American Mink bigger than 18 inches?

I just noticed a male mink on one of my fish rearing ponds that has to be a good 2 feet in length. Literature says they never exceed 18 inches. And no its not a otter! ;D

Will be taking him out soon as mink and fish are not a good combination.

Anyone know of mink longer than 18 inches?

 

Good grief Doug that is a monster. I'm not aware of a any mink ranches around me but he may have been feeding on all the trout he wanted.

 

Well I bought a trapping license today. Dug a hole in the bank near where I saw him last and placed a trout in the back that didn't handle seining well and was developing fungal issues. Was barely alive so pretty fresh. The hole was barely below the waterline and I placed a conibear in front of the trout just under the water.

The other trap was set under a pier where it meets the bank in the main pond and again dug a hole and placed the conibear in front of the hole just under he water.

Any market for a large wild American mink here? Internet says $10.00 tops.

Wish me luck! I've had plenty of experience trapping muskrat from the ponds but this is my first mink set.

 

Hmmm... conibear 110 set in front of a pipe concealed with grass with only one way to get in (over the conibear). Trap was not tripped but fish behind trap is gone! Other set under water in the entrance of a hole I dug in the bank was tripped and 12 inch trout that was in the back of the hole is gone too!

This could get personal!

I'm using mink urine now to cover my scent and maybe make it more interesting. It's just a matter of time -- I hope!

Trap under pier untouched but was not baited. (Completely different pier than the one I saw him out out under.) I don't want to draw the mink to that pond if I don't have to as it has all the trout.

 

Thanks!

 

No luck yet. But it may have moved on. My parents walk a dog back there along with my visiting sister. Going to wait for full ice and snow and see if I can find sign and go from there.

 

Old boar,

Thanks for sharing. Yeah the time really flies doesn't it?

No sign or anything even in snow and the ponds are frozen over.

 

Well the bastard outsmarted me again but this may be his last time. I suspected he had set up under a burn pile near the biggest pond, and even set baited conibears at all the openings I could find. No luck but one was tripped again.

Needed to burn the pile and a couple of pieces of furniture so I decided to take the shotgun in case he came running out from under the pile. Sure enough he shot out from under the pile, but the gun was not that close by as I didn't want it too close to the inferno, which I had used gasoline to get going. But the time I got to the shotgun with my heavy boots in the snow, and racked in a shell, he had gone halfway across the pond and stopped under my pier. I ran as fast as I could to get within range and my shot took a piece of the pier out. LOL (It's just an old wooden pier). Would have been nice to have another person to watch for the mink to come out but I don't have that option here.

He disappeared in a small section of bank on the other side of the pond, I have a 6 inch corrugated drain pipe, that is capped on the end but had some damage from the mower on top. I'm pretty sure he went into there. If he did there is no way out except how he went in which is now open and has a connibear he has to get through.

I'm hoping this will be it! His tracks were all over the frozen snow covered pond this morning leading to a section of open water. I just hope he didn't destroy too many trout. He's a big boy with a white throat patch.

 

I went around a around with a Great Blue Heron once. I felt like he was the roadrunner and I was the Willie Coyote! One evening I waited patiently for him to show up behind a privacy fence near the pond. Must have sat there for an hour! He finally showed up just as it was getting dark. He actually crained his neck around the fence and looked right at me! I thought I've got ya now! Problem was I did't have the shell in the chamber and that's all it took for me to not get him. It was so dark once he flew up I couldn't see him!

 

The Good News:

He was in the drainage pipe and came out!

The Bad News:

The trap was tripped with no mink!

I've trapped a lot of muskrats with no issues but this mink is getting to be a real challenge.

I don't see how he was able to get through that trap without being caught!

Does he know he's messing with a guy that skins animals for a living and mounts them? ;D

Once I get this thing I may just mount him as a trophy!