wondering what's kind of bait marten like better between meat (beaver) or fish in cold weather

I would stick with meat.....especially beaver because it still has an odor even in the cold

Probably prefer red meat baits. Tho have caught hundreds of marten with fish bait. Usually it comes down to what you have the most of.

Dry rot fish

I have tried both over the years and for my area beaver meat is the best.

I have tried both over the years and for my area beaver meat is the best.

Beaver.

I use b’ver meat because it’s easily accessible. Always start my season catching a few. Cut a bunch of pieces off the carcass and what’s left is a good wolverine bait. Tried salted herring once. It caught 1 marten.

Beaver

Beaver also.

Grouse less breast’s, moose/bear fat rolled up in soffit screen Pre wired about size of your thumb. Tainted to the point you can barely stand to smell it..lol. Dried split fish tainted and beaver didn’t work well where I trapped and I was a died in the wool beaver trapper…lol
I also used just a grouse wing and lure no bait worked well until someone (human)started taking the wings!

Beav.

Snap, grouse here too. I would make 4 baits or more from a carcass. Duck was also better than beaver. Marten here don't climb often where I'm at either.

I think FT was a grouse guy too. Made a lot of small baits like you mention Larry.

Grouse or rabbit is ok before it gets real cold.Same with cheap sardines or fish oil.
After the cold sets in a good sized chunk of beaver in the box works well.If it gets frost dried on the outside I chop it in half and its giving off the smell again for a week or more.
After that i change it out for fresh chopped beaver,and throw the old chunks in a snow hole beside my trail and snare it up,or collect it up and add it to a jackpot for cats and fox on down the line.
Moose butcher scraps is real good too,and beef scraps from the butcher is also top notch if you can get some.
Never heard of pork being any good,but never tried any pork butcher scrap.

Salted bait was worse than useless even the small mammals wouldnt touch it.The only thing it attracted was the odd moose come in to lick under the box.
Never had much luck with fish(suckers) here for marten.
Sucker chunks are good mink bait in late fall early winter.When mink prices were good way back we would net,trap or snag a bunch of suckers during the spring runs and freeze up a bunch in burlap bags for mink sets in the fall.

Oh yah a meal and bait, can’t beat it. Better than any chicken!


The year we went to the ground because they weren’t climbing we got 25% more. Our version of a tip up!

Beaver works good here, I prefer it tainted for marten. Never tried fish, but fish oil with skunk essence makes a decent lure. We can't use game birds here, so never tried grouse. Used cougar meat once because I was out of beaver, it worked but I don't think as well as beaver.

I ran mostly tip ups, Occasionally I would have a windy week between checks and get noses dried to the skull. Got a lot of mink in those sets also

I used to say beaver, because every meat eating animal loves it, and it is available. But now I would have to say number one is duck and grouse carcasses hacked into a few pieces.

I know old timers in Washington who trapped in the 1930's through the 1950's used a lot of salmon scraps. They used salmon for two reasons, it worked okay, and it was more readily available than beaver at that time. Trappers were not allowed to trap beaver in Washington until 1963, prior to that time only State government trappers were allowed to trap beaver.

When they used salmon, they would generally fold the chunk of fish (often a little ripe) inside a piece of hardware cloth and then nail the packet to the inside of the notch in the tree that contained their trap. I still occasionally find remnants of these old sets. The hardware cloth protected the bait from birds.

Being that we are forced to trap beaver in Ontario, we normally only use that.

Have been out with trappers in the NWT and Yukon that used fish and caught marten no problem.

I like to use a call lure at the set in the winter. Gusto is my go to if I buy any, started making my own lure and have good success with it.

A good fisted size chunk of beaver works for me.

80% of the time fish head, fanned out dried duck wing on a swivel and a dab of Paul’s Skunky Backbreaker. 20% just the wing and lure ( fish head finally has gotten robbed ). See no difference in success. Completely convinced, and will soon be trying, 100% setting with wing and lure only.

Side note- I’m letting my line rest this year as the lynx, fox cycles are low ( rabbit crash ) so I’ve been focusing on trail and trapper cabin maintenance. While building a bridge over a troubled creek last weekend I ran into extremely fresh wolverine sign. It tore up a set where I caught a big one last year and peed at a few places 20 yards from set. After completing my bridge I made a run to one my my T cabins and grabbed a couple of #9s but had no bait. Ended up crunching up a couple of cup of soups and scattering some moose jerky around the set. See what happens..

Nice bridge.

When I answered the OP's question.......the choice was between meat or fish. I chose beaver.

But the fact is I almost never use any meat at all. Strictly grouse wing regardless of the temperature. Movement of the wing in the wind is far more attractive than scent IMO

Yep! You answered the question.

DOT approved!

I think you nailed it White17. Same goes with cats. I get asked every year on what is the “best” bait for lynx. Wings..hands down. I’ve also seen the evidence with marten. Seen their fresh tracks often B line straight to the set from quite a distance. One thing to note is my marten area is in mostly open, wind blown saddles between semi thick stands of skimpy spruce. Wings may not work as successful in deeper, thicker timber that is protected from most wind breezes that really trigger the wing action.

I always used wings as an attractor period. I know several trappers that use flagging and some even use tin can lids and CD’s.

What’s the opinion on using other than wings?

The reason I bring this up is for new marten trappers.

I don't like using unnatural stuff because of the possibility of the wind blowing it away

From what I’ve seen you guys are spot on re visual attractors. If I had more bird wings I would use them. One problem I have with meat bait is it leaves an odor after the season and bears tear up the sets, so I end up remaking some. As far as cats I’ve tried a lot of things and nothing comes close to a wing. When I get a grouse I like to take wings and tail and spread them out and pin em to dry.

I think necessity is the mother of invention, one of my best friends never using anything but beaver meat, no lure, no flagging, no wings nothing but beaver meat.

Other trappers I know don't have access to an easy bait source and are more creative or maybe out of necessity develop other methods that work in their area.

For some a piece of tainted caribou or moose hide is all they use.

Using visual attractors for some trappers is what they have to work with and are very successful at it.

In my travels I like to see what works for them in there area.

I have used a lot of partridge wings for lynx not so much for marten.

No wrong methods if they work.

I have used strictly grouse wings in the past when I did not have fish heads. I'd pin out my wings in the fall and dry them, put a ring of tie wire through the center with a brass swivel on it and they were ready to go. A small piece of wire from the pole would allow the wing to spin in the breeze but not flutter and get tangled up. I would use a little stick for Gusto lure on another piece of wire. Had a lot of success with that. I do like fish heads though with or without a call lure.

If anybody needs wings I sell pheasant wings in my trapping store. They come on a swivel and 16" of string or bare whatever you prefer. tedsfurshed.square.site

Ted

Picked up 20 last night with two month old coney fish for bait. I find Beaver loses its smell after about 10 days and marten stop checking it out. Coney and Martin magic seems to be just right for me

Coney fish??? Great catch.

Shee fish. Inconnu. Coney.

These big greasy whitefish


Best to pre bait in the warm shop. Saves time and keeps your hands warmer

Nice work Ryan. Is Coney what we call Shefish? How many sets out to pull 20 marten?

Yup coney is shee fish. We have about 120 sets going but those 20 are from a short 36 hours sit

Probably more like 100 sets because we pulled one section.

Nice catch Ryan.
Is that a mink in the picture or all marten.

I use beaver meat too most of time in winter, some muskrat carcass on opening but that become dry faster... the best is beaver fleshing saddle and fat, i keep it and split in plastic baggies, with a large beaver i get 2 or 3 good piece of bait. I had ask it (marten bait) cause i see Marty in mountain men use only piece of moose or caribou hide under pole, that no have a lot of smell , most visual attrator...

Is he using a call lure? My bait is just a visual attractor. It is chosen to not get all ate by shrews and not degrade completely during thaws. It don't have to smell. I can handle it and I don't have to smell.

all marten gibb. Havent seen any mink tracks at all on this trapline.

Marty uses a lure on his marten sets as well as the scrap of hide.

Marty burns that moose hide a bit too

I have tried that with no luck at all

One thing good about a thread like this it’s full of valuable information especially to new trappers.

One comment is those boxes must cost a fortune for the materials in this time in history!

I collect scrap plywood every chance I get. Even if it a small piece that might only be enough for one box. It would cost a fortune if it was all
New though as 1/2 standard if $64 a sheet in Inuvik.
I make 13 boxes per sheet

I also collect scrap plywood for my boxes. Being a contractor helps.
I also use mesh for the backs, and finding scraps of that can be challenging.

I use my beaver board when they are wore out.Re-cycle 4 or 5 every few years.
Can get quite a few out of an old beaver board and they do have that ingrained beaver odour from all the pelts that have been nailed to them.

Don't you leave your boxes up through the summer Boco? I bet the bears love the beaver board boxes.

I use whatever is cheap and handy, have some plywood ones, out of various thickness of leftover and scrap plywood. And I have a bunch made out of 1" pine and fire boards, have a friend whose dad owns a sawmill and I get the ends from when he saws boards out of logs and then cuts them to length, or some bad chunks with wane on them, etc. Those boxes are heavy, especially after they soak up water, but they are free and work good.

I used boxes for years, always left them out there. Got tired of replacing at least half of them every year between the porkies and the bears. Tried the flower pot set up and I like it alot. Keep the lathe and bracket on the tree for next season. Still got a few news paper boxes out there as well, nothing messes with them as long as the bait is pulled out at the end of the season.

over all my traplines I must have 300 boxes out(not all set each year)I rarely have problems with bears wrecking boxes.
The squirrells used to chew on the old plywood,but they must not like the glue in the new plywood they dont eat them much.
I went into a part of my trapline a few years ago that I hadnt been into in about 20 years-found some old boxes half grown into some trees.
I have lost more boxes to blowdowns than bears over the years.And we are polluted with bears here.

Some guys seem to have problems with bears,It may be from lure use.I dont trap until well into freeze up,except for a few boxes if I'm setting for mink and I use bait only(frozen) and I remove all the bait when trapping is done end of feb.Bears dont come out here until early or mid may,and are normally gone by mid to end oct.

The only trouble I ever have with bears is every 10 years or so when there is lots and lots of food for them in the fall and they stay active right up to december.They follow the trapline and smash boxes and eat bait and catches.Almost always the wrecked boxes are mink boxes on the ground(fish bait)They dont seem to bother the elevated boxes but they will take a hanging catch.

Beaver is darn good for cats too.

I have never had a bear eat my marten catch, smashed boxes stolen bait but marten still in the trap.

I adjusted my boxes so that a bear can easily knock the box down.

No problem just easily reset the box.

Sounds like a good way to save a lot of time and expense. Too bad you had to learn the hard way.

one thing I've learned with bears is not to use woodscrews to fix my boxes on the trees,very difficult to replace a crooked screw i return to good old nail....I never put my lure in the box either because wood absorbs odors for a long time.Yes Boco when bear find your line he fellow and destroy until you add a good snare in the trail....lol

I pre-drill the nail holes, bear comes knock box off no problem.

Have to say not as big a problem as some think it is.

I have hundreds of boxes out and expect to change a few every year.

Had to change 4 out of 30 boxes on a run I am running right now.

Some boxes have been there 10 plus years.

Makes a quick efficient set to run and maintain.

I rather deal with the odd black bear vs the clear cut logging.

I've tried wings, lure, beaver etc. but none of it worked like green chum salmon. We catch our chum in early October and crib it, then throw a tarp over it till trapping season. After fermenting for a month or so it has some stank to it that puts out the funk even in subzero temps. I use green chum for lynx and wolverine too and it works just as well for them as it does for marten. I've also used other types of fish with good results, the more stank the better at least in my neck of the woods...........................

^^^^^^
That's pretty much what old timers used in Washington before the 1960's. I tried it years ago, worked okay, but I didn't like that the smell got on everything it seemed. Beaver much cleaner imo.

Marginal luck with fish, here. Fresh/frozen salmon heads are great for mink, (I actually used to target them when they were worth $20.00 plus average), but not great on anything else.
Have tried rotted hooligan, herring, salmon, in 5 gallon buckets, rotted down to puss. Then run the bucket up a tree and pop holes in it. Can be smelt for a long ways, but never noticed any increase in furbearers.
I do well with duck carcasses, but beaver is my go-to for marten.

Every so often I buy those $64 sheets. Had to make more boxes and o was out of scrap. Planning a good push to end the season

It seems to me that this is the most budget-friendly option.

That will work,but when it gets very cold,the plastic shatters in short order.

Depends on the plastic. Gets 30 below here and mine don't shatter. They rot if left in the sun during off season.

On plant pots and plastic jugs like Kosio's design if you take a hot soldering iron and melt the end-zone plastic that there is more support before you cut the slot.

Interesting shock springs on your snares Kosoi, care to explain

The cheap plant pots that houseplants come in tend to shatter when it is cold or they are covered in ice, but I used a bunch my wife bought houseplants in because they are free (and her father works at a store with a nursery, so I can get more from him). I didn't care for them because they are shallow, you need to use smaller bait and make sure it is clear at the back of the pot. I tend to use big chunks of bait like a beaver drumstick wired around the bone and hanging lengthwise. I had problems with catching marten by the face, and even caught one with the bait in its mouth. Because they aren't having to go through the trap to get to the bait, they can just stick their head up there and grab it, and are setting the trap off when tugging on the bait. This isn't an insurmountable obstacle, I just needed to change how I attached the bait. They are quick and easy to to put up and set, and you can carry a lot of them on a snowmachine, but I prefer boxes if I have room to carry them.

I used flower pots for many years, mostly because they were light, and stack-able. I had a lot of refusals, and bears tore them down constantly.
Not a big fan.
Boxes are a pain, but catch much better, in my world.

martin box built with wooden board lasts a long time and returns to nature, not plastic!!! more easy to insert trap in stronger and tough.not really plywood fan cause a lot of squirrel and hare,porky....

I don't cut slots. The plastic does not stay out on the line. The sun will kill them and animals will knock them down. Nothing more natural than a bunch of rectangular wooden boxes hanging in the forest year round.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts on what is brought into the set. I leave my boxes out and for the most part the bears and porcupines leave them alone. I do nail them kind of loosely so they don’t make it very interesting for the bears to get them down.

For bait beaver is my go to, if I have it. Deer tallow, herring, jam, leftover ham or steak, carrots even. I honestly don’t think it matters much if the marten are there.