what are all your favortie mink sets and why. pictures would be appriciated.

west i pretty much just use blind sets on trails down here look in the grass for them might have to look really close some of there trails want be over 2 r 3 inches wide

how do you know the mink is travelling threw there.. it could be a muskrat and there really hard to locate/

The mink naturally fallows streams and the shorlines of streams. That's how they find their food. Besdies, nothing wrong catching a muskrat!

lol.. i just really want to target minkk.. i can catch muskrats no problem.. i think i will just take a bucket and dig it into the bank and then just put a 110 in it.vi will just lave it at sloos for a week and if nothing then move it on.. i will put some mink lure in the back..

Things like this is why allot of the more experienced trappers stopped answering questions. If your not going to take the advise they give, why bother asking.

You don't always catch what you target.

true tranpfool, but like iowatrapper said stick to your blind and pocket sets, im not really sure about this 110 bucket idea... i would just stick to the anwsers you asked for.

Mink, Muskrat, coon, all work the same water! And pockets will take them all! Dont make things hard, keep It simple. Ive taken thousands of mink with pocket sets baited with fish.

archives

if your gonna leave that trap there for only 1 week hoping to only target mink you may wind up dissapointed.......i've had mink sets go untouched for up to 2 weeks before they connected. and these sets were in "minky" spots.

catch those coon and rats........a lot of times the disturbance to the area will attract the mink more so.

if im targeting mink i wil take what i get and if the animal that i catch isnt a mink i will think of it as a bonus and re make and repeat imo.
,sportsman13

thanks everyone. /

The hardest part of mink trapping is getting your trap in front of mink. If you have your traps set on one side of a stream and they travel the other side you are in for a long wait. As soon as you get a light snow get out and take note of exactly where the mink are traveling, where one goes another will follow. Keep these spots in your head look for others with similar circumstances. If you find good travelways they will stay good for years to come.
Blind sets pocket sets what ever sets absolutely need to be right in the minks travel route, five or six feet off on a baited set is no good.
If you are catching rats use rats as bait no lure.

to the =y tend to chew there legs off. if so howlong usually untill they do..

Catch a small muskrat and sacrifice it as bait to make a few pocket sets covering both sides of the creek. Make sure to place the trap properly...mink are the masters of bait theft!!

what sort of backing should i put on it?

Use the pocket sets. Blind sets work very good also but get started with the pockets. This will take some of the guess work out of trying to figure out where to put a blind set. With the pocket set - the mink COMES TO YOU. Take a tile spade, sharpen the blade and use pocket sets. Dig the pocket back about 14 inches or so. Bait them with fish. If you are on a small creek or stream dig a couple of pocket sets on BOTH banks of the stream. Why two on each side? So if you take a raccoon or rat in one the other will be working AND if the mink decides to stay on only one side of the creek, you will have sets waiting for him no matter which side he takes to swim down.

Additionally - Get the Mega Mink MEthods video This video will make you realize that mink aren't "smart" but they are in fact a rather "dumb" animal.

mcb

No animals do that it is a long standing myth. Only raccoons chew and its on the toes below the trap jaws where they have went numb.

Some animals, muskrats mainly, twist around in the traps if held alive and will twist out but, they DO NOT chew their leg off.

~ADC~

ADC, thanks for pointing that our to our young trapper friend here.

And jimby is right. I read the artciles and books of probably one of the greatest mink trappers of all time and he has a very simple philosphy: KISS. Not the the metal band, but this: Keep It Simple Stupid! It's genious.

Now, I don't want a big ol' debate here, but I'll throw a few pointers out for the blind sets: 1. Look for natural pockets. Put a trap or two on each side. 2. A culvert is an AWESOME set. All you need is a 110 or if theirs water deep enough to drown a mink the simple 1 1/2 coil is perfect. 3. Grassy trails leading from bridges is a good spot too. Placing a 160 in the trail is great. 4. Fallen logs across strams are not only hot spots for coon, but also mink, so place a 160 there.

Bait theft: My experience tells me,that small rodents, coon and shrews clean out pockets. I heve never dug a pocket deeper than a foot, so coon may be reaching in and stealing my bait. But Its not worth worrying about,After putting bait in a hole the smell will linger intill you re-bait. Mink can get in and out of pockets without getting caught and might take the bait.