Do bobcats like to circle a set before committing

?

Most will come in to your flagging and then go to your set and over your trap too.

Usually not.

I’m with Mousey Trapper, I’ve never seen them circle, just bee-line for my flagging and then investigate my set. Your trap guiding/placement has got to be on point, they don’t move much when investigating a set. They’re not like coyotes who will move foot placement and give you multiple chances at a catch. Guide heavy and hard.

I’m one lucky trapper then. Never set a trap for cats and use very minimal guiding yet catch cats. All my sets are for coyotes and if it ain’t a possum messing them up then it’s a cat. Even have cell cam photos of one coming in from the back of a dirt hole and coming over the hole from the high side and hit the pan. Even my Pipe Dream sets have no guiding other than natural guiding and they catch cats. I did put a “flag” up a few days ago, but nothing yet. If nothing by tomorrow’s check I may take it down.

I wish I had your problem! I would literally be rich considering my averages the last few years.

Please don’t take that as bragging. I guess we just have a high population of bobcats down here. Season runs Dec1-Feb28...no limit whether hunting or trapping. I trap places that didn’t even know they had bobcats and catch them. I’m jealous of all the guys that have high coyote populations. Or guys that can find predator trails and blind set without having to worry about deer tripping them.

No worries. I didn’t take it as such. We trap vastly different country and habitats, things are bound to be different.

JMO Bobcats are very unpredictable. I've seen enough tracks up in snow county to say I usually catch mine traveling which was my goal since I set pinch points and focal points on travel lanes. They biggest cat I've probably ever caught had circled my coyote set a dozen times and it was easy to tell as it was in dry silt. I watched a Trapping Inc episode and Rich Melon sets multiple snares around his cubbies which excluded the cats themselves.

Because I am not smart enough to predict them when I toss a bobcat set out it has a complete variety of things they should like. I try to put it right in front of them with visual appeal both on th4 ground and flying above. I rarely bait but I use both a lure that should focus them to their very last free step, a call lure up high to catch in the wind (think thr original Catmando or similarly gnarly LDC) as well as a squirt of urine. When I catch the cat I pat my back a lot more than I worry about exactly which attractant actually made them commit. I assume is is a combination. Too much good stuff for them not to stop in.

I have seen in snow them walking along 30 ft to 100 by and walk right to the set once wiff of lure turn walk straight in.
For me so rather building a set I take advantage of tendiousy to work a set that way in walk thru fashion , like 2 trees with a trap in between for example.
Like left lane 3 point lure or whatever you use.
And I have seen cats on coyote flat set walk completely around a set.
I also when targeting cats only make 2 or 3 sets in each location close by with something different for lure looks to play on there mood.
And seen a exposed blind set work as good as any set going for cats.

Same here. We have cats but not in the abundance to make big catches. I think I had over a thousand trap nights before I made my first catch. Traps times night in the field before a catch was made.

Cats walk more of a straight line because they focus on site where as a coyote is more focused on smell so it meanders. The best thing you can do is find tracks and follow them so you can learn cat behavior. Just look at the skulls of both animals all you'll notice the big eye sockets of the cats.

Well, I figured it out! Started thinking about my cat catches and with another one this morning, it hit me. Anything that has a log as backing catches cats. Converted a pee post set into a dirthole yesterday evening with a logs in a V with the initial log as backing partially covering the hole and a cat this morning. Nothing but the original pee that was on the log and left over bones off the Christmas turkey. The turkey was a smoked turkey with a lot of juice and flavor. Apparently it and the stand out obvious set caught his attention. I’ve caught coyotes with that set up as well. I’ll even bed Zagger style with the pipe and logs and have caught them. Guess I’ve been making cat sets after all and didn’t realize it.

I've caught 8 cats between this two sets and still have a set at the first one. Both sets are less than a 1/4 mile from my front door and are my two favorites.

I think that is a good question. I pulled a snare a week ago because there was no sign in the area at all. Went back into the area just to check again. I had this snare in a froze beaver run through the cat tails. A cat came from 1 direction stopped short from where the snare was backed out then went out to the pond and came in from a different direction stopped short of that spot again and turned around and left. The snare wasn't there, so what is happening with that?

This one did , he almost made 2 full circle around the set.
A flag , bait and call lure sealed the deal.

Good stuff. Thanks.

Nice going Chad

Nice! The eyes on your jacket are in the perfect spot.

I put out some cable restraints today on a cat trail. Hopefully the cat doesn't semi circle around the set because with a cable I won't get it then

Once I find tracks and make a set, it's like my shingles are magnets to cats.

I haven't seen a trail good enough this year to entice me to set a blind foothold, but I'll keep an eye out for such a scenario.