Big ole Bobcat

[Philosofarmer]

I'm new to the the whole trapping thing. Like, I've only had steal traps in the ground for a couple weeks. I just had to share about my first catch(es) Saturday night. Lightning hit the same trap 3 times all in the same night. Here is how it all went down: Just after dark, on my way out to go coyote hunting with a buddy of mine, I checked the field and saw that I had caught something. We went to check it out and saw that I had a bobcat. It was an 18lbs female. My first ever trapped predator! Excited that my first catch was a bobcat and knowing that a female's scent might attract a male, I eagerly reset the trap and headed out with my friend to put his new thermal to work on some dogs. No luck, but we were still ridding high after a day of running rabbits all day and shooting 9 bunnies, holing 1, and getting my first trap catch. Coming down the driveway I asked my buddy what he would wager if we had another one. Sure enough, we had a second bobcat in my trap, A 24 lbs male (which was a good sized cat around here). Mind you, the trap was set originally for coyotes, I had no idea that I would get so lucky! So, hoping still to have a shot at catching a yote, I reset the trap and went to bed. In the morning I showed the two cats that I had trapped to all the kids...who were all busting at the seems. After they had all gotten a chance to take in and admire the pair we had, one of my kids promptly ran up the hill to check the trap again. About 5 minutes later he came running down screaming that we had gotten another bobcat! This one was also a 18lbs female (cool leopard like spots and a ghost like grey appearance). It was cool for all the kids to see the third one alive and making all sorts of feisty noises. I don't know that I have ever heard the like of it. 3 Bobcats, in the same trap, in one night (and one, an awesome male very close to an honest 25lbs). I just have a flip phone and was taking it all in so I forgot about getting pics, but thankfully my friend snapped a shot of all three of them on the back of my truck. I'll add them when he sends them to me.

So....thinking it can't get any better.......

Two nights later, at a completely different location up the road, I got this Big Ole Bobcat. 27lbs on my hanging scale but got 29 lbs on a digital scale. I don't know what the actual weight is but I know its a big cat for the mountains of western NC. Getting this cat is a privilege and I feel that I have just gotten plum spoiled by getting the 3 in 1 all right out of the blocks. Most of all I have enjoyed spending time with the kids in God's creation checking traps when i get home from work.

 

[BloodRunsThicker]

Excellent. Its cool to watch the kids learn stuff as well. Congrats

 

[BrettB]

What do your traps look like and tell us a little about the how you set them ? What made you pick that particular spot to set ?

 

[Philosofarmer]

And as promised... here is the triple. First catch in the back, middle is the other female with the grey leopard like spotting, and 24lbs Tom in the foreground.

 

[BrettB]

Please tell me you are keeping those hides

 

[Philosofarmer]

What do your traps look like and tell us a little about the how you set them ? What made you pick that particular spot to set ?

Sure. Using dyed and waxed mb 550's Offset with super stakes (chain anchor) pounded into the ground to the NC legal 8" mark from ground to trap. 2x swivels etc. All 4 bobcats were full pad catches.

I have a handful of dirt hole sets but have not gotten anything on those. However I have had visits. Bait missing and a track right to the side of a couple of my traps. Even had a coyote take a dump on my pan.

The lucky 3 in 1 set:
The set was on the back of my farm where I have found coyote scat and had gotten them on game cam. It was on a wooded ridge-line with some rocky outcroppings just as you come into my field. I knew it was going to be a good location. We did know about at least one bobcat from game cams. I placed a CD on a string hanging from a limb on the field edge about 8 feet in the air. Some call this a "curiosity set" from the saying, "curiosity killed the cat." This, was to catch the eye of the bobcat since they are very visual hunters. They can't not come check these flashy things out. Some use a turkey wing or squirrel skin but I didn't have any of this on hand and had seen others have success with a CD. From there, it was a standard flat set with a hunk of deer meat. Of course after the first cat came in it left a ton of sent on the ground in a ring which gave even more eye appeal because it was a ring of crazy torn up duff in the almost melted snow. I re-baited that way for the second and third cat.

This was the set that got the big Tomcat:
Whereas I knew I had a chance of Yotes or Cats at my farm this location I was going for purely yotes. Location was along a creek on a perimiter Christmas tree farm road near a three way road intersection next to a 5 acre woodlot that had been logged 7 years ago and was all thick scrub brush. I rabbit hunt there and have seen sign and heard them before. I also know that they are after the same thing I am with my beagles...bunny wabbits!
Its all torn up from the catch in the pic below, but it was originally a "tire set" targeting a big pack of coyotes I heard in the area on a sit. I chose a tire set because there were already dead tires on the field edge, so I thought it would look natural to them. It was also something I could bait heavily with it. I had a pig I recently butchered and some rabbit heads and such. They robbed me blind 3 consecutive nights in a row when I had the trap in the center of the tire. So, I moved the tire so that the trap was now on the outside of the tire and grabbed some trees (it was on a tree farm) to block the sides I didn't want them coming in on. I was getting hard up for some bait so I decided to use the skinned bobcat since most coyote bait has bobcat in it anyway. I tied it up so that they would have to work at pulling it and hopefully step in my set. The cat "bait" was laying over the tire on the trap side but tied to the far side. It worked! but not for the coyotes I was gunning for. I haven't had time to check to see if I got it on my game cam, honestly, I didn't even think about that I was so excited to weigh him. There is a chance my battery was dead but I will check and see and report back.

 

[Philosofarmer]

Please tell me you are keeping those hides

Yes, My son has a buckskin outfit he wears to Hart's Square and other historical outings and he is going to make a Wildcat Mountain Man Hat. A good friend of mine who gave me my nickname "Philosofarmer" is into making traditional bows and all things primitive hunting. He has been hoping to get a bobcat for making a quiver, I am going to give him the grey leopard spotted female (it's the coolest pattern of them all). I have both the males in the freezer. It will be hard to pick which one is the best one for it but one of them is getting mounted when I can pull together the funds. My wife is such an awesome woman. She didn't hesitate when it came to the decision to get a mount. I really like the idea of a stalking cat with a fox squirrel as the prey (or maybe a ruffed grouse or something a little more rare but still native). I would love to make her a vest or something she could wear with the one we don't mount but I'm going to need to probably get one or two more to make something nice. Here's to tight chains on my traps!

 

[BrettB]

Thanks for the detailed info on the set ! I used to trap years ago - but just for muskrats , coon and the occasional fox

 

[Philosofarmer]

Excellent. Its cool to watch the kids learn stuff as well. Congrats

Sure is. I have ten, so they have to take turns checking the line! My littlest one has been setting his own trap line and checking his (mouse) traps ever since I started this new sport. He's caught 4 mice!!!

 

[Philosofarmer]

Thanks for the detailed info on the set ! I used to trap years ago - but just for muskrats , coon and the occasional fox

Sure. The woods are still magical for me and always holds something new. I'm getting to the age where I feel I must start bringing some management to the table so that we can continue to have a healthy deer, turkey, rabbit and grouse population for when I'm a grandpa. The predators, with nothing but us to keep them in check, simply must be managed to keep a balance. I think everyone should trap a coon or two a year. One coon can take out 3 turkey nests in a day. No wonder the turkey population is taking a hit. Coons use to be trapped and treed by every young man with a trusty hound, now nobody is trapping or running dogs. I hate to see these traditions go by the wayside.

 

[cubrock]

Sure is. I have ten, so they have to take turns! My littlest one has been setting his own trap line and checking his (mouse) traps ever since I started this new sport. He's caught 4 mice!!!
View attachment 738827

Great looking crew you have there!

 

[Crazy Carl]

Nice cats! You know bobcat’s good eating, right? Very similar to lean pork. @thrillhill might could give you some cooking tips.

 

[Philosofarmer]

Nice cats! You know bobcat’s good eating, right? Very similar to lean pork. @thrillhill might could give you some cooking tips.

I understand that a lot of high quality coyote bait is base on bobcat meat. I may make a big batch of it for next trapping season with some of the meat. I'm definitely going to try to harvest some urine for future sets. My brother actually got a bobcat with a bow this year and is planning on partaking of the cat himself and offered to cook it for me. I understand it is even higher in trichinosis than bear so I am not eating anything that ain't cooked to 165. But people that hunt mountain lions say it is very good. He and I are both foodies and are not afraid of trying exotic meat; we grew up on wild game of all kinds and one of my signature dishes is snapping turtle, I call it Snappalachian Chowder. I'd venture to say that there is only a small number of folks that have ever tasted bobcat, few have the privileged of even encountering this elusive critter. Anyway, I asked my brother how he was going to prepare his wildcat and he chuckled and said, "something Asian seems fitting for cat, maybe eggrolls." You just gotta know my brother, he's a character.

 

[tarheelguy]

I’d eat it.

 

[Philosofarmer]

I'm back, just trapped number 5 this weekend! This one was getting into the chickens near the coop at a friends house just 50yards from where I trapped her. She's probably a normal sized female at 17lbs. I know their are more at this location from a sighting of a mom with kittens 2 years ago, so I did a reset for her boyfriend if he's anywhere around maybe he will step on the wrong 2" spot in this whole wide world and I'll get him, There have been some sightings of him and they say he's big. I have a couple locations I know where there are some cats. Making the time for it is a challenge and the season is winding down quickly. At this point I am going for bust trying to get enough to make my wife a coat before the end of February. I have only been at it a month or so and have a full year to read up and improve my sets. I feel like 5 bobcats in a month with only 10 traps is decent work. Just wish I could have gotten some coyotes managed to help out the deer and turkey this spring. Maybe this week will be the week! After trapping season is out I'll have to resort to hunt/calling them.

 

[cubrock]

If it isn’t in poor taste to ask, what does a bobcat pelt bring these days, if anything?

 

[CZfool68]

If it isn’t in poor taste to ask, what does a bobcat pelt bring these days, if anything?

A nice pair of slippers? 😜

 

[Philosofarmer]

If it isn’t in poor taste to ask, what does a bobcat pelt bring these days, if anything?

Not poor taste at all.

2023-2024 Fur Prices: Trapping Today's Fur Market Forecast - Trapping Today

In recent years, uncertainty has been the name of the game in the fur market. While uncertainty will always be a factor in a dynamic and changing market, enough events have unfolded over the past year to give us a decent level of predictability for prices this season. With the exception of...

www.trappingtoday.com

I actually don't sell furs or anything like that. Coyotes and coons are not bringing much at all. I got into trapping to manage an over population of some large packs of coyotes all around me. I have an interest in learning to tan hides and try to make some cool things with what I trap. I don't see myself running "long" lines with lots of traps like the "pros" that are throwing a lot of steal in the ground. At some point its a numbers/odds game. I will just have to be more surgical.

This season has been a blast and after getting 5 bobcats in a month I am hooked! I can only manage about a dozen traps (at the most) in the area I'm at and stay faithful to the daily attendance laws. One or two of my buddies have been watching my progress with interest and are considering getting a license and a hand full of traps as well. The NC regs do allow for game camera monitoring as long as they are live cell cam types where they can be viewed real time or update you when something is moving around. There are a few very remote locations that I have in mind where I might be able to score a really nice cat but are way farther in than I can hike on a daily basis. Putting a couple traps with cameras out might help with monitoring my traps and keep the scent and traffic down. Getting a catch on film would be really cool too!

I did a couple sets tonight at a new location and have a couple more to set at a location where a hunting buddy has a good bobcat on his deer cam on the regular. I may end up with a couple more bobcats if these sets work out, I'll do an update if I have any success.

I have taken some really good notes this year and learned a lot. I think I will get a much earlier start on the yotes next year when the season comes in in the fall. There will be some juveniles that have never heard a call or encountered a trap and I will hit it hard around October. I have learned that scent control is huge and might be one of the areas I can improve for next season as far as the yotes go. They really are a sly animal and way harder to call and trap than I thought they would be.

 

[cubrock]

Not poor taste at all.

2023-2024 Fur Prices: Trapping Today's Fur Market Forecast - Trapping Today

In recent years, uncertainty has been the name of the game in the fur market. While uncertainty will always be a factor in a dynamic and changing market, enough events have unfolded over the past year to give us a decent level of predictability for prices this season. With the exception of...

www.trappingtoday.com

I actually don't sell furs or anything like that. Coyotes and coons are not bringing much at all. I got into trapping to manage an over population of some large packs of coyotes all around me. I have an interest in learning to tan hides and try to make some cool things with what I trap. I don't see myself running "long" lines with lots of traps like the "pros" that are throwing a lot of steal in the ground. At some point its a numbers/odds game. I will just have to be more surgical.

This season has been a blast and after getting 5 bobcats in a month I am hooked! I can only manage about a dozen traps (at the most) in the area I'm at and stay faithful to the daily attendance laws. One or two of my buddies have been watching my progress with interest and are considering getting a license and a hand full of traps as well. The NC regs do allow for game camera monitoring as long as they are live cell cam types where they can be viewed real time or update you when something is moving around. There are a few very remote locations that I have in mind where I might be able to score a really nice cat but are way farther in than I can hike on a daily basis. Putting a couple traps with cameras out might help with monitoring my traps and keep the scent and traffic down. Getting a catch on film would be really cool too!

I did a couple sets tonight at a new location and have a couple more to set at a location where a hunting buddy has a good bobcat on his deer cam on the regular. I may end up with a couple more bobcats if these sets work out, I'll do an update if I have any success.

I have taken some really good notes this year and learned a lot. I think I will get a much earlier start on the yotes next year when the season comes in in the fall. There will be some juveniles that have never heard a call or encountered a trap and I will hit it hard around October. I have learned that scent control is huge and might be one of the areas I can improve for next season as far as the yotes go. They really are a sly animal and way harder to call and trap than I thought they would be.

That article was an interesting read. Thank you. And thank you for taking us along on the journey.

 

[Bull Durham]

Outstanding work! 5 cats in a month???? I ran a trap line (20 traps) on a quail preserve in Caswell County for 6 months and never caught a bobcat. Plenty of foxes, coons, stray dogs, buzzards, and a blue jay were taken with bait hole or scent post sets but not a cat to be found. Congratulations Sir!

 

[CZfool68]

Not poor taste at all.

2023-2024 Fur Prices: Trapping Today's Fur Market Forecast - Trapping Today

In recent years, uncertainty has been the name of the game in the fur market. While uncertainty will always be a factor in a dynamic and changing market, enough events have unfolded over the past year to give us a decent level of predictability for prices this season. With the exception of...

www.trappingtoday.com

I actually don't sell furs or anything like that. Coyotes and coons are not bringing much at all. I got into trapping to manage an over population of some large packs of coyotes all around me. I have an interest in learning to tan hides and try to make some cool things with what I trap. I don't see myself running "long" lines with lots of traps like the "pros" that are throwing a lot of steal in the ground. At some point its a numbers/odds game. I will just have to be more surgical.

This season has been a blast and after getting 5 bobcats in a month I am hooked! I can only manage about a dozen traps (at the most) in the area I'm at and stay faithful to the daily attendance laws. One or two of my buddies have been watching my progress with interest and are considering getting a license and a hand full of traps as well. The NC regs do allow for game camera monitoring as long as they are live cell cam types where they can be viewed real time or update you when something is moving around. There are a few very remote locations that I have in mind where I might be able to score a really nice cat but are way farther in than I can hike on a daily basis. Putting a couple traps with cameras out might help with monitoring my traps and keep the scent and traffic down. Getting a catch on film would be really cool too!

I did a couple sets tonight at a new location and have a couple more to set at a location where a hunting buddy has a good bobcat on his deer cam on the regular. I may end up with a couple more bobcats if these sets work out, I'll do an update if I have any success.

I have taken some really good notes this year and learned a lot. I think I will get a much earlier start on the yotes next year when the season comes in in the fall. There will be some juveniles that have never heard a call or encountered a trap and I will hit it hard around October. I have learned that scent control is huge and might be one of the areas I can improve for next season as far as the yotes go. They really are a sly animal and way harder to call and trap than I thought they would be.

Very cool. We’re not too far from you and my neighbors and I have seen more bobcats on the game cameras recently than in past years. The coyotes have been pretty consistent though.