Post by huckleberry on May 19, 2007 12:47:14 GMT -5
Hey Folks,
This may get long, I may even add to it from time to time, but it is real mink trappin by the man who I consider the best ever. Of those I have seen anyway.
He just happens to be my dad. ;D Let me tell ya some about him and his mink trappin.
As far back as I can recall Dad trapped mink. He was a fox trapper too, along with coon, muskrats, possums, skunks, and weasel. Although accomplished at them all, his mink trapping was what made him stand out in a crowd. I recall one year at the IL. convention he and C. Dobbins sat and talked for at least two hours about nothing but mink trapping. Both left with a great respect for the other. Since I was very youngn then, I thought that was pretty danged special. Shucks, I still do.
Anyway, this is how he trapped mink, the sets he used, the places he looked for, and the traps he used. Now one thing to keep in mind as I tell ya this, he hasn't trapped in close to forty years now. Why he quit when I started is still a mystery to me. He got me started then all he has said since is that "we only need one trapper in this family, you are that trapper now" Which I will say was one of the proudest moments of my life. (I was about eight years old) He continued to help at times, but for the most part, I was given the opportunity to trap not only for my own fur, but to put some meals on the table. Maybe the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
OK, where does one start to tell of trappin mink? Well how about the locations and ways of a mink.
Now most, the vast majority, will think ya have to be on water to trap mink. Wrong!! Although a major part of their diet appears to be the critters that do live in or near eater, they are not strictly a water based animal. Not at all in fact.
How many have seen a mink chase a squirrel in a tree? Or take rabbits from their holes? How many bird nests do they rob? These are not water based animals in their own worlds. Along with the many mice, rats, chipmunks, and other small critters, ya can see why they are not strictly a water based animal. This is where dad kept catching mink when others were saying an area was trapped out of them.
Now many have asked me over the years, and dad before me, why most never trap areas away from water when trappin mink. There is one simple answer to that. Few can see their trails or know they are ever there. Mink sign is hard to see. They are very small, quick moving critters that don't ever seem to stop moving. They leave little sign and when they do, it is normally in heavy brush, or cover areas. They leave few tracks unless the ground is really soft or covered in snow. During heavy frost, before it melts, ya can find tracks, but ya have to be there a the right time to see them in the frost. They also travel larger areas. For their size, probably the largest areas of any critter.
Finding and recognizing places they would travel as far as natural areas is tough to learn. One thing ya can bet on, it will be heavy with cover, the heavier the better. They hate being seen by anything that would cause them harm. Including birds of prey, fox, now yotes, and others.
Once ya find their natural travel routes ya can find where they leave those distinct travel routes to hunt. These are what most never find or see. These are also where dad kept catchin when others quit. If this goes farther, I will get some pics and show ya. Alot easier to show than to splain. Basically though, anywhere they find a food source they will hunt it. Rather that be a den of some sort, a field with fauna in it for them, or a farm with domestic food for them. They aren't picky eaters, they eat often and as much as they can catch.
Once ya find those areas, then ya have to decide what sets to use. For dad it was mostly blind sets. I have seen him wade nearly freezin water to get up and under brush piles to catch a mink. I have seen him crawl under dry land brush piles to set traps. He seldom set a trap without cover over head. Mink won't stop out in the open very often at all. They want and find overhead cover to eat their catch, or rest, if only for a few minutes. It is in those places he caught them.
I will break it down into water sets, then dry land sets.
Water sets were of two main types, baited, and blind sets.
His baited sets were mostly pockets along water edges, using either a lure, which was seldom, or mrats. He did use mice and barn rats also. Also bloody chicken parts and other bloody baits.
The one main thing he did was make these in areas with the ever present over head cover. He would crawl under the cover and make his pockets there, if he couldn't get under it or through it, he set close enough that the caught mink could get at least partially under it.
About the only "open" pockets he would make were at points in the creek banks. He would normally track the mink to cover and set for them there however.
Another set he used was a over head protrusion set along high banks and such. When he had lure to use he would smear some up high, on a root or something sticking out about 12-16 inches above the minks head when walking. He would make the mink stop and raise up to smell the lure, with the proper trap placement he was caught.
Dad swore by fresh bait when baiting for mink. he would never ever let a bait stay longer than two days. He wouldn't throw that used bait away, but the hole got a new fresher piece of meat and the used stuff was turned into a trail bait. He would tear it up or cut it up and toss it here and there to get a mink working, the fresher bait would then pull them right to his trap.
His water blind sets were nothing more than anywhere a mink was forced through a smaller area in the streams. He used # 1 or #1.5 long springs for all his blind sets. That is all he had really.
He would block an area down if need be, but he really liked to leave them natural if possible. If the water was to deep and the mink would be swimming he would cut a log of what ever size he needed and flatten one side of it to place his trap on. As the mink swam to it, they would start to climb onto the log and presto, they were in the trap. I still use that set alot and for good reason. I prefer it to a coni set up in the same place in fact. (More on this set up later if anyone is interested)
Now Dad's fortay, land trapping mink. Some trappers know these, I have found many doubt them, or know nothing of them.
AS mentioned earlier it starts with knowing where they run and hunt. For mink, in my opinion that is the hardest part of it. They leave so little sign it takes alot of looking and watching to find them and then to find the best places for sets.
One thing in our favor, they are definately critters of repetition. They will dang near step in the same place day after day till they move on to another location. Sometimes for days, other times weeks, even months at a particular location. When you find these remember them. No matter what time of year ya see a mink, or sign of a mink keep it in mind, they will be back.
As for sets once ya have them found, here are some of the ones Dad prefered.
On banks of water ways, he used typical cubbies which he made in the fall of the year. He didn't worry about how early he made these up. He would use rocks, logs, anything available to him to make small open ended cubbies where they were known to be. Most often he set two traps, one at each end of the cubbie. Some of these he baited, others he didn't. That depends on the specific trap sight.
Next he set the briar patches. If he could find a rabbit run with any mink sign at all he set it. Setting off to the side some as to let the rabbits pass by, he would place his trap then use some lure or bait to stop a mink and make it investigate. The heavier the cover, the better the set worked.
Any ditches that are normaly dry, ya sould bet he would set. Blind sets mostly at the funnels of these ditches, along with some baited pockets. He was always looking for that over head cover. If he told me once he told me a thousand times to trap mink under the stuff.
Ground hog holes were another place he seldom passed up. Let some snow fall and he would run to check them all out. I was always amazed that there was no sign at them one day, then they all had sign when the snow allowed ya to see it. He knew they were there, but he couldn't convince me till I seen it myself. Blind sets were the set of the day at them all. One thing with these was he always allowed enough wire to let the mink hide itself. naturaly with bad weather first hitting this is also a place to catch about any critter. We have caught coon, possum, weasel, and skunk at these sets many times.
Without drowning or killing a mink right away they are known to twist out. The over head cover goes miles to stopping that. They just plain don't fight a trap as hard when hidden, or under cover. Beware though, ya reach into a hole wihtout knowing if he is there or not, he will let ya know real fast. In a rather un-kind way I might add.
One set I seen him make that later became well nown because of J. Thorpe was his elbow set. Not that I think dad had anything to do with Johnnies using it, or vice versa. I don't know that they ever met.
An elbow set is one that can make a huge difference in certain areas. You have to have a nearly verticle bank for it work right. You dig down from the top of a ledge deep enough that when ya dig your pocket at the botttom they meet. Only the bottom pocket is baited. The smell will drift up and out of the top hole. Dad use two trap at the top hole often, only one a the bottom. He used the extra dirt on top to really make a mink or other critter walk directly on the trap pan. At times he would cover the top hiole over with grass or something to make a critter move to the trap side. He was great at guideing critters that way.
I can not tell you how many times he would double a these sets. Not always mink at both, but many coon and mink doubles. He was a fur trapper so it made little difference to him. Although back then mink were much higher priced fur.
One more for now.
We live where there all sorts of drainage ditches, creeks, and smaller field ditches. All of them are mink magnets. All of them have a water table from being dry to being full with any rain. All of them have one more thing in common that make them factories for catching mink. Over hanging grass on the top ledges. If you ahve any of these, look at the top edge. move the grass back and see how far ya have to go to find feathers, bones, and such. If ya have any mink around, ya have just found their kitchen.
This over hanging grass and such makes perfect tunnels for mink and weasels. I would bet, this is where dad caught most of his mink.
He would set traps, blind set them, all along these overhangs. Mark them well to be able to find them and laugh all the way to the fur buyer. The simplest of all sets, yet the most effective. I used to think he was wasteing traps at these places because of the numbers he set there. Man was I wrong. I can honestly recall him pulling five traps within a hundrend yards of each other and have all five holding mink. I now use 110, 120's at these places just so I don't have to worry about them being alive when I find them. Faster and easier to set with the coni's also.
I will continue this later........any questions so far ask, I will answer myself or ask him to add more to it. I got lazy....lol......and my neck is hurtin......
This may get long, I may even add to it from time to time, but it is real mink trappin by the man who I consider the best ever. Of those I have seen anyway.
He just happens to be my dad. ;D Let me tell ya some about him and his mink trappin.
As far back as I can recall Dad trapped mink. He was a fox trapper too, along with coon, muskrats, possums, skunks, and weasel. Although accomplished at them all, his mink trapping was what made him stand out in a crowd. I recall one year at the IL. convention he and C. Dobbins sat and talked for at least two hours about nothing but mink trapping. Both left with a great respect for the other. Since I was very youngn then, I thought that was pretty danged special. Shucks, I still do.
Anyway, this is how he trapped mink, the sets he used, the places he looked for, and the traps he used. Now one thing to keep in mind as I tell ya this, he hasn't trapped in close to forty years now. Why he quit when I started is still a mystery to me. He got me started then all he has said since is that "we only need one trapper in this family, you are that trapper now" Which I will say was one of the proudest moments of my life. (I was about eight years old) He continued to help at times, but for the most part, I was given the opportunity to trap not only for my own fur, but to put some meals on the table. Maybe the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
OK, where does one start to tell of trappin mink? Well how about the locations and ways of a mink.
Now most, the vast majority, will think ya have to be on water to trap mink. Wrong!! Although a major part of their diet appears to be the critters that do live in or near eater, they are not strictly a water based animal. Not at all in fact.
How many have seen a mink chase a squirrel in a tree? Or take rabbits from their holes? How many bird nests do they rob? These are not water based animals in their own worlds. Along with the many mice, rats, chipmunks, and other small critters, ya can see why they are not strictly a water based animal. This is where dad kept catching mink when others were saying an area was trapped out of them.
Now many have asked me over the years, and dad before me, why most never trap areas away from water when trappin mink. There is one simple answer to that. Few can see their trails or know they are ever there. Mink sign is hard to see. They are very small, quick moving critters that don't ever seem to stop moving. They leave little sign and when they do, it is normally in heavy brush, or cover areas. They leave few tracks unless the ground is really soft or covered in snow. During heavy frost, before it melts, ya can find tracks, but ya have to be there a the right time to see them in the frost. They also travel larger areas. For their size, probably the largest areas of any critter.
Finding and recognizing places they would travel as far as natural areas is tough to learn. One thing ya can bet on, it will be heavy with cover, the heavier the better. They hate being seen by anything that would cause them harm. Including birds of prey, fox, now yotes, and others.
Once ya find their natural travel routes ya can find where they leave those distinct travel routes to hunt. These are what most never find or see. These are also where dad kept catchin when others quit. If this goes farther, I will get some pics and show ya. Alot easier to show than to splain. Basically though, anywhere they find a food source they will hunt it. Rather that be a den of some sort, a field with fauna in it for them, or a farm with domestic food for them. They aren't picky eaters, they eat often and as much as they can catch.
Once ya find those areas, then ya have to decide what sets to use. For dad it was mostly blind sets. I have seen him wade nearly freezin water to get up and under brush piles to catch a mink. I have seen him crawl under dry land brush piles to set traps. He seldom set a trap without cover over head. Mink won't stop out in the open very often at all. They want and find overhead cover to eat their catch, or rest, if only for a few minutes. It is in those places he caught them.
I will break it down into water sets, then dry land sets.
Water sets were of two main types, baited, and blind sets.
His baited sets were mostly pockets along water edges, using either a lure, which was seldom, or mrats. He did use mice and barn rats also. Also bloody chicken parts and other bloody baits.
The one main thing he did was make these in areas with the ever present over head cover. He would crawl under the cover and make his pockets there, if he couldn't get under it or through it, he set close enough that the caught mink could get at least partially under it.
About the only "open" pockets he would make were at points in the creek banks. He would normally track the mink to cover and set for them there however.
Another set he used was a over head protrusion set along high banks and such. When he had lure to use he would smear some up high, on a root or something sticking out about 12-16 inches above the minks head when walking. He would make the mink stop and raise up to smell the lure, with the proper trap placement he was caught.
Dad swore by fresh bait when baiting for mink. he would never ever let a bait stay longer than two days. He wouldn't throw that used bait away, but the hole got a new fresher piece of meat and the used stuff was turned into a trail bait. He would tear it up or cut it up and toss it here and there to get a mink working, the fresher bait would then pull them right to his trap.
His water blind sets were nothing more than anywhere a mink was forced through a smaller area in the streams. He used # 1 or #1.5 long springs for all his blind sets. That is all he had really.
He would block an area down if need be, but he really liked to leave them natural if possible. If the water was to deep and the mink would be swimming he would cut a log of what ever size he needed and flatten one side of it to place his trap on. As the mink swam to it, they would start to climb onto the log and presto, they were in the trap. I still use that set alot and for good reason. I prefer it to a coni set up in the same place in fact. (More on this set up later if anyone is interested)
Now Dad's fortay, land trapping mink. Some trappers know these, I have found many doubt them, or know nothing of them.
AS mentioned earlier it starts with knowing where they run and hunt. For mink, in my opinion that is the hardest part of it. They leave so little sign it takes alot of looking and watching to find them and then to find the best places for sets.
One thing in our favor, they are definately critters of repetition. They will dang near step in the same place day after day till they move on to another location. Sometimes for days, other times weeks, even months at a particular location. When you find these remember them. No matter what time of year ya see a mink, or sign of a mink keep it in mind, they will be back.
As for sets once ya have them found, here are some of the ones Dad prefered.
On banks of water ways, he used typical cubbies which he made in the fall of the year. He didn't worry about how early he made these up. He would use rocks, logs, anything available to him to make small open ended cubbies where they were known to be. Most often he set two traps, one at each end of the cubbie. Some of these he baited, others he didn't. That depends on the specific trap sight.
Next he set the briar patches. If he could find a rabbit run with any mink sign at all he set it. Setting off to the side some as to let the rabbits pass by, he would place his trap then use some lure or bait to stop a mink and make it investigate. The heavier the cover, the better the set worked.
Any ditches that are normaly dry, ya sould bet he would set. Blind sets mostly at the funnels of these ditches, along with some baited pockets. He was always looking for that over head cover. If he told me once he told me a thousand times to trap mink under the stuff.
Ground hog holes were another place he seldom passed up. Let some snow fall and he would run to check them all out. I was always amazed that there was no sign at them one day, then they all had sign when the snow allowed ya to see it. He knew they were there, but he couldn't convince me till I seen it myself. Blind sets were the set of the day at them all. One thing with these was he always allowed enough wire to let the mink hide itself. naturaly with bad weather first hitting this is also a place to catch about any critter. We have caught coon, possum, weasel, and skunk at these sets many times.
Without drowning or killing a mink right away they are known to twist out. The over head cover goes miles to stopping that. They just plain don't fight a trap as hard when hidden, or under cover. Beware though, ya reach into a hole wihtout knowing if he is there or not, he will let ya know real fast. In a rather un-kind way I might add.
One set I seen him make that later became well nown because of J. Thorpe was his elbow set. Not that I think dad had anything to do with Johnnies using it, or vice versa. I don't know that they ever met.
An elbow set is one that can make a huge difference in certain areas. You have to have a nearly verticle bank for it work right. You dig down from the top of a ledge deep enough that when ya dig your pocket at the botttom they meet. Only the bottom pocket is baited. The smell will drift up and out of the top hole. Dad use two trap at the top hole often, only one a the bottom. He used the extra dirt on top to really make a mink or other critter walk directly on the trap pan. At times he would cover the top hiole over with grass or something to make a critter move to the trap side. He was great at guideing critters that way.
I can not tell you how many times he would double a these sets. Not always mink at both, but many coon and mink doubles. He was a fur trapper so it made little difference to him. Although back then mink were much higher priced fur.
One more for now.
We live where there all sorts of drainage ditches, creeks, and smaller field ditches. All of them are mink magnets. All of them have a water table from being dry to being full with any rain. All of them have one more thing in common that make them factories for catching mink. Over hanging grass on the top ledges. If you ahve any of these, look at the top edge. move the grass back and see how far ya have to go to find feathers, bones, and such. If ya have any mink around, ya have just found their kitchen.
This over hanging grass and such makes perfect tunnels for mink and weasels. I would bet, this is where dad caught most of his mink.
He would set traps, blind set them, all along these overhangs. Mark them well to be able to find them and laugh all the way to the fur buyer. The simplest of all sets, yet the most effective. I used to think he was wasteing traps at these places because of the numbers he set there. Man was I wrong. I can honestly recall him pulling five traps within a hundrend yards of each other and have all five holding mink. I now use 110, 120's at these places just so I don't have to worry about them being alive when I find them. Faster and easier to set with the coni's also.
I will continue this later........any questions so far ask, I will answer myself or ask him to add more to it. I got lazy....lol......and my neck is hurtin......