If you trap the same section year after year you will get to know the favorable points so well as to do with half the traps necessary at the beginning, and get much better results at that; for one trap in the right place is worth half a dozen, clapped down haphazzard. Some places are good for one or more mink every year; an old hollow log near the water, a passageway among roots or under a fallen tree trunk, a narrow shelf along the face of the bluff, a particular hole or den--any of these, if kept guarded by a well set trap, may prove a little bonanza for you every season. In such places it is better to use no bait, a little fish oil perhaps excepted, as you will then take unawares many a sly old fellow to whom a morsel of meat, no matter how cunningly arranged, would be simply a signboard of danger.
I remember well my first experience at this style of trapping mink. I noticed what looked to be a well worn little path on the bank of a stream leading down under a big pile of drift. As an experiment I placed a trap in this path, and to my delight found a fine mink waiting me at my next visit. Two more mink followed within a week in the same place, while a trap nearby carefully set and baited was not molested.
I had supposed I knew about all there was to trapping, but this opened my eyes a bit. I began searching out and setting in similar places, with the result that my usual catch was doubled that season. One day on looking into a hole which had rotted into the foot of a big ash standing on the bank of a stream I saw a small dead fish lying among the roots as if it had been left there by some creature that had taken itself off at my approach. I promptly clapped two traps into the cavity, taking care not to disturb the fish, and soon after had a mink as a reward for my trouble.
But the best natural situation I ever discovered was under a high, overhanging bank--just the sort of roadway every mink coming along that side of the stream would be sure to choose--at a point where a willow tree completely blocked the way, except for a narrow passage perforating its tangled roots. One trap could guard this effectually, and, as in the trunk of the old ash, it was entirely protected from snow or rain. Of course a mink could get around the trunk by taking to the water, but so far as I could judge they seldom did so, and each year as long as there were any mink in the vicinity I was sure of several here.
Mink in fact prefer traveling by land as a rule. For this reason a trap placed at either end of a log spanning a stream that is too wide for them to jump forms a most killing set. Drive a few stakes on each side of a log at the ends to prevent the animal from jumping shore to one side of trap, and use extra strong traps, as you are likely to drop on a fox or coon with this set. No bait is needed. In winter any spring hole, even if near human habitations, offers good possibilities. Mink visit them to burrow for frogs, and one of two traps sunk in the mud and shallow water are pretty sure of an occasional catch. And they are but little trouble to tend as the warm spring water prevents freezing.
Now a word about bait. In my opinion the very best bait is fish; trout, pickerel, shiner or any other fresh fish, being all about equally good. But salt fish should never be used for mink, though after being smoked it makes a taking bait for coon. Red squirrel I consider next to fish. They are plentiful everywhere, and the mink makes many a meal off of them in the absence of his favorite food. The oft-quoted chicken's head has invariably failed for me, nor have I found the flesh of the muskrat such a killer as is claimed by some. Partridge heads, wood mice and frogs are all good. In the absence of anything else I have sometimes used English sparrows with fair results.
Don't be too generous with your baits. A section of small fish an inch long is sufficient and much less likely to arouse suspicions than a larger piece. In carrying bait in your bag, wrap in an old rag so it will not come in contact with the metal of hatchet or traps, and wash clean before using. Locate your traps on long, comparatively straight reaches of the stream, as mink often make short cuts when traveling and might miss your set entirely if placed on a bend. Above all, study your game and don't get too knowing to take a pointer.