Well, I definitely missed one, maybe 2 today. The snow sure tells you a lot. I missed one in a pocket set for sure and possibly had one squeeze through the triggers of a body grip that i had set up in a hole on a high bank. Looks like he went right through the very middle of the opening as it was the only spot not covered in snow.

Todd,

You possibly need to tune your body gripper properly, shape the trigger wires properly, and start the trigger. Also check and make sure your trap didn't freeze to the ground as last night was real cold as you know.

Hogwild, can you share what traps your using, and how are you setting up the connibears? Do you set on a brick?

Randy, it was a 257 but set for a coon and not a mink. Forgot to lighten the trigger. And, no, it was not frozen to the ground. I will try a new trigger configuration today on a couple 257's I set purposefully for mink, one being the aforementioned trap.

I use mostly 110's but on this patch of ground I didn't have any with me so I used a little larger trap, called a 257, that a friend used to make. It can be set hard for coon or light for mink. I think WCS now makes that size. As for bottom edge sets, I have some bricks set up for 110's. If setting directly on the ground, a couple small twigs/branches can be used underneath them if in freezing conditions.

Mink no.14

Love the thread I’m heading out to set some pocket sets tomorrow ( never trapped mink before ) are mink boxes worth using ?

I can't say anything about the mink boxes because I just set my first cage last week. I'm mostly a pocket set guy but have recently started setting some body grips and colonies for them along with rats.

PVC pipe cubby with muskrat meat for bait..I made two of these sets

Plenty of tracks in this creek bottom

Mink ran right through this spot so I put a 110 there...

Bottom edge set right where anything that is hugging the bottom there might just run into my trap...we'll see...

And I got a half dozen baited 110's through some sketchy ice for rats on the pond....but I didn't venture far out on it at all..

Those sets look nice. Good luck and keep us posted on your success.

Can you guys help me out on best footholds for mink? I currently have duke 1.5. Will they work?

very well i believe

In my opinion they are the best 1 1/2 coil on the market. Put Mike Kelly's Wild River pans on them and you have a trap that is hard to beat. Without the Wild River pans they are still one heck of a trap but the Wild River pans make them even better.

How much pan tension?

i like to tighten it down till it stands by itself then slowly back the screw off till it drops on its own.mink are awful light critters.

Make your pan free falling. Also a shot of WD-40 on the pan bolt and nut will make it move smooth and easy. As PCR said , mink are light and if too much tension is used you may miss some.

I agree. Most of my mink traps are double jawed dukes.

Do tell the Fisher story unless I'm mistaken, you ain't getting that critter in a 110. Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me....

Unless you folks have some interesting chemistry going on in God's country that looks like a mink's larger cousin..

I do think we will see them open up here in WMA 1A too.....

We now have a large number of coyote here, bears are moving back in, and I want to see the Pine Martin start eating all these squirrels and other vermin.

I too have Duke traps now since that's what my local supply house carries in stock. (can't be much of a market for the guy so I'm grateful he's here at all and will continue to buy supplies from him)

So far the only complaint I have with Dukes is the chain has some pretty sharp ends on each link from the manufacturing, other than that they work well.

i've watched this one work since archery season.he lived in a giant blowdown of hemlocks with a hidden spring pond.for weeks i've watched in the snow wwhere he'd go to 2 big beech trees with porkies in them.he'd climb them and look all around for them but not once was he foolish enough to go in the bottom hole and be looking at the wrong end of the porky.caught him in a walk through set with venison fat for bait.