What are some bases you guys use when making baits and lures ?

baits---Meat


lures---Glands and/or their tinctures

Investing in ALL the bait and lure making books you can find is wise...get them as gifts!

Take numerous supply catalogs, circle your wants/needs, give catalogs to loved ones that give you gifts for birthdays, anniversary, Christmas, etc.
Explain you want their money well spent...on things you will certainly appreciate and use, not some sweater that'll hang in the closet forever.

I definitely will. I was also curious about how guys use other bases like lanolin grease or things like that. I suppose it helps give body to a lure and help make more volume ? Ex. If I have a bunch of glands ground up. Can I mix that with something else to increase volume and still achieve success ?

If you lure or bait base is not the minimum of 3yrs. old you are working on a up hill battle. Making lure especially is a planned idea .

False

Plenty of fresh based material out there when combined, hammer predators and other critters. Just ask any canine trapper who traps big numbers with their own bait and lure who make it per season. There are bases out there that need nothing at all to take animals by large numbers year round. Knowing what the animal you are seeking eats during the year and what will spark curiosity is all you need to know when making a bait or lure for that animal. You don't need to age it for 3 years. Minimum taint to get an odor in the air is all that is needed. All that BS is preference.

If that were true why would all these trappers need to buy 30 different lure and baits that were "AGED" for 3 years or w/e the number? Smokey mirrors my friend. Don't think too hard on this matter. Take care of the product you are working with and know what the animal you're after needs to survive.

Lure bases certainly need to be worked up and aged to where you want them to be. Baits can be all over the place with how they will be prepared and ready for use. From fresh to near total break down or a blend of both. I agree you need a plan to prepare ahead for years to come with most products if you expect to remain somewhat consistent on your lure products from year to year. No question.

The man you are dissing IS a big number canine trapper and well respected bait and lure maker. I'll bet the farm that the top catch on your bait doesn't come close to Marty's. How many canines has your top customer caught in a season on your bait? Let's get a number here. I know Marty's this year, and it was in the hundreds this year.

Have to put this discussion between wood or wire and short or long chain!

First Not "dissing" yo! Second, I don't doubt that he isn't a "well respected bait and Lure maker"...but ask me if I care?. Third the amount of time a base needs to 'age" is false considering there are many baits out there that sit half that time and made by ...as you put it "well respected bait and Lure makers aka big ole numbah canine trappahs" and produce great results for trappers, due to that little word "preference" Last but not least I could careless who's bait sells or doesn't, or catch ratio this that and the other. Because I know if there are no animals in an area the catch ratio would drop for the one with less critters in that area. I sell enough to keep me producing batches, and If I got any busier it would become a job and that's not why I started in the racket. Not rocket science, plenty of folks out there who can make their own bait and lure but choose not to for their own reasons, convenience, time, mess, clean up, money, investment in tools, grinders, etc. I have a career, I do it because I enjoy it, along with getting my kids and their friends involved into trapping as a whole. Which is another job in its self. ^5 Oh and another thing, I don't kiss arse

Tell me what is false in my original comment? Maybe, just maybe when folks ask for "opinions" they should specify in what they are trying to accomplish and that would change things because of "preference". Or maybe not

^^what Bob said,,mainly since some oils like Tonquin, etc continue to enhance/change/affect the end result over many months.

HOWEVER...Having said that, 2 of my lures are made "ready to use", instantly, and guys are successful as shown on my site.

Which is all a preference thing right? Considering not all will use the same oils correct?

Correct

That is why I never hardly go on this site way to many know everything. I bet you only make a pint of lure a year. Try to make 40 -50 gal. a year and then tell me you little brown board stories.

Respected lure maker throwing stones after a simple comment that is fact? nawww C'mon mane.


^ He a Lure maker or a wannaB? Or are the folks who aren't old timers who make and sell bait&lure not count?

Please point out what I stated in my original comment that is false.
FTR, ACTUALLY I tend to make quite a bit with the help from my kids. Now correct me if I'm wrong thought this site was "SUPAH" big on youth involvement? Youth this, youth that .. take a kid in the woods to trap and hunt or anything outdoors?

Pints? No Sir I make a little more than a pint each year, and we fill'em right up. Sir, Too many know everything? Not at all Sir, but I know 90% of bait making is preference depending on materials used, and you don't need to age a base for 3 years for it to be successful. Good day Sir cheer up it's just a comment.

AGAIN..lol I do it because I enjoy it. But you're the best, no question. Because someone already typed it.

I do a couple of Trapper Ed classes every year. Early on I ask a 2 part question
“ Hiw many of you have ever hunted deer? Almost every hand goes up.
“How many of you agree the best deer rifle is a Winchester 94 in 30-30”
Most hands go down. I flunk those that dropped their hand. lol
Point do what works for you!

Amen Marty!

Iowa coon, I think this is an interesting topic and I hope someone will answer your questions.

Well I understand how personal preference plays it’s part. I do think there are some aspects of this game that do require specific processes in order to achieve a goal. It’s like anything else it’s just personal preference.

I was just interested what guys do and use

Sometimes you get the best response when you go against the grain. By all means if you want to wait three years to even start formulating your bait have at it. Good luck! let us know in a few years how that turns out for you.

I figured I would keep everyone updated on my results and post if I have questions. Thanks

some meats wont handle 3 years they will turn to water but if you want a watery base that's a plus I guess! Thats a pretty broad remark way to many variables if it was aged in a freezer I could age it two life times lol im not trying to be a smart alac either. Just to many unseens to make any kind of sensible comment

I'm just a beginner in this game but I bet there are hundreds of different bases that have been used depending on what species and what type of lure (gland, curiosity,or food) your going for. You might get a better response if you specified what species and what type lure you thinking about. As far as lanolin I've used it in small quantities in a formulation to change the texture of it but as a base unless it was for warm weather use I would worry it would be too thick and lock in too much odor during cold weather. But like I said I'm just a beginner. Im personally working with cattle afterbirth , ground packrat, coyote glands and empty skunk pods as my bases.

Mine will sit from now till first of august all thru the hot 100 degree days and will be runny. I don't have any problem.

Oh I forgot that I do have a quart of deer testicles I slightly tainted that I'll play with too. Got the idea out of a lure book I read. Definitely a unique odor both fresh and tainted.

There are a lot of different things that can be used for a base. The base for one of my lures is 10 year old Beaver Meat Medley. After ten years it has gotten very soft. I grind it through a fine plate and use it as the base for that lure. The base for another lure of mine is beaver liver that has been rotted down for six months. Both of these lures are exceptional in their appeal to the target animals.

Good info Paul, thanks for sharing!

My goal this year is to make two kinds of baits that are fresh and edible.
One fish paste bait that’s sticky I guess for coons and I’ll probably try it for canines.
The other is a canine bait probably use mice or bobcat meat or both mixed together. After grinding and adding a preservative is where I get lost in the process. But I’m going to figure it out

Yes thank you for all the information.

It's as simple as this...after grinding and tainting to the desired stage, dump in some Dobbin's Bait Solution along with a little extra SB. Stir, and let gas off for another week or two. Put into glass jars for your personal use...and wala...you are done.

That’s to easy lol plus that defeats the purpose of trying to come up with my own sauce that attracts them all. Lol

Iowa coon, I to have been making bait and lure in small batches for my own use. For bait I’ve been using some of the same meat that a coyote may find on its own in this part of the country. For lure I have been using rotted glands of one kind or another for a base this year I used some rotted beaver sacks with good results.

The one thing that you will find out when making small batches is that coming up with the exact same thing twice is hard to do ! You will always be one fly or other bug away from a different result !

lol that's no lie

I use a lot of fish broken down for a year and some 2. I have other bases that the fish is broke down over the summer. Some meats break down to a paste pretty fast others maybe not so fast. I tried to break down some freezer burned beef. after 4 years it is still rock hard LOL but not all bases have to be meat or fish. there are grains broken down also. pick something and see what happens just write every thing down.

So when you say broken down do you mean decomposing? Do you leave it out in the sun or what about putting it under ground ?

rotted down all the way underground 1 year or 2 is what I do for the most part for lures. over the summer is broken down in the shade for lure. but I do have other bait formulas that are aged then stopped this is in a certain temp and time again not in the sun. I don't use the sun too much except for one new base I am playing with and horse hoof tea. Just Me..

Thats the part that takes time and lots of research. its doable but not simple

Stick of butter drizzled over a shoe would get a visit from every critter in the woods.

I prefer mouse based baits to be very close to fresh, just a very minimal aging. However I'm always thinking a year or two down the road on cat meat. Wish I had a cave lol. I'd let that cat age super slow

Any old root cellars in your area ? Would be the next best thing to a cave !