A couple of weeks ago I had mentioned that I liked setting at field tiles for mink. I was greatly surprised to get several PMs from people that didn't know what a field tile was .... So I have taken some photos of several different kinds to show ...

This is an 8 inch clay tile:



This is a 6 inch clay tile:



This is a an 8 inch plastic tile:



This is a 4 inch plastic tile:



This is a 12 inch concrete tile:



This is a 12 concrete tile:



This is a tile that is broken off in the back covered over by grass ... Excellant mink set!



All of these tiles a great places for either blind or baited sets for mink and muskrats. The larger concrete tile (depending on water level) can also be good places for coon. I have also taken muskrats in colony traps set up inside them. I will use either a 1.5 leghold, #110 or #120 at the opening of these tile sets.

Several people have also questioned as to what a "Pinch Point" is. Here are two of my favorite examples below: My definition of a "Pinch Point" .... "A point along a water course that a mink must either go away from the water's edge or be forced to go into the water."

Can you find the Pinch Points in these 2 photos?





Happy Trapping .... Garry-

Yep Nick you are correct or both accounts, but for some reason the tiles at this location seemed to work much better than a pocket set. In these photos the water is up several inches ... so doesn't give a clear perspective of the the every day view. Garry-

Thanks for the great pics Garry!
I'm curious as to what set up you'd use for that large culvert in the last pic?

I had a blind set on the left hand side of the culvert ... right next to the bank where the mink (caught one mink in it) had to either go in the water or up over the bank. Most times when I have a set like this I will (and did) smear a little mink lure about a foot inside the culvert ... Garry-

great post! i love trapping field tiles- deadly spots

so do th mink actualy run up the tiles? im curious where the "pinch points" are in the pics. id say for the first one its would probably be the stones but im not sure for the second one.

Around here when the creeks and lakes freeze up, they are my go to spots for water trapping. They usaully stay open all winter long if we have ample preciptation during the fall. These are killer mink spots, but you need the tall grass areas, for cover for the mink. I have a log of all the tile outlets around my area. I worked for a File tile outfit for 2 years and have been a Custom Field Applicator for 20 years. Every good field tile that I have seen has been entered into my log book for future reference.

Can someone explain why they are called field "tiles" and not pipes or culverts? Tile doesn't seem to describe what they actually are.

Clark

A field tile is generally something used to provide subsurface drainge for farm fields. It is typical in areas where you have somewhat heavy soil.

A culvert is typically just a means to pass water under a road or drive. and pipe, is usually associated with a storm sewer.

These terms are used pretty inter-changably in some circles. I would agree with you, but for this purpose it is suitable. No sense in muddying the water more than needed. They are all means of water conveyance.

cool how many mink did you catch like that

I caught 13 of my 19 mink at various field tiles and only 2 had tall grass cover .... One tile set (not pictured) took 6 mink. I usually use shad for bait at most of these locations, up in the tile. ........ Garry-

Yes they will go into the tiles ......

Here are the 2 photos with the pinch points pointed out ......

Excellent thread Garry. How is the book coming? Ddi you decide on publish or CD yet?

Great thread and pics. Thanks!

And don't forget about the tiles completely under water that a 110 or 120 fits in front of. I set everyone I find like that.

Thank you for the compliment .... hoping that it will help educate a few beginners and maybe reinforce some others knowledge base.

As far as the book ... it appears it will be very slow going as have requested information from many sources and most are slow in responding ... I believe that once I have info in hand things will progress much faster. Have been reviewing other books and info so as not to make the same mistakes I feel some other have made. As to final format that is still up in the air and I might end up doing both formats to accommodate both the "E Age" and "Old Timer" subscribers. ..... Garry-

we just call those culverts.... but then again...this is miss'Ippi I'm talking about.... lol

Thanks for the info Actor, along with the pictures! Good job!

you need some snow !

Well done Sir. Well done.

Not to many clay or plastic tiles in my area, but any area where water will flow through it are hot spots. Ex: culverts

Great post!!

NOOOOOOOOO !!!! ...... The rain just melted the 10 inches we had .... Now just mud ... Yuk! ... Garry-

here in the mountains they are usully dry most of the time,but still produce a healthy number of mink and coon

ttt

Great advice actor. I know of a perfect pinch point i'm going tto set at next year. I just cuaght a mink at it's hole near it do ya think i could get another one there?

great post Garry, set what works for you ... pocket sets arent easy to punch in, in certain parts of the country .... what works for you is what matters .... if it catches mink thats all that matters .... i know i cant punch in pockets at home like i can elsewhere .... clay, roots, sand, etc .... spose i need to move to IA or MN .... LOL

I love those pics . . .those are hot locations here in the farm country of the south.

tiles. I know up here we call them things culverts. whether their in a field or ditch, hey i'm open to new names

ttt

I believe the term tiles is due to using terra cota pipe for them as plastic was not available when these were put in many places. Terra cota is the same stuff those thick roof tiles are made of.

In the first picture with the stone wall I would think you would miss some that would go up around the wall and others that would follow the point of land out into the water, plus some others that may always stay on the opposite bank. Nothing beats a little snow cover for showing you exactly what is happening.

There is a field road and culvert two 30" inch pipes side by side across from the house here, I have trapped it for I guess ten years and always look for tracks when I cross it. One side looks pretty equal to the other side in terms of cover and water. But the one side produces mink every year and the other side almost never does and rarely shows a track. I have a bunch of other places where the same thing happens. In my opinion you have to be right smack in front of them, any place else leads to alot of waiting and empty traps.

Awsome post Gary thanks for the help. one question though. do you put any bait or lure in your clay tiles or do you just let them be blind sets?

Did you reach your Mink goal yet?

There ya go.

Now wait a minute. I thought you couldn't catch mink on bare banks that didn't have any cover. I've seen that said many times in books, on here, etc.

Haha, I was gonna make that point, but decided I didn't want to open that can of worms.

I couldn't help myself. That's one of my favorites. Along with "Every mink runs tight against the bridge wall." "You can't catch another mink where you have already caught one if he lets off some of his musk." "I can catch more mink faster in blind sets than in pocket sets." "You can't catch mink in bodygrippers with any regularity." And on and on and on. LOL

Mink will go where mink want to go, and most times mink will go where mink have gone before.

Randy ... thanks for that input ... Like I said earlier in the post ... "I am making an effort to teach the young people coming up through the ranks." I can't help what others have said before me and I really don't care. I am not trying to be argumentative just state the facts as I know them, as plainly as I can and what works for me. I also believe that in most cases where similar habitat and other factors are near to what I have, the same ways will work.

At my age, I never know how many more years I have left to trap. I have a heritage that I believe should be passed on and a little knowledge about what I am writing about. The Good Lord has made trapping enjoyable, and at times profitable for me and I believe I should give back and teach others that may not have a mentor close at hand.

This is why I am writing the book on muskrats and muskrat trapping ... to state the facts as true as I know them. I am here to help.... if I can. ........ GArry-

And doing a great job too. Just thought of a couple tiles I'm gonna set next year that I've passed up before. Thanks.

Those are both excellant pinch points .... most every body of water or water course has pinch points ... you just have to look for them and make sets there ... and then have PATIENCE! .... Garry-

Garry,

This is a good thread. I was just trying to stir the pot a little and keep it going. Your pictures are excellent and they show a very good general mink location that when found can and will produce mink year after year if properly set up. I pointed out that there was no cover on the banks and you are still catching mink at these locations because too many times good sets are passed up by inexperienced trappers because of what someone said or wrote. I've caught many many mink in cow pastures that looked similar to your banks in those pictures. I guess some mink just haven't read the books or watched the videos.

Very informative thread Garry...I'm a visual person and it makes it alot clearer to my limited thinking capabilities when I can see it in photo's.

Mr.Computer Hater would you happen to have any photos of set locations?

Tiles are put on a floor and grouted.Culvers are for water drainage.

Oh my goodness ... look at the what the definition of Farm or File Tile is:

Farm or Field Tile. A small diameter clay pipe installed in an agricultural area to allow drainage of farmland. .... Garry-

I was joking!I've heard it both ways.

Hey Mr computer hater how many mink do you catch a year anyhow?

Now thats stirrin the pot

PS I already know.

Pasadena,
I do have some location photos but they were taken with a 35 mm camera and the son-in-law isn't here to do whatever needs done to get them on here.

Mr. Otis,
That isn't stirring the pot. If you know, why did you ask? LOL
I caught one once!!!!

For a guy who "caught one once" I have learned a ton at your demos.

Now this is a Culvert ... 4 feet in Diameter ..... LOL!



Below I am adding a tile set ... I caught a mink in this set about 3.5 weeks ago but nothing since then. I did catch another mink in a bottom edge set about 25 feet from here. The one pond where I am trapping had a pretty severe fish kill in it from being frozen over for so long ... I found a bass of about 3 plus pounds ... so I stuffed it into the tile and reset the trap in front of it .... smeared a little lure on it and we will wait and see what happens .... Garry-

Garry, thanks for the set pic!

Digital Camera caveman Digital

It would stir the pot if you said how many you caught,and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Better than last year by the Jan.1 ?

Garry did you set two traps on them big culverts?

I don't have the culvert set at this time that I show in the photo .... but with these clean round bottom culverts this size I don't set in them, but I do look for pinch points at one or both ends of them. A friend of mine caught a big old coon in such a culvert using a weight to retrain it and spent a considerable amount of time trying to get close enough to it to get a head shot ... he would go to one of the culvert and the coon would go to the other ..... so I don't tempt such fate ... Garry-

Mr. Otis,

I'm glad you have learned some things at my demos. It is gratifying when someone tells me that because sometimes I wonder if I convey what I'm trying to show or say so that it makes sense to those watching.

Pasadena,

Catch is just a little off from last year on the mink. Didn't equal Jan. 1. No female mink to speak of this year. Don't know what the reason was. ( Drought or lots of ice on the creeks????? ) It will be interesting next season to see if the female mink were there all along and reproduced well or if they were just not there at all. Male catch is normal. Kind of puzzling.

Same here .... I only had a couple of females from all of the mink that I caught ... I think 4 out of the 19 were female .... I was wondering if this could be because the female has a much smaller territory than a male and I wasn't trapping their territory or if their was a shortage of females .... like you said ... guess will have to wait until next year to find out ... Garry-

Randy what was your percentage of male to female last year?

Also do you rotate your trapping area from year to year to let the mink population re-populate. or does it really not make a whole lot of difference with dispersal of the young of the year?

Pasadena,

Last 3 years females made up 29, 30, and 34% of my total mink catch. This year they make up 18%. 34% to 18% in one year is significant. Hopefully just a blip and nothing to be concerned about.

I haven't rotated my area at all. I've thought about it but have never had the time to go out and get a bunch of new permissions so I could do that. I'm sure it would help some if I gave my line a year off but unless you let me trap your line, lol, I'm not going to do that just yet.

Will see what next season brings. If the catch drops significantly, I may have to consider it.

Thanks Randy...your percentages kept going up for 3yrs straight...so I would think at some point it would have to drop off.

You already did run my line and caught all the big beaver remember

What effect would higher numbers of coon trappers especially early in the season have? My friends have a local sport shop, they sold I think either three or four books of licenses this year most years they sell part of one book.

It is really hard to say, but I know that the early part of our trapping season I wasn't doing very with the mink, because at about every mink set I was catching coon enough nights to keep the sets screwed up for mink .... Once I had thinned the coon population out I started catching mink on a regular basis. I am sure that some coons set for some people would catch a mink now and then, but would depend on pan tension and trap placement too .... Garry-

Pasadena

There were lots of trappers around that was for sure and they could have had some effect on the females because they have such a small home range. I wonder also could a high coon population have an effect on female mink. By that I mean could coon prey upon female mink. I've had females eaten in traps by coon occasionally. My coon catch was way up this year. I set a personal best on them. Places I normally catch 2 or 3 coon I was getting 5 or 6 and places I normally get 5 or 6 I was getting 10 to 12. Who knows? Could be a lot of things or just a blip. Time will tell.

Actor, Your choice of trap at most of your small tile sets seems to be a 110 coni. Now I've set a few tile sets from time to time and have noticed a number of mink refusing to enter the pipes know matter what time of year it was. Switching to a coil spring trap at these locations has increased my numbers caught. Is there a reason you seem to use mostly coni's?

Hey Skippy .... I would probably use more coil springs at some of the sets, but I only have a couple. I am hoping to pick some more up this summer. Another reason this time of year (after Jan 31) is because the season is closed on coon and I have yet had a coon stick his head in a #110 or #120, not that they wouldn't, but hasn't happened yet. ...... Garry-