Lure Strategies for Coyotes and Cats

Every trapping lure is made for a specific response, the trick is to figure out where and how to use them in every different scenario.

By Dave Morelli

Although there are many things that make a set produce, understanding how the lure you use fits in to each set’s strategy will increase the odds of a catch. For just getting the target furbearer in close to the area, to causing it to work the set in a manner that places its paw on the pan, most of my sets involve using lures.

When the sagebrush is low and visibility is much more open, a sight attractor like a large bone will help the call lure pull the furbearer right into the area. Photo credit Dave Morelli.

Lure in itself can be divided into many categories and each can be used with others, separately, or not at all, at each set to mix things up a little. I also think that a lure that has been burned out on a trapline is worse than a lure that has been deemed not so good for some reason.

I make and use my own lures for the most part, but still keep a couple of other manufacturers’ products around in case I start to get pass-by responses from the coyotes. I think that coyotes become suspicious when they continue smelling the same odors, or they become familiar with a lure’s odor and don’t have to check it out every time they detect it.

LURE CATEGORIES

Lures are categorized by what response is elicited from each furbearer. The general categories are food, gland, curiosity and call. Food lure is just that. It triggers the response of hunger. The gland lure can trigger many responses. It tends to bring out a coyote’s territorial response since it smells like another coyote. I categorize scat and urine in the gland lure category and they will trigger this territorial instinct. I tend to classify curiosity lure as something that is new to the coyote and it wants to investigate to learn what the smell is. What the coyote is thinking isn’t as important as his response. (I use “his” a lot when describing coyotes. I am not a sexist and will catch male and female coyotes with the same enthusiasm.)

Urine and gland lures will usually trigger a territorial response. If he smells another coyote he may be curious as to whom this new guy is, but he will have to go over and put his 2 cents in and urinate on it. If the set is constructed properly, that coyote will be waiting for the trapper the next day.

This song dog came in to the coyote gland lure that the author made out of the coyote’s buddies from the previous season. Photo credit Dave Morelli.

Food lure will trigger a hunger response. In a dirthole set I like to use tainted bait or a piece of a mouse that I caught around the house. When the coyote gets close enough, it will smell the bait and go into hungry mode. He will work the set and the gland lure placed next to the hole will give him the idea that he is stealing some other animal’s cache. The location of the gland lure to the attractor and the hole will help guide his foot into the trap.

Skunk musk is a universal odor in the animal kingdom, and I don’t know of many critters that don’t come running when it hits their nostrils (except my wife). I class it as a gland lure, but it’s really a good call lure, as well. It’s used by trappers because it carries so well.

Skunk musk gets the critter into the area so that another odor will take over and get the animal to work the set. It can be mixed in with gland lure or be used separately. I like to keep the two lures separate so that I can use them mixed together or on their own if I want to, depending on each situation. Doing so gives me some subtle variances so that I can make the decision on what to use at each set. In cold weather I will get heavier with the skunk because strong odors will carry farther in the cold. I also put the lure on the highest brush to help any breeze float it out to even longer distances.

COYOTES

For coyotes, I use two factors of lure — sight and smell. First off, the set has to be in a good location to increase the chances that a coyote will pass close by. It is during this time that I want the coyote to be drawn to the set. I want a call lure that travels well and far in case he is farther away from the set than I originally figured, when he works through. The spot should hopefully force the coyote to work toward the set facing into the prevailing wind. The strongest lure will not travel against the wind, and if the ‘yote passes by on the wrong side, he will never know the set is there unless there is a good sight attractor. I will also set two traps, one on each side of a trail, so that I have twice the chance that the wind will be correct when the coyote comes through.

In the high sage habitat, the author places the call lure on the highest bush near the set. The coyote will work around it, looking for the smell, then find the set and will start to work it over. Photo credit Dave Morelli.

I also consider sight attraction a lure. It can certainly bring a critter in — it just uses a different sense to entice the animal. Wise use of sight attraction can draw animals from longer distances than scent and upwind. Large bones, color contrasts — and with bobcats, sight attraction is extremely important since cats will hunt with their eyes. Coyotes also look for birds hovering over large baits or a dead critters to scavenge. This will bring coyotes into the general vicinity, then your localized sight attractor and call lure can pull them close enough to find your set.

Like any thief, a furbearer will approach with caution and not want to be caught by the owner. If he is wise to human scent, he will be paranoid and will pass by if he detects the trapper. Gland lure and urine give the coyote the idea that another critter left the bait, and they will cover or mask any residual human odor. A coyote may be cautious of the gland odor, but will be terrified of human odor. So, the urine will mask the human odors and make the coyote more at ease.

One thing about urine is that it will attract more rabbits, and I hate catching rabbits, so I ease up if there are a lot of rabbits around. But I definitely like gland lure in the remake sets. The whole area smells like the critter but the gland lure will bring them right to the trap.

In the remake set, everything already smells like a coyote, but some gland lure near the trap will draw the next critter right to the trap, then stepping sticks will make the catch. Photo credit Dave Morelli.

Although there are many things responsible for the critter putting its foot on the pan, placement of the lure at the set is one vital facet of this strategy. The trap should be between the approach and the lure. This will guide the critter up to the trap, and placement of the lure slightly to the right or left of center of the pan will facilitate the coyote’s anatomy as he works the set. Some of this is also accomplished by using stepping sticks to cause the animal to step over them and onto the pan. These should be very subtle for coyotes; just a blade of grass or small twigs.

BOBCATS

Bobcats are different hunters, and luring them requires a little bit different strategy. Although I have caught many cats in coyote sets, more will be caught if the set is tailored just for cats. I don’t think bobcats can be pulled off of their trail or from long distances like coyotes can. The location of the set has to be more in the way of their initial intended route. Thus, one attractor that works the best for cats is the type of terrain that they travel to. When the cats are moving to more favorable locations in winter, knowledge of the things that will attract them from where they are, and where they want to be, and the route they will take, will catch cats without a drop of liquid lure.

The author places the lure just off to the side of the set and a bit higher to keep the bobcat working the odor, right to the choke point. Photo credit Dave Morelli.

Bobcats can also be enticed into an area because of their curiosity of sound lures. Again, these are lures that use a different sense to get a triggered response. By strategically placing a squeaker in an area, it will call a bobcat from a greater distance than a scent lure will. (Squeakers are small electronic calls that emit a distress sound to bring critters closer to the set.) Sight attractors are also big for cats. Attractors that would send a coyote to another county, will work a cat right into a set area. They are curious, then once they are in the area they have the opportunity to find your set.

One attractor that I use quite a bit is tinfoil. I will tear off strips of it and crunch it onto a branch near the set. The piece that is free will flutter in the wind, making a subtle noise, and flash on and off in the sun. Other shiny things can be used just as well, such as CDs, can lids or whatever else you can imagine. I prefer extra attractions like this for bobcat sets because they will send the coyotes running. I don’t want to waste a good cat set on a coyote.

These attractors work especially well for some kind of dirthole set. The sight attraction gets the bobcat close enough to work the set. Then I also use a good call lure to also add some odor attraction. When the cat is close to the set, the bait, lure and stepping sticks will get the cat’s paw on the pan. Stepping sticks at bobcat sets do not have to be subtle like those set for coyotes.

My favorite set for a bobcat is a trail set. Like I said earlier, it’s better to put a trap in the cat’s way than try to pull him into an area. I will use only a gland lure here next to the trap to keep the cat’s attention while he walks down the trail. The pan will be the best place for his foot while he works the smell. A little bit of call lure will also help to get him into the area. Bobcats can be squeezed down by a narrowing-down trail to make them step on the your trap’s pan. Placing the lure off to the side of the set keeps them interested.

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt, strategic placement of lures will increase your catch rates every season, and I’m always experimenting with using lures differently at each set. Sometimes it’s best to use lures sparingly, or in combination. And sometimes a smorgasbord of different odors — from the call lure to get the animal close, to the gland lure and urine near the set, to the bait lure in the dirthole — will entice the wandering, hunting furbearer right into the set.

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