A few years back, a buddy of mine approached me at the state Rondy and proudly showed me a bottle of what he described as his own home-made cat lure. He obviously wanted me to sniff it and comment. Fortunately, he uncorked the bottle before handing it to me. As he twisted off the cap of the 4 0z amber jar to hand it to me, I heard the familiar "whissssssss" sound of gaseous ingredients rapidly escaping the bottle, followed by him cussing when a thick grey material oozed out onto his thumb and index finger. I commented that the lure appeared to be a bit "green" (i.e. still breaking down and off-gassing). He protested that he had allowed the material to taint and then stopped the tainting process with a preservative. Apparently the process of stabilization had not yet been completed when he opened the bottle and got the resulting unpleasant grey mess deposited on his hand.

Experienced lure makers understand how important aging is to the finished product. However, I think many trappers confuse the process of tainting (breaking down the major tissue components of the bait or lure) and real aging (allowing the process of time to change the chemical makeup of the end product). Obviously wine makers (and tasters) have known about the importance of aging for centuries. There really is no comparison when you've smelled properly aged lure as opposed to the very same ingredients that have only recently been introduced to one another. I think we as trappers and part-time lure makers often confuse the two concepts of tainting and aging. I only bring up the distinction because now seems to be the time many trappers begin the spring/summer bait and lure making process. Some will believe they have achieved lure-making success in a few weeks, but I would suggest giving your end product ample time to properly age and become the magic potion you are striving for . . . instead of grey goop on your hands.

Well put!

Yep, Laz Splaned that real good!!

Good advise! Sounds like your buddy became an instant inductee to ye olde stinky fingers club.

LOL, been there done that early on.

Had some cat gland come out of the jar like a mini volcano the other day. Wasn’t too bad but it happens. Swelled more than I was expecting.

When tainting meat and some glands. I'm starting to prefer tainting at lower temps and longer time periods vs high temperature tainting.

It seems to break down the muscle fibers better and increase the odor?

I’m a complete novice but for the last few years I’ve been grinding my glands and aging a couple years or so jarred and sealed in heavy black garbage bags to keep any flies away. This has been working for me. I also do rattlesnake the same way but after a year I open up and stir in some castor and reseal for another year. I hesitate to tell how I do it because I feel like you pro lure makers might get a chuckle but that’s the way I’ve been doing quart, half gallon and gallon batches. I know I’ve caught cats and coyotes on my gland and rattler lures.

I've been chopping my glands up small and jarring them with urine added and putting them in a small room in the back of the shop where paint and stuff is stored. That room is kept in the 50's year round. Had good luck with that slower, low, stabilized temp aging process.

Of course I've also got some fourteen year old glands that were the first I ever saved. I didn't know what I was doing and just did what another trapper told me to, cut out hock glands, foot pads, anal glands with about ten inches of intestine attached and all the feces inside and put them in a cleaned out peanut butter jar. No liquid added, and didn't chop them up or anything, just put that jar in the rafters of an uninsulated shed and forgot about them for about ten years. When I opened it up there was a bunch of dried up gunk in the jar, so I poured in some urine, let it set for a couple days to soak it up, stirred it around and added some more and then moved it to the paint room. Completely different odor, but I've caught stuff on that also. Although I don't think I get as good of a reaction it does work and doesn't smell like my other glands.

Honestly I've got as good a reaction with glands stopped fresh as with aged glands and am going to play with mixing aged glands with fresh glands to see if that works as well or better than either alone.

I don’t use a preservative in my red fox gland lure. The latest batch was made with glands from 2013 I believe.

That being said one day my hoard of fox glands will be exhausted so I guess I have to be sure I find enough trappers to keep me supplied so I can age at length.

Russ Carman stressed to me the value of aged fox glands. His term for them was “old” glands.

I have never made gland lure but I jumped in with both feet this year and have ground coyote, red, and grey glands, all separate, of course. I watched your yourube stuff Coon Duke and I added heart and liver from one animal to each pint basically. I am aging them in and old mini fridge that doesn't work in the corner of the shop. I have no plans to add anything else to them, wait and see I reckon.

Good post.

Mac

Very new and wet behind the ears yet on aging/tainting lure. Im saving all the oil sacs from beaver this spring, draining them and going to make a lure from them. Thinking cutting/grinding up and aging/tainting in a jar on my roof for a shorter time (was told by a knowledgable buddy a week or two) but now wondering if maybe that's not near long enough to do anything for them? Assuming there probably different "rules" for different glands?

I have had a few 5-gallon bucket lids blow off after I shook and started to walk away. I have learned to shake and watch the lid for the movement
LOL