Baiting Bobcats

This month is truly primetime for Maine predator hunters. Foxes, coyote and bobcats are all very active this time of year as the mating season is in full swing – the ‘predator rut’ if you will. Foxes are usually the first to start the mating season in January and continue through March. Coyotes follow, getting ramped up in late January into February. Finally, bobcats begin their courtship late February into late March. This timeline is a great indicator of when you should be actively pursuing predators this year with the month of February headlining the bill.

Bobcats are by far the most requested type of predator hunts I receive inquiries about. They are a beautiful but incredibly reclusive and solitary animal. They are also the toughest predator to kill in my estimation and for many reasons. Adding to their naturally shy disposition, cats have exceptional vision. And unlike coyotes, bobcats cannot be hunted at night; arguably the best time to hunt predators. Calling is a popular form of hunting for all predators, but I have found hunting over bait is more effective in my neck of the woods. One squeak or smooch gone awry can send a skittish cat back the way he came from in a hurry.

Most bait piles used for predator hunting consist of a mix of deer carcasses, fleshing scraps from hides and viscera saved from prior hunting seasons. Coyotes don’t tend to be picky when it comes to food sources in the height of the Maine winter so the traditional bait set up works very well. While bobcats will visit traditional bait, I have found that cats like their supper a little fresher. And perhaps highlighting the feline nature, they are picky about what they want to eat. Changing up the bait goes a long way in getting bobcats interested and keeping them coming back. In fact, the main two reasons I take my trapping license every year are for bear trapping season and beaver season; bobcats cannot resist beaver carcasses. The key when using beaver carcasses for bobcats is to stake them down. Otherwise, the cats will drag them off and cache them – creating their own bait pile of sorts, deep in country you are not likely to find them. A piece of rebar with a welded washer on top, driven through the beaver carcass into the ground a few feet usually does the trick.

Until a couple of years ago, I would have said that beaver was a bobcats prime cut, the preferred entrée at the top of the menu. That was when I found out how much bobcats enjoy pork. Yes, you heard me correctly. A local pig farmer I know called me one morning to ask for a favor. He allowed us to bait bear on his farm for years and I was eager to help. One of his sows had prolapsed the day before while delivering an early litter of piglets and was in rough shape. This morning she was lethargic and in obvious distress; he asked if I would dispatch the sick sow. He just couldn’t bear to do it himself. After the task was completed, he offered the sow as predator bait. We loaded the roughly 300 pound sow in my truck and I picked a spot on the ridge where it transitioned from wood line to field in an area I had spotted bobcat sign in the past. The ravens showed first, then the eagle. Shortly after, foxes and coyote showed up at the site and finally the cats. Once the bobcats got a taste, they dominated the bait – no coyote or fox ever came back. The cats however, kept coming day and night. It was quite a lesson for me. If you are after bobcats this month, keep it fresh and unique and hopefully you’ll put eyes, and your riflescope, on one of Maine’s most elusive predators.