Besides the fact they swim through the trap -

Please bear with me as I try to explain my question -

I understand the hows of making the the set but I don't understand the whys in terms why the mink will hunt on the bottom edge of one point of a stream bank and not on a different point? Why the mink will hunt under one undercut bank but not another? Or does the mink travel under an undercut bank for protection from raptors and other predators? I swear that on the little stream / creek I'm trapping 80% of it has undercut banks and there are numerous points and turns, I could carpet bomb it with 110's and eventually catch a mink - not sure I would learn anything from that.

This is what I think I know (please correct me / add to it)-
Mink will hunt & travel under a undercut bank.
Mink will hunt where the bottom of the creek has some cover for the prey it is hunting.
Mink will hunt around points jetting out from stream edge to ambush prey.
Mink will hunt (bottom edge style) in the deeper pool side (slower water) of bend in strem - when I fish this is where I find the fish to be.

Thanks,

John

Your missing the point of trapping the jutting out point.think of the jutting out point as a narrowing or pinch point-consider the water current above and below these jutting out points and traveling from below or down current to above.its really like a narrowing on a footpath above water! its also about traveling upstream and slicing through the water current as closer to the bottom their is an area slightly less water current which is the preferred travel way as less energy is spent to use this path.you can deminstraight this to your self with a fishing rod and a spinner type bait for a better understanding. try it you will see yor bait move to a lees restant path if you have about two foot of slack in your line and work that bait with your rod if your standing above it.try it -it will make that light bulb in yor head glow brighter!

Thanks furgotten,

I'll try the fishing lure experiment, I'll try anything to get that lightbulb to glow brighter - they don't call me 10watt for nothing.

What makes one jutting out point better from another? I have read that some trappers focus on points that protrude two feet or less - I have no idea why?

I might have to bite the bullet and buy Noonan's DVD.

I've heard its a great video- perhaps it will help you understand better than I'm capable of explaining. Its only taken me ten years to understand it as well as I do and I'm by far not the expert! I'll tell you this though it does work. It works for me best when there is swift current at that point, dead water doesnt .

You might also watch where the minnows congregate...in the slack current...Tom

Cause it's the path of least resistance

John,
You hit on lots of the reasons of why the bottom edge works. Get Bob's video, its worth the investment. He spends lots of time talking about location. The set really starts to shine when stuff starts freezing up : )

This location is a bottom edge formed by a large rock. I knew this was a good location went I bent over to set the trap, Minnows were congregating around my feet as I set it up.

Yup, as Glandman said, I strongly suggest you purchase Noonan's DVD. The video clearly defines and explains WHY a location is a BE location and other locations, though similar to the casual observer, are not. Once you grasp the principle of WHY coupled with experience it'll make little difference whether you have hard water, open water, swift water, or dead water the BE is a mink killing set wherever or whenever it's used.

"bottom edge" sets in certain locations work in the same principle as "bottom middle" sets in other locations...




Wherever the main current flow is determines primary path of travel and likewise path of least resistance. Friction is greatest = current is slowest at the bottom of a flow. That's why fish living in streams or rivers hug the very bottom while finning stationary in place.

In time you'll spot the key locations from 100 yards away... before you ever reach water's edge to peer down inside. In order to get there, buying all of the dvds or books on the subject will pay off handsomely over time. Education NEVER costs... it always pays

Thanks everyone -

Mr. Noonan's dvd is ordered.

AustinP - in your first picture why did you set the lower bend in the picture as opposed to the upper? Did the main current flow around said bend?

Thanks,

John

John, the book written by Ken Smythe and Bob Noonan goes well with the DVD too. The illustrations in it have helped me "see" it.

Get yourself a notebook and keep good records. Once you have sets that produce, you will find those locations will produce almost every year in the future. Add new locations every year and the next thing you know, you will have a notebook full of locations to set If a person added just 10 "great producing" BE set locations to their line each year, in 10 years they would have themselves something very,very valuable. Talk about an investment of a lifetime! Have fun : )

A sharp bottom corner is also easy to whisker feel along as well as corner food against. They are not the only place mink will hunt or travel but like log piles, root clumps, holes they are a feature take advantage of. I see BE's being hunting location or travel path of least effort or both. Not every BE location will produce over and over though, some will. Like any they are not magic sets but a good option where available.

Thanks from me, Jake(4) and Luke(3) -

These are the guys are the next generation that benefit from your posts. They go on every check and are the reason this is the first year I have set a trap since I was 18, I'm 38 now. 110 on a trail through the cattils, snowed, saw the tracks, connected the next day.

yes, correct... the main flow was on that side. Keep in mind that key locations like that may have the same mink swimming all around, in and out of water for quite some time. In many cases there are several spots to catch them at the same general location

IMO the bottom edge set tripled my mink catch when I began using it in the mid 90s. Its the ultimate KISS set. I don't get into one protrusion being better than the other etc. Now we are making it difficult again. I usually set a cluster of them in one area and pay particular attention to points opening into a pool, corners of streams as they turn, hummocks in swamps along the edge of swamp creeks, the list goes on. I have also caught some pretty big mink in some pretty lame bottom edge sets with barely a "bump" sticking out and in about 6 inches of water. Don't ask me why that was but it works. This winter the colony traps are legal in Wisc so my bottom edge sets combined with the colony traps has given me a VERY successful year. Good luck! OOps...and don't overlook bridge edges with cement aprons. You will need to use a brick to stabilize the trap springs. Caught the biggest male of the season at a bridge abutment and it was already under ice too. Woot!

Todd,

This is exactly the heart of my post - you have caught some pretty big mink in what you describe as some pretty lame BE sets with barely a bump sticking out in 6 inches of water. What I'm trying to learn is why this location worked, there was something about that bump that made a mink swim through the BE set you had.

My reasoning is that if I know what to look for, I will make the set on the lame small bump, rather than walking on by it as I probably do today. Yes, I'm probably over complicating things for myself, but it has been said many times on this forum that a mink isn't hard to catch if you can think like a mink.

Mr. Noonan's dvd should be here tomorrow - can't wait.

John;

Definitely buy Ken Smythe's book. It will answer most of your questions.

The Bottom Edge set is not rocket science. If the groove is there so will be the mink and muskrats! If not then find a point with the "groove".

Just caught my first mink in a 110 bottom edge. Set it 2 days ago and it connected today. I was skeptical but now I know it works.

John
I thought at length about your question on the "lame" set. It was a very clear and shallow trout stream that was small enough to step across. There were rapids in the middle and slower on the bank where my set was. Now I am guessing here but I think the bump was the only protrusion of any kind in that particular part of the stream. It was also late December and open water was hard to find but this was a spring fed stream that always stays open. I wonder if he would have been there in late October or early November when all water was pretty much open(time of year is another thing to ponder when studying mink movement)Mink often hunt by using "ambush" tactics so maybe he wanted to get the jump on anything around that corner. One thing I have learned about the BE set is every time you think you know why you caught a particular mink, something else contradicts it and raises even more questions. There are definite patterns to study but one thing for sure that I have read in every mink book I ever read: SET A LOT OF TRAPS. Many BE trappers head for the obvious sets that look picture book perfect. I set everything everywhere I can. I also recommend Ken's book. Good luck.