Mink in muskrat sets

[ncmountainman]

Perhaps I oversimplified that a little bit. I am having computer troubles right now and had to do that thing over several times and got tired of typing in the long version before I lost connection again. I do set a number of water sets, all the really good ones I can get in and keep working like blind set vertical structure, pockets in spring seeps or in any good non freeze up location in the later freeze up times etc. I just mostly avoid places where the mink can jump over the set when the water is very cold like I have seen where they did in the snow. The mink can and will jump to tree roots as small as 1/2 in. and avoid the set altogether. One of the times a mink finds it NECESSARY to go in cold water is when the ones that hunt there do that so I believe we agree that they do that. If I didnt believe that mink will dive into cold water I wouldnt have bought Ken Smythes Bottom Edge Set book that is in the desk drawer next to me as I write this.    I do believe they stay in the water during very cold weather for a shorter duration of time to avoid hypothermia and will avoid entering very cold water at times when they are just traveling. A combination of all weather sets both on land and in the water does more IMO to cover all the bases on mink travel routes in late winter. I do use a higher percentage of conibear and blind trail dry sets then also because they are easier to keep working, to make up for a sometimes lower number of water sets available and to get the big old bank runners that scoff at eating bugs (crawdads) and hunt the high bank trails for bigger game like rabbits. Mink are warm blooded animals just like we are. While the water hunting mink that prey on fish and crawdads dont just stop eating because of ice and very cold water its only logical that there will be at least some change in their habits in dealing with those conditions. More mink congregating around open water when there is deep snow and and ice causing some food scources to be harder to find is another way they change habits because of late winter conditions.

As far as the mink down here being wooses I have caught some that were big enough to kick a good sized housecats butt and they werent skinny from not being able to make a living with their teeth whether it was on land or in the water. Maybe those skinny little Minnesota mink cant kill anything bigger than mud bugs and have to just eat them or starve to death. Ive got one of those FFG videos laying around here somewhere where a Minnesota trapper catches a mink. I swear it looked like a darn weasel.
David

[Bogmaster]

 NC,ever heard of the Red River strain of mink??It is one of the largest mink there is,and resides in parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas.I have watched them swim across a lake,thinking I had an otter headed my way.
 One fall ,I set a 12"x 12" x 36" cage trap,on a pier for coon.This trap produced 6 red rivers in a week.They are big,agressive,and wouldn't leave the bait till they got caught.
 Now not all Mn. mink are this size,as you have seen in a video.But the Red rivers are indeed giants.
 Tom

[trappnman]

some small MN mink....





he stretched 30" from nose to base of tail

heres 3 more big males- I take 85% or more big males- advantage (and disadvantage of starting late)

[pickles]

sure wish you minkers would put some pictures of your sets on here, I get smarter reading but seeing what your saying would be better. But keep talking I am listening. I only caught 1 mink in my life, and my son has it in the freezer. The season is over in Pa., but I will catch mink next year.


thanks

[trappnman]

I'll post some sets when I get some time- trouble is, mink sets are hard to put into pics

[ncmountainman]

Tom, Im not gonna be a smart aleck and say yall were holding them up to the camera or nuthin   
Truth is Im almost laughing too hard to type this in. Its all in good fun. I did enjoy the pics. Those are some nice mink catches.     Yes Tom I have heard of the Red River Strain. There is a very big strain of mink in Alaska too. The trappers in Minnesota do make some good catches of mink. There are very large mink in Lousiana that get big on the large crayfish in the rice ponds there and some big catches are made in those areas. I did have to stick up for the NC mink. I figured I would get to see some good mink pics pretty quick and figured that you caught more than rats and beaver.

Trappnman, your right it is hard to really do pictures of mink sets. If you do a wide angle shot to get the location in its harder to get the close in detail of the set. I need to make some good mink set pictures myself. I really do need to get a digital camera. My 35mm got broken in Ontario. My dad shot five bears on that trip. I lost a really great photo op a while back when I set a string of sets that were picture book perfect and caught the best string of mink I ever saw here size wise. Most of that area is gone to development now. I did get one then that was unbelievably big and could kick myself for not getting it mounted. Most of the really big ones in this area go untrapped. All I have to do is drive out and look around for sign. There have been some good blind set minkers here in the past but all the ones I knew are gone now.

Thanks for the pics guys and Im glad you made those good catches.
David

[trappnman]

been getting a few pieces of fur tanned every year- but keep waiting for THE mink to get tanned. The mink in the first pic was big enough, but was slightly singed.

best mink mount I ever saw- a mink in humped up position- holding a 6" brookie in his mouth. 

[Bogmaster]

 NC,those photos are trappinmans,not mine.
 Tom

[ncmountainman]

Trappinman, that a good idea for a mount I hadnt considered. I have been thinking about maybe getting two mink mounted with a good section of hollow log. Both a male and a female could be set up with maybe the female poking her head of a hollow and the big male standing on top of the log. I may very well do the mink and a trout. I have always wanted a mount of a native brookie done but its very tough to find someone that can get anywhere close with the paint detail. The little native brooks we have here only get to 7-9 inches or so, and those are exceptional. I tie my own flies and my favorite pattern is a #12 parachute in imitation yellowhammer colors. The bows will jump in the air after em.

What do you think about how mink run the big two or more section concrete culverts? I know a lot of mink just pass through and on their way but I sometimes get doubles or extra catches in late winter by also setting somewhere on the inside walls or on the outside end of the dividing wall where the current is not too swift, even where they have to swim most of the time. Do you think that mink will run every edge they can during mating season or do they normally sometimes do that year round? I have never set like that until late winter and have been wondering about that for a long time. I never thought to set them that way until I saw tracks on shelf ice along an inside wall where the water was about a 2 ft. water depth. Where there are drift piles on the entrance a log can be leaned into the lower side against the inside wall and a trap set at the end of the log. If the water is too shallow to cover the trap I just make a little dam of rocks to catch more water same as I do for some rock tunnels.

[ncmountainman]

Ok Tom. I couldnt be sure with the posts close together like that. I was just kidding about the mink in the video being little. They shot at least part of that in the Dakotas and all the guys in it caught some nice mink. Bob Gilsvic did catch one small mink, but thats just luck of the draw. The set he caught it in was a good one that takes real perception of mink habits.

Im sure you get your share of the mink too. Any trapper that puts out the number of rat sets that you do and gets them up in the banks right to make big catches is going to get mink whether he is setting specifically for them at the time or not. I really like rat trapping myself. I use a whitewater kiyak for that now. It not only carries a lot of gear and catches when Im pulling it behind me but can go places where no other boat can, is fast, easy to paddle and carry. I wouldnt do without one for many places now. After a long day of wading canals and creeks it sure is nice not to have to walk or wade the long way back to the vehicle.  

[Bogmaster]

 NC,one thing about rats and large numbers of them--there ain't no banks.Boggy,marshy ,rat areas,are real short on banks around here.Many times it is impossible to even get within 100 feet of any shore.
 While I take mink every season at rat houses,the numbers are much lower than you would think.Now coon are taking over as the main rat house marauder.
 When banks are available,they do get set up for mink.In order to take rats in large numbers,you have to sacrifice some mink numbers.Believe it or not,I get a bigger kick out of taking a beaver,than I do a mink.
 Tom

[ncmountainman]

I hear ya Tom. I do understand what you are saying about the need for speed on the rat sets and not taking too much time with the mink. I guess it slipped my mind that you trap the marshes. Thats something I have always wanted to do myself. River trapping just dont have the same kind of rat numbers. It is fun to ride the river though. I may make some trips down to the coast and run some marsh lines myself. New challenges and exploring new areas does keep it interesting.

I do some beaver trapping myself and it does get in your blood. Im figuring on switching to using CDRs and slide rod rigs for a lot of the beaver and otter locations next season. I plan to use more snares on the beaver too. The NC guys down east do real well with the beaver snares and have some good pictures on the NC forum. Taking care of problem beavers is good PR and really does help on getting permissions.
David

[Bogmaster]

David,beaver are my bread and butter.I will leave the beaver till another seprate post run.
 Tom

[ncmountainman]

Ok Tom. 

[ncmountainman]

Well Trappnman. I threw a question out there that I have never heard of anyone asking. I dont mind trying something that at times can be controversial or out of the ordinary in an effort to see farther into things and stay on the cutting edge. You are welcome to disagree anytime you want to. I respect your opinion and appreciate your input. (even when you and Boggy are trying to give me a little bit of a hard time)    Ill try to be a little more clear on what Im saying so we dont wind up arguing the same side of the point again. I may have to stop and re-program this computer at some point because Im still having problems but if so I will be back.

David

[trappnman]

What do you think about how mink run the big two or more section concrete culverts

don't even worry about it. I've just never had much luck setting up such things- and more to the point, they are rare around here. most bridges are rip rapped underneath, and are hard set ups.

I have sets out at exaxtly 3 bridges on my line, and all those are normal blind sets.

As far as following edges- as a steadfast rule, I find it much more true about yotes, than mink. Just like the advice "mink investigatye every hole" is more untrue than true.

Mink follow edges, yes- but only in certain types of areas. If these edges are in hunting areas, and/or danger areas, mink will follow edges that are close to cover.

Smaller creeks. Actually, I avoid all larger rivers/creeks around here- for one simple reason. Those freeze up first and stay frozen. Plus the fact I don't like setting them- no real "edge" and unstable water. But in anycase, its te type of feeder streams. Here, almost 100% of the feeders into the 2 big rivers here- the old Mississippi of course, and the Zumbro, which is a smaller, canoeing type river- are spring fed, trout stream water. Prey is prevalent and in clear water, easy. Plus, you have grasses growing and overflowing the banks- prime spot for what I believe is one of the most important if not the most important prey base for my mink- shrews and mice.

[ncmountainman]

I see what you are saying Trappnman. Sounds to me like thats good pocket set and blind trail with 110 country. I have recently come to realize just how effective the dirthole can be for mink. I only made one set on a high sandy creek bank about three feet from the water and it got hit the first night by a good buck mink. It was baited and lured with jack mackeral and Carmans Deep Creek. I really like the high bank trail set when I can spot the right location. Normally for me thats in thick cover up on the high bank edge on a trail that looks like the coons arent running. Very often I will use a 1 1/2 victor coil with a little step stick about 2 in. high just off the edge of one of the levers. I carry scissors to chop dry grass over the set or sift dirt or sand to cover. I run a strand of wire with a couple of twists for a quick simple drowner with that set. Its simple, deadly, and catches the big males. My dad Ron Thomas actually came up with that type of set for me long before I saw it in writing somewhere else. He had watched the mink running the river banks while musky fishing. He borrowed one of my 1 1/2 shureholds one day while helping me run the big river and set it all the way up on the river bank in the high bank trail far above the river. He caught a very large old mink that made my two look small by comparison. Most of the time I trap in water I can wade in. There is a lot of variation in the terrain where I work the water here: deep slow canals, farm creeks with grassy banks, big rivers and rocky trout streams. I do go up in the mountains after cats and have some new lines for them planned that have some of the most spectacular scenery and views this side of the Rockys. If you ever see the"The Last Mohican" I have both trapped and fished at least three of the locations where they made that movie. My mother and father were walleye fishing and talked to them while they were building the fort and they got one of the powder horns for me. My mother Joy is quite accomplished at walleye fishing and has made the local papers with walleyes in the 30 inch range. Thats something not very common in the south.
David