I am going to make a bait solution, but where I see most call for fish oil I am going to use sun rendered beaver tail oil. Has anyone else tried this or is it a definite no go? I am going to be using bobcat and beaver meat for my base.
Thanks
Frankie

I think it will work. to get the amount right start with whatever base your going to spice up so you have an idea of how it performs. A baseline. Then add BTO till that response improves. Continue that process with your other additives till you can no longer get an improvement in the number of animals that find it then respond. Dont forget to check wind direction. If the wind is blowing the wrong direction your results will be off.

I've got to the point where I like to test ingredients by themselves so I can measure the attractiveness of each ingredient. Then when I'm building a new formulation I'll build it and test it one ingredient at a time.
Say I got a formulation working and I want to try another thing in it I'll make two punch holes about a foot and a half apart, in one I'll put the base formulation and in the other I'll put the base formulation plus the new ingredient. I use to mix multiple ingredients together and test it but since I started testing one thing at a time I've learned which ingredients are really good, which ones I just thought would be good, and also I've started learning some ingredients inspire different reactions which can be used to your advantage. Somethings that people have said worked great for them in a lure or bait haven't preformed very well for me and a few things I found on my own have worked better than I would have thought. Another advantage to testing individual ingredients is to compare quality of an ingredient from one supplier to another, not all suppliers are equal for sure.I believe testing one thing at a time shortens the learning curve and saves time and $ in the long run.

Yes sir I agree. I should quit assuming people have already done something (test individual additives) when i post something.

something that gives a mediocre response when used alone can really kick something else off when combined to another ingredient . improving the response of either one used alone.

If your not getting more response by adding something there is simply no reason to add it. sometimes you don't get more, or less, animals to respond but they respond differently than with the base your adding too.

If you get animals to respond, say 90% of the animals that find it, and as they work that attractant they display several different responses, sniffing, digging, rolling, eating, rubbing, urinating, you are on to something good.


DONT FORGET ABOUT WIND DIRECTION

Danny

I've often wondered if two, say, mediocre ingredients combined can become very good together. I haven't gotten far enough in my learning to see it for myself. So thank you for that information.

Pilgrim you have much to learn...…..

Combinations of components blended and aged alone then added to a base can become something far beyond your expectations at times. That is one of the rewards of formulating whether it is as a novice or as a full time operator. The combinations can be many or few, however the interactions and chemical odor change is remarkable at times with some things.

They change when first blended then they continue to change mutate/balance and influence the base medium over time. Some volatile ingredients may flash but some of their make up still holds fast

Bob has taught me much over the last decade or so, but one thing he continues to repeat is things change. We as trappers tend to thing of odors as static concepts. Odors do not remain constant, even when they "are fixed." If you've ever had the chance to smell a 30-40 year old bottle of lure and compare it to "the same lure" made within the last 12 months, you'll know right away that things change. Now, they may not change much, and they may not change enough for our primitive sense of smell to distinguish, but they may change enough for a predator to notice -- in fact, it may be an improvement over what we thought we were making.

For example, I see different formulas calling for "X amount of beaver castor." Well, does the formula mean green or dried? And I promise you that unless you fix the castor, it will keep "growing" so that a tablespoon added today may be waaaayyyyy too much when you crack the jar next winter and find out that your tablespoon of castor has overgrown whatever else you had in the jar.

Does a lure always get better with time or can it lose parts of it that play a role in its attractiveness?

It can lose also. Take skunk essence. It changes. Sometimes thats good and sometimes not so much. Aged skunk is a good fixative or stabilizer. Fresh skunk is good for carrying other odors when its real cold. The right out of the skunk essence will change over time even if you cut it with peanut oil.

I have a 60 year old jar of Lenons Muskrat lure and it doesn’t smell like anything else. I was handed it down to keep the “one rat a year” caught with it going. Just a light smear.

Thanks for the insight and knowledge guys, I greatly appreciate it.

Back in the 80's when I started to try to formulate, I wish this site was around LOL No one gave out any info, now there is so much that can be had if the person sits and thinks about what is being said and reading into the thought the other principles learned. It took me five years. A lot of trying stuff and money, before I was able to make, keep the same and remake the same. and I am still learning. I just dumped a new formulation (2 years) batch that was no go. I may go back to that spot a year from now and see a crater, and if I do I will have the formulation and the knowledge that it took another year LOL

yes...........either may happen

that's where testing comes into play

BTO is better in bait solutions than fish oil.