Looking for good tips or suggestions for a successful catch. Do i set any different than i would for a coyote?

Have you caught them in coyote sets before? If so just make your best coyote set and they’ll clog them up, lol.

Never trapped a bobcat , we dont have them in northern Indiana

A former member here used to do a serious bobcat line in western Kansas. He used sloppy dirt holes. Some feathers around the set, etc. etc. Cats use their eyes as much as their nose. Eye candy, not the human kind, helps get a cats attention!

I'm not a cat expert but when I do target them this is what I do. First, location seems about 5 times more important than with coyotes. We have a lot of coyotes and they cover a lot of country so here even marginal locations produce but cats prefer cover and are such effective hunters that it doesn't seem they cover as much country every day like coyotes. One thing that helped me start catching cats with some consistency was finding the thickest cover or steep rocky areas, the kind of areas that really hold the rabbits. Second thing that started putting cats in the traps was blind setting the trails in that kind of habitat. Put it were the cat is going to walk anyway. If u think.you need lure, or eye appeal or a cool set just make sure those things are placed around the trap in the blind set. And block and guide so that there is no where else to step but ur pan.

Ive only caught 2 cats in coyote sets but I tend to stay away from cat habitat when coyote trapping because of coons and possums. If u have lots of cats they are easy to catch and about anything works but my experience is its a lot more effective to be right on their trail where they can walk through whatever type of set u use. I like 1" diameter sticks on each side of jaws as stepping sticks, a little ground duff on pan and rest of trap exposed. Guides cats paw where u want it and is pretty much weatherproof unless covered with a lot of snow which is rare here.

I appreciate all the info

Generally the gaudiest set you can make will snag a cat. They just can’t seem to ignore something out of place or all tore up. I will say this, if I only had one shot at a cat I’d make a dirt hole set with the trap placed in the normal spot then one behind the dirt hole and one on either side. Yeah, you may have all 4 paws after a catch, but you’ll have your cat.
From what I’ve seen on my cameras they like to approach a dirt hole from the back or sides.

What part of Wisconsin are you planning to trap in?

In my area of northern WI a walk through cubby is awesome. (think lean-to against a tree) Trap near each entrance, Lure or bait inside. Congrats on the permit - that's the hard part.

about 10 miles south of Ladysmith Wi

That’s a target rich environment if you’re in between Conrath & Holcombe… I trap that area and will send you a pm .

Never trapped there but have been through a few times. Great mix of forest, farmland and swamp which is good habitat also means there is plenty of prey and food. Not a lot of lakes right in that area so swamps and steams and rivers are good travel edge areas.

Bryce

Do something way out of the ordinary around your set. All snowcover? Black as black dirt can be is a great attractor. A BIG dirt hole vs a small one is the way to go. A white rock that wasn't there before in a brown environment is another eyecatcher. Some use shiny or white flagging. Another is a noise maker that was never in the area before. I make a set-up from a can and wire that goes tink.... tink ....tink in the wind. Another favorite set is a walk thru set with piles of stick and branches on either side that are parallel with the walk thru path. An uncovered blocked trap right in the middle works great. I put cotten balls in the bottom piles of branches just so the cat can see white. He'll work the set. All every thing you'll be told won't catch cats unless there are some around. Remember the old saying..... "CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT"...... A pretty true statement for sure !!

I like a super skunky lure.
Wait for cold weather so the nontarget varmints aren’t as bad of a problem.

Get right in the thick stuff they feel safe there. Cats love beaver meat I use a whole carcass in the thick cover. Put the carcass in several locations and just watch them when a cat finds one of them he will cover it up with leaves and grass to hide it from other predators. He will come back nightly to feed on the beaver meat then you can move in and catch him. They aren't real smart some guys don't even cover the trap they will step right on one. I do cover mine somewhat but they are not a coyote.

https://www.trapperspost.com/archive1.html

This article is what taught me about bobcat conibear boxes. Have caught a few this way.

To get your blood pumping.

Thanks for all the tips, hopefully I can get it done

I was thinking about using a lot of backing but maybe not

Nice!

I like to find an old logging road or atv path through the woods. On one side of the path I will hang a feather, tin foil, cd, etc from a tree branch to catch visual attention. Directly across the path from the eye attraction I dig a trench set in. Stack up plenty of backing and sticks all around it to funnel cat in front. Place trap back 2ft from bottom end of trench. I like to dig a little hole in the far back side wall of trench and shove some feathers or something shiny to further draw attention. It is a deadly set. I trapped 8 cats on my buddy’s land in 2 weeks and 5-6 of them were taken at the same trench set.

I think I know what you mean, thanks, but a picture of such a trench set would be awesome

All this snow we have is going to make things interesting, maybe better, for trapping or hunting them. It's creating some challenges, but maybe will increase opportunity, depending on the type of set(s) one chooses to make

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
Well, not really the government, but I'll help.
If you have specific questions, PM me and I'd be happy to help.

Merry Christmas!
Mark

Hopefully these messy sketches help. Ill even dome sticks over the trench to further prevent back or side entry.

Your sketches help some.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I had one encounter in a week and a half ,i was dealing with nice weather then a snow storm and also below 0 temps . one set got froze in and of course thats the one the cat was at and walking all over the trap pan, so ill try again next time i get drawn

Live & learn I guess. The elements can make it tough. Good luck next time.

We keep getting snow lately so dirt, leaves and sticks are tough to keep visible at a set.