Tainted or fresh beaver?

I'm sure this has been asked before, but is fresh or tainted beaver better for making k9 bait?

A little taint this time of year, fresh in the fall.

Little taint is key guys - No coyote, fox or bobcat wants rotten. Possum will love you the more you taint it.

I have equal results anymore I prefer a more fresh beaver meat if I want it louder I add a few drops of pure quill. Remember drops you want a bait not a ldc

This sums it up good .When I make bait for coyote that is what I do taint it. with my mix I use to make it.

For a beginner, what's a ball park time for a proper taint? Say at 60 degrees?

What is a proper taint? All the problems that many folks are having trying to catch animals right now on bait and lure with "proper" taint, I'd say that is up to you. Depending on how much material you have I would put a cam on it and let the wild inform you what they like.

06--with ground, most go by the slight change in smell

Since my baits are chunk, I watch for the outside to be gray but the inside is still red....then throw the SB and MP or bait solutions to it.

There is lots of wiggle room with bait prep/age/tainting and base aging. You can add an ingredient (s) to give even the nasty smelling products a sweet acceptable fragrance once you know your ingredients. This way you can build or adjust something to your liking with good animal interest. Or to help save a batch that may seem beyond acceptable.

You can use the odor push of a stronger meat aging with the acceptance of a milder appearing product with some adjustments.

It can take years to work up some good baits to get them where they are doing the best job for you. Trial and error is good because you can learn what to do along the way and be able to do it again in the future when you wish.

Always a good idea to keep some proven baits and lures in use while working up your own products if you aren't getting the desired results when using them at first. Lots of things can create animal interest and at times it can surprise you as to what works.

Thanx guys!



Just looking to put stuff to use that normally would be wasted...


Was thinking of a slight taint on beaver...then grind it with oil sacs and castor...SB and MP and something to keep it from freezing up?

I have used Jameson's, Dobbin's and Locklear's bait solutions. But figured if I do trap a couple beaver this year, I can keep it fairly simple. Keep costs down, and something I don't have to be stingy about.


I never understood how guys "up north" simply put a hunk of beaver on a tree and a little call lure and do just fine lol. Must be some hungry critters. Frozen solid fresh meat doesn't put off much smell?

According to Russ Carman a lure will give of the same amount of odor whether its frozen or not. Odor molecule movement is only related to temperature. He said a frozen lure will give off more odor than a formula that is diluted with an antifreeze. He said only purpose for an antifreeze is to keep container from breaking and to keep it in a state that we can remove it from the container. That's why I try not use use antifreeze or anything that doesn't add a contributing odor to formulations if I don't have too. Some people start adding stuff just to get a texture they want. Seems to me that would also be diluting the strength of the formulation.

That's very interesting.


My mind says frozen meat doesn't smell...but I know that's not true.....it seems to work for the folks "up north".


Kinda another reason I wanna simple effective bait....I MIGHT make a trip next season and go after fisher and cats and such.

Get your mind to think the colder meat is the less it smells. The part that its solid doesn't have an affect on the odor.

I respectively disagree. After all,it is down 12 to 14 Inches,they can smell it and should be caught before they taste it.

I meant using rotted baits.

When using deep dirt holes if that can be done consistently you can avoid some issues that come with strong heavy broken down meats. In my trapping years I cant get away with that using moderate depth holes and rotten down smells or heavy skunk odor. Too much rolling and set off traps with too many misses and trash animal interest.

I don't use many dirt holes after I see their effectiveness has lost its appeal. Flat sets, walk thrus ,set posts etc. become more productive for me. I don't use a lot of dirt holes any more for coyotes locally. Too many trappers wearing them out all around me and teaching animals to avoid them after the first couple of weeks for those that don't get caught or pinched in their travels .

I have learned in the big picture that more moderate age products has much better acceptance or a blend of two aged meats ( slight taint with heavy age ) will nicely compliment the final product once all the materials have seasoned together over time.

You can catch animals on anything that stinks to a degree because I have tried it on purpose to prove a point many times. I have trapped many states in all the compass points in various weather conditions,varying populations and trapping pressure. Things are different every where you go and you learn this after a week or so instinctively after years of doing this.

I have found what works best overall for my trapping results and product acceptance. When you have high population numbers you can get away with things that you couldn't use and do in some other areas or states with much success that have high pressure trapping and moderate animal populations.

When you get out on the road and travel you learn these things over time as I have thru daily experiences. Like I tell all that I teach if you find it works for you stick to that method and keep testing new presentations for those challenging situations that always come up. That is what trapping is all about.

A big factor in most every topic concerning these types of conversations comes down to an individuals field experience. Between a novice's success and a seasoned trappers success there is always a wide divide. Only with time served does that divide dwindle to where you start to make progress in the right direction.