I have a couple lengths of that drain tile
I suppose next fall if we are done combining corn in time before freeze up I will try to dig some trenches. I did some on top of ice bottom edge sets today, blocked the outside and top with rocks so it is a tunnel with no bait. Also set a hole where I saw tracks, and set another pipe that was half buried already. We shall see
I have a fairly substantial line out right now for mink (22 traps). A little discouraging but once they make their loop back through it could be feast, or it could be famine. Thank you for the info. I hope more keep adding to it, as I am definitely learning a lot. Spent the day skinning coon so this is a nice break for the hands.

Beav's got the right idea. I don't have any of these out this year but if mink prices continue to climb it might be time to get these back out. My 4" drainpipes are all about 3' long. In the middle there's a small hole (maybe 3/8") drilled then a sharp knife makes a slit away from the hole for maybe a half inch. This accepts a couple of Q-tips that can be placed into the pipe, head down, then pushed into the slit to hold 'em tight. I dip these in different lures prior to inserting. Sometimes mink lure, sometimes weasel lure, and also muskrat all call. The pipe also has a 1/2" hole drilled top to bottom less than a foot from both ends. This allows a 3/8" or 1/2" rerod stake to be plunged through to hold the pipe in place. Now, at both ends you'll need to cut the plastic away to allow your trap to set inside the pipe just a little bit. I use #1 Bridger coilsprings. Strong small trap. And I modify it with a Duke #1 1/2 pan. The Duke #1 1/2s now have the Wild River pan. Each #1 coilspring trap is hooked up to a drowner cable that terminates in deep enough water to drown a 'coon, just in case. This same terminal end has another drowner cable running to a trap aways from the pipe. Usually this is another foothold in a blind set. This way you'll have 4 working traps with two terminal ends.

Pipe has a wad of grass stuffed into it, about half way down. Pipe is set along the water's edge, but fully in shallow water. Snugged to a vertical bank works very well. Stake in place with both rerods, dip your Q-tips and insert 'em into the slit, then prep the substrate at each end to accept the #1 coilspring. You can cover the pipe with marsh grass, weeds, bark . . what have you along the shoreline. Get your drowning system in place, set trap and snug into place, and get your side sets made up.

You'll get muskrats and mink. An occasional 'coon but if your trap is set inside the pipe your chances become less. No bait. Nothing to rot and stink up later. Until it gets cold and stays cold. Then a muskrat haunch stuffed down into the pipe works very well. That grass wad shouldn't be so thick it blocks air flow, yet doesn't allow the mink to see through the pipe. As the Beav says . . if the mink thinks the hole goes somewhere and has an exit you'll have a better chance of having that mink enter the pipe.

Stock Bridger #1 and then with the Duke #1 1/2 pan.



Ready to go, though that copper tag will be blackened up just a bit.



And the Duke #1 1/2 with the Wild River pan.



The small coilspring trap is easily taken to deeper water by most mink and 'rats. It's a good set, takes some tinker time, but unless you have water up and down issues, should work well for you in those open creeks and rivulets that tend to remain open in winter when it doesn't get too cold out. Keep the pipe in flowing water. This will help prevent freeze up.

Hey Mike, In most cases I only set them in the dead of winter and in most cases the streams were froze over so there was little or no coon activity. And sometimes in the early season I wouldn't bait them just because of coon. And I still caught mink because of the curiosity thing.

And yes, your totally right about a mink kill. They always come back to the kill site to finish what's left.

I am going to make a set similar today, although this will be on the ice, along a vertical bank that has mink tracks. I will be using a 150 on each end of the pipe. With sardines or beaver meat inside

Good luck, and anchor your traps well. Coon are in rut and on the move,

I would think you'll start seeing success with a nice line out like that! Good luck and please keep us posted!

I will add another thing to consider: When you find mink tracks, follow them the best you can. Often you will find where they spend extra time in one spot, and there will be lots of tracks. This might be an area only a foot square. Or it might be a little trail going back and forth, say from a creek bank to a stump or old pile of wood, or something else. Those can be hot spots and will be a place they check each time they travel that area.
The point being you can make new places for them to "check out", but the best places will be where they are already hunting when they pass through. Set on sign, literally where they left tracks before.

Good luck.
Those black pipes are going to draw sun light and will sink into the ice so you should cover them with snow. And by covering them you will make that set more attractive.
I would use foot holds. I never had much luck trying to force a mink or even muskrats through an exposed BG. But if that's what you're going to use spread the trigger wires, so you keep them out of the mink's face. You could add a trip wire to those BG triggers and that will improve your catch.

It was actually very warm here today. I ended up placing the pipe half in water, half out. It is moving water and I've had a 150 in it that hasn't froze so they will stay operational. The pipe is half submerged I'd say. I've caught a couple mink this year in 110s. I put circle triggers on my smaller body grips (150 on down), but may switch to trip wire if I notice refusals.
I have followed the tracks as best as I can. The little crack heads have been running the edges of the ice and checking absolutely every hole along the way. I did find a spot where multiple times they have come out of the water now, so I set a submerged foothold there as I don't have much faith in un natural cubbies at this point.

Isn’t it a little late for mink trapping? They have to be past their prime at this time of year.

Not that I know diddly about anything, Here's why I don't use box cubbies much. I quit following mink tracks 30 years ago in a fresh snow. Discouraged losing too many at open water, heavy grass, cattails, etc.. I did start BACKTRACKING mink tracks then to SEE where they came from and discovered many places they fed and laid up. You might be surprised at the difference following where they are going (bounding/hopping, hunting or seeking mate etc.) and where they spent time AFTER they were done traveling. Abandoned beaver dens are #1 here along with rock riprap erosion barriers, large driftwood piles, and badger holes close to water seemed to be over day (not night LOL) "motels" here and they did not emerge immediately after a snowfall. Would pass an old beaver bank house or den hole daily many times and suddenly a mink track would emerge coming out. The light came on (dimly I might ad) when I backtracked one to a culvert plunge pool and saw where he spent some time in a crevice of the stream side that split from the bank and led to a high water bank hole. There were no tracks entering (and I scoured the area pretty good) so I surmised he probably had been in there sleeping "it" off from hunting the pool then came out and headed upstream where I cut his track. Caught that (or another) mink there when I saw tracks entering that crevice 8 days later BUT ONLY AFTER I left 2 BG's guarding the entrance/exit for 4 days! We had snow cover so I could see if there was any new coming or going and there was only 1 set of tracks entering. If you have ever seen a mink cache you probably know what I thought ---- frogs, chubs, and/or panfish stored in there and after a while it was time to leave. In MN I backtracked 1 to traveling from a tag alder swamp up to feeding on a guy's 300 lb. dead hog by a farm place and actually caught 3 there in 2 days (pretty rare but never pass up a look at a carcass now). Just a couple of my "discoveries" that vary a little from the majority. My experience. ....................the mike

Large carcasses are a real draw when it comes to winter mink trapping.
While scouting a new area I discovered a dead deer in the creek. It had washed up in a debris pile. But the great thing about It was all the mink sign. The mink had a beat down trail along the edge of the creek. Then they were jumping from the bank onto a large rock and then running down a log to get to the carcass. Those mink did not what to get wet. So, I replaced that rock with a large chunk of sod. I didn't set it till the next week. When I came back the mink were using the sod has a landing spot. I bedded a #2 coil on that sod and cut up some grass and blended in the trap. Back at that time we didn't have this exposed bait law, so I was good to go. I'm not sure on the number of mink I caught but it was at least 5. With a little work you could make some sets like this. The quarters off a road killed deer would work and if you have a exposed bait law you could cover it to make it legal. You just have to make It so the mink can't access the bait without having to jump on to some landing spot.
I did over the years set up some of these sets and they all took mink. But it is a fair amount of work but back then mink were averaging in the $40.00 range so it was worth the effort. I did think about making 2 landing spots so I could catch doubles. But I never did it.
And yes, back tracking mink is something you should do. But it could also just be a waste of time just like tracking a mink to see where it is going and what's it doing. But it does show the tracker how a mink reacts to different situations. And you will get some exercise while doing it. LOL

I see no difference in tracking and back-tracking other than which way you are oriented to the tracks. There is NO DIFFERENCE. Tracks point one way or the other, unless you see a mink standing in them, they show you where the mink was.

That is how I feel also. Not to mention it seems the mink in each creek just make a big loop anyway. I have rarely seen any tracks in the snow going multiple directions. This tells me trail sets should work great. We have a slight warm up here now, I have caught some mink and learned a ton this season about them and their habits. I may hang up the mink sets and focus on skunk for the next week or 2, then it's on to prepare for spring beaver work!