So I'm hoping to draw my first Bobcat tag here in Wisconsin in the next couple years, so I'm running some trail cameras on our rocky ridges on our land. to try to get an idea of where they like to roam. I got some nice pics here in the past couple months. I can't wait to try an trap my first one. I put a pile of rocks on a common 4 wheeler trail, and they sure like to check it out. I did put some cat stink bait there too.

One question.... Did I read on here that females like to lay down on their belly when trying to smell your set? Is that what's going on here, is that a female?

That’s are really great picture. It’s a Tom scent marking its territory. Will be a great place to trap a cat or 2 .

Thanks! So, just the males will mark it’s territory? Do you think the other pics of it smelling the rocks, laying on it’s belly, is the same cat, or no way to know?

The first cat could be a female or young tom.I can tell you,at a real set,I keep my lure up 12" or so high.I never want to encourage them to squat,lay down or roll where my trap is,I want those legs straight up and down.

Interesting... so what do you do on a dirt hole set? Aren't you suppose to throw the lure down or at the hole?

I use very few dirt holes for cats.Lured walk throughs with the lure in the air.The backing is often a large fir tree which also shelters from snow.

Nice pics. Good luck bud

Got it, thanks.

Thank ya sir!

I’m really looking forward to it. I’m trying to soak in as much info as I can before hand.

I think you have a good spot there.By the time you get that tag,you will be ready.Any rock ledges around there?

Yes a couple. I was thinking about setting a camera there too to see if one shows. You are talking right under the outcropping rock shelves, correct?

Yes.Usuallly there will be a trail at the base,sometimes at the top and sometimes there will be breaks in the ledge where cats can go up or down.I have had my best along the base.You may get coons as well so have more than one trap per location.They love the rocks and any prominent land feature.

All of that Intel will help you when it comes time to dedicate your traps to cats. I started targeting cats two winters ago. I had quite a few cats on camera as well as a lot of tracks in the mud and snow helping me to determine where to place my traps. Our season lasts sixty days with no limit on cats. I caught my first cat about three days before the close of the second season I was targeting them. That's around one hundred and seventeen days with close to two dozen traps dedicated pretty much to just cats. Ever try to get a housecat to approach you when they don't feel like doing so? They were that good at ignoring my sets.

Thanks guys, and yes I get a ton of coon on camera. Maybe I should try to rid of them first, especially if I don't draw a cat tag this year.

So, another question...... Do the female cats tend to stay in the same area year round? Maybe the males too, except for breeding season, then they roam?

I had one cat that would come through about every twenty-one days. I could almost pinpoint the day it would show up on my camera. I suspected it was a male. Others seem to come through once a week or so. We had great tracking conditions all winter and it really helped tell the story on how and when cats were using the area.

The male will usually cover 2 or 3 female home ranges.Females are also fond of raising kittens in hollows or draws with water,like streams.The toms will periodically check out the females to see if they are ready.I would definitely get a camera on those ledges if you can.

Here is another pic I had of him. He is literally about 2 feet from my camera.

Motley you'll learn a lot from those cameras. I ran 8 cameras for an extended period of time trying to pin-point a cat with rosettes to take when season came around (moved them around for about 6 months). In our area I found more often than not the typical cycle for cats is 10-14 days when they will return unless you happen upon a location where a female is raising her young. Then you'll get more cats on camera and more often. Those locations also have turned out to be dynamite when trying to actually catch the cats. I ended up catching seven off of 40 acres that way two years ago in about 10 days time. I was getting cats on camera there often at least once every 3 days or so prior to trapping them. I think the total off that same 40 acres this year was four cats caught. They don't bounce back too fast.

I once again placed traps this year on day old cat tracks which I knew they would eventually return, but I was in for quite a wait. I killed plenty of coons and possums in the 10 days I was on them, but eventually I took two cats on the last check day right at that 10 day mark. These were cat specific sets and all exposed traps. I had enough snow that I could see that the cats had not been back in the area until I caught them. The hard part about cats is even if you pattern them some days they are just cats and no matter what you throw at them they will walk right on by your sets. I have had really good luck in the past when I knew I had cats on a location and wanted to continue to have them check an area out using my house cat's used kitty litter. I've had a couple local trappers call me crazy when I am carrying around 5 gallon buckets full of used cat litter, but I've found you can almost get the cats to make a toilet on these locations. They will visit it often when they are in the area. If you put a camera on cat litter you'll also find it is a dynamite call for just about anything including fox, coyotes, and raccoons. Good luck!