I was reading an article that says to avoid setting deer and cow trails for cats because the hooved animals will spring your traps. Why not use jump sticks and blocking and just avoid using lures? Also just how important is eye appeal in standard cat sets? Thanks for any insight.

...dig you a hole and throw a few feathers in and around it....use a skunky lure along with a cat gland based lure... the cat will check it out..getting it to step on the pan can take some creativity at times

... anytime you set in active game/livestock trails you risk getting your set screwed up...in my experience anyway

...there is man on here that goes by sheepdog and he’s snatched up a lot of cats in trail sets...hopefully he’ll chime in....but He’ll likely advise you to find a trail that’s not getting heavy deer, hog or livestock use

Thanks...sounds good, only we can't use feathers or fur or anything that looks like feathers or fur.

.....sounds like they want y’all to just take up knitting

I use horizontal deer poles all the time,with snares, for cats and have for a few decades.Canines don't usually like them but they work well for cats.Make the pole horizontal,16" off the ground.Make sure the top of the pole is clear of branches so the deer can easily step over.Wire it tight so deer don't knock it out of place and wind can't affect it.No reason you can't use a blind set trap with the pole.Use stepping guides for the trap an I use vertical sticks,each side,to center them.

You can also block trail with something cattle and deer can go over and guide cat into narrow spot to go around the blocked trail.

I'd rather let them go where they were already going and let the deer go around,if they prefer.Sometimes they do but the cats go right trough because it's the shortest route.Making cats veer off can lead to all kind of variables.They like going through tight openings if it is where they are already heading.

Thanks, that's what I kinda thought, but we don't have bobcats locally, so all I know for sure about them is what I saw from tracks in the snow up north last season. I've made similar sets in deer trails here for coon and fox with success, just not as tighly blocked. For pulling them off a road, I'm thinking some kind of tinsel, I'm just concerned about thieves. We had at least one cat simply walk past where we had to set off a two track. I have only a few days to cat trap, so all misses are frustrating.

cant build anything like that for snare/cr use in pa. nothin bigger than 1" diameter in the catch area if i remember correctly.
need a college degree to comprehend all the rules here lol

I know that.If you read,I was referring to using that method with a trap.

I wouldn't use tinsel if you have people around.You could rake up a pile of leaves and duff to simulate where a cat covered a carcass.Use lure and droppings.Collect bobcat droppings or housecat droppings work great.If the cat can see the droppings from the trail,he will most likely put his nose on them.I would use two traps since your season is short.Block them in heavily.The skunky and gland lure are good advice.A piece of burnt wood can attract predators and might not attract people.Don't place it early.After they've checked it out once,it probably won't have the same curiousity pull.Don't use urine if deer are a problem.I have caught cats with a blended set,right beside the cat's line of travel and just droppings,no lure or urine.

Like Taximan, I use a lot of "jump sticks" on trail sets, since I deal with a lot of burros, feral horses, deer, elk, etc. However, more and more I'm convinced that with a good visual attractor and/or lure, you can pull those cats off of a trail, because generally you only need a few feet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6zR598z1iU

Laz, that invention is pretty darn neat. I think I might like those for bobcats but also for fisher!
Great idea.

Thanks. You obviously have great taste!! :-)

If you go to the Wyldwings website, there is a video on how to deploy the Enticer that might give you some ideas on your fisher application. Sounds interesting.

Bet that is not allowed in Pa. It is painted like a turkey wing......jk

Not pretending to be an expert on your state's laws, but here's what the regulation says about exposed bait:

"(13) Bait a trap with meat or animal products if the bait is visible from the air."

The faux turkey feather isn't a meat or animal product.

IDK, they say artificial crawfish are illegal. Seems like kinda the same thing.
I have some old cassettes, I could pull out the tape and dangle it above the set.

Why is it the cats I see and the rare track I find are parallel to but some distance from the deer trails?

I never set the trail it's self, but right on the edge of it...

I used cubbies... that seems to help keep the goats, sheep and cattle from setting the traps off...

plus I set under cedar and sticker bushes, that helps also...

You can use a dirthole in a cubby if you want to..


Plus, I used flagging to help get the kitties attention...