How to Make a Bottom Edge Set

A mainstay for the Eastern mink trapper is the bottom edge set.  Mink can be a finicky animal and can pass by your pocket set without any interest at all.  But the chances of a mink passing through a bottom edge set with a bodygrip is slim, which makes them a great set to learn and perfect if you want to become a better mink trapper.  When swimming underwater mink will hold tight to the edge of the bank or culvert, generally at the surface of the water or tight to the bottom.  This set takes advantage of their natural instincts and uses them in our favor.

“This set takes advantage of their natural instincts and uses them in our favor. ”

The Author Putting in a Bottom Edge Set under an Overhanging Bank

For making this set you’ll want to use either a #110 or #150 bodygrip trap.  You’ll also need a way to stabilize it into position.  If you setting against a sharp 90 degree wall of a creek you can use your regular rebar stakes or a conibear support. When dealing with a culvert concrete it makes it a bit tougher as a regular rebar stake won’t work.  Most trappers will weld a conibear bracket onto a piece of iron and use that as a way to stabilize the trap.

An Illustration of a Bottom Edge Set

As you can see in the figure, the bodygrip is wedged into the corner of the culvert where a mink will pass through.  This set is also deadly on muskrats as they travel the same way.  One advantage to the bottom edge set is that, unlike a pocket or smear set, they won’t freeze up nearly as fast in the full.  When the river or stream produces some thin surface locking your foothold up, the mink and muskrats will use these travel patterns even more.