I'm currently looking at lure ordering and developing some sort of on the line/truck management for keeping some order to what is usually a mess.

Let's start a thread not to tout a specific lure/bait but more of a what type/class of bait/lure are must haves and how you might keep order to the mess.

Me, since I'm a multi species NWCO I break things into two main categories with a third catchall group. Canine, Beaver and everything else.

So I'm trying to pare down my selection to a few tried and true canine baits/lures that will fit into a small container/bag. Something about the size of a plano type 3600 footprint utility box.

For beaver I'm pretty much set on two main lures, a castor and a food based, and since almost all beaver lures are variations on that theme two 4oz jars fit well into what I'm working to set up using a sling type snare bag. A couple 1 or 2 oz change ups won't kill that set up.

For the everything else category since I don't get regular calls for otter/mink/muskrat or coon/opossum/skunk these can all go in an ammo can type tote to stay at the house until needed.

Canine though is the one where it gets hairy with the hundreds of available bait/lure combos. My thinking is to split into the three species with two gland lures per and a food/curiosity per for nine lures with an eye to making the last three range from mild to LDC. Baits on the other hand can get out of hand as there are many I have good results with. I'm thinking a basic meat based, a skunky meat based, a fruit based (open to suggestions) and a good mouse bait.
All canine kept in 3600 sized boxes to go into a bag type tote that will carry applicators (spoon, qtip, sheeps wool, etc), plus a good red fox urine.

Let's hear y'all's thoughts.

Truth be told I like lures and suspect trappers are like bass fishers and easily caught by lures. LOL

The other thing is keeping all this somewhat clean and dry and cutting down on the general mess of tossing everything into a five gallon bucket.

I didn't include cats as I've only had one call for bobkitty in the entire time I've been trapping for hire. And for some reason folks don't call me for ferals anymore. I guess they've heard about me, lol.

Man ive already picked something up from this. It never dawned on me to use a small tackle box to keep lure in.

We've been using a soft sided tackle pouch for the past several years. Really works well. Get the plastic lure boxes to go on the inside for lures. With the right box, you can get two one-ounce lure bottles per slot. Use different boxes for different critters/areas. Get one with bigger outside pouches for bait and urine. You could also use separate tacle pouches, one for land a nd one for water. Stand the plastic boxes up, and this keeps the lure at the bottom of jar. Helps prevent leaks, and keeps the lure from settling on the bottom of lid. Lot less chance of it getting all over the bottle during opening and closing.

Not a fan of tackle box trays for lures because here's what happens... eventually you don't fully close a lid or a lid goes bad and you have a mess. That's why I tend to pick lures that come in wide mouth jars and store everything that's not in rotation in ammo cans

I use a hard lunch box for lure, pee, and bait, it mostly rides in the truck.
But I don't carry very many at any one time.

My humble opinion is about 60% of the coyotes can be caught with the same set and same top shelf attractant, maybe more.
Another 10% or so can be caught with same attractant and different set.
Maybe another 10 % another different high quality attractant and different set.
Maybe another 10% with a special low key set with something like just urine and scat.
And then some you won't get with a foothold trap period.
So two high quality attractants would cover about 80% of the coyotes and very few of the rest could be caught with a dozen different lures or bait.

Before I came to this conclusion what I did is I came up with about 4 sets I'd use
And would determine and write down ahead of time what attractants I'd use at each type of set. That way I only had to write down what type of set I put in.

I tend to agree. One reason I'm seeking to pare down my collection. However, we are indeed blessed in that the vast majority the multitude of lures available will catch canines regularly. But then again not a single one has stood out as super secret magic in a bottle catch everything that walks, crawls or flies. Choices, choices, lol.

Honestly just trying to get to that four or five set/lure combo punch them in and go system is my goal.

I keep my lures into two bags. One bag is for canine sets and it consists of a small modular/rectangular tote bag bought at Walmart. In this bag I carry lures, urines and other items. The second one is a rectangular bag that was designed by paint company to hold paint sample strips. The interior of this bag has several compartment to hold all other lures i.e. muskrat, beaver, mink, weasel, fisher, raccoon and otter.

In addition, each lure is kept into a separate ziploc bag and this is just to prevent leakage from bottles. I find if I keep my stuff somewhat organized I don't lose or break lure containers...wife gets upset when the interior of the vehicle stinks lol!

For field work I use an electrician waist pocket tool pouch. I can carry selected lures and other small things/ tools for my sets. During off season all lures are kept in cool area.

Next season I too plan on keeping a log so that I can keep track of lure used with catch results.

Looking forward to learn from others on this topic.

My favorite is jig and pig ! Followed close by mann's jelly worm .OH wait wrong type of lure .

Yep. That's why we chose the soft, canvas type pouch and plastic boxes. Keeps the lure bottles vertical.

lure bag




For managing lure in fur shed fridge... I place lure in boxes to keep on fridge shelf.


Here's something I learned from CoonDuke-
Collect Golden Rod stems and break into lure sticks, carry them with you. This saves time looking for a lure stick when finishing a set.

Nice tip on the sticks, thanks. Think I'll steal the idea.

I've never used lure sticks
I do like lure on a Q tip however.

Well most of your lures are liquid. Also why I need a taller box to hold lures..

Truthfully I dislike handling liquid lures but there is a select handful I won't be without.

My best sellers contain oils that are of course liquid and I have never used "thickeners" in 37 years and never will.

Well whatever you're doing keep it up. LOL

I've used q tips but normally just grab a stick handy at the site instead of having to pack one more thing. I have used pipe cleaners for LDC though, just dip the end in the lure, all the stiff little hairs grab lure nicely, and reach up and twist the other end around an overhanging branch. Obviously only works when setting under trees, but have done so a lot when setting marten boxes. I don't normally put a LDC on canine sets and can't ever recall putting a lure away from the set itself for canines, except a time or two when I put a loud lure out on a point where wolves or coyotes went to howl and blind set trails coming in there.