I seemed to get some hapless muskrat in my perfect mink set. then again I did have bank/den set for muskrat one time, designed to allow the muskrat to swim out and drown, got there and the trap was pulled clear up in the den hole, when I pulled it out, it came with snarling snapping male mink full of fight. What ensued was like a cartoon,me whacking with the trapping club, as the mink lunged atme and rolled around on the bank in and out of the water.
Mink Attack
- Thread starter Uncle Buck
- Start date
I seemed to get some hapless muskrat in my perfect mink set. then again I did have bank/den set for muskrat one time, designed to allow the muskrat to swim out and drown, got there and the trap was pulled clear up in the den hole, when I pulled it out, it came with snarling snapping male mink full of fight. What ensued was like a cartoon,me whacking with the trapping club, as the mink lunged atme and rolled around on the bank in and out of the water.
Shadow
Banned
chuckling- I figure I could just about describe your trapping club-
dad would use the muskrat for mink bait-
second year with dad he let me set a couple muskrat traps- I got the muskrats-$1.50 unskinned- $2.75 skins-
wasn't to long before I learned about house trapping
he's one for you- pitch dark early in the morning- dad gets out, tells me to sit still, hold the tree branch, be quiet- he's wading along the bank with a flashlight-
seems dad is making an awfull lot of noise for being quiet- quite a bit of time goes by- seems anyway
dad comes back and gets in the boat- pushes off-
catch one dad as I wisper
"big ole owl in that trap, wasn't expecting that, we'll come back when it's light"
morrismike
New member
In high school I got around 3 bucks (hide on or off) for muskrat and 25 for a skinned big mink or 20 in the round. I probably caught 30 muskrats a week for the duration of the season. I rarely caught mink in pond sets in muskrat den trails. I probably caught 20+ mink a season by setting culverts (far enough away from road to avoid fur thieves) and my set was placing a brink on the bank with a #1 coil spring in the water adjacent to brick. For whatever reason (likely fur prices) coons were few and far between.
mnmthunting
Banned
I ain't messen with you guys this is fact. 
My Dad and his brother were WILDMEN!:cheers:
Fresh snow right! Time to go tracking Mink back then were a prize! $$ in a tough time, fur was worth something.
OK this what they did, walk the marshes to pick up a big mink track, follow it. Lot of Rat houses in those days. Muskrats you know are a minks favorite, especially when the rats are plentiful.
Didn't take long with a fresh mink track it would enter a rat house. For sure!! a small hole 2 1/2-3inches right in the side of the Muskrat house. Tracks going in right! none going out. So chop open the house, the mink would dive but need to come up for air within a couple minutes. You see the bulge of water, then the mink. took a special talent I suppose. Dad explained, " a VERY tight grasp exactly at the small of the back of the neck. Squeeze with all you got and hold on till the fighting stops.
Yeah they did this.:10sign:
My Dad and his brother were WILDMEN!:cheers:
Fresh snow right! Time to go tracking
Mink back then were a prize! $$ in a tough time, fur was worth something.OK this what they did, walk the marshes to pick up a big mink track, follow it. Lot of Rat houses in those days. Muskrats you know are a minks favorite, especially when the rats are plentiful.
Didn't take long with a fresh mink track it would enter a rat house. For sure!! a small hole 2 1/2-3inches right in the side of the Muskrat house. Tracks going in right! none going out. So chop open the house, the mink would dive but need to come up for air within a couple minutes. You see the bulge of water, then the mink. took a special talent I suppose. Dad explained, " a VERY tight grasp exactly at the small of the back of the neck. Squeeze with all you got and hold on till the fighting stops.
Yeah they did this.:10sign:
mnmthunting
Banned
Common you guys. I think a hard working trapper today with a good line could get 20 mink per season. We are overrun with vermin.
Shadow
Banned
I ain't messen with you guys this is fact.
My Dad and his brother were WILDMEN!:cheers:
Fresh snow right! Time to go tracking
OK this what they did, walk the marshes to pick up a big mink track, follow it. Lot of Rat houses in those days. Muskrats you know are a minks favorite, especially when the rats are plentiful.
Didn't take long with a fresh mink track it would enter a rat house. For sure!! a small hole 2 1/2-3inches right in the side of the Muskrat house. Tracks going in right! none going out. So chop open the house, the mink would dive but need to come up for air within a couple minutes. You see the bulge of water, then the mink. took a special talent I suppose. Dad explained, " a VERY tight grasp exactly at the small of the back of the neck. Squeeze with all you got and hold on till the fighting stops.
Yeah they did this.:10sign:
I'd heard of such-
dad was stern- mink travel long distances- the lakes freeze over- every mink arround will eventually come up or down the river- set traps properly- you'll catch them-
and yes- any trapper worth his salt will not beat a prime mink to death
to hear they are so mean, nasty, and will attack you- just cracks me up-
behind the head from the back- yep
ranchodeluxe
Member
You talk a helluva game Shadow
Shadow
Banned
suppose so- question is- who has a good line- how big an area- other trappers in the area- is it a full time thing or just enough out that you can check each trap morning and evening- and- can you get the only permission so there's no compition
in Northern Minn mink in their prime- and many trappers were setting lines for all sorts of "vermin"- trespass applied in those days as well- even back then you couldn't just go out looking and setting traps-
in the late 50's thru the 60's we regularly got $45.00- $55.00 for a male in prime condition
no idea what they brought in your area- no idea if they were prime- how much did you get for a nice male
Shadow
Banned
do more than talk-
you know of anyone who took a month off and went up to Alaska to hunt/trap with a brother
morrismike
New member
I spent the entire summer of 1987 at the North Pole on a "project" for the US Navy. Unfortunately the only live animal I saw was some kind of big white bird that was lost. I must have volunteered for 100s of hours of Polar Bear watch and never got off a shot.
I volunteered but didn't get a trip to McMurdo.
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
Christopher McCandless.
Just kidding.
Just kidding.
ranchodeluxe
Member
Ya,me.Killed a Kodiak Brown with my trapping club.Of course a real man would just grab it behind the neck.
carptom1
Well-known member
Who could this be? Could it be him? I don't see any dogs though-usually dogs-
makes me laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcsXC2xFis4d
makes me laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcsXC2xFis4d
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
I thought he'd be taller!
Shadow
Banned
ranchodelux
Inuet Eskimo and I went out most of the time- we'd run a line that would enable us to get back with the gas we had in the 2 sno goes-
quite a story- we found fresh wolvering tracks heading way out across the tundra- discussion- how far could we follow and still get back
we'd chip thru ice to put snares for beaver- my 5 year old son came along a few times as we were using a dog sled and could bundle him up good- one time we had to spend the night- whiteout-
a big Lynx was in the area- village trappers were after it- we went 80 miles up river- nailed a piece of caribou hide on a tree- just high enough and set a small trap under- attached to a drag- trick was you wanted it to see and study for a couple days- Inuett said they cover alot of ground, come back the way they started, we're far others won't come arround- they know
3 days we get back- sure enough- Lynx just sitting- caught by his toes-
skinned, stretched- word got arround- buyer flew in- $485.00-
Fox- btw- a prime Alaska fox is nothing when you compare the pelt to a southern fox
We cured this one in a battery acid concoction solution that was known to be quite ok- still have the instructions-
know how we'd catch fox with just a couple traps
find where the natives had shot some caribou- attach a small trap to the horns- come back and look from a distance- natives didn't care about horns-
quite a few Eskimos were practicing for dog sled races
one came by late one night- 13 dogs- what a sight-
short of it was- brother agreed- son and I would follow him as he was going to head to the next village- brother and family would come up following day- I would handle the dog sled once we got out on the trail- 35 miles to the next village-
cold, still, full moon- 14 below- hour he's stopped- I come up- son is all bundled in the small racng sled
Eskimo says "dogs know trail, don't fall off"
stood on the runners- he said something- whew- off we were- fast! later I looked back across the tundra- he wasn't following- hard to say how fast we were going after an hour- moving rght along- powerfull sled dogs-
son, what do you think- cold dad but I'm ok- where is he
would say my brother said something to him like- he can do it-
they say we covered some 15 miles- did ok-
good sled dogs are like good bird dogs-
Inuet Eskimo and I went out most of the time- we'd run a line that would enable us to get back with the gas we had in the 2 sno goes-
quite a story- we found fresh wolvering tracks heading way out across the tundra- discussion- how far could we follow and still get back
we'd chip thru ice to put snares for beaver- my 5 year old son came along a few times as we were using a dog sled and could bundle him up good- one time we had to spend the night- whiteout-
a big Lynx was in the area- village trappers were after it- we went 80 miles up river- nailed a piece of caribou hide on a tree- just high enough and set a small trap under- attached to a drag- trick was you wanted it to see and study for a couple days- Inuett said they cover alot of ground, come back the way they started, we're far others won't come arround- they know
3 days we get back- sure enough- Lynx just sitting- caught by his toes-
skinned, stretched- word got arround- buyer flew in- $485.00-
Fox- btw- a prime Alaska fox is nothing when you compare the pelt to a southern fox
We cured this one in a battery acid concoction solution that was known to be quite ok- still have the instructions-
know how we'd catch fox with just a couple traps
find where the natives had shot some caribou- attach a small trap to the horns- come back and look from a distance- natives didn't care about horns-
quite a few Eskimos were practicing for dog sled races
one came by late one night- 13 dogs- what a sight-
short of it was- brother agreed- son and I would follow him as he was going to head to the next village- brother and family would come up following day- I would handle the dog sled once we got out on the trail- 35 miles to the next village-
cold, still, full moon- 14 below- hour he's stopped- I come up- son is all bundled in the small racng sled
Eskimo says "dogs know trail, don't fall off"
stood on the runners- he said something- whew- off we were- fast! later I looked back across the tundra- he wasn't following- hard to say how fast we were going after an hour- moving rght along- powerfull sled dogs-
son, what do you think- cold dad but I'm ok- where is he
would say my brother said something to him like- he can do it-
they say we covered some 15 miles- did ok-
good sled dogs are like good bird dogs-