Chapter XIII: Experienced Trappers' Ways

At first when I started to trap I thought I could catch mink every time, says an Iowa trapper. That was three years ago this last February. Well I caught two mink that spring and seven the next winter and sixteen the next. That was the first season that I was able to catch every mink that trots or lopes my way, big, little, old and young are treated all alike; sometimes it takes a mink three or four days to come out of a hole when you track him in.

A water set is a pretty good set for mink but you cannot find many springs that you can set a trap in the winter time, so I set dry sets for them. At a hole is a good place. Put a piece of muskrat carcass in the hole to keep the rabbits from going in and set a Blake & Lamb trap in the entrance. Chop a hole in the frozen ground large enough for the trap and cover it with tissue paper and thinly with dry dirt. Be sure to put some dry material of some sort under the trap to keep it from freezing down, have the surface of the ground level after it is covered over with dry dirt so you cannot tell just exactly where the trap is yourself, or in other words don't have a high place where the trap is when it is covered over. Fasten the trap to a drag of some sort. If you fasten to something solid the mink will pull out if he is only caught by the toes.

I caught two mink one winter that only had three legs. They were the ones that pulled out of my traps because I had the trap fastened too solid. One mink I caught was only caught by one toe and was tied to a little brush drag; when I tracked him up I found that he had gone about ten rods. When I got in sight of him he got stout and pulled out and started off at a pretty stiff gait, and I had to let the dog catch him for he was geared up too high for me to catch.

Trappers, have you not had your mink trap set and baited under a shelving bank and seen mink tracks going up and down by the bait and they would not touch it? Get some sticks and stick them from bank down into water that is five or six inches deep, is the advice of a Maine trapper. Leave a place for trap up next to bank where he travels and cover nicely with fine rotten wood, and you will get more mink setting this way than you will with all the bait you bother with, that is, if you pick out such places along the brook and stick up sticks close enough so he cannot get by without going over trap.

I don't mean to say that bait isn't good, because I have caught a good many with bait, and there are lots of times when I can't find such a place and of course use bait and scent. Some say mink are afraid of human scent and set the trap with gloves, and that they are foxy and hard to catch. I don't think a mink knows any more than a skunk, and I can catch them just as easy. Last winter I went to my trap one morning and found two toes of a mink in one and one toe in another, and inside of a week I had both of them in the same trap and in the same place.

Mink are not very plentiful in some places which makes some people think they are hard to catch, and others don't know how to set a trap right for mink.

The first requisite in trapping mink is water, either a lake or river, says a Minnesota trapper. Small streams are to be preferred, and the swifter the current the better. Why? Because swiftly running water does not freeze so quickly, a fact every boy knows.

Next, select a spot on the shore where the bank is steep, ascending directly up from the water, and place your trap (a No. 1 or 1 1/2 of any good make) in about two inches of water and about six inches from the bank, and fasten trap by driving a stake full length of chain out in the water. Many trappers advocate the use of both bait and sliding pole or spring pole, but personally I do not care for either, unless there is danger of trap lifters "swiping" your game; in such cases the sliding pole is the best, as it is more humane and game is entirely concealed. If the bank is not too high set your trap from the top and place in position with a stick, for by so doing you do not make any muss around the trap.

Now let me caution young trappers about setting too many traps for one mink. One trap well set is better than a dozen just slung in or even well set and carefully concealed. It is not necessary to have four or five traps within a radius of six feet as young trappers often do. I discovered a case of this kind once.

For two weeks once I was after a sly representative of the mink family but without success. Every trick in my command was tried without success, but one morning I determined to try for him up a small spring creek, where he was in the habit of going. I hesitated about putting my traps on this creek. I had hesitated about putting my traps on this creek as the owner usually lifted all traps found there. As there was no snow there except small patches I was not aware of another trapper's work on this brook, but a few drops of blood on a patch of snow caused me to open my eyes, and I was not long in discovering his traps. A blind man could have done that for they were literally thrown in, some almost upside down and others with the spring half out of the water.

I followed his line for about twenty rods, and then discovered the place of capture. Six traps were set in as many holes, and all in a radius of five feet, but they had done the business. Was I mad? I shall leave it to the reader to guess. Boys, let me tell you this capture was an accident and not the result of skill.

I have endeavored to explain as simply as possible one set for mink, but this method will not answer all winter, for all the streams will freeze during extreme cold weather. On nearly all lakes and rivers springs can be found, and here is the place for your traps in cold weather. Common sense will show you the most suitable spot for the set. All minks have a weakness for wading in such springs, and a trap carefully placed and concealed will get a mink if there are any in the vicinity.

It was early in the fall of 1901 and I was working on the farm. I one day saw signs of mink under a bridge near home so I had a friend who was working for us set two traps for him that day, writes another party from Minnesota. I set the traps a few inches under water, covered them with wet leaves, thinking, "I will have you tomorrow." Well, the next morning we came along but no mink, so in the afternoon we looked at them again and Mr. Mink got in one trap, pulled it in between two logs, and the other trap was sprung. I then pulled on the other chain and the mink was in the trap. I pulled and all at once his foot slipped out. This taught Mr. Mink a lesson.

I set my traps again, and after this he sprung traps about as fast as I could reset them. So I set six more traps and got some ten and twelve inches under water. I used to reset the traps before I went to dinner, and after dinner he had every one sprung and the water looked very muddy. I laid for him but never did see him. I trapped for that mink every year until 1904. I saw his tracks on the snow so I got out some snow sets and one January morning I found him dead in the trap. He was a large dark mink and had lost all his toes by traps.

A good place to catch mink is at the mouth of a spring. Get your traps well under water and cover up with wet leaves, as a mink usually goes up such a small stream. I will say to the beginner, never get cheap traps, as they are the dearest in the end. Never catch fur until it is prime.

I find no difficulty in catching mink if they are plenty, but thin them down to one or two well educated animals and your task is different, says an Ohio trapper. Where plenty I set in riffles, building stone walls or staking across not too high, a foot is plenty, leaving one or more openings, according to width. Place a trap (No. 1 or 1 1/2 Newhouse is best) in each opening. I invariably stake at such places for if attached to shunks, bushes or small logs, the trap is liable to float away in sudden rising of high water. Place a trap at mouth of tiles, ditches or drains, staking well out from trap.

I have caught a great many mink along where the over-hanging sod had curled down, leaving a space between sod and bank sometimes of a good length. This is a capital place to catch mink, as every one that goes up and down that side will almost always go through. All trappers know mink are very inquisitive about such places, and if the place is formed in summer or early fall they will already have used it as a runway. After finding such a place, put a trap at one or both ends of hole. Set trap level and cover well but not too deep, and I am sure if there are any mink traveling the stream you will stand a fair show of getting them. I have caught two mink at such places, one in each trap in the same night, more than once.

An old hollow log is also a good place for mink with a trap at each end. You will notice when there is a light shift of snow that mink cross old logs, limbs, boards and dams that are across streams. Put your trap in the center of crossing place, as you cannot tell where he will get on or off at. Always cover traps when not setting in water. Old hollow stumps, trees, openings in fences, stone walls, or flood-gates, drifts and the like are good places to set traps for mink; path openings in brush, in fact anywhere you see signs of their travels, as they most generally have a route which they follow more or less. I have followed them across country from the headwaters of one stream to another, to swamp and swales where the muskrat abounds, turning every "hole inside out," so to speak, and they seem to know them all.

For bait I use fish oil, you can get it almost anywhere and it is cheap and good, the older the better. Place a few drops on the end of a tile, roots of a tree or stone, or in fact anywhere you have a trap but not on your trap. I never put it on dead bait but just sprinkle it around. A mink likes to kill his own game. Make him think there is some around and hunt for it, which he surely will do if there is nothing but the scent to find.

To be a successful mink trapper you must study his trails and set your trap accordingly.

Most methods that I read for trapping the mink are for trapping in the north or far north. Now some of them are good, while others are useless here. From my observation of the habits of the mink in Virginia, I don't think they have any fixed abode (in trapping season any how). Wherever is most convenient after a full meal or light overtakes them they den up for the day, and the next day may be snugly sleeping under the roots of a blown over tree or under the banks of a creek five miles away. The building of barricades of rocks, old chunks or pens of sticks and bait within is time and labor thrown away. Now, young trapper, I am going to give you four of my favorite sets for mink, that if you will follow will give you some success, if there are any mink where you are trapping.

Follow along ditches and find where they cross, usually called secret ditches, which come into the main one, set your trap at the entrance of the covered one a little under water, and cover with water soaked leaves. Do not use bait but may use scent, or a decoy. One may be fixed by making a box about 6 inches square, 12 or 18 inches long, of old boards, with hoe plant in bank at desirable place so as to look natural. Set your trap in front.

Another is to get a piece of hollow log 3 or 4 feet long, place in mouth of ditch or branch where it comes into creek, anchor with stakes or weigh down with stones, close one end, place trap at other, under water if possible; place bait in log. This is a sure set for coon. It took me nearly half a day last September to cut a log, get it in branch and weigh down with stones to keep high water from washing away, but caught four mink and two coon at the entrance.

Another is where banks are steep along small streams. Set trap in water, cause anything that may come along to pass over trap by a row of dead sticks, weeds or a bunch of old weeds. I have also caught many by placing two old logs five or six feet long, four or five inches apart in shallow water near a steep bank, cover with a larger log. If you have plenty of traps you can set one in each end. Do not use bait but can use scent. Be sure to search out all the old hollow logs near streams and set trap in or near entrance--place bait in log. By following these rules any one, where game is fairly plentiful, can catch some mink.