# recipe for bobcat bait



## u.p.bob

does anyone know a good recipe for making bobcat bait to use in cold weather? is bobcat meat any good for this?


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## Mongojoe

I used to make chunk bait mainly from two animals... beaver, and bobcat...not mixed together, of course... But while I do believe that beaver worked better for bobcats, the bobcat chunk worked very well also..... The way I made it was, I chunked the meat from the carcass in pieces, from walnut to small egg size, and put them into a bowl...If I wanted to taint it, (which I preferred over fresh when the weather got colder, as the smell "carried" better) I would let it set until it turned a kind of light grey color and had a rather "unpleasant smell", but was still pink and juicey if cut into (You don't want it rotten, as this can often cause the canines to roll at the set)... Then I coated it with sodium benzoate to preserve it (you can get sodium benzoate at any trapper supply store, or chemical store...and many larger drug stores, and some grocery stores also carry it) I mixed the sodium benzoate to cover it well and completely, and if necessary, added more, then loosely packed it into jars, but do not fill over 3/4 full... Then sprinkle on another covering of the sodium benzoate, and fill the jar with water to just above the level of the meat, and screw on the lid........ VERY IMPORTANT... It will still be forming gas for a time to come, so at least once every day I would go and crack the lid to relieve the pressure. (Hold away from your face when doing this.) I would do this until it quit forming gas...and then I would still crack the lid about every 3 or 4 days after that, until it again stopped forming gas.... I like to let the chunk set for at least a few months, or until the next season, before useing it.... If you wish, you can add a little beaver castor, or even a drop or two of skunk essence to these jars when you add the water...but go easy with the skunk...usually one, or at most two, drops is sufficient.

Other baits you can make that work well that you don't need to "age", are fish or mice... You can taint them if you wish, but they can also be used fresh... I used to run a "mouse trap line" in the barns and save all the mice, so many to a baggie, in the freezer... Then when season came, I took out however many baggies I figured I'd need that day...and I did the same way with some of the rough fish or perch we caught while fishing in the summer.

Another favorite bait for most any predator was to take some mice (you can use fish instead if you wish...trout works very well here) dump them into a blender, put in two or three tablespoons of sodium benzoate, (a drop of skunk, if you desire)put on the lid, and hit the "GO" button.... This makes a good paste type bait.


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