Bobcat sets

I got lucky last season and caught my first cat, I am 100% positive that it was by accident as it was a pipe set for fox. This year I have had no luck with cats and have almost all the kinds of sets out waiting to connect.( walk through, dirt hole, cubbie, with & w/out flags & or poly-fil, blind, pipe, rub, toilet) I've read a lot on here about cat sets and have seen many pics but what I don't know is what are the measurements?
Coyote and fox both have there measurements for hole to trap and then the offset but does anybody have the secret for the different cat sets?
Thanks in advance

Caught in a pipe set I set for cats.

The one thing I’ve learned over decades of trapping is to throw the ruler away and just eyeball the distance between trap and hole. There are no absolutes in trapping. Repeat, there are no absolutes in trapping.

Set tight for fox and you’ll catch coyotes. Set long for coyotes and you’ll catch fox. Set perfectly for either and you’ll catch possums, coon, and whatever comes along. The trick is to just keep setting and do what works. Sometimes it’s luck. But the more experience you get, the more skill you’ll develop. Have patience, grasshopper!

One can probly get away with trying to guide the bobcat to step on your pan.

Very well said. Hope many take note.

100% agree on skill and YOU GAIN CONFIDENCE !!!

Setback and offset barely apply to bobcats as the trap should be well blocked in so that the target animal has only one place to step.This applies to exposed as well as covered sets.I let the set location dictate distance from the attraction.I have had sets where the distance from the attractor was 1' to 2'.Of course,there was natural blocking from trap to attractor and tbe trap itself was well blocked in.If the cat wasn't going to completely commit,it didn't matter.I don't mind catching them before they get their nose to the attractor,as long as they get caught.Distance from trap to the attractor as well as offset have very little importance in cat trapping.Block them in!

Some seem to say blocking them in is best while others seem to prefer pass thru sets. Kinda makes me wonder what kind of sets I should be focusing on

With the walk through you block off everything except your trap pan with rocks, sticks stuck in the dirt pointed up, plants with thorns anything that is uncomfortable for it to step on. I've noticed they like soft surfaces, I always find tracks in a sandy part of a trail.

Picture two large trees close together. Put a trap between those two trees and then place small sticks on either side of your trap. The cat will walk between those two trees, step over your guide sticks and step on the pan of your trap.

Give the cat a fairly narrow place to walk through and place your trap there. In close proximity to your trap, place small sticks, stones or anything else to step on that doesn't look as inviting to step on as the exposed pan. The cat will choose the pan.

I can't think of a set off the top of my head that can't be made a walk-through. You can use this with a beaver carcass wired to a tree, in front of a rub set, in front of a pipe set...use your imagination.

No need to worry about offsets, how far back to put the trap, or even a trap freezing down. Keep the trap exposed, add stepping guides (a cat has a 10-12” stride so make the blocking 13-14”, make sure the cat can’t go around, and put a lure on each end of the set to force the cat to go over the trap to check out the different smells. Add some poly-fil around the set, a flag above the set, and a skunky call lure up high. Best cat set out there.

Thanks guys

Thank you everybody, very informative I'll keep at it.
Another quick question bout cat urine. Use it on cat sets or use gray fox urine?

I use cat because it's free and I'm only trying to catch cats. But I've found just like your dog likes to pee on every spot another animal peed, any urine attracts them. I took a friend to check traps and while I was remaking a set, he peed ten feet from my trap, I caught a cat the next day.

One of these mornings you're going to walk out there all discouraged after days and days of checking empty traps and boom, you hear the sound of chain snapping taut. It will all be worth it. Use your head, keep after it and don't give up.

That would be nice Posco.
I'm not sure what else to try.
I think a lot of people in Wi's winter season probably use hounds.

A friend of my daughter called in and shot a big cat before he went to work yesterday morning. What a brute of a cat. I have the pic on my phone but haven't been able to transfer it to upload here.

About how many traps do you have out and what kind of sets are you using? I know you have your heart set on getting a cat and you have a bunch of guys here rooting for you. All you can do is try. Don't give up.

2 dozen. A combo of CR's, cages, footholds, a pipe set, some cubbies of various varieties, a few dirt holes, a tire set. I probably should have some 160s out but there's only so much time in a day. I'll try to get more sets out. It's just been so hard finding sign. I've scouted many a properties that had cat sign last year but not a track this year. I'm running exposed pans on my footholds. Flagging now at the non CR sets. Maybe I'm not using enough call lure...or maybe my daily prescense has pushed 'em outta the area. The snow is gettin deep, no greater than average depth for January tho. When chasing a ghost it's hard to strategize. The few tracks I've seen are from a single bobcat passing through. I think I'm gonna put a full (frozen) beaver in a (large) wire cubby today. Kinda rough it up w/ axe like I think Boco suggested. I have to cover it so it's not exposed tho, if I do that...at least if I put traps within so many feet of it. No fresh sign for several weeks, that I can see anyway. There were a few days the snow was either really hard or really soft, making track ID tough. It's still snowing...I may go drag a beaver around to try to drum up some interest. Actually, I have a 55 gl barrel, open on each end. I think I'll go put the beaver in there today, with a a foothold on each end.

I'm no great cat trapper but I did better when I went to blind sets. Not because blind sets are better but it made me focus on putting the trap right were the cat wants to be. With that said not finding sign is tough. I look for the thickest cover I can find. The kind of cover you would look for to hunt rabbits and mice. I haven't used it a lot but when I'm on a travel corridor and not sure exactly where the cat is coming through, sun rendered Salomon oil squirted both directions has been very effective as a trailing scent. Helps for unknown wind direction also. Good luck.

Funny you mention rabbit cover. My uncle just called me and told me to look for where the rabbits are at! He gave me some ideas on location. He said prime rabbit territory can change throughout the year. You guys are probly onto something there. Hmm..

I'll see what I have for fish oil.

Cats like rabbits and cats and rabbits both like cover for their living room. If you have a lot of cats you can find them in a lot of areas but if I really need to hone in on them thick cover is king.

I know we are trapping two completely different areas of the Country, but the rabbits comment is accurate down here as well. Brush piles, roads next to overgrown clearcuts, roads through thick small pines, etc are all prime bobcat areas. And coyotes too for that matter.

Find and follow the turkeys.If there are turkey dinners running around there will be cats.

Funny you mention that. On 1 of the properties I own, there's more turkeys than ever. I've seen cats there before, on trail cam, but no tracks or pics lately so I've been avoiding it b/c it's a long drive. But I put a came up along the creek there last week & will check it Friday for potentially 1 last hoorah. I checked the cam yesterday & no cat. But half the creek was froze. Do cats like to run frozen streams? This is a large stream, like 10 yards wide.

Interesting you mention edges of thick pines. My uncle mentioned a spot today that's along an edge of a christmas tree field, w/ a thicket on the other side of a the field road. He mentioned rabbits are probly under the xmas trees or in the thick grass around 'em. Any thoughts on the edge of a xmas tree field? It's only 2 miles from where I'm trappin now & I think I could gain access.
The low land I'm in now...the cats seem too sporadic...no routine. I put a beaver out today next to the last place I saw tracks.
I'm trapping 2 locations currently. The other is a mixed forest near light agriculture w/ a snowmobile trail runnin thru my land. I had a cat walk down the snowmobile trail a week ago. The trails have since opened so the machines may spook them. On the other hand, the snow's so deep that I'm hoping the cat may WANT to walk the groomed trail.

Cat_trapper_nv, I agree about 95% with sets you pictured. The tops of some of your trap-side rocks are wide and flat enough that in snow conditions many cats would step on the rocks. I have followed enough cat tracks in snow to know they will go out of their way to walk on rocks, sometimes jumping some pretty wide gaps between rocks. Narrow-topped rocks make better guides.

Yes cats will run the frozen creeks . It’s a superhighway. If it’s narrow block it off and make a walk through. Sometimes right after a snow you can see the tracks.But the thing with cats you never know where they will get off lol Set the edges of those trees! You can also set just inside of the tree line. Cats hunt along that type cover.

Thanks. I was caught offguard when I scouted it yesterday & the creek had ice. I wasn't sure what to do. We got snow today. I'll try to check it this week. Maybe I could make a pinch point & anchor to a tree. It's a hi bank creek so I thought I was golden, with a natural funnel along the shore, then this ice developed.

I made my own set this week out of field stones. I pounded some sharp ones in vertically around the trap to make 'em wanna step on the trap.

True if the cat is hunting. A tom on the prowl, or cats traveling between hunting areas, is likely to follow a trail. I say this because if you are snaring hunting areas are not the best bet. A hunting cat creeps & pauses and for that reason is harder to snare.

Hopefully I can find 1 on the prowl. I think that's what they're up to & why their behavior has been so sporadic, but I could be wrong. On the other hand, they gotta eat too

Be careful on that ice! If you see tracks out there try to pull the cat to the shoreline. Throw some kind of bloody bait out there on par cord and make the cat follow the trail to your set. Something like that so the cat has to investigate it. I use squeakers at times I know cats are around but not sure where the set should go. I have had lots of good luck pulling cats in with those. The sound I like are a bird in distress.

The apple orchard and the cat I was telling you about, AJE. Cats use the orchard to hunt for grouse and hare but they're not predictable on where they come through. Flagged, lured and beaver baited cubbie took him.

Another beaver baited cubbie a cat walked all around but didn't commit to and a couple of rub sets I pulled too soon. Had traps set on the rock and the stump but got discouraged after a month and pulled the sets. Then the cats decided to show up. It's a waiting game.

That’s a good set you made for cats AJE. Sometimes ya just gotta wait em out.

How did you make the set at that stump?
I threw a partially burned stump in the truck tonight that I may use tomorrow for a set.

I like your idea, but we can't use a bloody trail, I'm afraid, as my interpretation is that would violate our exposed bait law. But I'm sure I could use certain types of flagging.

Thanks. I think I'm doing all the right things, but no action...

I wonder if they move slow in this scenario. I could be wrong, but it seems like everything I hear about cats is they move slow.

There's a lotta grouse where I currently have a few sets. Hopefully that means 'cat country'

My trapping grounds. Waterways and logging roads are where I look for my sign.

They don't trot like a coyote. But they walk at a good pace (or occasionally run) if they want get somewhere. If you can find tracks in snow by all means follow them a quarter mile or so. Watch a housecat walk. Bobcat will take longer steps but otherwise walk about the same.

Do you see the big rock and the smaller rock in front of it in the pic I posted? That's basically a walkthrough. It was disturbed after I pulled my sets but that's what you're trying to achieve. The trap or traps would go between those two rocks. Rub lure smeared on the larger rock sixteen or eighteen inches high. That set was along a logging road cats are known to travel...at least for a short stretch.

I had two traps at that set with a lot more guiding to direct the cats movement. It doesn't have to be large material, just something that isn't as inviting for a cat to step on as your trap pan is. Small twigs will influence where a cat will step but snow obliterates the outlines and requires a lot of maintenance depending on the weather.

AJE, in that pix with field stones you left plenty of places for cats to step up on stones. To correct that you could put some brush on the stones including stones in front of trap. In addition to walking on stones, cats (and K-9s) step up on things to look around.

Just saw the part about turkeys. Check these pics out. This was this morning. I was freshening up the sets due to the rain last night and our COLDEST temps of the year (Winter) over the next several days. The trap behind me is where I caught the cat Friday night.


Notice the time stamp...

I found these this morning and when it warms a bit I'm gonna go make a couple walk throughs and see if I can catch one more cat before Feb 29.

I love seeing cat tracks. Good luck and hope you get it.

Didn't take him long to come jogging through. I'm wondering what part cats have had to do with my disappearing turkey population. Quite a bit I'll bet.

A friend of my daughter called this cat in before he headed off to work the three or four days ago. Forty-two pounds. I don't have luck like that.

I can tell you down here landowners and managers get more excited about cats being caught than anything else. Quail and turkeys are king. Personally I don’t feel like I’m a trapper unless I catch coyotes, lol. I have a feeling more fowl are killed by felines than K9’s though.

I hear you about the coyote trapping. Sentiment up here is just the opposite as far as most people go. Poor kitty, bad coyote.

I hope so also, I want one more chance to put one up and stretch it the proper width and length.

Correction made tonight, thanks.

Something that seemed to help me is I carry bird seed when I check my sets and throw some around my sets and I back up all my dirt holes with a blind set

I wonder if mice are much of a bobcats diet

I threw a mouse down a couple holes today

Our watering holes are froze solid.

Nice snow/tracks!

I've been finding around here lately where the snow is often too fluffy to be able to distinguish a track like that. Sometimes I don't know if it's fox or bobcat, for example, as there's no footPRINT. Yotes I think might often leave a drag mark.?

Yesterday's step down set in some thick brush. Open ended barrel with a beaver carcass in it. The other end of barrel is open but backed up against the natural (very thick) brush. An axe opened up the frozen beaver nicely. This is next to a food plot.

I saw cat tracks here 2 weeks ago.
My flagging is a gray piece of a Wal-Mart bag (someone mentioned it on here recently).

Also, a lil piece of glow tape to the right of the flag.

MB650.

Cover hulls on top of some wax dirt.

Looks good.

Buy a couple squeakers from grit guy on here and put behind your sets.

How do they hold up in cold weather?

Hmmm...I'll have to look into a squeaker. A lil late for this year though probly. I was just looking at the regs. At a quick initial glance I don't see anything saying we can't use them.

I use 4 AA energizer lithium battery’s. Then if it’s really cold I like to put one of those insulated can cooler things on it.Sometimes in the teens at night I have checked em in the morning and they usually are working ok. I have used em in the mountains with snow before too . The only thing I try to make sure if it going to rain I try to put em in a ziplock bag so they don’t get wet. I only use bird sounds. I think the rabbit sounds they may sometimes circle . You have to use em right. I have had cat tracks right under the squeaker in a tree. Get the squeaker sound around your sets and the cats will find your sets.I personally like the meadowlark sound as it’s part of the predators natural diet so nothing to spook em. Cats are very curious.

Thanks.
I often hope I'm not putting the trap too close or too far away from the cubby. I realize it's not an exact science. Sometimes I can hang a pine bough over the cubby & it helps keep new snow off the trap.

That set will work if you can get a hungry cat near it.

I would think cats would be especially hungry with this weather we're having. I don't know.

Cats have big paws that act like snowshoes so they can accelerate quickly and eat well during the winter with the snow. Plus they track just like us

I followed the tracks and made a few walk throughs where they just seem to fit.

A walk thru on a deep snow trail,notice the snare 20 some feet further down the same trail.If you miss them on the first one or have a non target catch you have another chance at them.

Do many of you use a trailing scent?

I have dragged a beaver carcass behind me in deep snow and set footholds or snare in the trough,bobcats don't mind boot track's,but coyotes up here avoid them like the plague.So it's kind of a trailing scent.

Good idea rick. I shoulda dragged a beaver today b4 the snow.

Ttt