We always talk about rain and adding lure, bait, or even urine afterwards. So I placed a set last Saturday with bait down a hole and lure on a stick with a shot of urine off to the side and sorta out in front.
It just rained 3.5” and I just had a deer on camera checking out the smells for the last 4 pics. I don’t think it tripped it as the last pic I got was it walking off.
Now if a deer can smell something after 9 days and 3.5” of rain, then I’d think a predator could. Especially a coyote or bobcat.
So what do y’all think? Is a predators nose as good, worse, or better than a deers nose?

Not sure, but how many times have you seen bait holes blown out months after you pulled? I’ve seen it enough times that I generally don’t fool with adding more bait or lure. Normally just give a squirt of urine and move on after a rain if I’m gonna do anything

I will say that this is for coyotes. I’m not sure bobcats don’t benefit from reluring. When I was running cameras this summer I would see coyotes investigate small punch holes of lure, then pee on them. Im not sure if it was my life or their pee, but they would revisit and mark/dig for weeks even with serious rain showers in between

Well, to answer my own question, lol.



This where I caught a fox, then a bobcat, and now another bobcat. What’s cool about this one is when I checked this morning (from truck window) I noticed the only thing exposed was the pan. I thought, those guys on Trapperman say they leave theirs exposed so I’ll leave it. Guess it did give him a place to step, lol. All it was to begin with was a flat set between two piles of cat scat I’d found. I’ve remade it back as a flat set every time. Lure was placed after the last bobcat catch and some fox urine. No backing, no nothing but the cat scat that was there. Of course the rain sorta dissolved all that I guess.

I believe coyotes noses are superior to deer

I’ve been using blind sets this season, no bait, no lure, just sticking the trap where I believe the critter is gonna step and using guiding and I’ve caught more fox than I ever did with baited sets. I am gonna use a lot less baited sets going forward.

As to your question, I think a coyote can still smell lure for a loooong time after much rain. Where do you think the lure goes when it rains? Doesn’t go anywhere. Maybe gets spread around a little, diluted a little, but I guarantee that a coyotes nose, capable of detecting just a couple parts per million, can definitely still smell it.

I watched a program a few years ago about dogs ( and canines in general) and their abilities to smell. Guys, if they can detect cancer cells in the human body, what makes you think they can't pick up smells from your sets weeks or even months after you pulled up your traps? Even my dog will roll on a bone pile years after the critters demise.