LOL, no, the mink are smarter in the north, and recognize a box for it's potential, better.

I can see the picture of the minks butt end In that box.

Yeah, the pics are back.

He's winking at ya beav.

What's the word on the boxes Eagleye ?

Mink count = zero
Yesterday I moved all the sets in culverts and under bridges,
The weather conditions buried everything I set in feeder streams
Another 6” last night but at least no blizzard conditions like earlier in the week. Mink like nasty weather... 54” of snow this month- they got it!

Did you see any tracks?

First sets - no tracks, I couldn’t see the tracks I walked in on after I set,
the wind gusts were wicked. I have sign now under bridges- nothing fresh, hopefully they will run the circuit within the next 4 days. I added lure also as the muskrat quarters are freezing at -10 to -16 every night.

Hey PaRay, I had a great year testing mink boxes here, too!


Jim

You have to remember that you are dealing with a rotating jaw trap, that both spring rotate to close. When you put it up to a solid surface the trap has to spring forward, creating a suitcase job. Strike zone 2 in needed. This pic would not do it properly.

With this cold miserable weather I would expect those mink to stay below deck.
As the mating season approaches the boys will get restless. If we ever get that March thaw, the melt will fill all those winter air gaps which helps force them out.
Good luck. Mating is your best chance to see results imho

But won't the season be closed by then?

Maybe.
this has been an unusually long ice season here. I started on walkable ice a couple days prior to gun season and it’s march 1 without a hint of thaw.
I not complaining it was a decent run till late January. March usually is my favorite month though and I’m not trapping.

Test them in the fall early winter.Mink fur is done by now.

Does it matter really?
Personally I think there are easier ways to catch fall mink in WI

That's also my way of thinking.

I back with No Mink!
Some of the nasty weather I've trapped in, wind, cold and snow- still enjoyed being out in it everyday but it was brutal. Sounds like our friends in MN even had it worse, I can't remember ever seeing a Civil Danger Warning for a snow blizzard on the news before. I resorted to wearing waders and I had to dig a fox hole to get under the bridges to check the sets by the end of the week- the plowed snow on the sides of the roads and bridges was up to your neck. I did not see a set of mink or weasel tracks, in areas where I catch both on a perennial basis. I'm more of a pocket set and BE mink trapper but it we want to progress this box concept- I'm happy to make more revisions.

Some don't think the horizontal slots from the back will work. So why not build them with vertical slots near the back. Construction would be a bit more simple.

Thanks for trying.

How would the spring expand? I might not be envisioning it correctly

I just went out and checked It out It's not going to work that way. Oh well back to the drawing board.