mink sign

[trappnman]

While lots of talk is on setting on sign for coyotes, coon, etc...do you as a mink trapper set on sign frequently, sometimes, rarely?

I have to say just about never. I've trapped the same creeks for so long, that I don't even look for sign. Most of my areas would show little sign anyways with the grassy banks. If I do see some tracks, bonus but really means nothing...I knew mink were there.

If I find scat, esp if I find several in one location, I try to set it up or set up close to it. Culverts often have scat in them or on top of them. Logs sometimes also. I don't really think mink have toilet areas as such...most scat I see seems to be random...but he paused there once (alright, for NL, rested there LOL) and he might again.

If I find a feeding area- a rare occurance also- consititing of a spot a mink has been eating fish or crawdads, I set that up. Its usually a pretty easy setup.

One myth, at least for me, is to follow mink tracks in snow and set o nthem where he enters and exits the water. Unless he has a trail like Zags pictures last winter, I find these entry points to be really random...and if they are random on snow- think how random they would be on bare ground.

I've spent many a hour following mink tracks and setting in those points...you are always a day late and a dollar short, cause next time that mink comes through, it will be in a different spot sure as can be.

Now- if the welcome sign of a partially eaten rat i na trap- thats as surefire as it can get. I used to set 1 trap around the staked down rat, might get the mink might not. Just as often I come back and the rat is gone and trap untouched.

So- now- I make it surefire. I'll set 4-5 traps around that staked rat- if that mink comes back...he HAS to step on a pan. I often add a little gland lure to the rat...make the returning mink a little more excited, or at least thats the theroy.

What do you guys think?

[dblcoil]

I do set on sign sometimes if the area where the sign is at presents a place for a set. Most of the time I dont though. I too like the grass covered banks, where I know the mink are at anyway whether I see sign or not. I have set areas where there was an abundance of mink sign (tracks and scat everywhere) and not caught a mink, and then travelled up or down stream a hundred yards or so where there was absolutely no sign, put in a set and caught three mink from that set. It seems like Ive had better luck not setting directly on sign.

[trappnman]

LOL-

it just amazes me how a small distance up or down the creek can make such a difference.

The classic example for me is a creek atrap every year. I trapped it for 7-8 years- never took a mink of it and set it up just for coon. Caught a couple. To be fair to me, first started setting this location up for beaver, so stayed in the same area after I got the beaver.

Then about 7-8 years ago, I decided to walk downstream about 200 yards to a lttle bend that I could see from the location I was using.

Little bend...maybe 50 feet long...shallow water on one side...some years make a rat set or 2 there...most years not...the other side is a high grass bak, with water about waist deep, hard bottom, been exactly same since I started tapping it. That year, got 6 mink- and this creek freezes sold, I just played the ice/warmup game. Every year since...5-7 mink.

One of my better locations. Now- those mink didn't fly to that spot.... and upstream I trap same creek many places all good mink...and I never caught a mink at original location. Going dryland, swimming? Who knows.

I've had many other locations where this also played out..but never in any other location such a dramatic difference of zero over time to many.

bottom line...they are where they are.

Thats why I very strongly think a beginning mink trapper should set up a creek very heavily....set 15-20 traps on a chunk of creek. After a few years, the mink will show you where to set.

[ColdSteel]

Trappnman after reading your last post it has really got me to thinking about seeing mink sign.I am starting to see a few tracks on streams and rivers where in years pass I never saw any. and you have got me to thinking how many may be there.My problem is I need to slow down.Come trapping season and I have otter on the brain.I jump out the truck usually with 3 0r 4 conibears and set as many creeks and swamps I possibly can and forget about the mink and the little traps.I know I should at least make a few blind sets anyway.I probably would catch a few.

[trappnman]

one thing to keep in mind- I always say "Its hard to predict where a hunting mink will go, but its easy (ier) to predict where he will stop"

[ColdSteel]

I have read alot of info on some good mink trappers that is for sure.I am going to make myself set on some mink sign this year and like I said if I slow down everything would be okay anyway.I try to put up strong otter numbers every year but I don't trap for a living and I would like to catch some mink because I have never caught many besides if I stump my toe I know you boys will get me on the right track

[Vanmeer]

Lots of times if I catch a mink setting on sign(trails with lots of tracks) it seems to almost always be a female. Later in year I set every water way up as the males seem to be moving a lot more, heading for larger rivers,etc. A few years ago my brother and myself moved into an area 2 trappers just trapped really heavy for 2 weeks. We set it up 2 weeks into season and took 20 mink from that line. Hardly any sign at all.

[John Porter]

I am with Steve on this topic. I have set the creeks and rivers in my area enough that I do not set on sign. When I first moved to this area, I spent one fall just cruising waterways and roads to learn the area. While doing this, I found enough sign to warrant trapping the mink areas I do. 2/3 of my waterways are composed of rock so sign is minumal to say the least. What I looked for was resting areas and also slack water where the mink could hunt.
John Porter

[mac]

I knew a good mink man years ago that used to say "You show me a mink track and I will show you a mink." Pretty good I thought.

As John pointed out a lot of areas in Maine that I have traveled and trap in do not lend them selves to tracking. Still if one looks a bit you can find droppings in very likely locations, which is a very good sign.

Years ago another good mink guy I learned from suggested it might be nice to find at least some sign before jumping in. This would not apply if one is trapping the same territory year in and year out. Finding sign in the later situation is really not necessary as has already been pointed out. If one is going to a new area it might not be a bad idea. I don't mean a new area a few miles from home.

Mac

[Dusty]

When I do try to catch mink, I pretty much set on sign because there's no other place! Mink here tend to be 1) fairly concentrated - they can't get through the ice just anywhere, and 2) very obvious on top of the snow. I think they're more predictable than you might imagine - at least as far as catching them goes. They're predictable enough that I caught a pretty good pile of them the first year I was in AK - the first time I'd ever seen a mink - and mostly with blind sets. There are places that some percentage of mink will always go - a shortcut between two creeks, under an overhanging bank at a point, etc. Find those places and you'll find the mink.

Where I trap now is infested with mink. About 90% of my lakes/creeks have some structure or feature that gets most every mink track around going by/through/under it at some point. They are just as catchable there as the last place I trapped, and I'd guess mink are a lot like that anywhere they might occur. I think I could probably find mink tracks just about anywhere at this point (not sure how I'm going to disprove that theory!) - under a stump, a little sand along an overhang under those big rocks, a muddy trail coming out of a creek into grass - if you have mink, they're probably leaving sign! That said, if you know about where to look for that subtle little sign, just plunking a trap down there instead of crawling around looking for tracks is probably a pretty good strategy.

I think Tmans idea - set the holy hell out of any new place, and listen to what the mink that show up in your traps are telling you - is a good one. I'd bet you'll soon start to notice patterns and catch more mink with fewer traps.

You guys really need to come thin out my mink! I haven't purposefully caught a mink in a couple years - who wants to spend 30 minutes or whatever it takes putting up a greasy $10 mink when you could put up 15 $65 marten in the same time? Seeing day-old tracks on top of week-old tracks on top of ..... on top of 6-week old tracks in snow will shorten the learning curve out a bit.

[trappnman]

if you have that many mink- I'd trap them- should be in the $20 range this year.

Here one of 2 things happens- either most/all of a creek is open- and you get the random thing. Or all of the creek is frozen, causing the mink to become a complete land animal.

I've seen what you described only once- a frozen marsh and in on corner aginst the hills was the foundation of an old springhouse circa 1920 or so- and there were a lot of tracks around that.

[lumberjack]

It is my observation over the last 20+ years messing with mink that they do not follow the "same circuit" to a "T" every "20 miles" in a "2 week" span as the early mink methods would tell you.
Ive seen heavily tracked areas in early fall go dead during season and picked up mink where I would have bet good money Id never get one there (in a coon set).
I think a mink goes where he darn well pleases,and is the last animal to follow any sort of habitual order.
Sure you can take them on those high bank trails that all the other critters use,but those trails arent as mink specific until colder weather.

[fishadict]

I think setting on sign has a looser interpretation with mink. As I sit here, I can not think of a stream in the area where I have not seen mink sign. With that said, I like to see tracks. But, I choose the location based on a funnel/resting spot/obstacle/undercut. For pockets, I usually pick the spot based on water depth for drowning the coon that also get in those sets.

fa

[BK]

Setting up streams and rivers I don't look for tracks, in most places I intend to set there wouldn't be any.
Many of the mink I hope to catch haven't shown up yet.
But on the other side of the coin trapping on frozen ponds and marshes in the snow, tracks are my focus.

[Dusty]

T-man - marten are worth $65-ish, I can skin one in a minute or two, and they don't have to be fleshed. They're also off the ground - shrews, weasels, voles, etc. eat a fair bit of anything that I kill on the ground. I don't have to worry about snow or overflow getting to my traps. The only reason I don't catch more marten is because I don't have the time to set more marten traps. Mink just aren't profitable in comparison - they'd have to be way easier to catch or worth several hundred dollars to compete with marten.

I'm not saying mink are as predictable as other critters, just that there are places where some percentage - maybe 50% in one place or 90% in another place - of the mink that pass through are catchable. I may be totally off-base to think that applies to other areas, but I'd still be surprised to find that there aren't funnels just about everywhere. I'd not be so surprised to find that I couldn't find those places without tracks on snow to guide me in!

[trappnman]

oh without a doubt there are funnells and predictible resting spots- thats the secret of any good mink line.

My point was more that with open water and snow- following tracks was for the most part futile as on land, along my type of creeks- usually pasture or fields on the sides, rarely woods- their land travel habits have no real patterns.

[NittanyLion]

Most of my mink line I've trapped for 10 plus years now. I do not look for sign, and I seldom see sign (because I don't look for it) Since I've run most of this line for a long time I pretty much know where I plan to make the sets. I use vacation to trap, I don't use vacation to prospect, in fact I don't prospect period. I do think I would do better if I did look for sign and prospect. Until I retire and have more time I will continue to trap the way I have in the past.

[17HMR]

Great thread, I think I picked up a lot of good info, some of witch it would take years to learn the hard way. Look out MINK!

[Gerald Schmitt]

I agree with Steve totally. In areas I have trapped I look more at the type of habitat, certain types of locations will hold more mink than others. Once I started paying attention to what makes a good mink location, my catch really increased. With experience you will know where to set without even having to think about it.

It would sure be nice to spend all summer scouting and getting traplines laid out, but with a business and small kids I'm lucky to get my traps ready before the opener. Most trappers are in the same situation, they have limited time to get ready.

[trappnman]

Welcome! Guys- if you hadn't guessed- Gerald is none other than Gerald Schimdt. You got mink questions- heres your chance. Gerald is the premier mink manin a state full of good mink men.