Mink: I'm At It Again!

[Fletcher 0]

It can only be a matter of time, this thread is killing me, come on ditch shitter we'll with you on this one. :clapping:

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Cheers, lads. But another dull day, I'm afraid. Bush wire, untouched. Styx wire? Seemingly lifted directly up, out of the tealer, and dropped onto the girder bridge it was guarding. Loop not really altered much.

 

Ok, the loop did appear to have closed a micron or two. But I firmly believe this was simply due to the over all wire having been stretched out that bit. Obviously; Move a taught snares loop away from its anchor - noose, by definition, has to close to give that reach.

 

So, what do I make of that? Well, no way on this earth was it a skinny little female, doing a 'Jump Through the Hoop', circus like performance. We can dismiss that straight away as she'd have to have been fired from a cannon to make it.

 

No. That wire is anchored and tealered on the right hand side, facing the bridge. K? Wire was layed along the bridge, biased to the right. I also noticed one breath takingly gorgeous, fresh trail. It came from just my side of where the drier ditch runs down into this wet one. They obviously come down the dry ditch, see? Then, just before getting themselves clogged in that weedy wet one, they pop out onto the bog and run along by the fence line to my girder. And, just about dawn, a Big one had made that trip!

 

I reckon he's passed a shade to the right of my (high set) loop and has just got his shoulders under it. Between the curve of the loop and the tealer. See what I'm saying? So then, the arch of his back has lifted the tether side of the wire, thus causing the loop itself to drag along with him as he's bounded on across that girder. The bugger! This time, I re set much the same as yesterday. But I made a concious check that the tether wire was well and firmly seated in the tealer slit.

 

Tonight's another night. Bright moon and it's drizzling as I write. A fair night to get them moving then. I never expect to find one waiting for me, you know. But I'm perfectly happy to keep playing this little game with them. Because I Know that, one of these mornings, I Will have one, most likely hanging off that bridge! Noting what stops him will crack this enigma for me. Then I'll be on my way to learning how to repeat the process again ~ and again!

 

Practice Makes Perfect, does it not?

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

Have you tried to block each side of the loop with summit d-s ?

 

if they're anything like fox's they'll nearly always take the easiest route so maybe a couple of branches or something each side of the loop would help guide them into it ?

 

good luck

 

Ricky

[Fletcher 0]

Have you tried to block each side of the loop with summit d-s ?

 

if they're anything like fox's they'll nearly always take the easiest route so maybe a couple of branches or something each side of the loop would help guide them into it ?

 

good luck

 

Ricky

 

I was thinking exactly the same thing, I use this quite alot with the rabbit snares.

Do you think you'll get the first one stuffed.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Fencing the loop's always an option guys, obviously. But there's a method in my apparrent madness at not so helping myself

 

When I was a young lad, I was working for a Brickie by the name of Clem. And one day, as I struggled to achieve some task for him, Clem pulled me aside and explained a tennet of life for which I still stop and thank him, most days, even now. " Ditch, " He said: " In everything we try to do in life there will always be a Hard way and an Easy way. Always look for the easy way. " One of the best bits of advice I've ever been given. But now comes the seeming contradiction:

 

A bit later in life I dabbled with Karate. My Sensei taught me other valuable lessons. One of which was that we must master the Basics. Without a thorough grounding in the fundamentals, how can we advance to the more complex stuff? What use is it, leaping six foot into the air and lashing out with a spinning kick; If you never learned which part of the foot to kick with? Sure, you'd hurt the other guy. But smashing your own toes against his thick skull would do You no favours!

 

Now I'm bringing both lessons together to bear on This, self imposed lesson. My aim is simple and basic. I want to learn to catch a mink by the 'simple' expediant of placing a wire loop just so that he walks into it. Not under it. Round it. Through or over it. I want to master the art of Knowing just how to hang that loop. Why? Because that'll be the easiest way to go about it. Crack that and I could move along these ditches, pausing to fluently peg a wire at each tasty run. I'd do so fast and efficiently and cover good ground. Then I'd return and reap my nights harvest.

 

Of course, not every run would be amienable to a straight foreward hang. There'd be 'tricky' situations which, none the less, cried out for my attention ~ you getting the picture now? That's when I'd pause, rub my chin and start thinking about turning up the heat a little. Maybe a bit of fencing would turn him here? Maybe I'll need a stick, placed just There. More creative stuff. Like the flying, spinning, screaming show stopper kicks; That can all come later.

 

What good to set a whole obsticle course of fences, jump sticks, chin sticks and run ins if, when he finally gets where I want him, my basic loop is too damn low?

 

I'm an emminantly patient man. I need to be, because I'm f***ing useless! (And I've been told so by the greatest authority in the game!) But I don't mind that at all. I have so much to learn and the only way I can learn anything is by just keeping on getting out there, trying something slightly differant, watching for the results, considering them and trying again using what that last failure taught me.

 

I'll get there

[moley 115]

listen shitty , i,m only saying this one more time ,fence the f****r in so he has nowhere to go, so he cannot fail to put his neck in that wire, the snare in the last pic wants to have the lock at about 1 oclock so that the wind or a rat or summat cannot set the snare running , you also seem to have a fair bit of spare wire above the hole , or is it just the angle you are taking the pic from.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

1 o'clock? Gottcha! That makes perfect sense. Thanks, Moley (So f***ing obvious, once it's pointed out! )

 

Now, you're refering to the shot back on page 2 here. 'Hedge Set with Chin Stick' ? Ok. Now that was taken before I readjusted the loop a little. I believe I've since made the loop smaller, but shall take on board what you say about the 'spare' wire at the top.

 

Having said that, yeppers, the angles I get to shoot this particular set from aren't straight foreward ~ that hole's actually down in a slight slope which funnels, naturally, towards it. As you see, I'm already experimenting with the stick on this one. I don't yet want to over egg the pudding by altering too many variables at once. That set simply hasn't been revisited just yet. But I'm quite hopeful, now that I've done as much as I yet know how to ensure I've covered its earlier failures. No doubt time will tell.

 

I also don't see much scope for 'fencing' it any more than it already, naturally is. That's why I chose it in the first place: It's a naturally 'fenced and funnelled' hole. I just need to get that basic loop in the right position. Short of jamming a drain pipe in there, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot more than that which I can do.

 

 

 

I dont know if it's been mentioned because i cant be arsed to read through it all

 

 

Then I'm sure you'll have sympathy and understanding as to why I can't be arsed to explain all that again

[moley 115]

don,t you like to make life difficult ? you can make that mink go where you want it too , you can make it stop, jump , dip its head , just about anything but somersault, all with a bit of correct fencing , mink are totally fearless of just about everything, no amount of fencing will stop it trying to get thru that hole.even try putting that bloody drainage pipe there, i,m off for a rest now , this cyber mink snareing is hard work :showoff:

[woodga 170]

:11: :11: moley your just mean, cyber mink trapping i like that one if you manage to get a mink at some point will you get it stuffed :11:

GOOD HUNTING ALL WOODGA :ph34r:

Edited August 8, 2006 by woodga

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Wow! Having now eaten, at last, I can truly appreciate where Moley's coming from. I'm on a piss poor diet right now and eating so little and so shittily I start to come apart at the seams by even mid afternoon. Now I'm thinking straighter again

 

Ok, you guys, straight to the crux: What size should I make my loops, please?

 

Thankyou

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

Im no expert but i would suggest about 5 inches

 

p.s what size are they just now ?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I'd say I'm trying to keep them about the 3 1/2 - 4" max, mate. I'm working on the simple basis that, as long as his head goes in it, the less slack wire there is to be taken up before it's closed round his neck the better.

 

Simple fact is, as stated - probably repeatedly - before: I'm just not familiar with mink. I've never been able to familiarise myself with their sizes etc. Never had the oppertunity.

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

You sound as if you're doing most things right mate, just a matter of time if you ask me !

[Vermin Dropper 2]

I think P&G posted before.... mink snares- loop 2"-3"

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I think P&G posted before.... mink snares- loop 2"-3"

 

F***! Thanks for that, mate! Goddamn and I missed it! I'd read that stuff when he put it up here. Obviously the finer detail just washed over me, I was simply so impressed with the fact of what he'd done there. Damn! No wonder they've been skipping into my loops, rather than catching up in them

 

Ok, this also makes a lot more sense of what Moley's been trying to hammer into me here - my silent, unvoiced arguement being that, with a six inch girder opening and a four inch loop? What's to fence? I figured getting the loop central would do it. Hah! And they've been liturally jumping through rings with me all this time

 

This is Vital new information. It changes Everything. My entire concept. Boy, I can't wait for tomorrow! Down to two inches?! F***!

 

Speaking of tomorrow; I also hope to go into town. If I make it, I'll be looking to pick up a small vice, reel of wire and some bits too. If I can find all that? I'll be setting too and making myself a whole new set of replenishment mink wires! Then I can Really 'go to town' around here! I'm finding more and more runs to die for!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now then, Beelzibub, you still standing there? Please listen carefully then, ok? Because I'm only going to bother with saying this once

 

You've popped up, out of no where and begun key board sniping at me from the start, haven't you? I've seen it. The hundreds of viewers of this thread - and my other one - have seen it. I imagine - unless they all maybe know you better - everyone else has been wondering what the hell your problem is. Maybe the thousand plus views alone which my threads get is somehow threatening your own, fragile, sense of self worth? How should I know. Why should I care? Believe me; I don't!

 

I, and everyone else trying to enjoy this innocent venture, can clearly see what you're doing here: You're begging me to join you in your own personal little entrance into the on line Special Olympics. Aren't you? Your own ability and worthyness to even be a competitor shines through though, I'll give you that little pat on the back LOL! Sorry, bud; No dice. You toddle on down that particular track alone. And, as we all know: Win or lose; You'll still be what you plainly are .....

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just carry right on as I've been doing. And shall completely ignore your every following little tissy fit, here or anywhere else on this otherwise great forum. OK? :kiss: Bye, bye! Deal With That.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about that I'll report back after I've done my rounds again, later today, lads. And I'll be adjusting the loop size on Both those wires!