Who wins??? Lets break it down and have a real discussion on the merits of each or why your prefer one or the other.


I am a pocket set man for mink. I maybe set 5 blind sets on a 300 trap longline and they are sure fire sets every year..

In my mind it takes 4 things to pile up mink..

1. Good Population of mink.
2. Traps & lots of them.
3. Territory.
4. Bait. (fish)
5. Be willing to push yourself to the brink.

I am sure I am missing a few things.. Let's try and keep this serious..

While I am not the trapper you are Jim I do set a lot more blind sets then you do

About 25% to 30% or so of the sets on my line are blind sets a lot of that has to do with the fact that in many of those places there just isent a spot to easyly set up a pocket as the bank is to low

I could go up or down the creek or stream 50 or 100 yards but it would add extra time to running the line

Also in some spots I just pick a blind set dure to the possability of theft I feel that blind sets are harder to find by a crook then a pocket set.

I do feel that making even decent catches with blind sets is a lot harder to do then using pockets are

I think that if a lot of people, me included, would try to reduce the pocket set mentality and look for blind set spots as well as the pockets spots, our mink catch would go up at least a bit.

I set a few blinds just like Jim. I suspect that I pulled my head out of my duffle bag and opened my eyes, I would do much better.

Therefore, I think that the pocket is king, yet the blind needs to be used more as long as you have the traps to cover your territory.

the pocket set takes advantage of the minks nature, and can remain effective thought out the year i approach the pocket set almost like a blind set i just give a mink a hole to stick his head in, he wants to do it anyways a little bit of fish oil to add to his curiosity

One of my reasons of not using blind sets is. I figure I have one chance to catch that mink before someone else does, with bait I KNOW I increase my odds that he will either see that pocket, or the fish in the back..

Another reason is all the blind set guys are within 20 yards either side of the culvert, bridge or what have you. By moving up ahead of them I increase my odds big time. With coon It would be a different story, as I like to set where the trail enters the water. Lots of guys think by heading way up stream their fooling the other trapper when in reality their not. I'm talking coon here not mink..

I have watched many mink over the years and have seen a couple already the past couple weeks working the water and bank. They are hyper and everything gets investigated.. Sometimes MULTIPLE times..


Now anything can be a pocket in my eyes a piece of fish poked between two rocks. I have a spot where I drove by for years cause it was rock rip rap. Well one year I decided to set it. All I did was ram a bullhead head between two rocks and set a trap as close to it as I could. I did this on each corner of the south side of the culvert as the north was dry. It looked like a 1st grader made the set.. That year I took seven mink off that spot, once I had two.. Every year it's good for one or two mink..

Point being a pocket is more than a hole dug in a bank.. I started trapping in Northeastern MN, Grand Marais area.. Solid rock no digging basicly anyplace no stakes etc.. I used 1.5 coils 5 feet of chain and either a grapple or window weight for drag and a piece of herring wedged under the side lip of culverts and I caught lots of mink that way.. It was a pocket in essence..

use your imagination

Jim,

i am in total agreement with you on this one. And to answer Steven's question-- I think it is more than beneficial to utilize the 3 day check if you can. I don't see a good enough reason to check every day.

I can set on sat then check on sun and continue setting till I can't go no more. Check on wed then set some more. then check/set sat and sun and continue as before. Eventually you need to pull up and move, but as a working stiff I couldn't get that many traps out if I had to check them all each day.

michael

Here in Maine you will catch alot more mink in blind sets over pocket sets.Learned that from experience and years and years of trapping.

I think a few advantages of a baited pocket set to a blind set is the what the bait offers.

It's been said that mink are greedy, in that they'll grab or go after a bait, like almost on instinct, whether their hungry of not. What else explains having a mink grab a piece of bait out a pocket, and just dropping it? Or catching a mink whose belly is already full?

So one habit of mink being greedy is one advantage for baited pocket than blind set.

Fresh dug hole, which is attractive to most all furbearers we trap. It's been said you could catch a lot of critters on just a fresh dug hole, well that's one thing a baited pocket has to offer too.

Bait appeal, not only sight appeal, but odor as well. So that's double the advantages in just a good chunk of bait in a pocket over a blind set.

Another advantage is you can take the mink on your terms. That mink doesn't have to travel blindly to where you put your blind trap. With a baited pocket you've grabbed the minks attention, even if it's swimming down the crick, or taking an unusual route, that your typical blind set wouldn't catch that mink.

Another advantage of pocket, is any dumb kid who has seen Gerald's video can go to about any bridge and not have to think about or pay attention to much of anything besides, "Oh hey, I can make a set there!". Where some say it takes years to learn how to be a good efficient blind setter. Well the dumb kid can make the set in no time at all, and be down the road to make another. A just as efficient set or better than a blind set.


Jim, I'd like to add one more thing your list there. Not sure where it fits, but an uncontrollable, but important factor is definitely weather.


Just MY opinion, whatever it's worth to any of you, I guess you can decide that.

About 25% of my mink sets are blind set and the rest cubby sets. A good per cent of the blind set are bottom edge sets with the use of a #110 or #120 though. I also use #110s or #120s on about 15% of my cubby sets. ....... Garry-

Why do the vs thing? They both have their place.

It reminds me of a question asked of me several times about beaver trapping. "Do you prefer a foothold, snare or a bodygrip for beavers." My reply is that all three are good tools and all have their place in my job. I use the tool that best fits what the situation presents. To master all the tools available will make for a better trapper and better equip me to catch those shy ones that are the last to come out.

For those trapping beavers for fur, then using one tool may be the best way to catch the cream and move on.

The same goes for pocket and blind sets for mink. Both have had their place on my mink line back when I trapped mink.

I think that if you're going for high numbers in an area with a large population of mink, then one set may be what works best to accomplish that. Keeping things simple will be much more efficient.

However, if you have a limited line, mastering the use of both I think will increase your catch.

Growing up in a area with a few mink on each creek ive not taken 100's but imagine it's harder to catch them where they are few and far between than it is where they are thick as flea's, like any animal.

Pockets here are a guaranteed way to keep that trap clogged up with coons and possums which is what my pocket sets caught. I did catch my first mink FINALLY after a whole winter of trying but my mink catch soared soon as I learned how to set good blind sets thus every mink ive ever caught except 2 in other sets for other animals and 2 in pocket sets have came from blind sets.

Mink here when i trapped them just skipped on by a pocket set for the most part, didn't matter what bait/lure whatever was used. Keep in mind it's not uncommon here in the middle of Jan. to have a warm spell and start hearing frogs in ponds! So food i imagine isn't as big a problem here as it is up north.

Also the creeks I trapped growing up were rocky and sandy, about impossible to dig a pocket if you wanted to. Just flopping a trap down under a inch of water next to an obstruction was much faster than spending 30 minutes to dig a hole in the bank so blind setting was all I ever did when I was trying to catch mink.

To add to my above post, I feel that a well placed blind set along with the pockets would make everyone a better trapper.

Sure the pocket has a better chance, but how many times have you saw a perfect blind spot and ignored it in favor of the pocket spot 10 feet away?

Why not hit both of them and increase your chances?

Many times I have been prescouting and saw a place where there was not much chance of putting a pocket in due to many factors, yet a perfect blind spot was glaring me in the face. Since it is on the line, I will set it up.

Here is another situation.

Lets say that you develop the habit of always bringing one additional trap with you in case you see a good blind spot you missed previously. Much of the time you are going to bring the extra trap back with you, but when you develop this habit, you are going to start seeing another spot and end up with more steel out in less time.

Nick,

Weather is huge you bet.. With my pocket set I have bait plus the visual attraction of the hole if the water rises. Where as theblind set would be almost useless if not out of comission.

Jim Wallner - "With my pocket set I have bait plus the visual attraction of the hole if the water rises. Where as theblind set would be almost useless if not out of comission."

Perhaps in Iowa, this is the way it is. I've never trapped in Iowa.

However, when I was trapping mink in the UP of MI and in South Dakota, I found that my blind sets were operating when the pockets were iced in when trapping in January and February. Many of my blind sets were spring sets and sets where flowing water was present. I made pocket sets in flowing water also, but many times the water wasn't flowing well where the pockets should go.

Some of my blind sets were high and dry and never froze up. They may get covered with large snowfalls though - lol.

Its always interesting to learn about trapping environments different from where we've trapped.

i prefer pockets because i can take other critters as well.
i hate checkin empty traps....lol.
then as the temps get colder.....i'll switch over to using cubbies using 160's........

I've ever trapped Iowa,(would love too) but can tell you where I trap in MN and inch of rain can have your traps under several inches of water by morning.. Reason being everything is tiled. Even the rocky streams I grew up trapping on turned not only high but into raging waters, and it didn't matter what set you had it was tits up out of order..

Basically I longline coon and mink for maybe 1 month tops then I'm on to fisher, martten and cats.. And for the most part by mid or end of November you are fighting ice and snow so the profit margin is slim to none..

A pocket guy myself. Just like them as they take coon/rats and mink very well for reasons stated above. That said, I/m not a skilled blind set guy and realize that if I were, and used them in conjunction with the pocket, my catch would likely go up. Something I need to work on I guess. I have to suspect that there at least a few mink out there that steer clear of pockets in high trapper areas where pockets are the standard.

Maybe Calvin but I got a hard time buying that one. Food is to hard to come by sometimes depending on some factors, and I have caught mink missing toes, one foot and two feet over the years that were healed stubs..

Where population numbers are high, the critters are easier to catch. Probably because of the competition for food. Where population numbers are low, they can be a bit tougher.

This goes for a lot of species.

When I was in the UP, I don't think we got much rain in Jan and Feb. I know the snow was deep though - lol.

i try to use more blind sets than pocket sets , i can make them more mink specific . baited or lured pocket sets here in ohio are going to take a coon most times before a mink gets to it, then you've got muskrat, possums, skunks and others that might get caught as well. i don't use bait for mink until after its gotten cold enough the coon are slowing down there movements , which by that time i've hopefully thinned them out elsewhere .

bottom edge sets( blind set) are mink or muskrat specific , trails set with #110's are mostly mink specific , blind sets with footholds along narrow edges and ledges, tight spots, bridge walls, high banks , rock tunnels and rap piles, can be made mostly coon proof by use of sticks, rocks and other guides to help steer the coon around but allowing the mink to go thru.

small diameter pocket holes ,4" or so are less attractive to coons , especially if dug up under the bank , have had grass draped over them , and other things done to help disguse them . if the minks running that edge, it'll notice that hole. using no bait or lure in those pockets will help detract the coons but the hole is still attractive to the minks. an elbow hole tying into a pocket hole makes it twice as deadly and i try to disguise them as well .

i use whatever set or trap will work given the varibles i've got in front of me at the time. keep an open mind on new things, i tried a crack in the rock set finally after years of seeing mink sign in that area of rap . it was one of few places not frozen in , a trickle of water coming out of that crack , i stuffed a sucker up in there and set a 1 1/2 coil in front of it.

it accounts for several mink a year , every year since but if i set it before it gets cold and nasty , i'm going to get coons 90% of the time .

i have stream side boulders and other bottom edge sets that will not produce mink until the waters iced over. then , its like them have came out of the woodwork .

whats it take to catch a pile of mink ?

lots of mink .
lots of places to set traps
lots of traps to set in the lots of places
lots of time to do it .

in ohio , we don't have lots of mink , a fair population but nothing like minnysoda, iowa , arkkansas, louisianna and other states.

we can't trap off in every road ditch or under every bridge or infront of every tile or culvert pipe . property rights laws and state d.o.w. laws prohibit it. you must have landowner or his leasee's written permission. property right go to the center of a road, center of a bridge , etc.

we have a 24 hour trap check law.