Looking for some advice on mink Trapping. I always put my time into fox/coyote Trapping but thought I'd try for some mink with a couple weeks left. Now I've caught mink already in bottom edge sets but looking for advice on what to look for as far as sign when there are no obvious tracks to be seen. Checked out a small stream (1-3' wide) today and found alot of scat on rocks in the creek. Mink or muskrat or both?

Hard to tell from the pictures.
mink turds-about 1" long the size of a small pencile with fur in them.
muskrat turds- small resins.

For sign I look for small tunnals in the grass on dry banks. This is where I like snaring them.

^^^

I did see some of the tunnels you're talking about. Thanks for the advice.

This "mouse nest" is about the size of two fists. Pretty sure that's mink there.

Small tunnels in grassy cover are a good indicator. Also, mink droppings are a big one to look for. Google "muskrat scat" and look at images. Then do the same for mink. They look nothing alike. Mink droppings look like newt described and muskrat look like supersize mouse droppings.

All paths that they can travel need to be covered, so if you're setting every small trail, you'll need more traps than if you set the trails that multiple smaller ones tie into. Sometimes mink will leave signs of food they've left. For me this means crawfish. If I find a few crawfish with a bite taken out of them, I know there are mink. If I find a lot of these in a small area, that's a Honeyhole.


Good luck, they're fun to go after

Great info thanks

On dry land, if there's grassy cover, trails tell the story of where to set. In water, you have to learn how to identify locations, like you're doing with your BE sets. A set that reliably produces for me are sharp corners. If you see a sharp corner, it's worth checking out. On my lines I have a sharp corner that is only a few inches deep at normal water levels. A 160 is half submerged there, and I've caught more than one mink there every season I've trapped it. I call that a great location. I guess it's a "bottom edge" and "top edge" all in one.


If water rises and I catch fish in the trap, I believe that means the location is correct. I believe this, because when I catch fish, I was either setting a vegetation pinch point, a point, or an edge. Also, keep your eyes peeled for evidence of critters taking overland m shortcuts.


My advice comes from trapping grassy cover drainages in agricultural areas. The games changes in different terrain types....

Mink scat usually has visible little bone fragments in it. Also maybe fish scales or fragments of crayfish shell. The more it dries out,the easier it is to see the fragments.

My advise is to not worry about sign. Worry about getting the sets out more. Looks like rat droppings to me.

This looks like muskrat to me

Been busy and haven't had a chance to set that stream. Got about 3" of snow and went to check it out today and there's mink sign like crazy! Temps in the single digits for the next week. Any recommendations for sets in a mostly frozr up stream?

The creek almost looks narrow enough to set some conis in some pinch points

Set conibears in the snow trails and blend with some weeds or bit of brush over their tops and sides to fence them through.

I did end up catching a female mink in that Creek before our season ended. Bottom edge set where the creek got about 3' wide right against a 'point'. Thanks for the tips everyone.

Bump

Good job! Bottom edge sets take most of my mink.
As the winter freeze comes you will notice the mink moving towards the bigger creeks & rivers