Mink rigs?

[17HMR]

I got a mink bug, and went and bought about 40 small used traps coils and longs. I will be trapping some areas with deep enough water to run them down a cable them but lots of the areas are only 4 or 5 inches deep for 20 feet from the bank. How do you all rig for this and what are your chain set ups for coils and longs in spot like this? I will have some trouble with coon in most of the spots. thanks Jeff

[lumberjack]

I never seem to find the right depth of water to drown mink/coon at my sets,so been using 1 1/2 coils on 4' of chain with grapples.
If I really,really really need the animal dead for whatever reason I will use a 160 conibear either baited or blind.
If you can just get a mink into the water with a trap on his foot 75% will be drowned,it is my belief that the ones still alive in water got caught within the last couple hours.

[Deleted]

I use #1 1/2 coils, #1 and #11 long springs and stoploss's on coyote size drags with six feet of chain. I make the drags myself out of 1 1/4" flat stock or 5/8" re-bar. Mink don't go anywhere and usually are drowned, and coon are in sight of the set. I rarely have water deep enough to drown a coon. If I'm worried about one floating off if there's a storm and water gets high and quick, I just hook the drag around something . Preferbly a springy limb or sapling near the set. I've even wired a long single piece of 16 ga wire to the drag and something solid and the coon just tangle and don't get washed away downsteam. They seldom chew either.

[trappnman]

I have to disagree o nthel ive mink being recent catches. I've seen it toom any times where in 2-3 feet of water, a big male hind foot caught is alive- and thats on a 3 day check. You can tell by grass weeds, etc hes been there a while. A big mink swims about with that trap on his foot like its not even there. I've severla times tossed the trap, mink, chain into the deep water, and watched him come ot shore effortlessly.

A set up that works well is to stake with a rebar so the chain/wire is tight to the bottom. A little current is bonus.4-5 inches of water, myself I wouldn't set up too many like that, even on a 1 day check. For sure- use at least a 1.5 coil- a perfect trap in that situation is a #2 double longspring.

In water like that is when I dig out the conibears. You can also make a collar out of a bigger pvc pipe, saw a notch out for a spring and make a pocket set with the 110.

[CoonDuke]

Here's what I use for coon and it is the ultimate in simplicity.

Cut yourself a length of 3/32 or 1/8 7X7 cable around 9 1/2" feet.

On one end, use a double ferrule and make a small loop. This loop gets J hooked to the trap swivel.

On the other end make a large loop so that the trap can pass though it.

This will give you an 8' extension cable that can be wrapped around the trap for transport, and can be easily attached to a tree or root when making the set.

Long chains and grapples are great too, but the can tangle and are extra weight. I use grapples on small creeks and usually "tie off" to something.

Steve, it surprises me that some of your mink don't drown. Nittany Lion seems to get a good drowning percentage on mink and rats with his setup.

"Minnesota mink are weightlifters and cannot be drowned and minnesota coon are cold blooded and will not succomb to hypothermia." ;D

[17HMR]

The Nebraska coon never seem to succumb to hypothermia either not even once. cable Duke I will try your ex cable idea, sounds like a good idea for many of my spots for coon. T Man I was reading the archives and did buy a few #2 longs due to a article I seen in there by you I will use the heaver traps in the shallow water spots. I have been out scouting early AM's and have seen 5 differnt mink in the last 2 weeks just after sun up, do mink spend a lot of time out in the light? I also found a couple of holes with 100's of crayfish shells around them, is this maybe a den for the little ones?

[CoonDuke]

With that setup the coon are high and dry and usually tangled in roots or brush...happy as can be. They'll hang in the roots for hours at a shear bank so as not to get their feet wet. Barely even fighting the trap when they get into cover. Chewin on roots...not thier foot. (well...usually ;D)

The only downfall is that the cable has to be untangled from the cover sometimes...but "for every plus there is a minus."

I only caught a handful of mink with this setup so can't comment on how well it works for mink but it should.

[lumberjack]

Coonduke-
I thought about using cable as an extension for my grapples instead of chain,but feared after a catch or two the cable would become "springy" and kinked up.How often do you have to change the cable?

[CoonDuke]

Last season was the first I used them 100% on my large creek spots. I probably only caught 2-3 coon tops on my better sets, and the cable was fine. But that really isn't a good test. (I used 3/32 cable.) I would estimate you could at least catch 10 (heck maybe 20) coon per cable before it gets kinked so bad it will be a pain to reuse. Bump up 1/8" and you will up the number.

Before I went to cables, I had the same concern and talked it over with Newt Sterling. He told me that I would easily get your money's worth out of an extension cable before you have to throw it away.

Here is the cable nicely wrapped around the trap.

[NittanyLion]

My rig is simple, most the work is done in the comfort of my fur shed. Since many of my sets are close to the road I use bricks. My trap of choice is a 1 1/2 coil spring with two feet of chain, to the chain I attach two feet of doubled wire with the free end attached to a 5-10 pound brick with holes in it. I would venture to say that 95 % of the mink I catch are drowned. Sometimes the brick is in two feet or more of water and sometimes it is in something less than 6 inches. Never-the-less, most mink and muskrats are drowned. I check every 24 hours so I do not worry about drowning the coon. With this set-up most of the coon are hung up within 10-15 feet of the set. It is seldom I have to range very far to find a coon. For a long walk in set I use grapples, I used to carry the bricks to those sets but after two hernia operations I no longer lug the bricks that far. I try to get someone like DJ or CoonDuke to help me in those situations. ;D

[trappnman]

I had 3 live mink last year with stakes anchored in at least 3 feet of water on a stake, wire, tanglestick. All back foot catches, all big males. Also had a couple of toes from ones tangled in weeds. Sure slides are the way to go- but I'm not putting 225 or so traps on slides.

Remember that picture of live mink I posted last year? it was at a blind pocket- a shear bank and 4 feet or so of fast water, trap staked to bottom of run with T-bar. A classic drowning situation and almost always foolproof. Use the saqme general location and run each season. Put down 5 mink at that set w/o a problem- then this guy. Tossed him in half a doz times, sank to bottom- up he came and right back to pocket. Another one got o nan ice shelf and stayed on that, another last year got tangled in weeds in a grassed in underbank set.
CD- there was a reason the French trappers established fur trading posts a couple of miles from me over 400 years ago... [img[http://www.proboards8.com/v4images/grin.gif[/img]

Seems to me NL says he gets a few live mink each year...correct me if I'm wrong Jim.

[CoonDuke]

Steve,
If you had 3 live mink last season that is a pretty low percentage too. Not enough to warrant a slide drowner anyway.

What do you think the percentage would be if you staked on the bank (with a long chain) instead of out in the creek? Do you think it would be a lot higher?

I'm always thinking coon when I set a trap and want him dry and hidden.

[NittanyLion]

Steve, I do not keep that type of record, I do know I only had one live one this past season, I would not say a few, maybe a couple. I seldom catch a mink by the hind foot. Do you catch most of your hind foot mink in your resting set?

[lumberjack]

Well,
I didnt say 100% but given enough time in the water,they are goners.Im surprised that one on the bank was alive on a 3 day check but its hard to say exactly how long he was caught.These puny Pa mink mow down a lot of weeds in a nights time.

[trappnman]

CD- yes, its a low percentage. And all such are on #1ls or #1.5 coils, Never had it happen in a#2 dls.

I feel that without a doubt the percentage would be higher if staked to the bank. Most of my live mink are in underbank sets where they can get high on the bank, then tangled in grass.

Mink are kinda like coyotes Jim- I catch enough of them each year by a hind leg to not make it unusual- but more front than back and in both cases, I'm going with "walkthrough" sets a lot- resting sets for sure are a passthrough set as are rat runs and grassy overhangs.

My tangled live mink can be either foot caught, if memory serves me right...the mink that have swimming access are backfoot catches.

[dj88ryr]

Steve and Dukie,
After being schooled by the PA Minkmaster himself, I use Nittany Lions methods 100% now, I did not have ANY live mink or muskrats last season, and only a couple coon that weren't drowned, and like Ninny said, they were tangled up in the brush close by. I did have a live mink the year before, but only the one, and that was more my fault than the minks, I only had one trap left in my bag when I set that day, and it was a #1 CS, for that reason, I didn't get a front foot or suitcase catch like I normally do, and he was swimming around with the trap on his hind foot. How that #1 got in the bag, I don't know, I never use them, as I always use 1.5 coils most of them dogless.

[17HMR]

NL, What kind of bricks do you use, are they they concrete blocks that have three holes? I have been thinking about useing RR tie plates, and even for coon by welding a couple of spikes in the holes to grab the bottom better. I work for the RR so I have easy access to lots of them.

[GH]

I have mostly used the 1 1/2 size but last year I started using some of the old style #2 victors with good results. I use 3 foot of chain with grapple but I like the idea of CD's cable thing, I will try it this year. All of my mink have drowned but they all have been front foot catches. I will have to wait and see what happens when I catch one by the back foot. I have used the RR tie plates and man they are just too heavy to be lugging around. Glenn

[NittanyLion]

17hmr said:

NL, What kind of bricks do you use, are they they concrete blocks that have three holes? I have been thinking about useing RR tie plates, and even for coon by welding a couple of spikes in the holes to grab the bottom better. I work for the RR so I have easy access to lots of them.

Not the concrete type blocks, these are bricks with holes in them, some may only have 3 or 4 holes and others may have 6-10 holes. I had access to the bricks and that is why I use them. If I had RR tie plates available I most likely would use them too. I think the key to the drowning is having deep enough water, and putting the weight in the deepest part within distance of the set. I use 1 1/2 coils and with a front foot catch I seldom fail to drown a mink or muskrat. The weight of the trap pulls them down quickly when caught by the front foot.

[fishadict]

On my "home" streams I use mostly drowning cables. I have about a foot of chain on my traps and I use a quick link to attach the chain to the drowning lock. Traps are mostly 1.75 or 1.5's. When out and about, I use an extension chain, quick linked to the permanent trap chain and stake with a oak stake about 2' long. I have some rerod in the truck if I hit a rocky spot. The extension chain is 2/0 for extra weight.

fa