Mink Frustration

[Carp Commander]

I am getting pretty frustrated with mink. Need any and all suggestion your willing to part with. I have only caught one this year. In all fairness, I only just started trapping Christmas Eve. I am a weekend only trapper, putting my sets out on Saturday and checking them Sunday and Monday. The only mink I caught was in a canal ditch. I took it in a 17x17x40, baited for coon. I have since moved my mink line into the Yakima River. My mink traps are 7x7x24 baited with fresh muskrat. It has been several weeks and nothing.

Below are some photos of the area I am in and the sets I have out.


Thanks

Doug

[Carp Commander]

Area Photos

[Carp Commander]

Area Photo

[Carp Commander]

Sets

[Carp Commander]

Sets

[Carp Commander]

Sets

[Carp Commander]

Sets

[Carp Commander]

Sets

[SunnySlopes]

From what I can tell from pics, Carp, I beleive your location is off. These Mink are going to be traveling/hunting either in the water, in tunnels along your caved in bank, or up in the tree roots most of the time. For consistent results your trap should be right in their face. You've got so much trash there, tumble weeds, sticks , a dirt drop off, some of these things look to me as if they could bounce a traveling mink around your set. Find one mink track and put your trap on it to start. Visuallize how a mink will run along a bank and put your trap up in the root tunnels and up under the bank overhangs. They can track like a hound, but don't count on them smellin your bait and responding from very far away. Picture 3 looked perty good on the edge of the water there, but then that tumble weed in from of trap ruined it for me.

[Humptulips]

I'll go along with what Sunny said. It looks too open to me. Mink don't like getting out in the open ( too much danger from above) when they cross the open areas they are not hunting as much as getting across them. With more cover they are going to be more interested in spending time and finding your set.
Also I think the trap is too open. Cover it! If it had enough grass on it so you couldn't see the trap it would look like a hole or tunnel to the mink which in its self is attractive to them. My opnion for what it's worth.

[onetrapper]

sounds  like good advice so far....every so often on the river banks will be larger trees with undermined root systems ...set these up. Also do what Sunny says visualize where mink go and then look for tracks, scratches, tiny shell fragments, or scat. I like to look at an area and say to myself that there should be a mink here and then look for his tracks. Most of time I will find some but i may have to walk and look for awhile. i thinks lots of times they swim up and look around for awhile then hit the water again. One thing to watch is the pans on those cheap traps. They get hung up for no obvious reason and the mink will dance all over your pan and steal the bait and be gone.  One thing that I think would help is to set  more than one trap at a stop. Also use your imagination on locations...I like to be able to check most of mine within 20 yards of my pickup..you can locate the traps right in town on creeks, small public lakes etc. I think covering is more important to hide them from theives.

[70sdiver]

I haven't connected on one in 4 years on the Yakima. I know there there but they beat me up every year. But beaver are good on the Yakima river.

[3nails]

 I've only trapped them a season and a half now and am still learning myself. I've trapped 30 in that time so I think I'm catching on so I'll share what I have learned.
 I really like setting the traps in smaller water. I put the open end of the cage directly in the water. If I am trapping a larger river I'll set them where ditches enter the river. Anywhere I can find where the water is necked down. Really consider bridges! Also with the rat I like to run their tail out the back of the cage and bend it under so the mink really has to tug to try and get it out. Hope that helps. I'll add a couple pics of my sets later when I have more time.

[Machias]

I had good luck with the PVC pipe traps made for skunks on mink.  I think they liked checking out the little culvert looking traps.  Baited with muskrat.  Best year was 7.  They worked the best near exposed root wads along the waterline.

[SunnySlopes]

I always wire the bait in the back of the cage. But, I really like your rat tail idea, Nails. Im gonna start trying that when possible.