Wisconsin late bobcat season opens tomorrow

Good luck to all of you who drew a tag

It's been brutally challenging so far. The weather couldn't be much worse. I don't think I've ever seen so much rain in the winter as I have the past week.

Good movin nights.

I am new to trapping in Wi. We have a lot of bobcats in my area, in Southern Wi. Is it pretty difficult to get a tag? And which is the preferred season?

How hard is it to get a bobcat tag there? Do you sell your cats or keep for trophies?

Keep them.

It's harder to draw a late season tag than it is an early season. And it's harder yet in the northern zone vs the southern zone.

It took me 3 years to get my tag. Bobcat trapping here is tough, even though season is over a month long.

I like the late season partly because of the weather but I'm having second thoughts about that based on the weather we've had the past week.

Population seems to be on the rise in the southern zone, despite increased harvest quotas.

In the southern zone (south of Hwy 64) you cam get a tag every 2-3 years. In the northern part of the state the earlier season is usually preferred for trapping because there should be more snow on the ground in the later season. Not sure about how the snow factors into the southern zone.

Snow can help for seeing tracks, although the snow/weather this season has been bad for identifying tracks.

Also, hounders like snow. Predator hunters also seem to prefer snow.

I've gotten them on trail cams on rare ocassions, but they don't seem to follow the same paths much, at least on my properties.

It's easier to use cable restraints in snow too.

And the late season doesn't conflict w/ my deer hunting as much.

Sometimes though I wonder if a person targets a cat only for a person in the early season to get it before the late season tag holder has a chance.

Colder weather makes it easier to keep some non target furbearers out of bobcat traps.

I'm not sure if they move more in the winter

The southern Zone has only had a season for about 10 years so a lot of people don't have much experience Bobcat trapping in Wisconsin.

There's pros & cons to each.

The population is healthy.

It's not overly uncommon for a yote trapper here to have to release a cat.

Seems like cat trapping there is a whole different ball game. Im not a great cat trapper yet, but talking to the guys who are, around here if you find a cat track, you make an exposed set with lots of blocking in the nearest pinch point and in 2-4 weeks that cat will be back, and if you made your set well you will catch him. No tags, just a trapping license, no limit. Season runs November 12th through February 19th this year.

I’ve made it my mission to catch a big pile of bobcats and fox next season. I will have enough PTO at work saved to run 75-100 bobcat sets for the entire 3 month season, and a similar coyote line for the month before bobcat opens.

I agree AJE, this weather is really being a hinderance to the cat trapping.

We got a couple inches of snow last night and it's going to turn a tad below freezing, so maybe the next week's weather will be desirable

The only thing on my cameras during the nastiest weather we could possibly have here have been cats. No deer, K9’s, coons, or possums. Cats just don’t seem to care.

Since I'm not from Wi. and it would take years to draw a tag. If any of you are trapping in the area of 35 and cty m, I have been seeing a few sets of tracks on a regular basis. Message me for a better location.

Cat's haven't found any of my beaver meat yet. Maybe they're to froze to pique their interest

With all this crappy weather maybe I'm not re-luring enough

Cat trapping in Wi is so challenging.

Curious, do bobcats spend much time in trees & what kind of spot do they sleep in? I suppose they spend their nights in different locations depending on the day ( and maybe the time of year). Maybe they don't sleep much, I don't know

Around here they don’t go up trees unless trying to escape something. They like to nap in shallow caves and overhangs in the cliff faces where their backside is protected and they can see a long ways out in front. But they probably act different here because we have a lot of lions around that’d love to kill bobcats.

We have very very few lions

... good luck to guuuuys lol... put a picture or two in here when y’all get em

Maybe the early season is better, I'm not sure

Aje you probably need to do a little more walking after a fresh snow. Instead of tying to get the bobcat
To find you. Try and find the bobcat, might have to check out more public land or ask
Around for permission. I don’t know what area your in but up here there are alot of cats.
And most people don’t want them around. Maybe check your local Facebook talk page, lots of
People post about bobcats in there.

I was talking to a local guy here who’s been trapping cats in this country since before I was born, used to run 200+ traps before his back and knees gave out. He told me he used to go out starting in September with a chainsaw and start cutting brush and blocking off every trail in the canyon except the ones he was gonna put traps in. He’d force every bobcat, coyote and fox in the area to use the trails he wanted them to use. If you find a set of tracks, you might want to try that.

Around here any trail I make gets used by deer. Maybe he creates some sticks across the trail in strategic spots to cause deer to jump over the traps.

When using exposed sets like we do our mule deer will usually step over them. Sometimes you get one that steps in but they mostly just step over. Not sure if your whitetails would do the same

That's a good question

Yes, deer will jump over or go around, while cats will slink on under.

I was talking about whether deer step in an exposed trap set. I think you're talking about a cat going under some sort of stick.

Do bobcats change patterns in winter? It's amazing how many properties I've scouted since 12/24 & only 1 time did I see cat tracks.

Also, is anyone else other than Wiplumber trapping bobcat in Wi this winter?

I’m not trapping Cats but talked to a very solid trapper in the Ladysmith area and he said he hasn’t seen a set of Cat tracks in a week and he told me he’ll probably eat his Fisher tag. He’s also a logger and said it’s the worst start to a winter that he’s ever seen. Logging roads are snapped over and grounds not froze, he sent me this pic of this logging road from the job he’s on now. He’s not sure about the Cat movement but he said it’s eerie, they will move at some point.

Thanks. Sounds like my experience Eagleye. Yes, you'd think they are around & would move at some point. This is crazy.

I made three pass-through sets tonight






Consensus on here seems to be pass thru's are the way to go.

Even though I didn't see tracks on this 103 acre parcel, my friend that owns it told me where the three prime spots are based on trail cam footage

If those were my sets I’d have way more blocking, IMO there are too many options for a cat to step that are not on the pan. The way I was taught to build a walk through for cats, you pretty much build a log cabin with sticks around your trap tall enough that it has to step over the first set of sticks but it’s too far and too tall to step all the way over both sets of sticks with one step, and the ONLY clear spot in between is the trap pan. It does not bother a bobcat one bit to be forced into stepping on the pan like that.

I always hear about exposed pans but I thought that was for rocky areas you couldn’t bed a trap. What’s the reasoning behind that if a trap can be buried or covered?

More blocking..wow, that shocks me. But then I'm not a bobcat expert by any stretch. A lot of the people I talk to that catch them in Wi seem to get them in coyote sets so I'm thinking less blocking might be the answer. But I'm open to suggestions. Thanks

Those pictures of mine aren't zoomed in enough to show that I actually do have a fair amount of little sticks to guide their feet

I don't know, I've been hearing a lot of people say that exposed pans/traps work good for bobcats in any condition. The reasoning is that Bobcats don't stomp around like coyotes do when they work a set, so I'm trying to encourage them to step on the pan. This method saves on wax dirt I think too, and might be quicker to set for most people.

What bob said, heck you can pile brush for 10 feet on each sidecto get them to the trap and just make the pan the only clear spot to step. .I've even seen twigs used as punji sticks to keep them from step where you don't want them to step. Wild rose branches would be good to since who don't have cactus

The way I was taught to make exposed cat sets, no part of the trap is buried. It’s literally just plopped down on the ground, no bed is dug or anything, if the trap needs stabilized you just put stones or sticks under it to prop it up., or gather some duff to bake a pad fit it to sit on, then add blocking around the trap and sift a little duff on the pan so it looks like a nice soft place to step. I use a fiberglass pan cover to catch the fines in a little bigger area but lots of guys don’t do that. Then I use little stick like Nv wrangler said as pungee sticks all around and even inside the jaws between the pan and jaws, and pile brush in every single spot big enough for a bobcat to get its head through, blocking every other trail for as far back as reasonably possible.

Every bobcat I’ve ever caught came from a set like that, and probably 80% of the foxes I catch are in that set. I’ve never caught a single bobcat in a coyote set.

The reason for not burying the trap at all, is
1. It’s not necessary. Bobcats don’t care. And truthfully, neither do foxes. I’ve caught many many foxes in exposed bobcat sets. Coyotes will even be caught in them sometimes.
2. Saves time and effort.
3. A trap set like that will continue to work through rain, snow, freeze/thaw, almost all weather, eliminating the need for dry/waxed dirt or antifreeze and no need to rebuild sets after weather events, except if the snow gets a hard crust on it then you have to scoop the crust off the top of the set.
4. You have less gear to carry to make that type of set, which is important when building a set in nasty steep country. You pretty much just need a trap and a drag or stake, everything else nature provides.

I put a lot of little sticks around my footholds the other day, including some lateral & some short vertical sticks poked in the ground, to try to dictate their step.
I never imagined spiking some sticks in between the jaws, but was wondering about that gap.
I hope my exposed bare metal pan is not a problem.? This is a lot of work. The last thing I want to do is deter a cat if I finally get 1 in the area & showing interest.
I'm curious what others think about this. There's not many cat trappers around here, so not many folks I can seek out & discuss this with, other than at the trappers convention.
I have to be careful not to put so many sticks at the trap that it gets in the way of the trap firing.
I put crumpled up wax paper under the trap to help avoid freezing.
Sometimes I cover the jaws w/ waxed dirt.
As for fencing around the set, I'm not sure on that. I don't go hog wild, but maybe I could more.

If you dont block those some more, good chance you will catch rabbits traveling down those trails.

I’ve caught cats before with just a bare metal pan, hundreds are caught every year that way. My blocking is always big and bold, the little twigs are the “fillers” for the areas in between the big sticks and between the jaws and pan.

When guiding a cat, you’re not suggesting where it steps, you’re FORCING it to step exactly where you want. Don’t be afraid to be super aggressive with the blocking. You’re literally making it so the HAVE to step directly on your pan if they want to continue on that particular trail. They’re not like coyotes, extreme guiding does not bother them a bit. A cat isn’t going to come to your set in the trail and back out cause there’s too much blocking. Bout the only way you can block too much is by not giving a clean spot to step in the middle, they’ll just jump over if you do that. But the clear spot only has to be big enough for just one paw to fit. That’s why tons of blocking is key, if there’s a space around the trap big enough for a paw to fit that isn’t your pan, chances are good the cat will step on that spot instead. It’s not like a baited set where they put their foot down in multiple spots at the set, when that cat comes through you’re going to get exactly two shots, one front foot and one back foot, so you don’t want to leave any room for it to step around the trap.

As for the fencing, yes, absolutely go hog wild. Literally plug any hold you thing a cat would go that doesn’t lead to your trap. We call it “brushing in” the set. Sometimes we will brush in gaps wider than your pickup is long to keep a bobcat from using other trails

Interesting point about the cat stepping over (past) the entire trap. That is a concern of mine so I want to ensure I understand how to avoid that

They’ll only jump over if it looks like there’s no good place to step in between, or if the blocking is too tall AND too narrow. But to get the blocking around the trap too tall and cause them to jump over you pretty much have to build your blocking ridiculously tall. Seasoned cat trappers ive talked to here don’t hesitate to build the blocking around the trap 6” tall, like a log cabin all the way around the trap. You want your blocking tall enough that the cat has to deliberately step over the first set of sticks and wide enough that it can’t step all the way over the second set with a single step, and in between make everything but the pan look like a bad spot to step.

I agree this late season has seemed more challenging than I expected. Caught a big tom last year that had to be released and never was able to connect with my target of a coyote. So this year I have a tag and got the coyote checked off before Christmas so I was thinking it would be no problem to track down a cat. Then came wind and snow and a week later rain and ice and no snow since.

All the sign found has been up high in the woods, I'm in very far SW WI so small river valleys and steep hills.

And of course I check my cameras this weekend and on the backside of the property where I have caught nothing but possums so I pulled my two traps...

Good posts wiplattetrapper. Funny you mention hills because I've been thinking maybe I should be looking for sign on ridge tops

I'll consider this.


I don't think my blocking is too narrow

It seems like my trap usually ends up near the center of the trail, hopefully not too centered

If I put sticks between the jaws, I have to ensure a stick doesn't clog the trap. Plus I'd prefer not to snap my fingers in the trap.
Spiking sticks in frozen ground isn't always easy.

I figure cats are acrobats & don't mind jumping

I'm hoping they see the trap pan & decide it looks like a good place to step

So how do you get it to set flat with the center swivel and chain underneath a trap?

This was the set I have under that big rock. There is actually a cat toilet under it too. First one I ever found...also the first time I went looking for one... Second night it was set I had a snapped trap on a tight chain, a cat turd and a couple long white hairs. So close! Just one big raccoon since then.

This warm weather plugged my sets with raccoons and possums, down to two operational ones by last weekend when I finally had time to remake.

I like that set, platte.
I wonder if the cat you missed will be trap shy

Usually just find a couple small rocks or sticks to put under the frame and jaws to keep it from rocking. All of my cat sets are on drags or clogs, so the chain gets stretched out away from the set, preferably pre-hooked in the farthest away brush it can reach.

Lure can be a help or a hindrance on bobcats, placed 18” above the set on a rock or stick, if they like it they’ll rub their face on it like a house at rubbing on peoples legs. Sometimes though they will avoid a set because the lure is too strong, especially with skunky stuff, the intensity can be unpleasant to them.

Hopefully my skunky lure isn't scaring them off

For what it is worth, I have been seeing cat tracks in the usual places. Up and down small creeks and in the thickest, nastiest conifer or cedar cover you can find where there is less snow. Don't discount the small creeks! Cats love walking up and down them and I used to catch a couple a year in a snare with no sign on the creek. Be patient and they WILL come through.

I have a small creek in mind that I'll check out, but I think it might have melted this week

I hadn't considered setting in the dry area under pines

Do you have any rock outcropping in your area? Bobcats love an overhang under a big Boulder.

Cats are deathly afraid of skunks this time of year.

Not that I've seen, but I'll keep my eyes open

Perhaps the school of thought is that skunks aren't normally active in the winter

Anyone have some pictures of this?

I haven’t experienced a cat refusing due to skunky lure because I don’t use skunky lure. The reason I don’t use it is because a guy I know very well who’s been trapping cats since before I was born, and has caught well in excess of 1,000 bobcats all over the state of Nevada, told me that he has on many occasions had a cat avoid a set that was lured with a skunky lure. When he stopped using the skunky lure, he stopped having cats avoid sets. So do with that information what you will.

Your trying to guide cats when u should be blocking them. I struggle to change gears between cats and coyotes too but a few misses in snow will learn ya fast. Lol

This is what I was making my sets like. I can’t say they were successful for me yet unfortunately, but maybe it will give you some other ideas.

Bob do use any lure or scent at your sets?

What long distance call lure is recommended? Windwalker is mostly what I am using now.

AJE the next time I check I’ll take some real good pics and post them. Here’s a couple so-so pics

It’s hard to tell but that big rock on the right serves as the blocking on that side, it’s pretty much a vertical rock




This one looks like there’s a bare spot on the right, but there isn’t, the sticks are just stained the same color as the dirt.

So are you suggesting we use less fencing?

In that last pic, before I made the set, there was no brush there. I moved all of that there to create a pinch point between a drop off and a cliff face. That’s what I mean by brushing in sets, I make the cat use the trail I want it to. It’s only other option is to cross the wash and use the trail on the other side, or go up the hill and around the top of the cliff, but guess what? Either way it decides to go, I’ve put a trap there. I have 4 sets there, every trail in that wash, bout 150’ wide, either has a trap in it or is blocked off with thick brush.

I use some bobcat gland, sometimes, but not a whole lot. The guy I learned from taught me that you really don’t need to, all you have to do is put a properly blocked trap in a cats way and you’ll catch it the vast majority of the time. How do you get in a cats way? You take away every option that doesn’t lead to a trap. A lot of the time we will go out starting in September brushing off trails and moving rocks, creating pinch points to funnel cats into sets

I thinks he’s suggesting MORE blocking. Like he said, it’s blocking, not guiding. You’re forcing the cat to step in a certain spot, by blocking off all other options.

Interesting. What about bait?

Thanks for all the info so far guys.

Lure, bait, they probably catch their fair share of cats. But all of the guys I know that catch 50-100 bobcats a year exclusively use exposed walkthrough sets, no bait and very little if any lure. I’ve never caught a cat in a baited set.

I have bait & bobcat urine at my sets too, along with fish oil. Our terrain & conditions seem harder to funnel them naturally than what some of you are describing, but I could be wrong

Do you use cable restraints & 160 conibears too? Maybe try calling that cat (predator hunting). Good luck.

Aje didn't you say a friend had game camera pics of cats ? Go set those spots and block them to go exactly where you want them, it doesn't have to be natural blocking as in already there . You can block using natural materials found there even 10 to 15 feet on each side or more just make sure they can't get through it . You can even leave sets n multiple spots in the blocking. If its in open or next to open areas use some type of flagging to get them to the area you want them to walk.

Yes, and I made a set at each of those 3 locations last night.

They were open enough areas to where I hung a CD at each set.

I've considered putting a second trap at some sets

Second trap can’t hurt anything. In your situation, only getting a tag every once in a while, if I was you I’d have every trap I owned set in catty places, sign, no sign, don’t matter. If it looks like a cat might go there, set it, till you run out of traps

I should Bob. I will keep adding some. Right now I only have 10 traps out. I work too much. I did more scouting tonight & worked on more connections for possible new hot locations.

AJE I feel your pain, time is certainly the limiting factor. I'd love to spread out more but it's just feasible. Another typical check for me this morning, two more sets out of commission...and the weather showing nothing but unseasonably warm nights ahead! At least the coon looks better, not big but real clean and nice fur colors so I'll probably get it tanned for the kids.

You & I can relate indeed, platte.
Except I have too much snow.
Nasty ice storm came thru last night so I went out & got half my traps re-functioning this AM. Warm temps now all week. I will deal w/ the other half after work. The weather has been strange. Normally I should have more sets out than I do now. Time like you say is such a limiting factor.
Good luck to you.

Sometimes it's hard to trap what's not there- I have friends with land NW of Cty Hwy P and every time they have a trail cam pic of a bobcat- I get copied, It happens but not that often- my guess is your chances and cat population numbers are increasing every year- stay with it and you'll connect.

For what it is worth, I get lots of gamer camera pictures in the fall of cats. By the time our cat season opens in late December, the cats have moved and aren't there anymore. They didn't move 20 miles away but they moved into heavy cover with less snow and where there is food. Think bunnies would be my advice in the Lake States right now. Set on or near rabbit trails. That is where the cats are going to be and following deer trails. IMO cats are lazy and will walk the path of least resistance like frozen creeks, deer trails and snowmobile trails.

Wouldn't you know Hwy P is where I am doing much of my trapping.

Good to know, I guess (as long as they didn't move out of the area). Thanks

Yes I did say that nvwrangler. On Sunday I set the 3 spots he told me to. At 1 of the 3 spots my friend recommended on this 103 acres, I found this scat tonight 10 yards from my trap. I'm not sure how fresh it is. Do you guys think it is bobcat?

I've put several miles on my boots the past 2 days scouting. If anything, I'm getting my excercise. I haven't found any tracks (other than this track, which I am not sure if it is a bobcat.?). I'm really starting to wonder if the snow conditions just aren't right for diagnosing tracks.
1) they could be moving on top, 2) I've found a lot of non deer tracks that are too vague to make any sense of (an indentation is noticeable but there is no print, due largely to the snow conditions).

I don't believe that looks like cat scat. I go for my "morning patrol" around the property here and the cats are walking the deer trails and bunny trails. They are being lazy and going where the walking is the easiest.

Around here bobcat scat is hard to find even in an area that has a bunch of cats. The reason is that packrats take them to their nests as soon as they find them. I know you probably don’t have packrats but could be a similar thing going on with a different rodent.

This scat was right along the farmers field road, near the property line. I'm not very knowledgeable on scat or tracks. The scat was in an indentation..I'm not sure if that neans anything (almost like in a boot print, but I don't think it was really a human boot print). The field road goes through a semi wooded, largely frozen, marsh.

I don't know what you mean by packrat. We might have rodents that do that though, I'm not sure

Yes, we don't have packrats here like they do out West.

I should clarify: the mystery track was on a different property than this mystery scat.

The actual name for them is bushy-tailed wood rat, but we call them packrats because they build nests in the rocky outcrops and they pack anything they can carry back to the nest. Bones, sticks, plastic, glass, everything lol. They look a bit like a chinchilla with a rats face and are about the size of a softball. And bobcats LOVE to hunt them.

Yeah I Googled them a little bit ago. We don't have them here. It'll be interesting to see if this scat pile disappears. I suppose it could be from a raccoon I don't know

Is anybody using cable restraints? I haven't heard much talk about that this winter.

I have seen cat tracks step for step inside of deer tracks more than once, so pay attention to details. just a little extra advise.

Funny you mention, b/c a friend told me that this week.

I thought it would be not all that hard to find tracks, but I still haven't seen a cat track all season & I've traversed enough ground to probably cause me to shrink a pants size.

People told me to try where the rabbits are. I had a rabbit in my trap tonight, so I guess it's an active rabbit area. I shoved it under a big clump of grass in the swamp next to my remake.

pic of cat poop in toilet, yep, I'm weird! And if you look closely, you can see cat tracks in the deer tracks sorry not the best picture.

There sure might be something to this 160. A coworker of mine lives a half hour away from where I'm trapping & in early December he was telling me he had the spot picked out & he was going to have me try to get 1 of several Bobcats that he was seeing during deer hunting. Then it suddenly went cold like right after deer hunting & he hasn't gotten 1 on his cams since! And the same story occurred on a property of mine I was planning on trapping: the neighbor was seeing multiple Bobcats & told me he was going to let me know more about them. In talking with him he hasn't seen 1 since deer hunting though! Darn cats. I had much more k9 action when I wolf trapped about ~8 years ago around here. I thought action on the cat trapping line would be relatively easy compared to wolf.

It's cooled off and I'm still getting plugged up with coons. Annoying.

On the one property I set where I saw cat tracks last on 12/24, it came back through last night finally-- but I had a coon in the trap.

I would’ve had every camera I own on likely spots trying to get a pic of what’s there. Not all my cameras are on my sets. Some are scouting for me.

I wish I would have done that. At the same time though I'm hearing of quite a number of people that saw cat during deer season but then it's like they vanished.

Maybe they changed patterns because of the deep snow we've had this season