what it is worth if anyone is interested.
Female mink make up 19% of my total catch this year but they only make up 11% of my total catch in pockets.


I've gotten a little off of the original topic. Sorry.
Coonduke, how far apart do you and your friend trap from each other? It's conceivable that he has a much better population of mink than you do.


Randy

[Computerhater]

Edge,

If you are taller than 4' 15" you got him beat. LOL



Randy

[CoonDuke]

Randy,
He and I are trapping the same area, just different locations.

The difference is I am trapping mostly bigger creeks and he is in the smaller runs...and that may be the major factor why he catches so many mink.

The population may be the same on the larger creeks, but it's a lot harder to keep sets working for any length of time.

I am confident in my ability that I am not missing mink at my pockets due to trap placement. Now set location, bait, and pocket depth my be a different story...


On another note, there is a muskrat trapper in my area that has caught over 250 rats in a season with only 1 or 2 incidental mink. He traps mostly streams, and blind sets with footholds 100% of the time.

This totally blew my mind how this guy was not catching more mink. Then I found out he never lets a trap set at one spot for more than two nights. He is constantly moving traps. He may set up a 1/4 mile of creek with two dozen traps for 2 weeks...but in that time, he probably made hundreds of different blind sets from moving his traps around. He isn't happy unless there are rats in his traps and when there is a rat there a mink can't be.

[dblcoil]

I will say almost 100% of my mink come from baited pocket sets. I feel that a mink has a real tough time passing up a pocket set without checking it out. He may not always "commit" to it and set foot in the entrance, but I feel real confident in the pocket set for attracting mink. I use Gerald's methods and do not always set on sign. I just pick a minky looking spot and put one in. I like to cover both sides of the creek or river. Sometimes putting two sets on each side. I feel Ive got good coverage that way. I like Steve's comment in regards to being able to "see" where a blind set needs to be made. Thats definately the key to sucessful blind setting. I admire those who have the nack to be able to identify these spots. Im hoping someday I can learn this skill.

[JLDakota]

Steve,
I agree that the huge check numbers I referenced are from early season bridge type trapping til one gets tired of breaking ice and that the majority are females and yoy. People never ask how many old bucks you get, they ask how many mink you caught. ;D I also agree that style trapping, where you are going balls to the wall to beat the ice is totally different then what one must do after freeze up.

Before I leave bridge trapping, I'll qualify the reasoning for my statement about only setting max of 4 traps per stop. In the areas I have bridge trapped, you are usually sharing the "stop" with several like minded individuals and often/usually don't have the "stop" to yourself. Often the blinds you would set are taken as are many of the other choice sets so to get in over 4 sets you are spending more time then the stop is worth. When I bridge trapped, I was often forced to put in hidden pockets as Bud taught just to get in sets at many stops. Does give a great amount of satisfaction to catch them amongst others and provides confidence that you have a method that works. Takes a totally different mindset to bridge trap and mentally block out all the competition that's there or will be there regardless of if you get there first. Having stuff stolen is a whole other topic. Usually everyone at the stop gets some fur, be it rats, coon or mink and sometimes they are yours. As I said prior, in MN if you are willing to put in the miles and work and put yourself over enough water, numbers will be there.

"FYI- the average take per normal year for the big number mink trappers I know is 1-300. Once ice comes- and some years it comes in a week- they are for the most part done. Their methods and techniques don't transfer well to winter conditions. These same methods aren't quite as successful late season trapping- at least in my opinion."

Your statement above, I agree with for MN.

If one instead of bridge trapping, has private land with mostly sole access, which they have trapped for several years as you and I have, then one has the luxury of waiting til "after Thanksgiving" and hammering the big bucks which are forced to come to the water for as long as we want and to use a variety of methods and experiment as we see fit. I have personally over the years devoted whole late seasons concentrating on a specific method knowing I could catch the bucks easier and faster with "standard" methods. That willingness to sacrifice has provided me with adaptability in the use of specifially, coni's on land and in the water. I expect southern snaring will add another tool to my mink bag as I will probably snare instead of coni mink next year.

Because I bridge trapped for many years and have alot of areas I am familiar with, I have a tendency pick up and move to different areas rather then wait them out.

Lastly, I think that the reason a good trapper isn't specifically a good mink trapper, it's because he hasn't made becoming a good mink trapper a priority. The mink is not hard to trap once you learn what makes him tick. JL

[trappnman]

Damn it JL- as much as I like to argue... I can't- I agree with your last post 100%

[Computerhater]

Coonduke,

I think you may have answered your own question. I agree with you about the bigger creeks being tougher to trap. Not only is it harder to keep sets working with up and down water but you also have more spots the mink can go.

I don't trap many big creeks. I can't swim and that plays a major role in the decision to stay away from the bigger creeks. I do trap a few and am very careful especially when the water looks deep. LOL Most of my creeks are less than 15 feet wide and a lot are less than 5 feet wide. The smaller creeks are easier to cover and the water goes down so fast compared to the bigger creeks when it is raining.

I've caught 198 muskrats this year and probably around 150 of them have been caught in my mink sets. I catch lots of rats in my baited pockets but probably 2/3 of those 150 have been caught in blind sets. When I first started going after mink hard I was amazed at the amount of rats and even coon that I would catch in blind sets. I wonder how many mink that guy would catch if he left his sets in for a week instead of 2 nights?


Randy

[bblwi]

this could be a new thread if there would be more interest in discussing this.
There have been comments as to not a lot of mink per rat or x numbers of coon per mink.
Here is what I see and from how I trap.
Dryland coons in trails with conibears- hot trails 2-3 sets 70-90% coons first 1-3 nights then incidentels.
Rat line, I am a heavy setter and move say every 3-5 days, do this on say 5 miles of creeks and rivers.
1st and 2nd day mostly rats then coon and maybe a mink.
My water coon line at crossovers is like my dryland coon line but incidentels are rats and mink not the grinners etc.
What I am saying is we are good at our main target and then the incidentels. This could be a good discussion on line management and how we target species and what is the best course to take.
Canines could be a topic here too.

Bryce