Does it really matter as long as your on location?

I spend a lot of time looking at different lures and baits, and what others are using. Still others use home made Lures and Baits that are simple to make.
If your sets are on location and well set in an area with a good population of cats does one bait and or lure really make that much difference? It would seem that most all of the Lure makers out there have ones that work or they would not be around long.............................I read a few weeks ago that at the Trappers Convention someone asked a well know very successful Cat trapper what was the best Lure for cats.................He closed his eyes and stepped over to a booth and picked up the first one he touched and said this one......

In other words.............it does not matter what you use its all about being on location and having a Cat walk by your sets.

??

Location can not be underestimated for leg hole traps. The gentlemen in western and central Nevada catch hundreds of cats each year and do not use any lure! Spend time finding areas that cats travel through and set there. The majority of the cats I have caught (and I am a part time trapper with a full time job) have been on trail sets without any lure or bait. I will certainly save money next year not buying a plethora of scents and lures! I'm gonna use the fish grease, skunk and beaver recipe next year and call it good.

For the guys that catch lots of cats with no lure, are they using exposed sets? I had a game warden tell me that the best cat trappers in Nevada use no lure or flagging. Any of you guys on this forum?

if those guys are on here i dont think they would comment.. from my experience there the quiet types

Yea I figured they would be the quiet type. Wishful thinking I guess. Maybe some of you guys have trapped in the same area as these guys and took notes and are willing to share some information with us rookies. I would love to  be able trap successfully without lure.

I'm not one of those trappers but I saw three different long liners come through my area this season so I saw how they set. It has changed the way I set, I will admit. They do use the unburied exposed set boxed in with four rocks and sticks arranged in a square around the trap. They lean four stick up at each corner to force the cat to step on the rectangle asphalt shingle clipped to the pan. One guy used cut out tool liner for his pan cover. I won't mention names on the forum but two of the long liners were from Fallon and one has made the paper a few times...... I was scouting one area and all the travel ways were winged in with an exposed unburied 1.75 coil spring with a chained drag. I'm sure some of the Nevada guys on this forum know who I'm talking about. I went elsewhere, btw. Hope this helps?

Check em out in the lynx lair couple of them comment over there often.

Nevadaag:

We are increasingly seeing the same thing here in the southern end of the state. The longliners from up north have really started to pound this end of the state. Pretty much every place I have trapped for the last 7-8 years with no competition has now been overtaken by that same set up . . . unburied 1.75 on a drag with an asphalt shingle pan cover and generous amounts of sagebrush fencing.

Tnxs guys! Never heard of Lynx lair. I will check it out. How do these guys set? Do they gang set all travel areas in real catty locations? Or do they just set a few traps in most likely cat route? They must really know where the cats are going to travel in any givin area to be successful. How long do they stay in a location wait them out?

The only guy I heard from Fallon that made the paper was arrested for for the fourth time for not checking his sets after 96 hours

Hunt and fish, don't put to much stock in "long liners", talking to several game wardens, and seeing it for myself, I have learned that a lot of them are unethical and will leave traps for two weeks at a time unchecked, if they get a ticket they chalk it up to the price of doing business. Anyone could catch a bunch of cats if they plastered the state with traps, a good argument can be made that part time trappers are just as good of trappers because we have to be selective about our areas and respectful to other trappers in our area. Also, every long liner I have seen uses lure of some kind.

Nicely said rooster. I have seen the unethical behavior first hand this year; I certainly have more respect for fellow trappers and the spots than that. Anybody that leaves a bobcat in a trap long enough to die of dehydration doesn't deserve to trap.

That makes a lot of sense how they can cover so much country. The more traps you have out the greater the chance of connecting. Knowing what you are doing probably helps to. I am sure there are guys that do well with minimal amount of traps set in the right LOCTION where the cats want to step. I think this is most important part of cat trapping. Just takes time to learn.