I seem to only ask about mink trapping on here, since it’s what I enjoy the most, but I have a few culverts that are frozen, about half full. Obvious tracks in the snow going in and out under the road. I know how to trap it before freeze up here in IN, but I’m not sure how to go about it with solid ice. They’re about 3 feet wide, not a huge culvert, narrow down the entry point somehow? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Any pictures? Can you snare? Lots of snow that you could use to constrict the entrance?

Without pics hard to say for sure but narrowing down the entrance will probably be your best option.

Depends what you're setting for traps. If just mink, I would place 4 squirrel size cages side by side, set up for both directions. Block the rest with sticks, chunks of ice, or whatever. Or #160's if coon and otter are going through too.

Bottom edges

A pocket set of some kind at the approach to the culvert. Make a dry land rock tunnel place some dry sand for trap bedding material in the tunnel. Bait in the back end.

If the ground isn't too hard just dig a trench and cover It with something to create a tunnel.

Mink box (either wood or mailbox type on the ice in the culvert would work here if coon aren't a problem as they mess up every baited mink set they come across. ..................................the mike

My advice with the ice.... dry trail sets like mentioned...bodygrippers in trail and blended. If willing to chop ice Botton Edge sets.
The problem with the B.E. sets if you should have ALREADY have located the location for the set PRESEASON.

The culvert in question.

Set a 110 on either side right where the pipe meets the ice

Like AK Timber said, a bodygripper or a snare if legal set on each side. Pile the snow up in the middle to help force the mink to the edges.

Eric Space takes 2 liter pop bottles and cuts the ends off and puts them in the middle of the culvert opening. He then packs snow all around them leaving a small hole-tunnel through the snow. He sets a snare in the opening.

A body grip in each circle and put more grass in the opening similar to what’s already there

This. Mink are huggers to terrain/walls.
If serious about mink, for next year scout & find good bottom edge sets

The only problem with BE sets Is you miss all the mink that travel the dry ground. And in my opinion mink spend more time on dry land then they do in the water.

I agree.

Bottom edges occur in and out of the water, I don't set for mink in the water, if I catch one in a water set it was set for muskrats and I got lucky. I do set the edges of culverts and bridge abutments, as well as along the edges of creeks above the ice, but under the over hanging banks or brush

The same could be said in reverse, you will miss all the mink that are in the water if all your sets are on land. But I agree, mink are probably on land more than water, but by how much, I dont know....? That scenario in the picture is just a tough one to keep working in this kind of weather, I would brush the heck out of it with grass/weeds and 2 conis on each side like stated earlier.

I've stated these facts over the years about BEs but since there are probably new trappers on this site I'm going to repeat the story. Back in the early 2000s I was hired by Michigan State University to trap mink for a Dioxin Prj that encompassed 44 miles of the "river of concern" and 10 miles of 2 tributary rivers. This Project & waterways were specifically within Midland Co, Saginaw Co. & Bay Co in Central Michigan. What I'm writing does not pertain to WI or OR or AK! I was required by the University's Oversight Committee to only use Bottom Edge sets! The "river of concern" was below a hydroelectric dam which caused the river height to rise & fall 2.5'- 3" every 24 hrs but the tribs were of normal flow.

I trapped the rivers for 3 seasons from Nov 1st of each year until the river ice made the rivers unsafe to work on which was usually around mid-Dec those years. All data from the mink I caught I was verified by other Techs & Scientists that were required to accompanied me on the traplines. This data is recorded in scientific papers at the University and published in national, scientific journals! I would catch a specified number of mink for a required sample size before moving onto another river if conditions were safe.

Since this Project was highly political, there were public hearing during the 3 years I trapped mink and local trappers would give testimony at these meetings that it was impossible for me to catch mink of any number on rivers that they'd trapped for decades and I & MSU were liars. Also, two local fur buyers testified that nobody every caught mink in numbers in the County let alone the rivers! These hearings were published in local newspapers and because of their public accusations the MI DNR agreed with the trappers and required me to repeat my catch performance on a particular stretch of river where their Techs said that there were not enough mink for me to trap. I repeated the catch numbers within their prescribed time period and on that stretch of river again with only BEs!

Now to address this out of water-in the water replies. As I stated previously it is documented in scientific papers & journals that 81% of all the stomach contents of the mink I caught through the duration of the Project and within the time frame I stated previously, contained "aquatic material" with the remaining 19% containing mostly mammalian(voles) material. In addition, every year starting at the season opening I would catch large, older males to such a degree that the Professor always worried that I wasn't catching enough females & younger mink of both genders! So, that's some of the objective, documented facts , not subjective trappers tales, a snapshot of my background of BE experiences in my part of MI that is documented fact! Again, this took place in my part of the country not anyone else's.

This discussion has me cranked tonight, maybe get me a lifetime ban instead a year eh but I love talkin BEs?

As the mink portion the Dioxin Prj just finished with the mink study, the USF&WS had a meeting with my Professor about the mink population on their segment of river and attached marshes. They were getting conflicting info from both their Techs and from trappers who trapped the marshes saying that there were no mink! Their stretch of river was within our testing area but I didn't trap it because we had all the mink the Labs needed. The USF&WS ask me in a sit-down meeting if there were mink on that stretch and I said there certainly were because that stretch of river had the best mink prey habitat of all the rivers I'd trapped during the previous 3 years. They gave me permission to set it using BEs so the next day after the meeting, I with the help of a MSU Tech set 42 BEs. The next morning's check I had a 4 mink and 28 rats! End of story except the river froze the us out 2nd night until spring the USF&WS gave me soul permission to trap all their marshes without bidding!

So, back to this discrepancy about where the mink are, in the water more or on dry land more? Well, I have an educated and experienced opinion about this other then the scientific study. Sure, mink travel on dry land, heck, I've twice seen mink carrying voles in their mouths but I believe these mink are traveling & hunting from one water "honey-hole" to another. Anybody who has trapped mink in freezing conditions has seen were a mink has traveled along the bank, come down on the ice and entered the water. If these folks had paid attention they might have seen where the mink got out of the water and headed out along the bank. What was the mink really doing? It knew from past experience that there was a favorite hunting spot in the water because it contained good prey habitat & structure so why spend time hunting along the bank unless opportunity presented itself! The mink hunted the area, got back out, and proceeded to travel on the bank to the next favorite wet hunting spot!

This is not to say mink are only traveling along the bank. Scientific studies have proven that mink, both male & female have linear distances they use as their own territory but also a preferred distance perpendicular to the waterway!! I also worked on another mink study within the overall Prj where we measured prey cover 100m from the edge of the waterway outward on dry land. Again, this was not a subjective study, measurements were taken every 25m with a special prismatic tool and recorded and we did this every 500m along the rivers.

Thank you Seldom
Very informative and interesting read. Thanks for the report that definitely comes from many days and years of "boots in the water". I trap land and water when out for mink. BE sets are something I'm always looking to improve upon.