Raccoons

[poutpro]

Does it pay to keep traps out with this cold weather coming in? How long until the coons go into their hibernation, and how often will they come out for food?

[Gissert]

Coons are gonna hole up with the cold now. If we get a warm snap, they may come out a bit.

Keep them out, though, you may get some mink. The mink activity should go up now.

[poutpro]

What kind of sets are best to use for mink? What kind of habitat does a guy look for? I am new to trapping and have just been starting on coon, as they were pretty easy to catch. I did manage one mink on a trap set for coon.

[Gissert]

My favorite sets for mink are blind sets. If you can find some dry concrete box culverts, or if they are frozen, mink will follow the edge of these. I place a trap right on the outside edges. If they have running water, these are dynamite. Even if the water is really deep, lots of times the mink will swim along the bottom edge. 110 conibars are the ticket here. Try and find the mink book by Ken Smythe about bottom edge sets, well worth the money. Round culverts are just as good sometimes, especially if there is a little bit of water flowing in them.

If you can find some banks with lots of overhanging roots or hollow logs, mink will stick their head into just about every one. A foot hold or a 110/120 conibar works well here. If you have some old rat carcasses, throw a chunk in the back. Make sure any bait like that cannot be seen from flying birds.

The will investigate every hole in a bank, too. I used to dig some every year before it froze. Dig them at an upward angle, about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, about a foot deep. A little mink lure on a cottonball inside the hole just about assured action. Beaver dams can be a great spot for sets like these.

Spring seeps will get looked at all winter.

Once the ponds are frozen, look for muskrat houses that have been raided. You will see a hole in the top or side. Mink will usually return, or investigate the hole. These are worth a trap too.

Although the open water is behind us, I set EVERY muskrat feedbed I find. They are pure gold for stacking up muskrat numbers, and I would get a good amount of mink from them too.

Go for a walk after a fresh snowfall. Find some mink tracks, and just follow them. Watch how they investigate nooks and crannies. Once you do this a few times and see what they like to look at, stuff will just start jumping out at you all year long. I have noticed good spots for mink sets while spring crappie fishing, while ice fishing, while duck and deer hunting. Keep a notebook handy and jot it down, then set it come trapping season.

[poutpro]

found a couple of nice mink trails at my grandparents between 2 cattail sloughs where beavers have a rund going, and got a nice male tonight in a 160. Saw some coyote tracks walking along the ice too. How would a guy anchor a snare in cattails? Thanks for all the help Gissert.

[Gissert]

Nice going! I was thinking of your post yesterday when I was looking at some fresh mink tracks in the snow.

Never snared before, so I really am not sure. If you have ice, could you anchor the snare to a 2 x 4 and then put it crossways under the ice?

[BLACKJACK]

What’s the legality of putting a snare in cattails? Just remember, guys are still out pheasant hunting - in cattails. Would you want your dog caught in a snare??

I had a bad experience about 10 years ago, was pheasant hunting a strip of cattails between a road and some open water, my lab was weaving in and out and all of a sudden yipped and came back with a bloody welt on her nose. So I went and investigated and found a sprung conibear trap, a big one about 9 inches across. I was about 4 inches away from having a dead dog. Since that day, I no longer hunt cattails along roads; I realize that’s an easy access spot for trappers.

Be responsible about what and where you set. It may be legal but is it the right thing to do?

[poutpro]

This is private land owned by my grandparents, and there are no pheasants at all around the area. Otherwise I don't set connibear on any place where there may be dogs, or If I do, they have been in dog proof boxes, and are only 160's, so a dog would have a tough time getting into one.