thanks for the advice wacky, i have had limited success with the left over bait, i was just wondering others points of view. i think i will stick to squirrels, rabbit and beaver scraps.
as for the winter post, i think it got burried somewhere, all of our snow melted the other day so it was starting to not look like winter, but today it's coming back again.
as for my winter success, very slow, 0 mink, 2 small beaver, and a weasel, i have noticed that the coons are coming around again with the warmer weather, so maybe i'll snag a few of those to boost my confidence.