Back before we lost are ROW trapping I only started setting “boxes” (I used cubbies made from 6” drain tile), when things started freezing up. If I could have kept water sets going I would have never set a cubby, success rate was too low. The mink were there just very little interest in a cubby with some fish or part of a muskrat. I don’t think it was too hard for a mink to get a meal.

That sounds reasonable,but i dont know any trappers who just target mink to get high numbers,they are incidental fur at best while trapping the more valuable species.
Like I said why run by fur thats there for the taking in boxes in situ that produce reliably year in and year out?
They dont preclude blind setting on the line thats for sure.That said I agree with tomcat,boxes out perform any other mink set in bad weather which often sets in a few days after the season opens.

Mink used to be worth good money and a lot of trappers went after big numbers, the hard core guys getting 500-600-700 plus. I was never that hard core but mink do get in your blood and it’s hard to stop. The State of WI helped me out there.

The few guys that targeted them here when prices were high were not more than 200 mink.most taken in boxes in situ in proven reliable locations that produce year in and year out.One guy used a pan triggered special mink trap made by LDL and was very successful mink trapper.The entire trap fit right inside the box.
Those guys would only set for mink only for about 2 or 3 weeks,once marten season started only the boxes en route would be set but the bulk of their mink trapping would be done in two weeks.
If I get a chance to talk with Ovila I will ask him about his big catches and the trap he used.

the largest mink catches come from farm country, and its all road trapping. no snow mobiles, argos, snow shoeing, etc, through wilderness areas. no lines laid out for fox, lynx, marten, fisher, etc, where you can take mink as a by-product. mink were the target, and coon/rats were the by-product. we usually had 2-3 weeks of open water to make our catches, then the cold weather came in. creeks and drainage ditches were level full of snow and couldnt even be located/seen in alot of areas, and the mink left there never came out from under the snow and ice. that was quitting time for mink.

a few tricks can up your odds on a mink box, like pan activated triggers, well blended boxes, weathered lumber, etc, but youre increasing your odds from about zero percent, to maybe 1 percent. you couldnt run enough boxes to cover 1% of the cost of gas alone. boco says "why run past fur thats there for the taking"? we didnt run past anything, we took all that was available at that location, and ran maybe 100-125 locations per day. very few beaver in these areas, and no season on otter back then either.

You Canadians keep putting boxes up in trees for mink, my moneys on the midwestern pocket setter or eastern bottom edger/blind setter.

Hay boxes work here to in Pa, you just have to have a lot of them out. Most of my mink do come in runs with 160s but boxes get the ones that do what they are not suppossed to do......jk

Its all about the calories required to keep warm and hence available food sources. Our average cornfield (and we have millions) has 10,000 mice/acre (or maybe just 50 LOL). THIS IS NO-TILL COUNTRY so the tillage that is done other places does not occur here. Any ground dwelling animals are boosted in #'s by not having their young buried with older farming techniques (Plowing, discing, cultivating etc.,.) Predators can then fill their calorie needs about anywhere a cornfield bordering a creek. I'll include this picture to support my Opinion. Glance over my shoulder at the few trees at the bottom of the field behind me and that is the creek where a mink might be and can get a mouse meal w/o going very far or spending a lot of effort................... the mike P.S. nice badger huh?

I’ve had great luck with mink boxes but I also run a lot of blind sets with 110s. For boxes I wait until late in year when coon aren’t as active. Bait I use fish, shellfish oil, mink gland lure, sometimes a quarter fresh rat carcass. Late season when things are frozen up I’ve had pretty good luck with them.
Super heavy cover near where the groceries are for mink like thick cattail stands at ponds with some trails going through them. Beaver dams when creeks are frozen are great. Also little humps of land jetting out into a pond or creek. Set on sign. Cover the box with brush and grass where possible. Mine aren’t deep boxes and I too use screen on back side. I just use 110s and no wood pans but I spread my triggers a little to cover more area. MB 110 clips screwed to bottom at the opening provide stabilization. One slot for a spring.
Be sure to hang grass down over the opening and that seems to work so mink pushes it’s way in through the grass and it’s too late when triggers fire.
Most the little creeks and ponds on my line here have good grassy or cattail cover and good mink habitat for hunting. Pretty easy to slap in a box and go. Generally I throw in a couple blind trail sets at each spot too. Usually glad I did but catches are about 50/50 boxes to blind.
On my coyote line I run mink sets on the side to keep things interesting in winter. 110s are cheap and you can carry quite a few easily. They work just fine for me on mink even some pretty big males. I walk into most of my coyote spots. Takes only a couple extra minutes to check a few mink sets while I’m in there. So worth the effort. Water ways in fields, ponds, creeks, all good spots.
Stake well here to let a coon pull out for incidentals.
Jim

Sorry,No farm country here,lol.
I got tons of pics of mink caught in boxes and I only started carrying a camera on the line a few years ago.

More than 2000 lbs of pictures, you still using stone film like the flintstones?

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

So there is one difference you keep looking for. We have more farm country and Ag land down here than you do.

Different land use will create different creature habits.

I tried every trigger, for wire I likes the bmi trigger, tried the barker pans, and 1/4” plywood. Tried monofilament and the fine cable with ferrules.

Look at a UP mink and a SD mink they are way different in size and colors adjustments would be needed to rack them up in numbers.

That’s true Lawdog, when I trapped in the Red River Valley them was some big mink, if I had a live one I could saddle it up and ride it to the truck.

It must be something to do with harsh conditions, and food supply. Doubt if the mink in Canada, would pass up a free meal. I've caught a few mink in box's, but if I set both box's and pockets, in the same location, I know where the mink is going to be in the morning. We don't have harsh weather here, and I think you need that, for box's to outshine other sets.

One big problem with boxes in WI is in most cases, by law, they're going to have to be checked daily.

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Also, you are not allowed to store them on public state. Land after the seasons are over even without traps in them.

I know this because several years ago I was storing my rat floats in the brush along a secluded shoreline on state land and was kindly advised to remove them by the area warden. This was in the spring after the season had closed. Was going to leave them there till the next fall. No ticket just a verbal warning which was much appreciated. He recognized them from the previous fall season and that they might be mine.

Have no idea what that means I use a fuji waterproof camera.
Survived several beaver baptisms so far.