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Post by mountainman on Apr 20, 2007 22:18:30 GMT -6
Most people dont look here either. Those are the average citizens that dont know anything. Dont matter anyway while taking a leak. So what if a busload of girlscouts goes by. They arent going to steal my winky.  |
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Post by mountainman on Apr 20, 2007 23:07:35 GMT -6
Meanwhile back on the mink ledge....
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Post by trappnman on Apr 21, 2007 18:11:14 GMT -6
I don't do much "fooling", but have been known to look like I was zipping up when a stray car came by.
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Post by mountainman on Apr 21, 2007 19:17:40 GMT -6
Right trappnman. That reminds me of something funny. I had a guy try to jump all over me for being stopped on a side road leading to a new development. He jumped out and asked me what I was doing in a real beligerent manner while I was waiting for pop to take a leak in the woods. Instead of getting redneck at his attitude I just said were riding around looking for places to deer hunt. He said not here you dont, turned and walked fast up on my dad while he was taking a leak. I grinned at him as he left embarrassed. Maybe i just missed the point. Zipping up aint a bad idea. I would like to just trap without being bothered or losing good well tuned equipment. I always did envy the trappers in the far north with registered traplines. If I didnt love the water so much I would go back in the mountains a lot more. I dont want to mess up frenchmans good thread with this stuff and probably shouldnt have mentioned it anyway, but thieves are a consideration for the road lines here in this area. Some ledges are good mink sets. I just about always set the ones that have water on them with footholds. Its a fast, easy and deadly mink set for me. Maybe I can learn something from these guys.
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Post by walkercoonhunter(Aaron L.) on Apr 21, 2007 19:40:18 GMT -6
i had a few BE's out this year on these cement walls...1 bridge i caught 2 male mink in the water with a submerged 110 and 15 yards up river i caught another buck mink in a logjam on a blind trail set with a 110...the other wall i had set up in a different location i caught squat...and no other way for the mink to get past it on either side....i thought man this is going to be a deadly spot and not 1 hit...but will it keep me from setting next season....NOPE...its close to the house and no bother to check....
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Post by mountainman on Apr 22, 2007 20:43:47 GMT -6
After studying the Smythe BE book and the good advice I got on here I should be ready to go after em with BE sets next season. I noticed on a wooden retaining wall where a mink or something had worn the bottom out under a couple of feet of water and appeared to go up behind the wall through an opening under the wall. I set with a foothold but my partner who I was teaching on mink smoked me on that stop. He found the best blind set and got 3 mink there so my set really didnt get a chance. Im heading back that way next season after not setting that line for about 20 years so Ill try that with a 110 this time.
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Post by frenchman on Apr 23, 2007 5:34:58 GMT -6
Hummm, so them concrete le3dges may not be so hot judging by the posts.
Thanks for y'all's advice - I love the mirror on a pole tip!
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Post by mountainman on Apr 23, 2007 8:10:37 GMT -6
I like ledges. I did get 5 big mink in 5 nights in a 110 on a ledge while other sets were making catches. Good idea for a post frenchman. I believe there are still some things that havent been tried all that much, at least speaking for myself.
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Post by Wright Brothers on Apr 23, 2007 8:24:27 GMT -6
I asked a similar question of a minker. His reply was simple. Non spring side against vertical, spring bent down to touch horizontal, place a flat rock against the trap, making a right triangle tunnel. I tried it, I liked it.
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Post by frenchman on Apr 23, 2007 9:52:58 GMT -6
ahhh. positive feedback feels good - gives me hope! Next on the list is to go and try it!
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Post by mountainman on Apr 23, 2007 14:30:05 GMT -6
Wright Brothers, I like it too. I tried that one during the slow times when I had more time to experiment. It didnt take very long for me to consider it a high percentage set.
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Post by trappnman on Apr 24, 2007 7:28:08 GMT -6
One of the things about trapping that bows my mind- is how others can have very good success on things that I have no success with- and visa versa.
the triangle rock and the 110 for example. I read an article about this many years ago, and fell in love with it for a season. I never caught 1 mink in such sets.
its either about population or habitat- but in either case, its a set I don't even bother to make anymore.
I have no problems believing it works well some places, but not for me.
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Post by mountainman on Apr 24, 2007 21:35:05 GMT -6
I often wonder about the same thing Trappnman. Some things I tried didnt work for me or maybe I didnt have the right structure or something. The triangle rock sets I made so far were against vertical walls the mink were hugging tight in what I consider natural surroundings for a rock tunnel on sand and gravel. I havent tried that on a bare ledge, but may do that for the sake of trying it and maybe learn something. I really dont have a lot of info on this set and was a little surprised at how good it does work here. Ill try some triangle rock sets against the large flat rocks I sometimes use to build vertical structure for foothold sets, except make it a dry set with a 110. I may just be fishing with that, but maybe it will work. Until the coon situation gets more in hand here Ill have to use more 110s if I want to keep very many operational mink sets and get as many as I can under water so they dont get et.
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wbg
Demoman...
Posts: 182
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Post by wbg on Apr 25, 2007 10:22:05 GMT -6
When encountering a dry ledge on my lines, whether concrete or wood, I use to set them up, I also would make a typical foot hold blind set at the bridge corner, in the water. Although the ledge sets would take mink the water set out produced it by far. So much so that I very rarely make this set any longer. This is just My experience in Maine. Could be more effective elsewhere?
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Post by mountainman on Apr 26, 2007 12:50:23 GMT -6
One of the things Im going to try is what lumberjack does using sod with grass on ledges w/110s. I have had success using a fence of grass and sticks w/ short tunnel over a hidden 110 in flat boggy areas. The ledges that produced well for me had water or some kind of cover on them. I really didnt see any reason to set a bare dry ledge, but then it doesnt necessarily have to stay that way, especially in some well hidden places. I dont overlook those good overhang banks that Beav mentioned. I generally set them regardless of how good I think the other sets are.
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Post by Mallard on May 7, 2007 12:01:41 GMT -6
I've got 1 location with a 7" ledge setting anywhere from 6" to 18" above the water line depending on the water level. I see mink sign here each and evey year, and for 2 years strait never caught diddly with a 110 on the ledge. A couple seasons ago I decided to take a couple used up, worthless 110's and spot welded them in the set position (No trigger and welded open, so it's really not a "set trap") and put them on the ledge around this time of the year. they sat there all spring, all summer, and come season I simply replaced them with functioning 110's. Guess what? It worked. the theory was simply get them used to going through it throughout the off season. We'll see if it works 2 years in a row......the "dummy" traps are now in place.
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Post by trappnman on May 7, 2007 13:02:00 GMT -6
neat experiment!
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Post by SteveCraig on May 7, 2007 17:52:59 GMT -6
You dont have to do that with snares! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Great idea though with the 110's. I still say that alot of mink are going right through those coni's. I would be willing to bet that if you put a circle of about 2 1/2 inches on them, you would nail them right away without the presetting.
I notice that alot of otter trappers are going to circle triggers on their 330's and 280's and the otter and coon are getting into a 5 inch circle trigger before getting hammered. This is why i use 4.75 to 5 inch loops on my coon snares. 20 to 30 pound coon will slip right through a 6inch loop to be hip caught. Coon are far more agile than most trappers think. They can get into some pretty small holes, for as big as they are.
They are not the lumbering ox's many make them out to be.
Sorry to drift off the topic.
Steve
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Post by NittanyLion on May 7, 2007 18:34:58 GMT -6
Good post Mallard. A question for you, what type of trigger did you use? If you used the standard trigger how did you position it?
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Post by Mallard on May 8, 2007 11:53:57 GMT -6
NL,
I run BMI's and bend the "bell" trigger into a 2 1/2" to 2 3/4" diameter circle. I found this seems to work best for trail sets and figgured for this case it would be the same. Interestingly enough, and a bit off topic, I found the single spring Duke 160 to out preform a 110 in the BE sets this season. I tested this in several different set locations, and think I'm at least convinced there is some avoidance wit the 110. I'm not 100% sold on it, but about 90% perhaps, and enough to be building up the SS 160 stock.
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