I've never done it, but there are some Iowa boys that catch 100 + every year.

Back in the days when we had lots of lake shore muskrats and out in the sloughs out in the forest 30,40 years ago there were many trapper catching 50 to 80 plus mink up here.Now I think you would have to cover a fair amount of ground to get 20 to 25 mink probably 100 plus traps

For a long liner maybe 100 or more. A recreational trapper 25 or 30. No ROW trapping and mink population fluctuations are the limiting factors. They aren't hard to trap every thing else being equal.

you need unlimited ROW trapping to take numbers. minnesota and iowa are right in the mink belt. good water access most places. we always hoped for 3 weeks of open water, but one year we had a mild fall, and had 6 weeks of open water. basically 2 seasons worth. that year i had a day catch of 64, and a seasons catch of 831.

We are seeing more mink here, I have never targeted them. I caught 3 one year, might try and top that this year. Most of my trapping is damage control, keeps me pretty busy

wws

Should be way easier now for big numbers now that those darn pesky muskrats arent plugging up the sets.

Would be tough here. I have witnessed mink numbers declining here in SE Nebraska. My catches are nowhere near where they were in 80s and 90s, and the sign gets harder to find too.
No clue why but just my observation. My buyer has commented on this to me several times too. Way fewer mink come through his door.
Jim

The last five ,six years at least our mink numbers have fallen off. A number of good minkers across the state have noticed the same thing. Bridges where you basically have been guaranteed a mink or two a season all of a sudden have none. I caught forty this year and in the past the same area would probably had twice that. I assume disease maybe as far fetched as it sounds Covid? I’m in the driftless area in the southeast so the best mink areas are west of me. In my general four county location a hundred mink at one time would be considered an excellent catch. In the flat ditch county of Minnesota I suppose 2,3 hundred would be the elite guys numbers.

If you ran a long line exclusively for mink and didnt do much of anything else in the fall, 50 would probably be doable.

I’ve caught a couple dozen in a season just in beaver and otter traps in a fairly small area. I imagine 100 would be possible if I put my mind to it

Around here if the muskrat numbers are low, the mink numbers are lower too. Mink eat a lot more than muskrats, but there is an impact

When I could trap the Road right a way and we had No check laws for water sets I would normally break the 80 # when trapping mink. Never caught a 100.

That's good trapping, in this area I would have to put on many, many miles to catch that many.

Mink cant be eating muskrats around here, they are virtually extinct and have been for many years, maybe a bonus meal once a month. My mink population has been booming and great the last I had trapped, anyhow.

As you can see traps set and time involved makes a difference most guys i knew considered 20 a great year for 1 /2 weeks trapped back then you had to slip into the water way downstream from your set wear gloves and cover your set with leaves from across the creek I prefered trapping land but always interested in tracks when you had the first good snow of the year every creek had mink tracks nowdays nothing

I’ve never really long lined for mink, but in 2013 I set 15 spots with almost two traps per spot and just trapped around home to the next town west 6 miles…caught 17 mink, and the following year caught 20 in a good rat year out near the lake while rat trapping and 4 were females that I released.

Do you remember what year that was? 831 is an incredible catch! Pics by any chance?

My best is 40. I think it’s dumb luck I got to that amount but I did it one time! A lot of work and a lot of area to cover

Like I said, "Around here..."

Folks like Gerald Schmitt, fossil and blackhammer are in the top spots for mink catches!