Im thinking on trying it out when i set hard for mink and muskrat
and i was wondering if any of you guys use them and have any luck.

have you ever used one

Only a fair set and generally not worth the time making. If your bank is suitable for an elbow you can put in about 3 pockets in the same time and will have better success.

thanks, i'll probably try one out to see how i make out but i won't make as many as i was gonna

Josh. Go with pockets. They just hammer mink and muskrats. I dig my pockets in softer banks where the bank is pretty straight up and down and the water is 6 inches to 3 feet deep. Dig straight in (Half of the pocket above and half below the water)till you can get your arm in all the way to the elbow. Bring the back of the pocket up till it is dry. I use an old large nail to pin a small bullhead, chunk of carp, or hind leg of muskrat to the rear sidewall so it is high and dry. Dig out or fill in the mouth of the pocket so that your 1 1/2 coil is an inch BELOW the water(do not set too shallow). I use slider cables to deeper water anywhere I can. This is a great set if the coons leave it alone and will get mink and rats(rats seem to especially like rat meat). JIM

you must have good soft banks to do all of that lol

The elbow set far surpasses a regular pocket set ( IMO) for two reasons.
First, it has air flow, even if the set is partially under water, and that is more natural to a mink and will suck it right in, bait or no bait.

Secondly, you have two entrances and if you set them both, you DOUBLE your chances at a passing mink!

Yes, they are time consuming to make...So don't go squirrel hunting in September!

I totally disagree with LT GREY--and I have been killing mink for much longer than he has been alive. Three pockets versus one elbow is no contest. As far as the soft banks--you are correct but the question related to elbows and if you can make an elbow you can make a pocket.

One thing about the Elbow set is that it can be left there year round, a ready made set come season.

I agree cohunt that you can make 3 pockets to 1 elbow.
They are a proven set.
I also agree with LT, in the facts he mentioned.

Just imagine that in August or September, you have the time to make these elbow sets in good numbers.
Here you have a set that all you do is add a trap and bait/lure, if you have the urge.
Also the set can be somewhat permanent if you trap the same places year after year or even every other year.
That is of course if you have permission to do so.
These elbow sets can be made with plastic drainage pipe, as they somewhat fill with dirt they become even more interesting to mink.
Maybe I'm thinking too much.

Elbow sets are just man-made blind sets. In certain situations, blind sets are the best sets for mink(but rarely muskrats). If one wants to set large numbers of traps and wait for them to connect, certain blind sets such as bottom edge sets can be very useful tools. Arguments of blind sets versus baited pockets or cubbies(where one cannot make pockets) for taking mink lead no where. However, one only has to look at the catches shown on this web site during the past weeks to get some idea about the relative efficiency of pocket sets.

Perhaps it is too bad that each animal we seek seems to have a weakness and trappers have developed tools to exploit those weaknesses. Fox and mink were once looked at with awe and those who could catch a few were revered. Many trappers dropped traps apparently at random and caught little. Those trappers who developed sets like the dirt hole or pocket, and those who then advanced to running large numbers of these relatively simple sets, produced catches that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. As someone who grew up in those old days it is fun to remember certain catches and on occasion to revisit an old method--but that does not mean that one should revert to deadfalls.

I'd take 2 conibears, make a elbow in the bank, the opening in the top of the bank and the other one right under water. if you want to you can put bait or lure right where the bend is in the elbow. place a conibear at each entrance.

Umm I would have to say the elbow set is definitely a asset to a mink trappers arsenal. First off they are great for mink muskrats and coon. Yes they are a pain to make but look at it this way. If made right you can take 2 animals in one. I have taken doubles in elbows before and does that ever get the heart racing! When I make them I dig them extremely deep. Put a trap way back in the pocket so when the bank running mink comes down the top hole he is caught there! Then you have the trap right inside on the edge of the pocket for the other mink running down the creek! Cons is they take the perfect bank with the perfect soil! Also the time it takes to make one is really bad when you get there the next day and a coon has totally wrecked it! My advice try and make one where there is tons of mink sign and try to get that elusive mink double!

Thanks, i can't wait to make one, hopefully if i make it good ill catch something

id say a steep and soft one. so it ain't such a pain to make. lol

Here is a little history on the elbow set, first showed up in FF&G as the land of 10,000 lake set. back in 47 or 48. the illustration showed brush piled over the top and later some used a coni up top that way. but ILL. just showed trap at bottom!!! if can be made before season great if not just vent it with trap stake. dig pocket deep as you can. than go on top line up stake with back of pocket and shove it thru now you a vent. air stream bringing smell of bait up thru hole. I even squirt fish oil down hole great for coon or mink!! and quicker. I have way too many coon to go thru that much trouble here and lowmink pop. dbls arent feasible to try for with all that work IMO. Thanks Mike Wise

Yes I remember when if I caught 8-10 mink a season or 25-30 fox it was great.
LOL Now you see guys with those numbers in a day.
Wish we had that knowlage back then cohunt?

OHIO WOLVERINE: I would have liked to have had the catches and the fur checks when we could have really used them. But I think in many ways that I had more fun when I thought and studied how to deal with a problem, figured something to try, set traps and hoped to catch something. Today, beaver have just become work and I think I have trapped my last. Mink will be a target as long as I can trap because they were my first love. Sure wish we did not have coons here now--they really muck up the mink trapping.

i dont know for sure but i would put it right under water surface