Bobcat flagging

Going to set a few more bobcat foothold sets soon & may try some flagging but have a couple questions...

Per VA regs: "It is unlawful to intentionally set foothold traps, body-gripping traps, or snares within 50 feet of an animal carcass or animal parts, unless the carcass or parts are completely covered at the time the trap is set or visited. For the purposes of this requirement, completely covered is defined as not being visible from above. A carcass is defined as the body, portions of the body, meat, organs, or viscera of any animal, including fish. Feathers (including those with attached skin or entire bird wings), hair (with or without skin or hide), and bones that include no attached meat, organs, or viscera, are excluded from this definition."

1. So does this mean I can legally hang & use feathers or a bird wing?

2. I don't have any CDs to use but was thinking of cutting a soda can & using the flattened out aluminum since it's shiny & lightweight & should spin in the wind w/ a swivel on it. Worth a shot?

3. I assume w/ flagging that foxes & yotes won't visit the nearby traps, correct?

Sounds like you’re ok to use feathers , fur, and wings...

By the way....what type of country are you trapping ?.....tight or open ?

Chicken, pigeon wings, I like skunk tails off the low grade ones they tend to swing and not fly around and get tangled as much.

I've used many different things but my go to visual attractor now is a pair of turkey wing feathers wired together to an extra large snap swivel at the root end with some old fashioned silver tinsel for flash. Whole thing spins with the slightest breeze. The black/white patterned feathers show snow or no snow and take a lot of abuse. Just hook snap to small limb where it can't foul on other branches. Can reuse for years.

I've had great success drawing lynx to set locations just using a 4X6 inch cardboard white on one side and white on the other. When fluttering in a breeze the white stands out against the dark forest cover background and the brown against the snow, like a flashing neon sign.

VCR tape is what I use. The slightest breeze will get it moving.

The way it reads I’d say feathers/wings are ok.

Pop can should work. My favorite is two turkey tail feathers wired together to form a upside down V with a swivel a few inches above it. Here I have to add some fishing weights to them because of all the high winds. We have 60 mph winds coming for today. Flagging like tinsel and VCR tape usually are tied in knots around whatever they are hung from after a wind like that.

You will catch coyotes and fox in cat sets. Just like the occasional cat is caught in a yote set. Good luck

Use a 10-12" strip of plastic Walmart bag and cut all but an inch of one end into 1/4" strips with scissors. About 4" width and fasten via the uncut end. It will flutter with the slightest breeze.

Turkey feathers, squirrel tail, etc should also be good to go. Also note that it states in the regs "visible from above." You are generally not trying to attract flying bobcats so the list of excluded items can still be used in a cubby or other set that birds of prey/vultures cannot see.

I use a piece of cardboard and cut a corn bag into strips and push a piece of that through the cardboard and let it hang. I also push a stick through the cardboard so the wind doesn't take the cardboard and wrap it around the limb I have it tied to.

CD's work well.

I like these. Legal every where, made by a great man and trapper.

https://youtu.be/8BKY5kNKuJ4

Buy here

https://wyldwingsproductions.com/products/the-enticer

I use pieces of discarded Ag Bags. Black/White
Price- Free from farmers

Heavy Duty plastic. Tough stuff.


Check out your local dairy farm for scrap Ag Bags...

Thanks everyone! I would assume that w/ flagging my bobcat sets, I prob. won't catch many fox or coyotes, right?

Grey Fox don't mind flagging.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Picture courtesy of a Nevada trapper

I wouldn't set coyote sets directly under the flags, but I wouldn't be scared to set the approaches. Coyotes hunt with their eyes too.

Christmas Garland here.

I have only caught one coyote desperate enough to work a flagged cat set(flagging knocked down in pic), as previously mentioned greys don’t seem to mind.

Whatever you decide to hang, use about 1 ft florist wire to keep it from getting blown over the limb and hung...several strands from a gob of cassette or VHS tapes, feather with contrasting shades, 1/3 of a CD on a ball bearing fishing swivel....etc.

Like others on here I like brown and white cardboard, Christmas tinsel/ garland/ ribbon etc...
I wasn't impressed with cans or flagging tape.

You fellas can't go wrong with good visual appeal like this. You can see it a long ways off and it will glitter in the moon light when it turns into the light at the right angle.

Turkey tail feather and a cd or turkey wing feather two tone,i use with and without cd's also Christmas garling green/blue,green /purple,but prefer feather's if legal in your state.