Everything Mink Boxes

I am looking for advice from guys who use mink boxes with some success. I am currently using 15" to 18" long mink boxes with wire mess covering the bait end. My trap is sitting 3 to 4" in with wood mink pans installed on 120s. My situation is that there are very few to no creeks in my area and any that are there are typically dry come trapping season. My mink trapping is almost exclusively around sloughs. I know there are mink around as I caught 6 this year in a variety of non mink sets. Here is what I have tried with no success. I have tried putting entire skinned muskrat carcasses in my box and this year I tried chicken as I had a old timer tell me that is what he used years ago. I used either Caven's Mink Master lure or Lennon's Mink All Call on a stick placed inside the box on the bait. One or the other but not both lures. Keep in mind that I trap in west central MN for the month of November so I get plenty of Freeze/ thaw everyday. The beginning of the season is open water and the sloughs are completely froze by Thanksgiving when I pull my line.

My questions are most pertaining to what baits or lures you have had success with around sloughs. I was thinking about using chunks of carp which lead me to would a can of tuna in oil work better so it wouldn't dry out. If you use fish, i.e. carp, do you use it fresh/ right out of the freezer or do you taint it a little first. Otherwise I might try muskrats again but maybe just cut off the hind quarters so the guts don't rot and stink up the bait so bad. My last thought was a chunk of beaver meat. Do I taint that or use fresh?

Second thing is how well to you conceal you boxes? Do I completely cover it with cattails or grass so just the opening is showing or can I just sit it along the edge of the water? Some sloughs, the grass or cattails can be 10 feet from the edge of the water if the water level has gone done which typically happens in my area in the fall. My thinking is close to the waters edge is better than the edge of the grass especially when there is open water.

Last thought is about the design of the box. Has anyone ever tried, designed, or had luck with a fully closed box like weasel boxes but with a bigger hole. I would still us the 120s with pans. It would just mean that they would have to get into the box to see the bait and I might get less refusals. I rarely see tracks because the ground is froze and typically there is no snow.

I know that there is a lot there but any advice you can give me on any of the questions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Schmattz

When using baited box cubbies, the key to reasonable success IMO is to consider all the following when setting them:

---Whether using footholds or body grip traps, the main things to remember about the boxes are to set on LOCATION where mink travel, camouflage the box well with surrounding vegetation/snow or whatever and HIDE the BAIT with dry grass so the mink will enter the box searching for it, and keep the bait fresh.

---The best location for boxes is at beaver pond outlets, overhanging banks, small feeder stream entrances with larger water courses, at active and abandoned beaver lodges and alongside open water areas of frozen streams.

---Use a box with a wire mesh back for air/scent flow and see-through effect and with an entrance cover with a 2 ½ inch hole. Mink explore holes all the time and thus it's my opinion, and experience, that the hole is an attraction to them. Another advantage of the restrictive entrance hole is that when trapping a farm area, it restricts barn cats from entering as well as other non target species


---USE A PAN TRIGGER SETUP. Although mink are accustomed to tunnelling through vegetation, it is my understanding and experience that, many will often balk at the cold, hard and stiff wires in their face at the box entrance and shy away from entering. Whereas with a pan trigger trap set CLOSE to a concealed bait at back of the box, and nothing in their face, they will proceed to enter and investigate further thus stepping on the pan and getting caught.

---Place your lure (weasel gland) on a small bush at back of the box low to the ground and close to the box.

Further to my previous post is a picture of my 14 inch plus box: My preferred bait is muskrat hind quarters, beaver or fish in that order.

Up here I use whole herring in back of the box/bucket for bait. Open water or not I always set on the edge of the grass line and cover the box with grass or snow. I like keeping the opening as open and inviting as possible. The only lure I use is fish oil in a squirt bottle. A shot in the box and a line from the opening out about 4 ft.

If you caught 6 in none mink sets what attracted them to that location? Terrain/food/or lure? There is a reason the mink went there and I would be putting your mink sets there next year.

I have eliminated that swinging door with the entrance hole in it. There is a loop of monofilament fishing line between the bent triggerwires, offering the most inviting hole for a mink to dart through.
I have tried wooden pans to, and run an equal amount. Wooden pans are easier to deal with in the cold and wind than rethreading your mono after a catch.

Any thoughts on the Victor M144 Power Kill rat trap for weasel?

bctomcat - what bait are you using in your boxes?
HFT AK - I did catch 6 in a varity of non mink sets nut none in the boxes. 2 of them were caught within 10 feet of my mink box. One was in a muskrat 110 with a carrot on the trigger in open water 10 feet out from shore, actually caught two this way the same day. The second was in a 220 on a raccoon trail that ran along the shore. The direction it was heading it looked to have passed right by my mink box. I know they are there but I am not catching them.
Trapper les - You said that you eliminated the swinging door. Why?
Wild1Ric - I use Victor Rat Traps M326 for weasels in my weasel boxes with good success. See the last video posted on my YouTube channel for the proof.

Thanks for your help guys. Keep it coming. Especially about bait and lure around sloughs.

Schmattz

My preferred bait is muskrat hind quarters, beaver or fish in that order.

I set one box with a 120 in the entrance this past season. Trap had a wooden coni-pan on it. My boxes are around 14" long and a wire mesh back. The set was in the cattails right tight up against a mink run baited with a whole muskrat carcass. Caught a big buck mink the 2nd night.

Location is key to the box’s. Trapping around sloughs. If you can’t find a mink trail. Set your baited cubbies on the rabbit trails. Mink are them hunting rabbits as well.

I tried the mink boxes but catch very mink....lots of skunk, possums and coon. 155 trap set in a notched wooden box that is about 16 inches long mesh in back. Bait is road killed rabbit, skinned muskrat or fish.

I run my mink boxes after freeze-up locks the ice in. Tracking mink in snow is easy and you'll learn where they run. One of my favorite set ups this year was a box next to a culvert in the brush. I'd cover with dry grass if available. Bait was the back half of a muskrat and sometimes a hunk of steelhead. Tried walleye heads but didn't catch any with just the walleye. The walleye heads didn't have a lot of smell compared to the steelhead. Also a small smear of weasel lure on the inside top of the box. This year I saved up a bunch of smelt heads. Had good luck with them and whole smelt in previous years. I also switched to 120's in most of my boxes instead of the 110's for stability.

Trapper Les - How are you holding the fishing line to the trigger wires?

Schmattz.

From another post a while back...

Has anyone made/use a Norway style Mink box?

The only (and I mean ONLY) success I have had with a ground mink box here (snow or no snow) is when I find a 1/2 eaten rat in one of my traps and I pull a box (plastic route box or wooden) from the truck, stuff the rat back in it and guard it with a BG. When i trapped in MN for 4 years, I caught 8 mink in 220 boxes setting for coons the first year. 27 was my high with them but split between coon size and mink size boxes. Caught many short tailed weasels in them in the winter to boot! I believe all predators respond more favorably to calorie availability (prey or carrion) with every mile you head farther north in the winter. Baby its cold outside! And the need for fuel to feed the furnace is greater in Canada than in Missouri!!!!! I set mink boxes (110 size) here for close to 20 years with nothing but coon interference. Your/My rat in a trap, discovered by a mink, cannot be drug anywhere farther than the chain length so he will be back the next night to try again and your box is ready. That is the only luck I have with a ground box as a mink set here. ............ the mike

Silicon tubing that you get from your automotive store, this stuff came from the furnace guy. There are a few sizes too, just like there are a couple of guages of wire that triggers are made from.

I eliminated the swinging door because it's more inviting, and not a legal issue. but at one time, I was deluded into thinking the door with a hole in it was somehow more enticing to the mink...but these boxes are multipurpose to me, and will catch weasel, skunk, marten, regularly, and I have picked up otter and fisher as well. That is rare though.

Timing too (for mink) rat sloughs right after freeze up, or open water spots left after freeze up are good spots.

Trapper les that is very interesting because I was also going to add a door of some sort to a few of my boxes to try it out because of them liking holes to investigate. I also have caught muskrats, skunks, and raccoons in my boxes with no door.

Thanks for all the information guys.

Schmattz

I set my boxes at the mink magnets
I wax my 120s.

I too had better luck with a mink sized hole vs no door just square opening.
Otherwise I ended up emptying a lot of skunks and possums that were taken with 110s in the box.
Location is key. Worked great late season or crappy weather nights.
Jim

Canuck mink are either always hungry or just plain dumb. I even caught them In my elevated marten boxes when I trapped In Canada.
Never worked for me In the lower 48.

Does anyone remember a method that Tom Krause used for mink trapping? He would make a deep hole In the snow bank or dig a hole back In a mud bank. Then with a square section of plywood with a mink sized hole cut In It he would cover the hole.. Then cover the wood with snow or dirt.. The thing I don't member Is how he placed the Body grip behind that section of plywood. The thing I do remember was It actually worked.

Are you now suggesting that the "hole" is an attraction to mink?

I know a fellow who used to take a good number of mink when trapping beaver in the fall just during the freeze up.
He set traps for the beaver at the slides where the beaver came out to mud the house,then he would kick a hole at the waterline at the beaver house,and pin a piece of sucker or muskrat back in the boothole and set a foothold in front.
Beaver houses are one of the better mink magnets.

Do you have a link to this post?

I have caught I don't know how many mink, (hundreds), in boxes. Most with coni's and wood pans. My boxes are short, around 12" deep, with wire mesh backs. I do sort of cover them, but nothing wildly.
I find fresh bait much more important than lure, and really wouldn't waste money on lure at all, for mink.
Location is the single most important factor when targeting mink. They will travel and hunt the same areas/paths/tunnels, over and over.
They are very easy to catch, for the observant trapper.

It seems like the further North you go, the more effective the boxes are. I have not had much luck with them here in Central MN, although my use of them has been limited. They work good for skunk and fisher though, and I am using the 120's with pans.
I have had much better luck with the mink by using the same 120's with pans in a natural cubby constructed along the lake shore or stream edge. They do take some time to construct but work very well. These are baited with very bloody fresh muskrat quarters. The traps are in place but well concealed.

No.

Had very, very little luck with a mink box. I did managed a catch with a mink box just to do it, but haven't used one since.

Go back to my fist post on page 1 and re read it!

This is what I have been doing but have no success yet. They pass by close but show no interest. I have used fresh fish, grass hiding the back and small stuffed animals with big eyes and mink lure. Used a rubber minnow too - lots of mice so tried bird seed and grass nest but caught mice. I have caught them close by the cubby in another set but I don't know if the cubby attracted them or not. I hide mine a little too.
I wax mine too.

Many things wrong with that and the previous post. Mainly, pan trigger traps, set close to the bait, are much more effective than any wire trigger configeration standing up or down at the box entrance. think ABOUT IT.

bc, we have the same results, using pretty much the same set-ups. I give up on sharing what works, because I get bombed with what doesn't!
Hope you had a good season on your side of the ice. We took a lot of snow for you, this year, Buddy!

I think It's about how far North you are as to how effective mink boxes are.
When i did the Canadian thing we caught tons of mink In mink boxes placed On location We even caught 10 mink In elevated marten boxes.
Ive tried the same set ups In the lower 48 and I have had limited success In catching enough mink to make It worth while. So your systems may work In Alaska or BC but not In my part of the country.

Amen to that!

LoL at least try to keep an open mind!!! I'm pretty sure those good box trappers from up North could head South and catch a bunch of mink?

I really don't think so.
I never broke the 100 mark but I came close a few times. Nothing but pocket sets and a few blind sets.

I only use tham just after ice up, rats are isolated inside their houses, mink are hungry and have congregated places where food is abundant (rats), and are in that "burrow into the rathouse" stage they will do after ice up but before the rathouses freeze and just as you can access the ice. The last open water on creeks and streams, "springs" are naturals for this type of trapping. It's all no brainer stuff. If I was to trap open water before ice up, I would use a pocket or blind set and drown "put that mink under water" because most every critter bigger than a mink will eat one on dry land, sxpecially raptors.

I think that it is time to point out that when rats flourish in a slough, bog, bay or other water feature, that this is not generally the same place where mink are generated from, rather it is the place where they stop in their travels on account of all the feed there. So...when you hammer all the early open water rats....there is still a pile of hungry mink around.

Yes that is true Les with your observations.
Guys remember that nobody can argue with the Beav with his one time Canadian illegal trapping trip.
funny how when they pass the Ontario boarder they forget the rules of engagement in going into boxes when coming into Manitoba
only got one mink climbing into a elevated marten box in 35 years

I got 3 in one day out of 12 elevated marten boxes on one spur running parallel to a creek.Feb,mid winter rain for two days,the mink all flooded out from their under shell ice/subnivean winter habitat,also all big nutted(breeder) males on the move same time of year.

Boco how high do you hang your boxes? The guy I trapped with In Canada only hung his boxes about 3' off the ground. He figured It was a lot easier for a critter to access the box that way. He also caught a fair number of red fox and a few lynx by the foot with that set up. All the boxes were hung vertically.
He only used chain on his 120s and made sure the chain was well secured to the tree.
All the boxes were closed on the bottom end with 1/4" hardware cloth. He said the small birds would hang on the wire and peck at the bait. They would leave a lot of scraps on the snow which would attract mice and voles. And of course attract marten and fisher and mink. It seemed to work out for him.

To get the thread back on track does anyone have any information on these types of mink box sets?



Does anyone have anymore information on this set up or where a guy might be able to find information on where to look? I might be able to make this type of set work in a few places on my line.

With that in mind, does any have any recommendations about any books or VHS or videos that are dedicated to mink or water trapping that might have some useful information. I was look at the Tom Miranda water trapping video.

Thanks,
Schmattz

X2!

I made a few different boxes. But none have been given a real workout on the line. I planned to go hog wild this year but a dislocated shoulder and then a broken ankle ended my season.
Trail/run through box


I left the bottom off as to not disturb their trail

Double trap baited box.

After making these I come to find out it's an illegal set in PA

Well, if your trying out various style mink boxes here's another design to try:


Dimensions: For 5/8 or 3/4 inch lumber or plywood
Bottom 8” x 18”
Top 8” x 14”
Sides 6 ½” x 14”

Inside Dimensions
Width: 6 ¾ inches
Height: 6 ½ “
Notes:

1. Use restricted blackened lid cover with 2 ½” diameter hole for mink. Mink are attracted to round holes and this size hole will also restrict barn cats when trapping farm areas but allow mink and marten entrance into the box. Restricted entrance hole also helpful in keeping fisher out of marten sets, where required.

2. Cut spring slots to 9” depth within 5” of back of box so that trap can be set within four inches of the bait at back of box. Spring slot width is 1 inch.

3. Two 2 ½ inch finish nails up thru bottom of box at the back to impale bait on.

4. Wire mess for back of box for air/scent flow, see through effect and bird bait access.

I got dozens of pics of mink caught in boxes,just in the last couple years since I started taking pics.If there is any specific box application you are intersted in I can likely find a pic of it.
I've caught hundreds over the years in boxes before I started taking pics.

I've caught a few mink In BGs set in trail sets and one thing stands out mink don't like to push things with their faces. BGs with pans worked a lot better.

I gave up on boxes a long time ago after seeing all the mink tracks walk by them without hesitation. 95 percent blind trail sets with various sizes of BGs. You have to start the trigger and make the trigger bell shaped tho, or some will see it as an obstacle. Trigger wires move a bit they push right thru, mink do this all the time to get thru tight spots. Not denying boxes work in some environments. Winters just don't get bad enough here I guess. Krause used his wood tunnels for pocket set liners in soft banks and snow. drain pipe works well too. He left both ends open more like a tunnel. They work very well, no bait needed. But it stiil needs to be right on location. I think he used nails in the bottom to support the trap. I still use a few as tunnels but I slot the sides to support the trap.

Another type of box that works very well for mink and muskrats is a 120BG trap set in
a 3-4 foot culvert box. No bait or lure is used. Placed in small feeder streams it will take any rat or mink travelling the stream as it seems they cannot pass up exploring the tunnel. They also make good small stream snowmobile bridge abutments while at the same time targeting mink and rats.

You cant just plop them down anywhere.
I set mine at the mink magnets.they produce year after year until they rot away,then replace with a new box and they produce for another 20 years.

Yep. Mink SHOW YOU where to set. If you set directly on sign, and use even a modicum of blending, (or not), you should catch mink.
I agree that they don't seem to like wire "in their face", but used to catch a few with spread wires. Pedals are far and away superior, though.
All that said, if I trapped creeks, swamp edges, and what-not, like I did when I was a kid, I would use pockets.
I trap coastal Alaska, now. The majority of the mink here are on the coast. A whole different game.

Nobody doubts that a box cubby will work well. Seems like the more severe the winter weather and the more limited prey species are they work better than areas of the opposite. I think that was part of the original post question/statement. Regardless, my experience and observation has been that you will catch more mink with their feet than with their shoulder. Any trigger system that gears toward those feet is more successful for me. If You watch the videos and a mink in the wild, those feet are always moving (swimming or marching or bounding). My "moment" came as I watched one under a couple of loaded wood pallets - twist, wiggle, scoot, and pull its way almost faster than I could keep up. Its feet seemed everywhere with its nose avoiding any sidewall. Watch Don P.'s video of "Ruthless" swimming after minnows and you will "catch" my drift.................................... the mike

No need for pans on 120's for mink.
the secret is a properly waxed bodygrip.
Mink rarely fire the trap going in,most are caught when pulling the bait.Small females and weasels are often caught on the way out of the box.
Vertical boxes with opening down are different.they will fire the L shaped wire with a paw going up,same with weasels.They use the horizontal wire as a foothold to climb.
Tony Joanis from Hearst developed an excellent near ground vertical box set up for mink that is unaffected by weather during freeze up,and can be easily set anywhere at the mink magnets.

I dont think anyone ever caught a mink by the shoulders, they dont have any shoulders, well, any that stick out- about like a snake has shoulders. But, I agree, mink pans work great but only in a one way scenario, like a cubby or box of sorts. I think bait helps them somewhat want to scramble over the pan to get at the food. Not so good blind setting with pans, IMO.

Yes I agree, in blind trail sets an animal may often step or jump over the pan, thus triggers standing up, in a V form, like a grass stem are more appropriate in trail sets.

It's a pretty straightforward concept. By studying the picture, you should be able to replicate the idea. It's a fairly popular setup in some parts of Europe. Personally, I have never used this setup, bug have used similar run through tunnels for mink.

Basically the same box design with a restrcted entrance hole that I suggest be used, except my boxes have a wood floor rather than no floor and a wire screen back rather than another entrance hole. And, they work great for mink, marten and fisher

Seeing your profile is Fargo and the Red River drainage all those mink will hopefully teach their young some swimming lessons early this year.
If you ever go to a Minn convention and Gerald Schmitt is giving a presentation make sure you sit in on it. He has several DVD's on trapping them.
What I found here is that they do not prime up till 7 Nov on the Red River and that's just about time for freeze up and 3 foot snow drifts covering everything.
Bury those boxes with lots of cattails and make them work for it.
Rick Kasper always said " dont leave a muskrat tail on" it is a focal point for them to pull through the trap , only to fire on the trigger.
I bury my boxes with a pile of snow and leave a bulrush stem coming out in the center hole of the box..... when snow is hardened pull the stem out to leave ascent cone for them to dig in
put a link to some of your youtubes