# Nice mink!



## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

I picked up a nice black male the other day and havn't had time to mess with him so I tossed him in the basement fridg. So this morning I peeled him out. I thru a tape on him and Hanging from the nose he went 23" to the base of the tail. I don't know what he'll board 'cause I'm just going to roll him up and get him in the freezer for now.
That's a pretty good mink for around here. I just wondered how he would stack up where you guys trap. Seems you always hear how much bigger and better furs are up north. What do you think guys? Is it a baby or a big boy or something in between?


Wade


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I haven't caught a lot of mink but I have had them go 33-34" to the tip of the tail.

Some local knuckleheads shot a mink in early October while duck hunting. It stretched out 44" and either 5" or 6" wide at the base. It was worthless because it was too early.

I didn't get to hold it but another trapper shook a mink at me that he'd just caught. His hand only went about 1/2 way around the neck of the mink. It was huge and much bigger than any mink I'd ever caught.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Whow! That's some mink! I've heard those stories around here but never seem it. Maybe I just don't get out enough too! I have also always heard of that 40 lb. **** someone gets every year.I had one in a trap one year and thought "that's got to be the biggest **** I've ever seen. When I got home and thru him on the scales it was only 20Lb. And I've caught a lot of 40 lb beaver and rest assured,if I'm in the woods,day or night,and run into a **** the size of those beaver,well,he's got the woods,I'm leaving!


Wadde


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Yeah I've heard those stories too. 50 lb brush wolves.....

I measured the 44" mink so I'm sure of the size. Such a waste for them to shoot and shoot it so early.

I did catch an otter that stretched 68" when I lived in AK. I remember that I clean skinned it and it took me all day. The fur was long and silky. I slide my slightly open hand through the fur and then slid my other hand over top of the first and there was still fur sticking through my fingers. Even here in MN (-30 F this morning) the otter I've seen would only have fur through the first hand.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

With size of **** mentioned, biggest I shot was 56# in 1961. That was a big sow. In 1963, shot a 48# boar. They're out there and look like a small bear when treed!

Martin


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I got one It crosses the same road most every morning , he looks like jaba da **** going across the road , I am fairly sure the house leaves cat food out at night and he cleans it up every night , the den is across the gravel road from the house , I see this on the way back from trap check , man I wish i could set that trail.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Whow! that's just amazing! What do you suppose the difference is? You would think in the warmer climate down here wildlife would do better and live longer to get to that size but it's just the opposite. The only thing i can remember having extremely large would be muskrat. I remember one season,I think 78 or 79 I caught 281 rats and 259 went 3X,and the smallest of that season was a large.As for mink, I caught one years ago that boarded 32" and in my whole life I don't think I've taken more than a dozen over 21".And none of them were recent.
Around here now everything seems smaller than in the past.Since there are so many mink farms the price of wild mink are down so noone traps for them and in turn they keep the rat population in check.I's serious work to take 100 rats a year now.I really envy you guys!


Wade


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Generally the further north you go the larger the animals because it's easier for a mammal to retain heat if it is larger.

In my area the rats are small but that's likely due to the poor soil that the plants use to grow. Poor soil means poor nutrition. Go west or south where the soil is richer and there are more rats and larger rats.

I know that our coyotes are larger than the ones I took in the plains of CO and NM.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Keep in mind too that ranched mink are otter sized. When PETAphiles raid a ranch and turn them loose they can temporarily boost the size in the local population.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

1shotwade said:


> Whow! that's just amazing! What do you suppose the difference is? You would think in the warmer climate down here wildlife would do better and live longer to get to that size but it's just the opposite. The only thing i can remember having extremely large would be muskrat. I remember one season,I think 78 or 79 I caught 281 rats and 259 went 3X,and the smallest of that season was a large.As for mink, I caught one years ago that boarded 32" and in my whole life I don't think I've taken more than a dozen over 21".And none of them were recent.
> Around here now everything seems smaller than in the past.Since there are so many mink farms the price of wild mink are down so noone traps for them and in turn they keep the rat population in check.I's serious work to take 100 rats a year now.I really envy you guys!
> 
> 
> Wade


Lifes a bit easier in the warmer climates so makes for lots of competition.
I would consider that a contributing Factor, but people also prefer the warmer climates so there is another factor.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

fishhead said:


> Generally the further north you go the larger the animals because it's easier for a mammal to retain heat if it is larger.
> 
> In my area the rats are small but that's likely due to the poor soil that the plants use to grow. Poor soil means poor nutrition. Go west or south where the soil is richer and there are more rats and larger rats.
> 
> I know that our coyotes are larger than the ones I took in the plains of CO and NM.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergmann's_rule


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## Trapper (Jun 2, 2006)

_*In fifty four years trapping I have never caught a mink that measured over forty inches. Had a few in the 38-39 inch area but never hit forty. A common wild male mink in Wisconsin is 31 to 34 inches long (not stretched) with adult females generally 24 to 26. Over the years I have heard of wild mink being larger but I have never seen one. Now Ranch mink is a totally another story. Much larger and wider, guess constant food, great health care with little exercise grows them better than mother nature. Trapper*_


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