Where I am we have no skunks. I first tried the pure stuff sometime around 1978 and it seemed to scare the daylights out of marten. I definitely would not put it in your box if for no other reason than you don't want it getting on your critter.But I also think you want it out in the open where the wind can broadcast it.

Use very very little. I have never used Gusto but have had good luck with Paul's Skunky Backbreaker. The castor tames it down enough to still have some voice but not so loud that it burns your sinuses.

In my experience, marten are not at all like mink. They are not going to go in a hole unless there is something they can see that interests them. They might use a hole or a hoof print as access to get under the snow but I can't recall seeing them investigating a hole just because it's there. They might investigate a bunch of vole holes.............I call them " mouseholeums" when they are hunting voles..... but now your talking about sets on the ground. Not a set I am willing to use. Might be OK in Idaho though depending on check requirements.

I use probably 99.9% footholds on leaning poles so I am a firm believer in eye appeal and baits that move in the wind. That's why I prefer feathers.Grouse wings especially.

Any sized pole will do. For my sets I use something maybe an inch in diameter at the small end where the trap is located. But if you are using the pole for them to access your box, any size will do.

Just the things that work for me.

I believe you said you used canine for bait? If so, that may not be an attractive bait. Don't obsess about a pole if you are using bodygrips. A leaning tree will work or even a vertical one if in the right location. Marten can climb. Personally, I want them climbing when they commit. This is where bait selection doesn't matter so much. IMHO

Its illegal in Wyoming also. No game fish or animal or parts thereof..been like that for the 30 years jerrys trapped there anyway.

That 30 year old lure should still be fine to use.

DOTIt
don't over think it

The lures are fine,,




Now my wife is worried. With the weather
Traps, boxes, bait in the truck ready to go, Enough food for the day packed and ready

I know a faster set, I think. It may or may not work in your area, depending on how much the marten ("martin" is a bird) will climb.

Get a plastic flowerpot large enough to set a 120 at the edge, where you cut two L-shaped notches to hold the springs.

Drill two holes in the sides of the pot, then two more a couple inches apart at the end of the pot. Run four-foot or longer (long enough to go around your local trees) annealed trapping wire through the holes in the side of the pot, and wrap both ends around the pot. Use thinner wire to fasten bait inside the pot through the two holes in the end.

Grab a 120, and you're ready to go. You can carry a dozen or more prepared pots and traps in a backpack.

When you find a good LOCATION, slap the pot against a tree, wire it around the tree, and stick a 120 inside. The pot is now hanging vertically, upside down, with a set 120 at its open end.

I caught quite a few marten on this set. One drawback is, depending on the type of plastic used in the pot, it may get brittle and break in below zero weather. I like the black pots used by nurseries, which seem to stay more flexible in the cold.

Keep in mind the big secret is LOCATION. Set on tracks or other sign.

Jim

Evidently it rained , then froze . Even the gravel road was slick. Then the drifting snow,, yikes
Unless I pick up a snowmobile I guess ill be hunting coyotes and geese

If they won’t climb you can set close to the ground and rig a tip up pole to lift them when trap fires. This has been the 2nd year in a row that my marten would not climb. Lotsa tracks around lotsa sets, so I rigged tip ups and started catching. Takes a bit longer to make the sets tho. I attribute not climbing to one thing. Blueberries. Another bumper crop in a now 6 year old burn and marten are fat and happy, as are the voles. Purple poop in the snow is beautiful : )