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.