I want to try making my own bobcat meat based coyote bait. Considering adding some gator oil to the bobcat meat, and I was wondering how much gator oil to add to a gallon of ground bobcat meat? Any other suggestions to add to the bait or opinions on the gator oil would be greatly appreciated!

have you made any test sites with gator oil to see what coyotes do when they find it? what reaction are you hoping that oil gets? have you tried any test sites with straight bobcat meat? when your bait is complete what response do you want it to elicit? there are a lot of questions you need to ask and answer yourself.

No I haven't tried any test sights. I'm new at making my own baits, but something I would like to try. Never thought about putting out test sights, but that definitely is something I will do with some trail cameras to get answers to those questions. Thank you!

I'd ask Brian at Southern Snares if it was me. Google is your friend.

I don't know how strong it is, BUT start small...like separate a quart of meat and add 1/2 tsp oil, mix well, let sit a day, mix well again.
let sit another day...…..then take a whiff and see if ya can smell it. If not add another 1/2 tsp, and repeat cycle.

If it smells strong after the first tsp, add a pint of meat and start mixing cycle again and see how it tones it down...…….might need to do this twice actually.

Welcome to the bait making process!

Thank you! And thanks for the information. Looking forward to trying new things!

From my experience (maybe my nose is shot but) you don't have to be able to smell an ingredient in a formulation for that ingredient to be effective. Sometimes I like my secondary odors to be very subtle. Just some food for thought.

jmo, when targeting a specific animal you are after studying that animal by "testing" and observing behavior will put more fur in your traps than a bunch of add this add that etc. There are pages full of add this and add that on the internet and folks still looking for the end all recipe.

I'd rather test and know why I'm adding something to a bait so when something isn't pulling them animals like it should, I could adjust and have an idea or know why I'm doing something.

Thank you for your opinion. I'm new at this and just thought this year I would just make my own bait. I never really thought about what all was involved with it until I posted this thread and got some other opinions on making bait. Now I'm looking at the bait making an entirely different way than I was before.

I agree just because I can't smell it doesn't mean they can't smell it. I'm going to start mixing up some things for testing this week and get some trail cameras out to see what kind of reactions I'm getting to different things. Thank you for your opinion.

I'd stay away from the rabbit hole IE magic potions when it comes to ingredients. Lots of folks are buying up them ingredients and still coming up short on the line. I like to keep with the meat and potatoes of the bait and rely more on my skill set when it comes time to setup shop for the target animal. The meat and potatoes keeps fur in the traps and money in the bank in regards to adc. You don't need to be a "supah star" to make an effective bait that will take animals on the daily. We all know plenty of trappers who have purchased "supah star" bait and lure and them bottles still sitting on the shelves because them trappers have purchased other supah star products that are also starting to collect dust from season to season because they on the internet reading what the next new item is. Don't over complicate the process, learn to understand the connection between what you are offering and what gets them fired up through out the year IE what they need etc and you should be alright. Good Luck Sir

The more u test the more you will learn and the more you will understand. 2 years of formulating and testing (a lot of testing) has been very eye opening to me. Simple or complicated I dont really care but I know there are a lot of mediocre lures and baits out there and I know there are some formulations that set themselves apart. It's just a matter of putting in the extra work to find them, whether it be your own or someone else's. A great lure wont make a beginner trapper a rock star but a really great lure will make a noticable difference in the hands of a skilled trapper. The more traps you run the more noticable the difference. The great thing about testing is it doesn't take much skill, just be on good locations and be able to poke a hole in the ground for most testing. If your interested in learning and willing to do a little work the rewards are well worth it.

In bold is equivalent to a ford chevy argument or a new balance / asics battle. Both could arguably be "great, greater or greatest" all matter of opinion based on results for the individual using the product, not because someone else says so. At the end of the day if the animal isn't interested in whats being offered, you aren't going to get that animal to commit off an odor. Just take a look at all the pages on forums filled with "what is the best bait for X" even though some of the folks posting have gone through many of the "great bait /lure" names out there aka "really great" etc and still in forums asking for the best. Lots of them folks have animals walking within a couple of feet and walking right by the "great" bait and lure without skipping a beat.




When a super trapper can't produce on a "great" bait or lure what is the problem? I don't buy into the "great" or any other fancy names for it. One will find them self circling the rabbit hole sooner rather than later with that mentality.

Why would one need a "really great" bait or lure then?

And here I thought "No animal will walk past this one". lol

The good news is they don't have to believe any of us, if the want the truth they can test it on the target animals if they are willing to put forth the work.

I for one don’t listen to anyone about bait/ lure being good or bad. I only test when making a set in trapping season. Waste of time imo testing outside of season. NO ADC trapper here .

The good thing about testing in mock sets is you actually see the animals reaction to the formulation as with a trap you just know that it stepped on your trap because everything in trap circle is destroyed. Another advantage with mock sets they are usually faster to put in, you dont have to check them every day, plus you can put a lot of them in right at the edge of roads or travel ways without having permission on ground all adding up to more sets which increases your learning curve considerably.

I use to say testing outside of season was a waste of time also (which probably was really more of an excuse) until I started doing it. I actually think in some ways it can teach you more now that I've tried it. And I'm no ADC guy either. I'm not really trying to change anyone's mind just sharing my experience in case it can help someone else. Plus anytime your studying animals reactions your adding to your knowledge of their behavior.

X2. I don't eat fruit to put on winter fat.

No two coyotes will have the same response : somethings smell better than others and taste different, just like humans.
K.I.S.S.

Food sources change many times during the year depends on your location also .

Which is why I'm trying to figure out the difference between great and really great. If something doesn't work for an individual but works "great" for someone else, what makes it so great to the one who has to continue to burn through bait and lure makers to find something "greater"? I believe too much emphasis is placed on the whole bait and lure concept. IMO it's just a small fraction with a "basic" purpose, bigger things to worry about than just how many days, months to hours a bait taints etc. Folks who complicate that process seem to be the ones running through formulas and wasting time.