Strictly Trapping


No Profanity *** No Flaming *** No Advertising *** No Anti Trappers *** No Politics
No Non-Target Catches *** No Links to Anti-trapping Sites *** No Avoiding Profanity Filter


Home~Trap Talk~ADC Forum~Trap Shed~Wilderness Trapping~International Trappers~Fur Handling

Auction Forum~Trapper Tips~Links~Gallery~Basic Sets~Convention Calendar~Chat~ Trap Collecting Forum

Trapper's Humor~Strictly Trapping~Fur Buyers Directory~Mugshots~Fur Sale Directory~Wildcrafting

Trapper's Tales~Words From The Past~Legends~Archives~Kids Forum~Lure Formulators Forum


~~~ Dobbins' Products Catalog ~~~


Trading Post
(Please support F&T Trading Post, our sponsor for the Trapping Only Forum)



TrappersPost
Please support Trappers post, a sponsor of the Strictly Trapping Forum



Print Thread
Hop To
Page 3 of 3 1 2 3
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #6248523
05/27/18 07:47 AM
05/27/18 07:47 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,858
Northern Illinois
M
MChewk Offline
trapper
MChewk  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,858
Northern Illinois
Good post Larry!
In my area we have situations where the water is very shallow with rocky hard bottom. These situations at times are at those hot spot natural tile set areas. The depth is not enough to drown a mink. I have dug out a deep water pit of sorts attempting to create a drowning spot but the first coon you catch pushes/ mounds all the gravel back into place. Any ideas here possibly use a different trap(stoploss) or method to reduce mink (muskrat)loss issues with coon in mind?

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #6248630
05/27/18 12:08 PM
05/27/18 12:08 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,847
Wisconsin
T
The Beav Offline
trapper
The Beav  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,847
Wisconsin
I never pass up a shallow rat or mink set. Use a #2 or 1.75 sized trap and most If not all rats and mink will die of exposer or stress. In most cases those large high jawed traps will have that mink or rat by the shoulder and they aren't getting away. You may lose a few to depredation but that's part of the game. But I believe that It out weighs passing up some hot locations.

I try and use these type sets later In the year when most of your coon are holed up. But for the most part I don't pass them up If I'm there.

You can also make these sets with 6' of chain and a fox type grapnel. The mink or rat won't move the set up and a coon will be up on the bank all tangled up. And with that set up you can just toss the grapnel up In the brush to start with. If you have soft bottoms just stomp the grapnel Into the bottom.
Back when I was long lining mink that's the only set up I used. No driving stakes or running drowning systems. Time was a priority.
It's more stuff to haul but you can place all the drags and chain pre season to make It easier. And It might be easier then digging pot holes LOL


The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #6248703
05/27/18 02:34 PM
05/27/18 02:34 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,858
Northern Illinois
M
MChewk Offline
trapper
MChewk  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,858
Northern Illinois
Using that system already...was seeing if anything better/more successful is being used.
Tried #1 1/2 stoploss traps and they helped a bit with loss but as mentioned not the answer for ALL situations. Owls, hawks and coon can really ravage your catch...looking to put them down and out.

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #6249177
05/28/18 10:44 AM
05/28/18 10:44 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,684
Wisconsin
G
Green Bay Offline
trapper
Green Bay  Offline
trapper
G

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,684
Wisconsin
I have enjoyed this thread. You inspired me to go out and put cable clamps on all my existing slides so I spent the hot afternoon down in my cool basement workshop improving things.

Brian


Author of The Lure Hunter: A Guide to Finding Fishing Lures
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #6249373
05/28/18 06:59 PM
05/28/18 06:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,847
Wisconsin
T
The Beav Offline
trapper
The Beav  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,847
Wisconsin
Those cable clamps make great stops on slide rods too. Or form a loop out of cable place It In the cable clamp slid In the rod tighten the clamp and you have a top end staking loop. No welding.
Another thought just hit me. Why not just place a cable clamp on your re bar stakes instead of welding on a washer or nut.


The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7170952
02/06/21 05:17 AM
02/06/21 05:17 AM
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Wolfdog91 Offline
trapper
Wolfdog91  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Ttt

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7340586
08/27/21 03:20 AM
08/27/21 03:20 AM
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Wolfdog91 Offline
trapper
Wolfdog91  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Ttt

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7343490
08/30/21 05:22 PM
08/30/21 05:22 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,971
Peoria County Illinois
Larry Baer Offline
trapper
Larry Baer  Offline
trapper

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,971
Peoria County Illinois
I like #1 B&L Stoploss traps with 5' chain on a 5' dogwood stake for rats in shallow water. They drown in ankle deep water often as will mink. A 5' stakes lets me shove it in the bottom out a few feet from the bank, shove it horizontally into mud bank, shove it in between rocks or cracks in dirt or rocks, bow it into the ribs of a 4' pipe, shove it alongside a pipe. Use dog wood. You won't be sorry. use hickory and it will rot fast. You know how to tell dogwood from the other woods in the woods? By it bark.
I find chains at garage sales for cheap and put then together to make long ones for these traps. It's easy to pile a bunch of these in the back of the truck and grab one at every stop and use it as a walking stick when you first look at a creek.
Some of my creeks are super hard bottom clay. I use a ten inch nail for the top stake in those. I'll get wood out but I can get the nail out.
some of the #1 B&L traps I have are old. They are strong as the day they were made. I got a coyote in one once. It held him till I got there. Paint the tops of the long stakes white so you can see them. Bright eyes tacks are nice at might if you are checking with a light.

I also like old brake rotors and tie the end of long chains off to those. I have held even big beaver in traps with those as drags. They move them but not too far. I long 3 to 5 foot chains on those. The rotor has a dished out place on the center that works well to hold a clump of grass or mud. I turn them with this pointed up and put sod in it so I can hold the trap at the pinch point on the end of a pipe for mink and rats.

Another thing you can do with a brake rotor is weld a 3/8' fence post onto it so it is sticking straight up. You can set this along a flat wall and add body traps like Christmas tree ornaments on plastic hot wire insulators and set the lower run or the top edge. If you look close you can see a rat in the bottom trap on this holder I made. You can see the rotor right along the bottom. Good mink set that gets the rats too.

[Linked Image]

Last edited by Larry Baer; 08/30/21 05:30 PM.

Just passin through
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7343502
08/30/21 05:33 PM
08/30/21 05:33 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,971
Peoria County Illinois
Larry Baer Offline
trapper
Larry Baer  Offline
trapper

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,971
Peoria County Illinois
Set as many double and triple or quad spots as you can over and over and over till you can do it in your sleep and not miss a beat. You'll get mink and coon but you have to clean out the coon first.

[Linked Image]


Just passin through
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7352254
09/10/21 12:13 PM
09/10/21 12:13 PM
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 691
northern indiana
K
kenny k Offline
trapper
kenny k  Offline
trapper
K

Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 691
northern indiana
The victor # 2 with a mink pan and long chain with a drag . I have read about them and will give that a try this year.

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7352287
09/10/21 01:00 PM
09/10/21 01:00 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
T
the Blak Spot Offline
trapper
the Blak Spot  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
Gang setting is a must. Shallow pond edges. Snares. = grin

image.pngimage.pngimage.png

the just shall live by faith

member FTA, ATA, EAFT
1776 - the year we told a tyrant we weren't to be under a dictator
Caveat ater macula
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7401669
11/10/21 08:05 PM
11/10/21 08:05 PM
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Wolfdog91 Offline
trapper
Wolfdog91  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 11,888
Amite county Mississippi
Ttt

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Wolfdog91] #7402043
11/11/21 08:14 AM
11/11/21 08:14 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723
Maine
M
Mac Offline
trapper
Mac  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723
Maine
Wow, lots of very good trappers sharing excellent advice in this thread.
Mac



Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7407697
11/17/21 05:10 PM
11/17/21 05:10 PM
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 247
Nova Scotia, Canada
scotiantrapper Offline
trapper
scotiantrapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 247
Nova Scotia, Canada
Spending 40 hours a week at school means I run mostly at night. As its been previously mentioned, getting organized and into a system speeds up setting time. I mostly run blind sets with Victor 2's and 1.5s on 4' of chain with a rail tie plate wired on the end, plates stay stashed at each location throughout the year. Even coon don't make it far. I do bring a dozen drowning cables and some bait for certain situations, but blind setting normally avoids the coons. I usually have 6-10 sets per stop. 4-5 mink/rat sets, 2-3 otter/beaver sets. All my coon boxes are stashed at proven locations before the season. I'm one who likes putting my fur up as I go, so I try to only run 100 traps at a time. Mind you, this also includes my couple hundred coyote and cat snares too.

Last edited by scotiantrapper; 11/17/21 05:12 PM.
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Larry Baer] #7408233
11/18/21 08:16 AM
11/18/21 08:16 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723
Maine
M
Mac Offline
trapper
Mac  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723
Maine
Originally Posted by Larry Baer
When I ran long lines I usually had about 150 traps out - maybe 175. I worked until 4:30 then checked traps and got home by midnight most nights. I sold all my coon on the carcass and finished all the rest. My trap line was about 160 miles long. I had to drive about 20 miles on both ends of it.
I had a good system which is what you need or it will cost you a lot and waste time. I moved traps on the weekend and made sure all of the sets were baited Sunday and again Wednesday. I did not carry bait every day but carried lure in a squeeze bottle every night. If I carried bait every day I would get it all over me and the truck... I ran lots of pockets on drowners with some bind sets thrown in where they made sense. Every stop would get at least two sets and some of the best would get a dozen. I usually put 4 pockets below a good pool if the sign was there. All four had drowners and I would usually use only a stake by the bank then run the cables out to deep water and wire them all together. When things worked out sometimes I would have 4 coon or a mink and a rat- you never know, maybe a beaver or coyote too. You have to catch all you can of all species to make any money. The coon pay the gas and the other fur typically pays your wages so you don't want to pass up anything. We have a rule that says we have to check each trap once a day and remove any animal. That's a lot of driving around every day. Here it works well to run traps for two weeks then pull out and go back 3/4 weeks later and do it again in the same sets if the weather isn't too bad. Keep good records and have a notebook full of contacts and plat books of your area. Don't do it on a smart phone cause you'll drop it in a creek and lose it all. I couldn't run traps all season this way. It wears you out. You will need a couple freezers - maybe more- to hold all the fur till you can take care of it. I could never get more than 50 good stops.
Like some of the guys above are saying - always gang set. I had a spot I put in 12 pocket sets and ran them for ten days and got 80 coons - all from just that one spot. Good bait and lure, traps, good habitat, and work your tail off! Oh yeah and the secret to trapping is that there isn't one! Ha!


Very good post Larry. Lot of excellent information, sound advise for anyone want to run hard.
You and I have talked via private mail and you never mentioned running hard pounding combination lines.
Just to show you how different areas of our country are I really noticed " I had a spot I put in 12 pocket sets and ran them for ten days and got 80 coons - all from just that one spot."

That is no doubt possible in corn country. That number would be quite a seasons catch in Maine!

Mac



Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Mac] #7408587
11/18/21 04:22 PM
11/18/21 04:22 PM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,967
new york
M
mike mason Online content
trapper
mike mason  Online Content
trapper
M

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,967
new york
I had 8 sets on a spring run coming off a ridge into a corn field and was hauling 6 coon to the truck one morning when the competition pulled over and check his set at the culvert. He had one coon and commented "one made it through you gauntlet". We still laugh about that moment when we see each other.

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7409637
11/19/21 06:29 PM
11/19/21 06:29 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
T
the Blak Spot Offline
trapper
the Blak Spot  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
#2 jumps are nice, cuz you can work them down in the mud and the big pan sits slightly at the water surface. nice place for mink to step. put a small weed stem so it sits at the water surface and causes the mink to step over onto pan.


the just shall live by faith

member FTA, ATA, EAFT
1776 - the year we told a tyrant we weren't to be under a dictator
Caveat ater macula
Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: Bulksquirrel] #7412703
11/23/21 04:27 PM
11/23/21 04:27 PM
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 17,383
Central Ohio
LT GREY Offline
trapper
LT GREY  Offline
trapper

Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 17,383
Central Ohio
Hey, Blak Spot

In that photo of the snare (mink) with the mini BMI lock, has that lock been 'altered' ?

Re: For the mink and coon guys. (Especially mink) [Re: LT GREY] #7412734
11/23/21 05:01 PM
11/23/21 05:01 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
T
the Blak Spot Offline
trapper
the Blak Spot  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,831
central arkansas
[/b]
Originally Posted by LT GREY
[b]Hey, Blak Spot

In that photo of the snare (mink) with the mini BMI lock, has that lock been 'altered' ?

Howdy! Yes it has. Bent in to @30 degrees(per Eric Space iirc). FYI: I do not crimp the support wire in front of the swivel anymore(learned hardway)


the just shall live by faith

member FTA, ATA, EAFT
1776 - the year we told a tyrant we weren't to be under a dictator
Caveat ater macula
Page 3 of 3 1 2 3
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

Moderated by  Drifter, Wolfdog91 

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1