Mink

[JODakota]

Have any of you guys seen mink out in the woods here in Washington? I'm over in Walla Walla and while I was out shed hunting I saw one hopping along the creek bed. I thought it was pretty cool. I wasn't aware we had them over here.

[Heredoggydoggy]

You sure it wasn't just a little weasel?

[JODakota]

Positive, I'm from North Dakota and the Mink population is big. This was a mink.

[Humptulips]

Mink are very common all over the state and for that matter all over North America. You will find them mostly along streams and swamps but they do hunt away from water so you could asily see one just about anywhere. Coming into their breeding season right now. I see more dead ones along the highway now then any other time of the year. I guess they have other things on their mind.

[nwwanderer]

They are around, I see them on Mill Creek in Walla Walla.  Little devils seem to never stop moving.

[billythekidrock]

Mink are very common all over the state and for that matter all over North America. You will find them mostly along streams and swamps but they do hunt away from water so you could asily see one just about anywhere. Coming into their breeding season right now. I see more dead ones along the highway now then any other time of the year. I guess they have other things on their mind.

I typically see a couple dead ones a year in the same place every year in Olympia but it is all private on both sides of the road.

[JODakota]

Yea it was pretty awesome. He was busy doing something and basically just walked right by me without a care in the world. It cracked me up.

[TONTO]

  Haven't seen mink in the woods, but I have seen mink of all places, on the Columbia River jetty before. They shouldn't even be out there being saltwater, but they were deffenatly mink. It would have been in 2006 I think. I was out on the jetty about 200 yards from shore fishing for surf perch. Wasn't catching anything huge but had a stringer of smaller sized keepers, I just put a fish on the stringer and threw the stringer up over a rock to my left and continued fishing. Then I notice my fish were hanging down under a rock and the stringer was moving. I thought maybe there was a crab playing with the fish, so I grabed the stringer excpecting to see a small green crab, but instead when I pulled the string out of the rock there was a mink hanging tight to one of my fish. He let go and ran back under the rock so I threw the stringer over a rock to my right and went to cast again. Then I saw my stringer dissapear again under another rock, but this time the damn thing managed to rip the mouth of a fish open and get it off the string. Every time I moved the string a mink would grab it and try to rip off a fish. Then I realized I wasn't dealing with one, but at my best guess four different mink that were getting more brazzin and coming out of the rocks to try and grab my fish, one noticeably larger and three smaller ones. Thats when my lab caught on and went crazy chasing those damn things back and forth in the rocks, but they had him outnumbered and apperantly outsmarted, they eventualy ran us off they just wouldn't give up knowing I had fish and they wanted em. Never seen another out there before or since, and still don't even know why they were out there. Got some poor quality pics of them on an old computer I should try to recover some day.

[whtelk]

called one in the other day while trying to call fox (playing mouse squeaks). I was next to an old gravel pit with lots of briers....playful thing, he just kept darting at the speaker.

[lokidog]

  Haven't seen mink in the woods, but I have seen mink of all places, on the Columbia River jetty before. They shouldn't even be out there being saltwater, but they were deffenatly mink. It would have been in 2006 I think. I was out on the jetty about 200 yards from shore fishing for surf perch. Wasn't catching anything huge but had a stringer of smaller sized keepers, I just put a fish on the stringer and threw the stringer up over a rock to my left and continued fishing. Then I notice my fish were hanging down under a rock and the stringer was moving. I thought maybe there was a crab playing with the fish, so I grabed the stringer excpecting to see a small green crab, but instead when I pulled the string out of the rock there was a mink hanging tight to one of my fish. He let go and ran back under the rock so I threw the stringer over a rock to my right and went to cast again. Then I saw my stringer dissapear again under another rock, but this time the damn thing managed to rip the mouth of a fish open and get it off the string. Every time I moved the string a mink would grab it and try to rip off a fish. Then I realized I wasn't dealing with one, but at my best guess four different mink that were getting more brazzin and coming out of the rocks to try and grab my fish, one noticeably larger and three smaller ones. Thats when my lab caught on and went crazy chasing those damn things back and forth in the rocks, but they had him outnumbered and apperantly outsmarted, they eventualy ran us off they just wouldn't give up knowing I had fish and they wanted em. Never seen another out there before or since, and still don't even know why they were out there. Got some poor quality pics of them on an old computer I should try to recover some day.

They have no problems with the saltwater.  They'll eat about anything an otter would.  We have them here on the island, increasing numbers, unfortunately.  I tried running one over with the boat a while back but it kept diving and stayed just below prop level.   

[seth30]

Can you shoot them year round?

[lokidog]

I'm not sure but you might only be allowed to shoot them if they are after your livestock (chickens, rabbits)??  I think they are classified as furbearers so trapping only is allowed.  One of the reasons I am doing the trapping test this summer, and for the otters. 

[seth30]

thanks