Around here they don’t go up trees unless trying to escape something. They like to nap in shallow caves and overhangs in the cliff faces where their backside is protected and they can see a long ways out in front. But they probably act different here because we have a lot of lions around that’d love to kill bobcats.

Not sure if your whitetails would do the same

Yes, deer will jump over or go around, while cats will slink on under.

If those were my sets I’d have way more blocking, IMO there are too many options for a cat to step that are not on the pan. The way I was taught to build a walk through for cats, you pretty much build a log cabin with sticks around your trap tall enough that it has to step over the first set of sticks but it’s too far and too tall to step all the way over both sets of sticks with one step, and the ONLY clear spot in between is the trap pan. It does not bother a bobcat one bit to be forced into stepping on the pan like that.

I always hear about exposed pans but I thought that was for rocky areas you couldn’t bed a trap. What’s the reasoning behind that if a trap can be buried or covered?

I’ve caught cats before with just a bare metal pan, hundreds are caught every year that way. My blocking is always big and bold, the little twigs are the “fillers” for the areas in between the big sticks and between the jaws and pan.

When guiding a cat, you’re not suggesting where it steps, you’re FORCING it to step exactly where you want. Don’t be afraid to be super aggressive with the blocking. You’re literally making it so the HAVE to step directly on your pan if they want to continue on that particular trail. They’re not like coyotes, extreme guiding does not bother them a bit. A cat isn’t going to come to your set in the trail and back out cause there’s too much blocking. Bout the only way you can block too much is by not giving a clean spot to step in the middle, they’ll just jump over if you do that. But the clear spot only has to be big enough for just one paw to fit. That’s why tons of blocking is key, if there’s a space around the trap big enough for a paw to fit that isn’t your pan, chances are good the cat will step on that spot instead. It’s not like a baited set where they put their foot down in multiple spots at the set, when that cat comes through you’re going to get exactly two shots, one front foot and one back foot, so you don’t want to leave any room for it to step around the trap.

They’ll only jump over if it looks like there’s no good place to step in between, or if the blocking is too tall AND too narrow. But to get the blocking around the trap too tall and cause them to jump over you pretty much have to build your blocking ridiculously tall. Seasoned cat trappers ive talked to here don’t hesitate to build the blocking around the trap 6” tall, like a log cabin all the way around the trap. You want your blocking tall enough that the cat has to deliberately step over the first set of sticks and wide enough that it can’t step all the way over the second set with a single step, and in between make everything but the pan look like a bad spot to step.

The reason for not burying the trap at all, is
1. It’s not necessary. Bobcats don’t care. And truthfully, neither do foxes. I’ve caught many many foxes in exposed bobcat sets. Coyotes will even be caught in them sometimes.
2. Saves time and effort.
3. A trap set like that will continue to work through rain, snow, freeze/thaw, almost all weather, eliminating the need for dry/waxed dirt or antifreeze and no need to rebuild sets after weather events, except if the snow gets a hard crust on it then you have to scoop the crust off the top of the set.
4. You have less gear to carry to make that type of set, which is important when building a set in nasty steep country. You pretty much just need a trap and a drag or stake, everything else nature provides.

So how do you get it to set flat with the center swivel and chain underneath a trap?

Hopefully my skunky lure isn't scaring them off

Do you have any rock outcropping in your area? Bobcats love an overhang under a big Boulder.

Cats are deathly afraid of skunks this time of year.

You want your blocking tall enough that the cat has to deliberately step over the first set of sticks and wide enough that it can’t step all the way over the second set with a single step, and in between make everything but the pan look like a bad spot to step.

I haven’t experienced a cat refusing due to skunky lure because I don’t use skunky lure. The reason I don’t use it is because a guy I know very well who’s been trapping cats since before I was born, and has caught well in excess of 1,000 bobcats all over the state of Nevada, told me that he has on many occasions had a cat avoid a set that was lured with a skunky lure. When he stopped using the skunky lure, he stopped having cats avoid sets. So do with that information what you will.

Your trying to guide cats when u should be blocking them. I struggle to change gears between cats and coyotes too but a few misses in snow will learn ya fast. Lol

So are you suggesting we use less fencing?

Lure can be a help or a hindrance on bobcats, placed 18” above the set on a rock or stick, if they like it they’ll rub their face on it like a house at rubbing on peoples legs. Sometimes though they will avoid a set because the lure is too strong, especially with skunky stuff, the intensity can be unpleasant to them.

Lure, bait, they probably catch their fair share of cats. But all of the guys I know that catch 50-100 bobcats a year exclusively use exposed walkthrough sets, no bait and very little if any lure. I’ve never caught a cat in a baited set.

And of course I check my cameras this weekend and on the backside of the property where I have caught nothing but possums so I pulled my two traps...

Aje didn't you say a friend had game camera pics of cats ? Go set those spots and block them to go exactly where you want them, it doesn't have to be natural blocking as in already there . You can block using natural materials found there even 10 to 15 feet on each side or more just make sure they can't get through it . You can even leave sets n multiple spots in the blocking. If its in open or next to open areas use some type of flagging to get them to the area you want them to walk.

Aje didn't you say a friend had game camera pics of cats ? Go set those spots and block them to go exactly where you want them, it doesn't have to be natural blocking as in already there . You can block using natural materials found there even 10 to 15 feet on each side or more just make sure they can't get through it . You can even leave sets n multiple spots in the blocking. If its in open or next to open areas use some type of flagging to get them to the area you want them to walk.

Sometimes it's hard to trap what's not there- I have friends with land NW of Cty Hwy P and every time they have a trail cam pic of a bobcat- I get copied, It happens but not that often- my guess is your chances and cat population numbers are increasing every year- stay with it and you'll connect.

For what it is worth, I get lots of gamer camera pictures in the fall of cats. By the time our cat season opens in late December, the cats have moved and aren't there anymore. They didn't move 20 miles away but they moved into heavy cover with less snow and where there is food. Think bunnies would be my advice in the Lake States right now. Set on or near rabbit trails. That is where the cats are going to be and following deer trails. IMO cats are lazy and will walk the path of least resistance like frozen creeks, deer trails and snowmobile trails.

Aje didn't you say a friend had game camera pics of cats ? Go set those spots and block them to go exactly where you want them, it doesn't have to be natural blocking as in already there . You can block using natural materials found there even 10 to 15 feet on each side or more just make sure they can't get through it . You can even leave sets n multiple spots in the blocking. If its in open or next to open areas use some type of flagging to get them to the area you want them to walk.

Yes I did say that nvwrangler. On Sunday I set the 3 spots he told me to. At 1 of the 3 spots my friend recommended on this 103 acres, I found this scat tonight 10 yards from my trap. I'm not sure how fresh it is. Do you guys think it is bobcat?

I don't know what you mean by packrat. We might have rodents that do that though, I'm not sure

The actual name for them is bushy-tailed wood rat, but we call them packrats because they build nests in the rocky outcrops and they pack anything they can carry back to the nest. Bones, sticks, plastic, glass, everything lol. They look a bit like a chinchilla with a rats face and are about the size of a softball. And bobcats LOVE to hunt them.

I have seen cat tracks step for step inside of deer tracks more than once, so pay attention to details. just a little extra advise.

For what it is worth, I get lots of gamer camera pictures in the fall of cats. By the time our cat season opens in late December, the cats have moved and aren't there anymore. They didn't move 20 miles away but they moved into heavy cover with less snow and where there is food. Think bunnies would be my advice in the Lake States right now. Set on or near rabbit trails. That is where the cats are going to be and following deer trails. IMO cats are lazy and will walk the path of least resistance like frozen creeks, deer trails and snowmobile trails.

I would’ve had every camera I own on likely spots trying to get a pic of what’s there. Not all my cameras are on my sets. Some are scouting for me.