What kind of call lure do you think I should use, something like Gusto?

Do many of you use some sort of a food or curiosity type lure for bobcat?

It took about 7 years, but I finally drew a tag this year.
Thanks

Give Marty Smith a call kegcreek lures and baits you do your part its game over

Could try flagging, Bird feed in sack hung above sets, Rub type lures on trees

I don’t know anything about your area, but the big numbers bobcat guys I grew up around in Nevada don’t bother with flagging, lure, or bait. They just find pinch pints in trails and throw in blind sets. They build a box with sticks around the trap so that the sticks are just high enough to guide the paw but low enough they step over the stick instead of on it. Heck they don’t even cover the trap, other than a shingle cut to expand the pan held on by a paper clip and maybe throw a dusting of dirt and chaff from the trail on that. They only use drags so that the pinch points don’t get messed up. They just set every draw and trail they think is being used with that one set, and some of those guys kill 100+ bobcat a season. Most of them have seasonal jobs, so with a four day check law they have four different traplines and just check one each day, sometimes covering 100+ miles a day

Like this

To back this advice. The one universal truth about bobcats is they follow a set route. Find those.

Yep, they do. And they can be crowded guided very aggressively, it doesn’t spook them like it does a coyote.

I've trapped bobcats in the East and West,including Nevada and I can tell you,some places,geography makes blind sets difficult to employ.Wisconsin isn't covered with ridges and rock ledges.Trapping in big woods is completely different than high desert areas.Cats are more spread out and travel ways are less defined.Where I trap now,I know that a bobcat may pass through a 30-50 yd locaction and cold easily walk by a set.I try to cover the location with a triangle of 3 sets and use long distance call lures and sight attractors to pull them a few more feet.That's how it is.

Now couple the with the fact that in Wisconsin,a trapper has to apply for a lottery tag that takes 8-10 years to draw,that allows him to take one cat.I'm not sure what the season length is but I bet when you draw that coveted tag,you would wish it were longer.Restrictions like this are not because the areas are overrun with bobcats.Having said that,I'll try to get back to the question.

Yes.I would definitely use a long distance call lure,3-4' feet off the ground,a short distance from a set or better yet,a group of sets.Sight attractors can help but I don't like flags that flail wildly.They can spook some timid cats.Keep those sets working at all times.Get in there and sweep snow off the sets.If the snow gets really deep,like a foot or more,walk out some defined trails to and from the sets.

I usually use a gland lure and a food or curiousity lure at the set.Put them about 12-16" above the ground incase they feel the need to rub plus it keeps the lure above the snow.If your set creates a defined attraction point.You may be able to work in a blind set or urine post to back up the lured set.Despite our best efforts,cats are moody and sometimes will walk by the best set.

I would highly recommend Rick Olson's bobcat book.He traps similar country and knows how to work it.Good luck.

In New Hampshire, we just construct an AWSOME coyote set and BAM cats galore!!

Good advice here, and I will second Rick Olson's book.

Taximan said pretty much everything,find the LOCATION/LOCATIONS is key in cat trapping along with every other animal as well.Not sure when your season opens there,but if things are froze up check frozen waterways/Beaver country are magnets for cat year round.natural pinch point/necked down area's,ecazone transition,logged off clear cuts with 5 to 15 year old regrowth,find rabbits,beaver and you'll be that much closer to being on the right locations.Like Taximan said gang set locations with 3 or more sets,Gusto,Super Cat,GH2,V-7,Peco's,Waterline Call.Sirria Mist,Sweettail beaver lure,Mt Lynx,etc.are all good bobcat lure,coyote urine and coyote gland is also very attractive to the bobcats,can you guys use feather's,hard to beat feathers and beaver meat for bobcats.Thanks for the nice words about the book,Jim and Cameron.The reason for writing the book was to adapt some methods for the northern extreme snow cold area of the forested region.No rim rock,dry washes etc.up here,good luck on filling your tag this year,Rick Olson,tight chain at the end of the drag,dont need a #3 foothold,but I like the bigger jaw spread and we normally are dealing with snow,i know Taximan uses a lot of MB 550's as does Tracy from NV,Andy and Red from MT use a bigger traps #3 and #3,#4 longsprings,again good luck this season on all of your trapline.

AJE, hoping to draw some day, keep us in the loop. We have so many traps it is crazy but 7-10 year wait.

Rick, where can I get your book, so when the day comes.

Many of the trap supply house's MTP Inc, F N T,Schmitts,Pcs Outdoors are some.

I have Ricks book and it’s good. Another book you don’t hear much about is Carl Jones cat book. Both are geared more toward “ no desert” type cat trapping.

states where you get to draw "a" tag after years of applying making hooking up tougher. hard to get a feel for an animal you never tried to catch on purpose before

don't rely on long distance call lure to get one "in the area". Same with any flags. Put any attractor in a position that will catch the cat if a cat checks it out. Cats are single minded things that will focus on something to the exclusion of everything else. If that cat is focused on your flag and your trap is 3 feet away you wont catch it. same with your call lure. whatever that cat focuses on you want that attractor to get a foot on your trap pan. as was said before you can guide heavy. my guiding should probably be called fencing.

Carl's book is very good also,Mike Bailey has a excellent dvd focused on wooded trapping even though there from the south south east J Lord too.

here in PA i'm all about prebaiting with a bigger bait.our cats are usually pushed into the brushy riverbottoms and they run most all the rivers.its where all the food is.

and Taxi-is the man on this one,i believe him to be part bobble.

Some GREAT advice so far, thanks. Yes, I'm excited. To answer a few questions: my season starts 12/26 & goes for 5 weeks. We can't use real feathers if they are visible from above. We can use cable restraints, but not snares. Conibears are legal but to be exposed they can't be larger than a 160. I don't know how true it is, but I've heard a Sleepy Creek 700 has unique measurements that make it legal. But yes, I do have quite a variety of footholds that I look forward to using. I'm hoping we have snow, but not too much. The county I trap in is incredibly diverse with ~half farm country & half deep woods in Wi's central forest.

Look for the big intersections that connect cover to cover. I find these with Google maps. If legal use a flag but like Danny says don't screw yourself with it either if that cat is checking out your flag he better be on your trap pan. My cat set is a walk threw. Guide it down so tight litterally the only place the cat can step is on the pan. Don't use big sticks or rocks that can be used as a step for the cat I use 3 smell attractors any decent cat lure will work put the flag 24 inches or so above the trap. As I've already said the best thing you can do is your homework on a map find the locations before season even starts cats are easy to catch it's finding where that cat with a attention span on my 5 yr old boy is going to be so look for the travel ways that intersect big cover to big cover this really helps get them close to where you want em

Here is a saying I have found to be pretty true.... at least on Nebraska cats. ":Curiosity Kills the Cat". I have caught cats with no lure or bait at all. It's hard for a cat to walk away from something that is different today that it was last time he was thru the area. A fresh BIG dirthole is huge sign to a cat saying "come look at me". I have made "critters" (foam cut to look like a rat and painted grey) with huge eyes (Wal-Mart Crafts ) glued on and then stuck it down a hole with a little grass. Cat will work that hole for a long time if he see a "critter" in it. Also a walk thru set with a pathway thru 2 parallel piles of 3 or 4 foot long sticks along a known travel route of a purdy kitty. Put some white cotton balls in the pile bottom or a couple of my foam critters just so the cat can see them but can't get to them easily and he'll stick around till he is usually caught. Here is another set that's different that works well. My brother has a skid steer and every few years if he's in the area he will make me a pretty small but tall pile of dirt under a branch. Hang a cotton ball or something white on a wire from that branch. Set a #3 trap on top that pile and it's a cat catch set. also fox and yotes like a set like that. I have caught cat and even a coyote just using a white rag hanging about 4 foot up in the air off a pipe I had at a 45 degree angle . I had a #3 coil buried. No Lure. No bait. Those critters just had to play or check out something different. There are tons of ways to try something different when your trapping. But the tried and true ways of bait and using lure are good too. Just think outside the normal; box. Good luck!!