Mink Dry or Wet

What percentage of your mink catch is on dry land? I have found over the years mine runs about 50/50 dry land to water, though I do use a lot more water sets.

I have not had good luck on bottom edge sets in my area due to the bottoms generally being sloped muck lots of bottom just few edges. I have read and heard others talk about Johnny Thrope and it seemed he liked to use high dry bank sets and I find those to be more productive on my line by percentage of traps set.

Just wondering what others find on their lines.

I trap the coast of southeast Alaska, and am pretty much 100% dry sets. With the market the way it is, I don't currently set for mink, but still end up with 6-10 a year in my marten sets.

Most of my mink are dry land when I set for them. The wet ones are mostly incidentals caught in coon, muskrat and beaver sets. I'd say 70/30

most of mine are dry but near water to some degree. I run a lot of sets in weedy ditches and grassy waterways, some culverts and field drain tiles, old ponds, etc. I am usually targeting coyotes and coon in these locations and if I see good mink sign or habitat near coyote sets I throw in a few mink sets since I'm at that location anyway. Gives me a few more traps to check and I like catching the little guys, neat little animal with their vampire teeth and ability to squeeze through very small spaces. In crappy weather sometimes they are the only animal moving around here and keeps my line interesting most days.
Jim

I am not bit with the mink chasing bug, but I catch some. I do not really get to them until we are iced in as there are more profitable and satisfying things to me earlier.

But my #1 set if absolutely the bottom edge after ice over. If you are only finding rounded edges in muck you are not looking in the right place. I read and re-read the book but did not get it. Watched the Noonan video and it clicked. Re-visit it but watch the video first or go with someone who catches them on the BE. I often clean out 3-4 rats before I get the mink, which ends up more cash than the mink these days!

Once covered by ice I believe this to be the highest percentage way to catch them, not nearly as effective before the ice.

x2, those parallel grassy trails are the ticket.

I don't do much mink trapping, but when I do 98% are water sets and catches reflect about the same percentage.


Here's a rare dry land catch in a cubbie box, pretty much gave up on them anyway. Water is right there though.

Before Ice up (around Dec. 1st here) its 40% dry, 60% water. An average of 1 mink/10 rats is normal for me in the water. After ice its 80-90% dry---- remember this is the Great Plains converted to production agriculture so a lot more cropland acres exist than cover acres. There are tremendous food sources in mice, voles, shrews, rabbits etc. in the harvested corn/soybean fields away from water. Along with brushpiles, vacant farmsteads, badger digs etc. that mink can live in they are as close to the grocery store as they can get. Unless they find a beaver colony to have some stable water, I don't see or catch many along the water during the frozen water months. We will have more mink in water sets this year due to the flood last year (2019). Lots more high water drift piles create better and more denning sites along our water courses and ma mink responds with better survivalbility of the kits. Have noticed this phenomenon where cover is the limiting factor to mink populations --- plus the coyotes (the major land predator) are being harvested more than normal....... my take....... the mike

When we started picking up mink in coyote sets near weedy ditches and grassy waterways, field drain tiles,, those kinds of drainage systems through corn or bean fields, that's when we started setting for them on purpose in those locations and have not been disappointed for our efforts. Most of our spots if there is any water running its no more than a foot wide at best, and easily blocked down a little for a blind set 110 or 160. Pull some long grasses or weeds over it for a tunnel and its a great blind set for mink.
If I'm hiking back into a field to check a couple coyote traps, I'm generally also checking 3-4 mink blind sets sometimes more, and also some coon sets if sign is there.
Jim

I seldom made any dry sets since I like to drown the catch and bodygrips are not legal if out of the waterway in PA. Consequently 99% of the mink I caught were in water sets. Years ago when I trapped fox I did catch a mink in a dirthole set that was far away from any water.

X2

80% grassy trails and crossover areas.

I've caught 10 mink In dirt holes made for fox that were set along the stream edges.

Bout 66% land 34% water

For me that would be completely based on when/how I was trapping. I grew up on dryland mink in the late 70's and early 80's with my dad on his fox line. He would not allow me to set anything in water so that I wasn't wet and complaining all day and had no body grippers at all, dont think we hardly owned any to speak of. plus setting dry in the brush wasnt where you trapped reds back in those days so it kept me out of his hair so he could concentrate on the high dollar critters. That means even to this day I've got a soft spot for setting banks and even spots quite a ways from water. Bet I was in my mid 20's before I ever caught a wet mink. But I havent trapped dry like that in years. Was probably 15 years ago that I spent a few seasons with a real good small stream/creek mink trapper from western part of the state that has now passed away. Because of that, if I was to run a serious mink line these days before freeze up in this state, I'd likely have about 50/50 mix of wet and dry sets. Fairly convinced at least in these parts that running just one way or the other isnt the best option as we dont have intense mink population. I've gotten away with specialization on things like coon running 100% dry land conibears and had fine luck but with a zillion coon around you seem to be able to get away with that option.

i only mess around with some mink these days when im bored. it tends to always be after freeze up. and the bottom edge tends to have its place and even shine in that weather. but i suspect your water is similar to much of mine---ditched muck/peat in a perfectly straight line with very little structure that may be a foot wide trickle in the middle of a 20 foot wide ditch one day and flooded 20 feet wide and 5 feet deep after the next rain. that terrain makes for a hassle for bottom edges as in you have to spend so much time looking for the one great spot. you may find in those ditches filling the entire thing from side to side and top to bottom with colonies gives you interesting results if the ice holds up and the flooding stays at bay.