Post by Steve Gappa on Apr 5, 2004 16:24:39 GMT -6
(Reprinted from Oct 2001 T & PC)
So you want to be a Minker…..
By Steve Gappa
To the youngster who lives alongside of a farmland crick or a mountain trout stream, the mink is one of the exotics on his trapline. While the beginning trapper can catch muskrats and even coon with relative ease, it is often the case that only an occasional mink seems to grace his furshed. Many of these young trappers that go on to become skilled water trappers and even good land trappers, never seem to be able to overcome that “mink jinx”. If the trapper picks up 5-10 mink a year as incidentals (and even on purpose) over his water line, he is content. His thinking is either mink are to “crafty” for him or more often than not the conclusion is that there are few if any mink in his watersheds. For whatever reasons, these type of trappers seldom pursue mink as a primary species on their lines. While it might be true that your area contains few if any mink- if you are trapping 5-10 a year, each year, you most likely have far more mink than you think you do. If this then is the case, I will see what I can do to help you increase your catch. If you follow my advice, I can just about guarantee you will double your 5-10 mink a year, over the same amount of line. Big talk you say? Well, here’s what to do.
The first thing to do is to take mink serious. That means forget about the rats and coon for now. Your focus and your equipment must be suited for mink. Really, mink trapping is about as simplistic and pure a type of trapping as you can get. Almost Zen like on a snowy winter day. All you need is a trap and some wire- and you are in business. But what trap and what wire? Good question- for while mink can be taken successfully in traps ranging from #0 to #4- there are certain traps and styles that are best for mink. In my opinion, it is hard to go wrong with 1.5 coils. Anything smaller and you are losing weight at the trap and anything much bigger you run the risk of too high a pan tension. I like 1.5 coils because they are “heavy” for their size compared to a mink, they are compact and fit in tight corners, and they are big enough to get a sure hold high on the leg- something desired with mink on drowning rigs. For wire, I like using #14 wire. It is strong enough to hold a coon if need be and still is flexible enough to use as a tangle wire for mink. I use either slide wires or tangle wires to anchor my traps. All my footholds for mink are rigged to drown, as alive mink are both susceptible to pullouts and easy prey for other predators. While mink can be drowned in a very small amount of water, I like at least 2 feet of water for my mink sets. The main reason for this is a rear foot caught big male needs 2 feet- so I like to be prepared. If possible, angle the drowning wire or tangle sticks slightly downstream in water with a current. Fast water is a tremendous aid to drowning a mink. In additions to footholds, you also will benefit by having some smaller bodygrip traps such as the 110, the 120 (a 110 w/two springs), the 160 and even the 220. I prefer footholds, but body grips also have a place on the line.
You notice I don’t mention mink lure. There is a reason for this. I am going to teach you how to blind set mink- and for blind setting mink, even if you have heard different, you don’t want to use any lure. The reason for this is simple- a wandering mink is flighty enough as it is. If he is coming to my blind set in a natural manner- I don’t want his nose in the air wondering about scent- who knows what his reaction might be- I want him to keep on coming in a natural way. My location is all the “lure” I want or need. Having said this, if you still want to use lure- chop up some mink glands as finely as possible, mix in warm Vaseline, and you have an excellent mink gland lure. This lure only gets better with age- in year 2-3 the mink just about jumps out of the can at you.
Please remember this advice is aimed towards those trappers that are catching a few mink each year and want to increase their take. That way I know that there are at least some mink in their areas. If you don’t have mink to begin with, obviously my advice won’t improve your catch. The first piece of advice is information oft heard and unfortunately more often ignored. That advice is to prospect, prospect and more prospecting. This is one of the 3 major steps to becoming a minker and advice I want you to take to heart. I want you to make a vow that between the day you read this article and the day you set your first mink trap of the year- you will prospect each creek on your line at least 2 times. Since you have been catching a few mink, you know what areas and what streams have produced these mink. Go back to these streams and really look them over. I want you to notice several things. What kind of streams are they? Are they cold water or warm? Do they have multiple food sources- do they contain frogs, fish, etc.? Clear or muddy?
Grassy banks, rocky banks, flat banks? Going through woods or pastures? In short, look over your streams that have produced mink, and figure out why mink were on that stream. In figuring that out, you will now be able to concentrate your prospecting in streams that contain similar characteristics and habitat types. After getting a general idea of what type of streams to look at, it becomes time to look for both mink sign and possible sets. The best time to prospect most mink streams are 2-3 days after a moderate rain. After a rain of say an inch raises the water a little bit and softens the mud and sand along the creek, mink tracks and scat can be somewhat easy to find. I like to go a few days after the rain- that seems to be enough time to allow mink to work the creeks and still leave sign in the soft sand.
Wear your waders. If you are still wearing hip boots for mink- save them for fishing and get a pair of chest waders. To be an effective minker you are going to have to get down to mink level- and chest waders allows you to do this. I constantly am sitting or kneeling when I am mink trapping. I would find it almost impossible to trap mink without them. But back to prospecting. Get into the water and stand there to survey things. Keep in mind how a mink works and hunts- his habits. Where is he now, where would he want to go? A wandering mink is usually a hunting mink. I believe that a mink that is moving is always opportunistic and looking for a lunch- so a mink works the places where he might find lunch. Keep in mind he also doesn’t want to become lunch. Given these two thoughts, you can see why a mink hunts tight to cover, why he explores holes and tunnels, why he runs under banks, etc. So as you are standing in the stream- keep those two thoughts in mind and ask yourself if anything you are looking at satisfies those requirements. A typical stream might have overhanging logs, snags, rocks, exposed tree roots, undercut banks. Any and all of these things bear looking into. Start with the closest. If you get very lucky, you might see some mink tracks and a dropping or two. If you are unsure of what mink tracks look like- the best description is they look similar to tiny cat tracks, usually in pairs side by side. They have a somewhat splayed or pigeon toed walk and their tracks reflect this. Mink droppings are usually firm, about the diameter of a thin pencil and about 2-3 inches long tapered on both ends. If you do- you have now found a perfect place for your first mink trap when setting. But chances are you won’t be that lucky, but that‘s ok. What I want you to do is look at that location and decide if the physical attributes of it will allow a mink set. Is there a natural funnel present or can you make one? Is the water deep enough? Does it look “minky”? Decide if it is a possible location, then move on to the next likely location- whether it is 10 feet away or 1 block upstream. Repeat your inspection of each location for as much of the stream as you are going to trap. Also look for resting points (usually places with overhead cover such as under overhanging logs or culverts) and areas where a mink HAS to go- such as around sharp corners or around vertical banks. Remember this- It is hard to predict where a mink is going to run, but it is easy to predict where a mink will rest. Keep that thought foremost in your mind when prospecting. Look this stream over as never before, getting down and looking at things from a mink’s perspective. When you get back to your truck, while things are still fresh- make a comprehensive map of the stream you just prospected. Mark down all the features, and your thoughts on each location. If the location of where previous mink catches is not noted, add them also. You now need to repeat this same intensive prospecting to each stream you trap. On an average line, this can be done over a couple of days. Don’t cut corners- it will only hurt you in the long run. If you see sign, and chances are good you will see at least a little, make sure you also note that. If you don’t see any sign, don’t be too concerned. I have streams where I take 4-5 mink a year and have never seen any sign or track in years- but the mink are there.
(cont below)
So you want to be a Minker…..
By Steve Gappa
To the youngster who lives alongside of a farmland crick or a mountain trout stream, the mink is one of the exotics on his trapline. While the beginning trapper can catch muskrats and even coon with relative ease, it is often the case that only an occasional mink seems to grace his furshed. Many of these young trappers that go on to become skilled water trappers and even good land trappers, never seem to be able to overcome that “mink jinx”. If the trapper picks up 5-10 mink a year as incidentals (and even on purpose) over his water line, he is content. His thinking is either mink are to “crafty” for him or more often than not the conclusion is that there are few if any mink in his watersheds. For whatever reasons, these type of trappers seldom pursue mink as a primary species on their lines. While it might be true that your area contains few if any mink- if you are trapping 5-10 a year, each year, you most likely have far more mink than you think you do. If this then is the case, I will see what I can do to help you increase your catch. If you follow my advice, I can just about guarantee you will double your 5-10 mink a year, over the same amount of line. Big talk you say? Well, here’s what to do.
The first thing to do is to take mink serious. That means forget about the rats and coon for now. Your focus and your equipment must be suited for mink. Really, mink trapping is about as simplistic and pure a type of trapping as you can get. Almost Zen like on a snowy winter day. All you need is a trap and some wire- and you are in business. But what trap and what wire? Good question- for while mink can be taken successfully in traps ranging from #0 to #4- there are certain traps and styles that are best for mink. In my opinion, it is hard to go wrong with 1.5 coils. Anything smaller and you are losing weight at the trap and anything much bigger you run the risk of too high a pan tension. I like 1.5 coils because they are “heavy” for their size compared to a mink, they are compact and fit in tight corners, and they are big enough to get a sure hold high on the leg- something desired with mink on drowning rigs. For wire, I like using #14 wire. It is strong enough to hold a coon if need be and still is flexible enough to use as a tangle wire for mink. I use either slide wires or tangle wires to anchor my traps. All my footholds for mink are rigged to drown, as alive mink are both susceptible to pullouts and easy prey for other predators. While mink can be drowned in a very small amount of water, I like at least 2 feet of water for my mink sets. The main reason for this is a rear foot caught big male needs 2 feet- so I like to be prepared. If possible, angle the drowning wire or tangle sticks slightly downstream in water with a current. Fast water is a tremendous aid to drowning a mink. In additions to footholds, you also will benefit by having some smaller bodygrip traps such as the 110, the 120 (a 110 w/two springs), the 160 and even the 220. I prefer footholds, but body grips also have a place on the line.
You notice I don’t mention mink lure. There is a reason for this. I am going to teach you how to blind set mink- and for blind setting mink, even if you have heard different, you don’t want to use any lure. The reason for this is simple- a wandering mink is flighty enough as it is. If he is coming to my blind set in a natural manner- I don’t want his nose in the air wondering about scent- who knows what his reaction might be- I want him to keep on coming in a natural way. My location is all the “lure” I want or need. Having said this, if you still want to use lure- chop up some mink glands as finely as possible, mix in warm Vaseline, and you have an excellent mink gland lure. This lure only gets better with age- in year 2-3 the mink just about jumps out of the can at you.
Please remember this advice is aimed towards those trappers that are catching a few mink each year and want to increase their take. That way I know that there are at least some mink in their areas. If you don’t have mink to begin with, obviously my advice won’t improve your catch. The first piece of advice is information oft heard and unfortunately more often ignored. That advice is to prospect, prospect and more prospecting. This is one of the 3 major steps to becoming a minker and advice I want you to take to heart. I want you to make a vow that between the day you read this article and the day you set your first mink trap of the year- you will prospect each creek on your line at least 2 times. Since you have been catching a few mink, you know what areas and what streams have produced these mink. Go back to these streams and really look them over. I want you to notice several things. What kind of streams are they? Are they cold water or warm? Do they have multiple food sources- do they contain frogs, fish, etc.? Clear or muddy?
Grassy banks, rocky banks, flat banks? Going through woods or pastures? In short, look over your streams that have produced mink, and figure out why mink were on that stream. In figuring that out, you will now be able to concentrate your prospecting in streams that contain similar characteristics and habitat types. After getting a general idea of what type of streams to look at, it becomes time to look for both mink sign and possible sets. The best time to prospect most mink streams are 2-3 days after a moderate rain. After a rain of say an inch raises the water a little bit and softens the mud and sand along the creek, mink tracks and scat can be somewhat easy to find. I like to go a few days after the rain- that seems to be enough time to allow mink to work the creeks and still leave sign in the soft sand.
Wear your waders. If you are still wearing hip boots for mink- save them for fishing and get a pair of chest waders. To be an effective minker you are going to have to get down to mink level- and chest waders allows you to do this. I constantly am sitting or kneeling when I am mink trapping. I would find it almost impossible to trap mink without them. But back to prospecting. Get into the water and stand there to survey things. Keep in mind how a mink works and hunts- his habits. Where is he now, where would he want to go? A wandering mink is usually a hunting mink. I believe that a mink that is moving is always opportunistic and looking for a lunch- so a mink works the places where he might find lunch. Keep in mind he also doesn’t want to become lunch. Given these two thoughts, you can see why a mink hunts tight to cover, why he explores holes and tunnels, why he runs under banks, etc. So as you are standing in the stream- keep those two thoughts in mind and ask yourself if anything you are looking at satisfies those requirements. A typical stream might have overhanging logs, snags, rocks, exposed tree roots, undercut banks. Any and all of these things bear looking into. Start with the closest. If you get very lucky, you might see some mink tracks and a dropping or two. If you are unsure of what mink tracks look like- the best description is they look similar to tiny cat tracks, usually in pairs side by side. They have a somewhat splayed or pigeon toed walk and their tracks reflect this. Mink droppings are usually firm, about the diameter of a thin pencil and about 2-3 inches long tapered on both ends. If you do- you have now found a perfect place for your first mink trap when setting. But chances are you won’t be that lucky, but that‘s ok. What I want you to do is look at that location and decide if the physical attributes of it will allow a mink set. Is there a natural funnel present or can you make one? Is the water deep enough? Does it look “minky”? Decide if it is a possible location, then move on to the next likely location- whether it is 10 feet away or 1 block upstream. Repeat your inspection of each location for as much of the stream as you are going to trap. Also look for resting points (usually places with overhead cover such as under overhanging logs or culverts) and areas where a mink HAS to go- such as around sharp corners or around vertical banks. Remember this- It is hard to predict where a mink is going to run, but it is easy to predict where a mink will rest. Keep that thought foremost in your mind when prospecting. Look this stream over as never before, getting down and looking at things from a mink’s perspective. When you get back to your truck, while things are still fresh- make a comprehensive map of the stream you just prospected. Mark down all the features, and your thoughts on each location. If the location of where previous mink catches is not noted, add them also. You now need to repeat this same intensive prospecting to each stream you trap. On an average line, this can be done over a couple of days. Don’t cut corners- it will only hurt you in the long run. If you see sign, and chances are good you will see at least a little, make sure you also note that. If you don’t see any sign, don’t be too concerned. I have streams where I take 4-5 mink a year and have never seen any sign or track in years- but the mink are there.
(cont below)