How many traps do you guys run that primarily water trap. Interested to hear from long liners and the guys the trap as much as they can working 40 hours on a 36 hour check. Also how many miles are you putting on.

Some guys on Minktrapping.com can help you out.

O ok thanks!

300-400

Seems like a lot for a 36 hour check like we have in Pa. Care to elaborate? Im really just trying to get an idea of how you bigger guys operate.

Thanks i just joined the mink trapping forum today i will have to look it over. Thanks for the insightful response!

Ole Ken Mc is the real deal. Can take what he says to the bank. 300-400 traps is REAL long longlining, more like Looooooooooooong Lining!

By the way Ken, I have two questions for you.

1) Ice Up is a real possibility for you each year. If you have sets out and a severe cold front is approaching, what do you do? Does that threaten your line with the possibility of losing traps? I don’t have to deal with it, so I wasn’t sure how quickly problems like that could develop....



2) How soon after setting do you try to get back to run traps?

I call that "forever lining"

My kids and i run about 7 dozen for mink, with beaver, otter, cats, and coon mixed in. We boogy to check all of it in about 2 hrs so i can get back for work. They give me the look when i say "hurry up! We're burnig daylight!"

Everyone knows stagnant or standing water freezes at 32 degrees but it usually takes a few consecutive nights in the teens to freeze anything with current. I watch the forecast and pull when an extended deep freeze approaches. I don't enjoy chopping traps out of the ice.

I like to set for the first couple days and then check on the third day. We have a 72 hour check law here so we can set longer lines. I like to check every other day but there are times I'll let them soak for three. Everyday I'm checking part of the line and adding new sets.

I live and trap in PA. I work 45 hours a week from 6:45 am til 3:45pm m-f. During our short 7 week mink season, the most I can possibly do is 150 traps specifically for mink at around 30 locations. I check before work and after work. I definitely use the 36 hour check since I don't make it to each set every day. I run 90% blind sets with body grippers. They are just faster to check and maintain than footholds. I freeze everything and skin when the season is over. There is no way I could possibly set and maintain more traps than I do.

...and I thought I stayed busy. You’re really busy!


Do you put a stick with flagging that the spring would knock down that would tell you if the trap fired without having to go to look closer? That’d make checking quicker/easier. Figured you’d have some sort of system down...


110s or 160s?

Thanks Ken. One more:

“Forever Line Trappers” have to have a system down, and I was just wondering how your traps are rigged. I’m assuming they’re coils on short drowner cables or chains/drags? The length of the drowner cable doesn’t matter a whole lot, because it’d have to be whatever works for different people. Mink only take a little water, but I’d rather not have a coon just standing there. Lots of times I’m trapping near levees and I need enough to reach the levee’s trench. 6 ft or so works for me.



In the past, I would stake my coils with a couple feet of chain. First catch and the location was destroyed.

Post-Minktober, I was fired up to run some pockets, so I rigged up 2 dozen coils with an earth anchor on the deep end and a fixed loop for a rebar stake on the top end. I was going to run pockets. Compared to what I’ve always done, this way works much better. I probably set more of these as blind sets where the trail entered/left the water, but I did make some pockets.

I use all bridger 150s for mink blind sets. 110s are too small and 160s are too big. (my opinion). I don't use flags or anything, I just try to set where I can see them without getting right up on them. When the traps are in the water, I put them in places where they won't get filled with leaves/debris. I make diversion devices in front of my traps if there aren't any natural ones. I also make sure to anchor everything firmly. Saves time looking for traps with animals in them. (I have had a hip caught mink take a 150 on a brick 30 yards before expiring) . I don't just bridge trap either. Some spots, I will pull off at a bridge, and then walk up or downstream to avoid theft. When you run a lot of traps, theft is inevitable. I gain permission on all private land I trap, but theft still happens. I use a few different types of body grip supports depending on the location. THat way I can basically just lay the trap down, add some blocking, and go.

Which part of PA are you in Buck?

Im from Westmoreland county

Ken is not on to self promote. If you are really interested in how he does things he has a couple of very good DVDs that show his long lining method. Fast, simple methods and tons of hard work, just like most long line guys.

Mac

Thanks Mac i did not know he had A dvd i just found it. It looks like its right up my alley!

Here is some absolutely worthless info from me: Actually Ken, at 32 degrees liquid water (stagnant or moving) remains liquid and solid water (ICE) remains solid. So it is neither a freezing or thawing temp (at 31.99 degrees and at 32.01 degrees things change). Has to do with a small molecule (a single H2O) not existing in nature. It exists as a string of H2O'S CONNECTED electrically. All this is at sea level where the physics and chemistry laws are measured. Absolutely worthless unless you have a trap set in those changing temps (which we all do)... I have run a 90 trap 24 hour mink/ coon waterline and and a 48 hour 120 (one way slider) trap line on a 40 working schedule getting about 4-5 hours of sleep. We need landowner permission on all county roads and State highway trapping is prohibited here so alot of these "long line" #'s would be breaking current Nebraska law. Same holds for rivers and creeks here---- that permission is needed from the owner. There is case law (from the 1980's) even on the Missouri River that supports that this permission is needed for any use other than navigation. So even if you are dryland trapping with a truck, traveling fast it is hard to run more than 50-100 traps at 25 to 50 different stops and stay within the current laws. You are much more discriminating on where you put a set due to that time frame here. the mike

98 percent blind BGS, both wet and dry, with a liberal check law I run 75 sets. Working full time. I don't set for mink until mid December after K9's and prey for ice without deep snow. I rough skin and freeze. All with permission, no ROW trapping here. It's enforced very well, I for one am glad.

250 mink sets has become a good average for me i have found but let mink prices jump and 350 may not be enough.