I too had better luck with a mink sized hole vs no door just square opening.
Otherwise I ended up emptying a lot of skunks and possums that were taken with 110s in the box.
Location is key. Worked great late season or crappy weather nights.
Jim

Canuck mink are either always hungry or just plain dumb. I even caught them In my elevated marten boxes when I trapped In Canada.
Never worked for me In the lower 48.

Does anyone remember a method that Tom Krause used for mink trapping? He would make a deep hole In the snow bank or dig a hole back In a mud bank. Then with a square section of plywood with a mink sized hole cut In It he would cover the hole.. Then cover the wood with snow or dirt.. The thing I don't member Is how he placed the Body grip behind that section of plywood. The thing I do remember was It actually worked.

Are you now suggesting that the "hole" is an attraction to mink?

I know a fellow who used to take a good number of mink when trapping beaver in the fall just during the freeze up.
He set traps for the beaver at the slides where the beaver came out to mud the house,then he would kick a hole at the waterline at the beaver house,and pin a piece of sucker or muskrat back in the boothole and set a foothold in front.
Beaver houses are one of the better mink magnets.

Do you have a link to this post?

I have caught I don't know how many mink, (hundreds), in boxes. Most with coni's and wood pans. My boxes are short, around 12" deep, with wire mesh backs. I do sort of cover them, but nothing wildly.
I find fresh bait much more important than lure, and really wouldn't waste money on lure at all, for mink.
Location is the single most important factor when targeting mink. They will travel and hunt the same areas/paths/tunnels, over and over.
They are very easy to catch, for the observant trapper.

It seems like the further North you go, the more effective the boxes are. I have not had much luck with them here in Central MN, although my use of them has been limited. They work good for skunk and fisher though, and I am using the 120's with pans.
I have had much better luck with the mink by using the same 120's with pans in a natural cubby constructed along the lake shore or stream edge. They do take some time to construct but work very well. These are baited with very bloody fresh muskrat quarters. The traps are in place but well concealed.

No.

Had very, very little luck with a mink box. I did managed a catch with a mink box just to do it, but haven't used one since.

Go back to my fist post on page 1 and re read it!

This is what I have been doing but have no success yet. They pass by close but show no interest. I have used fresh fish, grass hiding the back and small stuffed animals with big eyes and mink lure. Used a rubber minnow too - lots of mice so tried bird seed and grass nest but caught mice. I have caught them close by the cubby in another set but I don't know if the cubby attracted them or not. I hide mine a little too.
I wax mine too.

Many things wrong with that and the previous post. Mainly, pan trigger traps, set close to the bait, are much more effective than any wire trigger configeration standing up or down at the box entrance. think ABOUT IT.

bc, we have the same results, using pretty much the same set-ups. I give up on sharing what works, because I get bombed with what doesn't!
Hope you had a good season on your side of the ice. We took a lot of snow for you, this year, Buddy!

I think It's about how far North you are as to how effective mink boxes are.
When i did the Canadian thing we caught tons of mink In mink boxes placed On location We even caught 10 mink In elevated marten boxes.
Ive tried the same set ups In the lower 48 and I have had limited success In catching enough mink to make It worth while. So your systems may work In Alaska or BC but not In my part of the country.

Amen to that!

LoL at least try to keep an open mind!!! I'm pretty sure those good box trappers from up North could head South and catch a bunch of mink?

I really don't think so.
I never broke the 100 mark but I came close a few times. Nothing but pocket sets and a few blind sets.

I only use tham just after ice up, rats are isolated inside their houses, mink are hungry and have congregated places where food is abundant (rats), and are in that "burrow into the rathouse" stage they will do after ice up but before the rathouses freeze and just as you can access the ice. The last open water on creeks and streams, "springs" are naturals for this type of trapping. It's all no brainer stuff. If I was to trap open water before ice up, I would use a pocket or blind set and drown "put that mink under water" because most every critter bigger than a mink will eat one on dry land, sxpecially raptors.

I think that it is time to point out that when rats flourish in a slough, bog, bay or other water feature, that this is not generally the same place where mink are generated from, rather it is the place where they stop in their travels on account of all the feed there. So...when you hammer all the early open water rats....there is still a pile of hungry mink around.

Yes that is true Les with your observations.
Guys remember that nobody can argue with the Beav with his one time Canadian illegal trapping trip.
funny how when they pass the Ontario boarder they forget the rules of engagement in going into boxes when coming into Manitoba
only got one mink climbing into a elevated marten box in 35 years