Years ago there was a thread on here about bait stations for attracting coons. What do you guys/gals use for bait in your bait stations for attracting raccoons prior to season?

Just follow the deer feeders around. Let the deer hunters feed the coon and waste their money lol.

If you really wanted to bait coon, get the cheapest food you can find, corn, dog/cat food.

That may been CoonDuke that posted a video.

I made a feeder at the back of our property years ago. Haven't used it in years. Was interesting to watch my trail cam videos.
Dry Dog Food was the ticket.

Make Feeder(s)-
Kitty Litter Bucket w/lid
Drill 1" hole near bottom on 3 sides
Wire bucket to tree or post in likely spot
Add dry dog food

when ever i would set up bait stations i liked using cat food and old boxes of apple jacks cearel and every time i would re-bait before season i would ring the outside perimeter with fish oil and fryer grease so when the coons would eat the bait they would have to walk right thru the oil to have at it and when they would leave to head back to denning area they would leave a scent trail on there feet and i found the stations were getting crushed the longer they were out

I like the scent trail idea. Often wondered about using Fruit Loops or other cereal but I suppose dog food is cheaper.

i always had luck using super sweet thru summer then as the weather starts to get colder i use a more protien based lure and as it gets really late and into the spring(mating season)i make a base lure using the glands from the coon as well as there gall and gall bladder and that time of year can work better then shellfish

We have a big licorice manufacturer close by and we used to get bulk waste licorice from there for bear bait and the coon love it also.

When I coon hunted, the old timers would take an old tire on a rim and cut 1 1/2”-2” holes around the sidewall then fill it with corn and water. Coons and hogs would be the only things to mess with it.

Plus they’re drunk so a sub-par set would still preform.

Should be enough coons in NW Illinois that pre-baiting is a waste of time. Just trap where they are and you'll catch them.

https://youtu.be/N6cnyrcIWxc?si=L1n5TYQNcOl3rH0s

He shows here how to make s feeder

Wade Ryan (Murse) did a bunch of trail cam pictures of pre-baiting coon with bucket feeders back about 12 or so years ago. He kept track of his catches, per location, and he did very well. And he didn’t have to travel far to do it, either. After that, the coon market took a dive and he went on to other quests, like bobcats and family activities.

Good guy. Great pictures and posts.

He shaded a lot of good info on his Youtube channel.
Mac

X2 Waste of money too IMO.

I'm trying it. I have a bit of bear bait left over from last year. I have putting it out for a couple of weeks now and there are some trails coming into it now. We will try it out, traps go in the area this coming weekend.

You could look at SamWoodsOutdoors and see his Burger King video.

We can’t do any sort of prebaiting with jelly/jam, fruit or vegetables, flour* based ingredients (dry dog or cat food) or field corn soaked in beer type baits in southeastern Minnesota because of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Somebody (DNR) thinks deer might be attracted to it, pee, inhale the pee, get exposed to it at a bait location, and result in more CWD. Apparently, mineral blocks, molasses licks and food plots**, set out for cows, don’t do this—or their lobby is stronger.

* I once had a warden tell me that dry and cat food contained flour so therefore it couldn’t be used to pre-bait coon. When I mentioned this to an area DNR supervisor, he rolled his eyes in disbelief.

** The DNR rules (page 68) say that food and attractants have to be removed 10-days before hunting season. Apparently, deer won’t be habituated to the site if given a 10-day window to forget it was out there.

Creep Feeder / Shell corn or a cheap dog food

The above info is pretty well covering coons & baiting. Not that baiting is a waste of effort or a gold mine secret but keep in mind WHERE you live/fur harvest and the info provided. If you live in the "Corn Belt" pre-baiting may be a waste of time as coons have field after field of food. Remember - habitat IS NOT a group of cottonwoods or a wetland of cattails, or a spring fed tributary through a timber etc.. Habitat is FOOD - COVER - and WATER,, and how it occurs on the Landscape (Biology 101). If you want to harvest racoons quickly you can go through the motions of baiting them (Food), so try to do it in close proximity to the other 2 elements of their habitat. Home Ranges and frequency of use in the fall are dependent on one of those 3 Limiting Elements. So if water is short, then supplying some bait (food) closer to the water source might be a good scheme. If food is varied, scattered and rambling (frogs-acorns-insects-berries etc.), baiting close to some cover (dens) would be a good avenue to try. Plus if your dens are far from a main concentrated food and/or water source, then bait placed (concentrated along the route) there saves them the energy of multiple trips . Big timbers of the east, cornfields and creeks in midwest, wetlands - marshes - crayfish ponds of the south, suburban yards and parks all portray a little different landscape for you to locate your bait station........................ My experience. ......the mike

' Coons, 'Coons and only 'Coons :over 1,000000 views


Probably in the archives by now