Over the years, I have received many letters from trappers across the country, wishing to learn how to successfully snare mink. Mink are quite easily snared, as long as you follow some basic principles. As with any furbearer, in order to catch numbers of mink, you have to have the numbers there to catch.
Snares: One of the first things I should talk about is the mink snare itself. I have tried many different types and several sizes of cable, but prefer the 1x19 in the 1/16th size. Many trappers have tried the thinner 3/64th cable for mink snaring. I have tried it, but found it does have its limitations. If you can drown the mink quickly, then 3/64th is not a bad choice. However if you are snaring your mink on dry land or near any kind of entanglement, then I suggest staying with the 1/16th. A mink's skin is quite thin and easily cut, and without proper swiveling and a quick killing lock, you will end up damaging more pelts with the thinner 3/64th. Hence, the reasons why I have gone back to a smooth 1/16th cable on my mink lines. It should go without saying, that the thicker the cable, the less skin and fur damage you will have with any animal you catch.
The most important thing on a mink snare, in my opinion, is an in-line swivel. The closer the in-line swivel is to the lock, the better. Mink, once caught, will start twisting and rolling and can easily kink up a snare cable, which is why an in-line swivel is so important. You will want the in-line swivel just behind your loop size of 2.5 to 3.5 inches. Any longer, and you will give the mink too much length to tangle up and twist the cable. A swivel on the end of a mink snare is just a waste of time.
As far as snare locks, you want a lock with low visibility. I have been using the Slim Lock and have also used Gregerson's Mink Lock with great success. All of my snares are "speed loaded." This is a must for mink snares! You want the snare closing as soon as the mink touches it, with the snare closing right behind the ears and right under the throat area. This would be what I would call an ideal catch on any furbearer. You will need a fast lock, smooth snare cable and a speed-loaded snare to accomplish this consistently. On loop size, again, 2.5 to 3.5 is what I use and about 1 to 2 inches off the ground. (I use the width of my two fingers as a rule). Anything else will cause you to miss a lot of mink or to catch them around the hip area, which will cause some fur damage.
For snare support, I normally use 14 gauge wire. It doesn't take much to hold up the loop on a mink snare. You want the snare support to go just right behind the lock, but never right up against the lock. If the snare support is right up tight against the lock, it will often slow the lock down or cause it to delay in firing. As I have already said, you want the snare to drop just as soon as the mink hits the loop. So, I leave about 1/2 inch distance, which seems about right. With 14 gauge wire, I bend the end in a U-shape, then I bend it sideways, so the snare cable will lay through it. I want it to be a snug fit, but not so tight that once the mink is caught it cannot pull the cable free. Otherwise, this would interfere with the in-line swiveling, which would defeat the purpose. You want that swivel working at all times. Most of my mink snares will be fastened to a 15-inch T-Bar made of 1/2 inch smooth rod. I run my support wire off of it. This way, I have the whole set up integrated into one unit. I will also, at times, wire directly to a solid support and at times have also used a common building brick or rail road plate as a drag. Most mink will pull these into deep water and drown quickly. These will also be things that I leave hidden at the location after seasons end and will use year after year. You don't want to carry a lot of weight around on your mink line. The less you have to carry, the faster you can move.
As far as snare treatment goes, I have boiled my snares in baking soda in the past but now just dip them in Formula 1 once or twice, shake off any excess and hang them up to dry. Then, I will streak them with several different colors of camo paint to break up the outline. Any shades of brown, grey, olive drab or tan will do. This is how I do all of my snares. After they hang out to dry, I run the lock back and forth to ensure there is absolutely no build-up on or inside the lock or the cable. After that, they just hang outside until I need them. I do think the mink actually sees the small loop and tries to jump through it, regardless of how you treat it. I know several trappers who just use a shiny snare, the way they bought them, and still catch plenty of mink. A mink doesn't know what a snare is. Still, I treat all my snares as I feel more confident setting them and it helps hide them from other trappers.
I don't use much bait or lure when snaring mink due to our over abundance of raccoons, skunks and opossums. I am very much a blind set man when it comes to setting mink snares. Any place you can set a blind set with a foot hold, you can set a mink snare. It's just that simple! There is one place where I do use bait when snaring mink and that is at an elbow set along the water's edge. I like my hole just barely above the waterline and no larger than 3 to 4 inches wide and at least 2 feet deep. I set a snare on both ends. If the water rises, so be it. I will still catch some mink, even if it freezes over. I also at times use natural mink musk at a set. Some argue it scares off smaller males and females. I have never noticed that, but for the sake of argument, I would prefer not to catch those anyway. Incidentally, the farther you get away from the waterline, the more male mink you will end up catching! Last year I caught one in a coyote snare over 1/2 mile from any water source. It ended up being an old buck and the largest one I had ever taken in almost 40 years of trapping.
Location: As with any type of trapping, location will play an important role in your success. Since you are basically blind setting a 2.5 to 3.5 snare loop to catch your prey, it becomes critically important. It is not as easy as setting a baited set along a travel way and expecting the wind or eye appeal to play a key role. I like to set on sign but sometimes it may be difficult to find. Any location you find mink tracks is a good place to start. If you live in an area where you get snowfall, I recommend following a set of mink tracks whenever you get a chance. They will teach you a lot about what a mink will or won't do in a short amount of time.
Every hole along the edge of a stream will eventually be visited by a mink, regardless of its size. If it is big enough for a mink to poke its head into, it will. That goes for holes along any other body of water. I always slick them up to make them appear that they are being used, as this creates eye appeal. In my opinion, the elbow set, as I stated earlier, is by far the most productive of the hole sets. I will often bend down and try to get a mink's eye level view on the terrain. Doing this will show you many places you might otherwise miss. Over hanging banks, brush piles, log jams, old beaver lodges or washed out bank dens, drainage pipes, culverts, crossing logs, muskrat dens, old tree root cavities, where feeder streams enter a main body of water, bridges where they meet the shoreline, hollow logs, even ones you transport, will all be points of interest to every passing mink. One of my favorite places is a beaver dam. Mink as well as other animals will cross these. I form two sticks in an x shape, right along the top edge of the dam. I set one on each end. The snare will go between the bottom parts of the x, with just enough room for the mink to enter between the two sticks. This will miss every other fur bearer that will also cross the beaver dam, as they will step over and not go beneath as a mink will. Another place is where a sand bar meets the water’s edge. The steeper a vertical bank is along this point, the better this becomes. A few naturally placed guide sticks or rocks can also be used to your advantage to help guide the mink. Don't over do it. A little goes a long way.
Snaring, where legal, I feel, offers you more options than with any other method of taking mink. They are lighter and faster than many methods and less thief proof, due to their lower visibility and certainly cheaper on the wallet if it does occur. They also will keep operating in weather conditions when most other types of sets would be put out of commission.
Take some time during this off season to scout along your mink line. You may be surprised at how many minky places you'll find that you can set a snare in. Any place you can set a conibear or foothold, you can set a snare. Often times, the simpler it is, the better. Snaring may just open your eyes to another way of taking numbers of mink this coming season.
This is the size loop for mink. 1/16th with a Gregerson lock.
Snared mink.
Mink snaring class out on the line.
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