sitting here tonight was just thinking about making a new supply order and when i got to lures i put i my go to ones but everty year i like to try some new ones out which got me thinking(i know you can smell the smoke down in texas) i am no here near an rookie trapper 30 yrs on my on and many years tagging along with my dad but all the good lures all have skunk in them for predators yes i know it carries but you would think if you tangled with one skunk a year you wouldnt want to do that dance again so why skunk just a thought

I've always heard they like it as a cover scent.

My opinion. I would not trap the same area (anywhere) without a change up in lures/ bait. Especially year after year.

never had to worry about that unless i missed a few which happens occasionally but not often i put up descent numbers every year for the time spent and traps in the ground

Thank Jesus I’ve only caught a couple of them stinking things and they really stunk up the trap and whole set area. Both times I said the heck with it and just reset the trap and faced the wife’s wrath when I got home. Both times those traps and sets just kept catching. One set was during a rainy two weeks and after about the 4th or 5th critter it looked like a hog wallow.
I marked that trap with flagging tape, not that it needed it cause it stunk bad. That particular trap out performed every other trap I had and it wasn’t like I set it any different than the others. I even joked on here about it and was told to isolate it and put it in a creek to get the smell off.
The second time was pretty much the same thing, that trap just kept catching.
My son uses nothing but an egg for his cages and dirt hole sets. What does he put a dab of on each egg? Gusto. What does Gusto smell like? Skunk.
He catches coyotes, cats, fox, coons, and possums…over 1K critters a calendar year.

B&B I can see the reasoning behind this, but I usually use the same two lures and same bait on the property I trap for cats every year, and it outperforms any new lures and baits I us. I’m not sure why, but I like to try new lures every year. Eric

To me a late winter fox smells exactly like skunk.
Probably smells the same to other fox also.

down here in farm country boco they must run into a skunk at least every other day so wouldnt you want to avoid them instead of going over to see what the little smelly critter is doing or sprayed

even on coon my skunked traps out perform other traps.

apparently everything wants to go take a wiff

Bout 10 years ago, member Mr Boone Laine and I went on a road trip. I found out (what I thought) was a good deal on some traps.
The guy had quite a lot of asorted lure/ bait bottles. Nothing marked. Just a hodge podge of stuff.
Lots of 1oz,4oz,8oz jars.
Didn't know what they were so I said, " what the heck" and mixed em all together. Went on a 2 week out of my area trapping trip.
Have no idea to this day what it was but it worked very well.
Coyotes,wolves,bear ,fox and even jack rabbits were drawn to it.
Point is, whatever that smell/ draw is, every critter in that range that I didn't catch knew knew that smell.
I don't trap much nowdays but still have about a pint left.
If and when I decide to long line again, (doubtful), it'll be my go to lure. At least for 1 season.

I keep a syringe of the pure quill in my lure bag
Everything loves the smell of skunk
Even me