I plan on running a mink line this winter mostly just going to plug pocket sets in an go work full time so time is a issue ....wanted to hear your guys thoughts on efficient way to stake the trap usually just use a rebar stake on a long chained coilspring staked to the bank an I'll usually not always pound in a drown stake out In the creek ..what's your guys method

Doesnt take much to hold a mink. Lot of guys use drags for mink, coon won't take em far. Cabling off to a tree works well.

I put mine on a slide cable just so my pocket doesn't get all tore up .

Drowners. We have a lot of coon. You might have problems digging pockets in PA?

Depends on your laws. Most of us run drowners to extend our check time. 48 hour check either allows you to run more traps or cut down on expenses.

When I was running larger mink lines, I always used drowners with either 6' or 8' cables. Kept the catch from destroying the pockets and made checking much easier since the animals most of the time were drowned. Just had to slide the trap back up to the pocket and reset. In the early years I just used t-bars and longer chains but if you caught a coon you normally had to dig an entirely new pocket, pull the t-bar and dig a new pocket. Very time consuming.

I'm sure I'll catch a few coon idk might throw a couple dps in to cut down on that them plugging the mink sets

I have a bunch of window weights an cable drowners made up just hard to find deep water at the right location most of my creeks are shallow little Rocky streams ...an yeah makes it a little tough to dig a pocket but I can get it done

Pocket sets for mink I used a 10’ drowned cable. I keep it simple and use 10’ for everything as I can shorten them on the site if necessary. I want that mink off the set quickly as I can use it again without having to remake. If for some reason I can’t set a cable I use an old school Victor #2 square jaw coil spring. I set the trigger as light as I can get it. It’s the perfect size to normally crush the mink and not have to worry about it twisting off.

Homemade "pockets" with BGs?

This doesn’t answer your staking question but it goes along with Yukon John’s body gripper comment

When I think of winter mink here I’m usually picturing frozen conditions, snow and ice. In some locations we will have open water which is deadly attraction when most is frozen but pretty common to even lose that at some point at least in my area. I prefer to be under ice/water then but pockets seem to perform in dry land conditions where you can essentially antifreeze in or guard them with BGs. Plus we always get warm rainy spell in winter and that sends water levels thru roof. Being at bottom of water column or out of water and dry can save you the hassle of dealing with the flood and keep your sets operating But I may be way off base as you mention rocky streams so maybe your terrain is steep enough you stay ice free all winter?

You'll miss way more mink with BGs than footholds. If you can camo em up with grasses, they will refuse em if they're exposed.

I've noticed that when I run mink boxes after freeze up you'll get a couple but alot just run right by

If the weather isn't real bad, I bet you catch way more coon than mink in pockets. Most places i trap you can't drown a coon. Cable stakes or rebar or long chains and grapples hooked into the brush, all depends on the situation. Lots of really rocky creeks here where staking or digging pockets is almost impossible. I would use other kinds of sets also. High water buries pockets and mink move good in those conditions.

I’ve got a buddy thst would catch a few in boxes so I gave it a try. My luck was pretty poor too. And any warm weather makes for dealing with dirty coon springing sets. Messing with them more we both found they improved when basically brushed in. Good spots were frozen ditches/streams full of tall grass or cattails. They’ll run the ice edges and you coujd use the grass to bury a box in, looked even better after some snow fell on it. I used box with no closed ends basically as a tunnel though to try and get them to go thru like some guys will use piping/cuivert materials. Sorta making up a blind set where one didn’t exist prior. I’ve seen others do same in shallow fast running water with boards or rocks. And lots of folks will cover spring runs over to make a tunnel too. In many of those cases id prefer footholds but BGs have some advantages for length of check time and in snow thieves can easily follow along so staying away and hidden has some advantage too. Snares woukd be nice option but not allowed here. But in the end i way prefer an established blind/trail set 120 if you have the spot over spending time making a tunnel that may not be used.

Maybe Yukon John will give more details on what he was thinking too. On high bank streams Ive dug in winter pockets quite a bunch above water/ice level and set thise. A big pocket/hole they will enter can be set with foothold using dry dirt in the entrance. But trying to avoid footholds I’ve also guarded big pockets with BGs. They seem to need to be broken up pretty well with dry grass etc. your high banks might be too rocky fir that type digging also.

I know nothing about mink trapping, was just trying to think outside the box.

So true