Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Mink

There was a topic on mink a couple years ago with the conclusion being that they wouldn't cause much damage to a private fishery.

In the last ten days we have had three mink sitings. These are the only mink that we have seen since the ponds were constructed. I'm wondering if the dominant predator has to rear his ugly head again. Check out the link, would like to hear if anyone has had a problem with minky.

Has anyone seen this?

Minks have a very short life expectancy, usually a year and a half. Minks hate muskrats so if you have muskrats as a problem on your pond the muskrats should disappear quickly. Mink do eat a few fish, mostly smaller ones so the amount of damage they do should be negligable. I once saw mink eat 5 small bass one afternoon at our pond, he was diving through some holes in the ice on xmas day years ago. He then spotted a muskrat on the ice 150 yards away and began to stalk it. As far as I know that muskrat got away under the ice, but you never know.

You are right about the short life expectancy. I'm guessing by Sunday I'll have 2-3 pelts on the wall. How many does it take to make a coat?

Saw one fishing tonight from about 20 yards. He was diving from the shelf ice. Stayed under about 20 seconds. Didn't get anything and didn't run too fast when he saw me. Maybe the local taxidermist will get some business.

Hey Cecil, how about a mink standing over a trout like in the picture above?

What picture?

You do know I specialize in only fish right?

I had a mink once as large as a groundhog. I am not kidding! He made his home under some stacked piers and when I saw him I thought I was looking at a groundhog he was so big. Fortunately if he was doing any damage I didn't have to worry. He ended up a fur rug in the centerline of the highway the very next day. Same thing happened with beaver that moved in. I guess highways are good for something. Oh yeah the highway recenly took care of a stray cat that's been getting into my garbage cans.

There were lots of fish skins, fins, and bones under the pier section when I pulled it up. Not sure if he killed them or not. Just glad he's gone.

I like mink and would gladly forfeit a few small fish to keep the muskrats in check...

Mink have to go if they invade your chickens though which reminds me of an awkward moment I had a couple years ago. Something was getting my mom's chickens, but we couldn't figure out what. I thought it might be a mink, but no sign. One day, she hollered at me that there something in the chicken house bothering the chickens. I grabbed a rifle and went to investigate. She said it was under a feeder and lifted up the edge. Out shot a mink towards the chicken wire screen door. I just managed to grab it by the tail as it was getting out the door. The mink didn't like that and started to spin around. It didn't take long for me to decide that might be painful so I slammed the door shut with my foot (had rifle in other hand). I was doing my best to hold on to its tail, keep the door shut tight enough it couldn't reach back and bite me, bring the rifle into position where I might shoot without hitting the house, and etc. A few exciting seconds, but the mink wound up getting away until I caught it in a trap later that night as it tried to get back into the chicken house. To this day, those few seconds still seems unreal. I've caught other mink in traps, but I've certainly never tried to grab one by hand (even in a trap) and have no desire to do so. Just got caught up in the moment of trying to keep it from escaping.

I saw four different mink as I mowed around my lake last year. After finishing mowing, I had a lot of geese take it over and also realized that I had wiped out the cover mink used for evading predators so I didn't mow this year. I didn't seem to have nearly as many geese either so what someone told me about geese not liking tall weeds/grass around ponds might be true (even though they land in the water?).

When I first bought my property I had a twelve foot john boat. No dock was constructed at the time and we used to park the boat upside down in the tall grass that surrounded the pond. My daughters and I decided to try our luck fishing on a nice June day, after the boat had sat for a few weeks in the grass. When the boat was flipped over there were four of the cutest little mink I have ever seen, In the middle of the Mink herd, was the biggest bullfrog ever seen in all me forty-three years. This bad boy had his head completely gnawed off, his body was almost the size of a Nerf football, the babies were no larger than a chipmunk. Two of them hi-tailed it for the grass, Two of them decided to take on the surprised fat guy holding the beer can. I Of course did what any full grown man would do...I screamed like a little girl and jumped straight up in the air. One made it past... one did not. Now it was my daughters turn to scream. Needless to say, I did not have a fishing partner that afternoon. The girls went to get a box and plan a "Private" closed casket funeral. We moved no more than ten feet from the little guy, when all of a sudden momma comes snarling out of the grass, snatched up baby and disappeared again. We have always seen Muskrats in or around the pond. That year not one.

Cecil, click on the link in the first post to see the picture I was referring to. Not a bad trout, eh? I'm willing to bet that if a mink started pulling trout out of your ponds like that one, your neighbors would soon be wondering why that strange man is chasing those skinny little brown cats on to the highway in his underwear.

Great story Ranger would like to have that one on film.

I'm torn on whether to eliminate the mink. We'd like to have some nesting waterfowl but they will certainly discourage that from happening. The potential fish damage and the fact that my lab almost had a face full of mink the other day makes it too easy of a decision to eliminate them.

Let's see, I've relocated a half dozen large snappers, discouraged a few blue heron and now the mink. Seems like this wildlife habitat project is working just fine except for the fact that the uninvited guests keep showing up.

I was at the dentist yesterday who is a friend of mine and a knowledgeable outdoorsman. He asked me if I had heard about the cougar sitings. He said that there have been two cougar sitings in my area this fall, one by a friend of his who claims to have seen a cat from 25 yards. Don't know if its legit but I can say that it makes a guy check out the tops of the sand piles a little more carefully when walking past. Mink schmink.

Really great stories guys!

I had you pegged for a trapper Rangersedge. You have to be very knowledgeable about animals to catch them consistantly.

I don't worry about the ocassional mink. He's not going to do too much damage & he kinda earns his keep.
It's the otters I have to keep an eye out for. They are devistating to a fishery!

Steve,

If you're talking about the size of thet trout well... I plant browns that large. :p

Interesting about the cougars. I am seeing reports of cougars in other parts of the country on a taxidermy site I frequent. You have to wonder if someone is getting them from exotic breeders and planting them. I can't see them migrating.

Ric,

My state has been reintroducing otters in rivers in our state for a few years now. One river is within a couple miles of the ponds. The state is extatic about reintroducig them and Ospreys (within about 5 miles as the crow flies). I'm not so excited. I've had enough trouble with Herons!

About 15 years ago we had quite a few mountain lion sightings around my area. I saw quite a few tracks but never saw the big cat. Haven't heard about them for the last ten years.

Otters are bad news! Thankfully, I haven't seen or heard of any around here yet; but I fear it is only a matter of time until silky brown furry herons/comorants are in this area too.

There have been a lot of sporadic mountain lion reports in this area - including by two of my nephews last year (they shot at it even, but missed). One of my brother's cows died in the same immediate area a couple years ago after showing up with what appeared to be deep claw marks high on her hip. I'm not certain what I think. I keep thinking that if they are here as they seem to be in very limited numbers, someone will nab one deer hunting, with a vehicle, on a trail cam, etc. Every year, we search for tracks after any decent snow. About three years ago, we followed some promising looking tracks, but it got too warm (snow melted too much) and we lost them (after following for around a mile through a field and woods). Sooner or later.

Steve: I would have liked to have had that mink catching episode on film too. I can attest that mink don't like it when you grab on to and pull on their tails. Also, that they are pretty hard to hold on to long.

Ric: I have trapped off and on for 25-30 years now. I had kind of gotten out of it, but getting back into it and predator calling now with nephews and such.

Been doing too much working and not enough living.

Cecil,
I don't remember when they reintroduced otters here in NC 15yrs ago?? Anyway they were put in the mountains 3+ hrs from here. Just last year the NCWRC opened trapping season here after reports of trout streams being cleaned out after stocking! They multiply fast!
I would have a plan of action ready because when they find your honey hole ....

I sent your story to my oldest son Jeff. He's a trapper. Learned from his pop.

We lost 29 ducks over 2 days to a passing group of mink last year - local Fish & Game folks said they had seen it before and were not too surprised. It certainly surprised me, I didn't even know they were in the area - fortunately they moved on. No indication that they were interested in fish, I would guess the waterfowl were much easier pickings.
Jim

mr willy wrote: "I Of course did what any full grown man would do...I screamed like a little girl and jumped straight up in the air."

A wild rodent can be damn scary!

Great discussion here. Steve, that link in your original post says that, as far as territory, the minks are all through Canada, but does not mention the US. Was that link from a Canada-specific site? It seems like the mink is in many US states from the postings in this thread.

Sunil,

We even have mink here in the deep south. I occasionally see signs on my property and a dead one on the road. Since I plan to build some wood duck nest boxes, I suppose I will have to treat the mink as varmints. It's going to be a hard decision.