Bobcats in deep snow

[Tracker0721]

Until the snow gets crusty where should I be looking for cats? I’ve got 2 traps not out and my third was in a spot with a lot of cat traffic but since the area got a lot of snow I haven’t cut a track in days going to check the trap. Tried my other spots that I had targeted for cats and I haven’t seen a track anywhere. Skiff of snow and there were tracks everywhere and now there’s nothing. Should I check a new area or just set my traps where the cats were even though there’s no sign?

[Jonathan_S]

I look for the rabbits nearby. They do shift ranges a bit in my trapping areas to wherever the snowshoe hares congregate once the snow is deep and soft. This is mostly in canyon country I trap

And once the snow is crusted, they open their range back up from what I can tell.

[Jonathan_S]

With only 2-3 traps, you really want to set on sign or proven areas

[KFhunter]

From what I understand Bobcats have a pretty big range, and within that range they have multiple stop spots where they spend a few days hunting, then move to the next area within their overall range. 

If you keep chasing tracks, resetting your same 3 cages on fresh tracks, you could find yourself always a day or three behind them.   I would set traps on fresh sign in deep timber creeks and leave them until the cats work their way back to the traps. 


When you build up more traps and start setting up on tracks you've found at different times, you could be trapping the same group of Bobs, but from different areas.
So it's important to leave seed stock. 

[KFhunter]

So do you feel that since you have to check traps everyday are you contaminating the area with your scent? I have a spot that the neighbor is seeing them on her game camera. But to get to it I walk in to check. She pulls the cards about every 60 days.

No, I don't think they're too sensitive, or smart, for that matter. 

If you can carry some bino's and check from a distance,  might just be a peep hole through the timber, all you need is to see if the door is up or not.   Kinda like guys setting up from roads and don't want to leave tracks leading to a cage in fresh snow, so they bino the cage and not even get out the truck.

[Tracker0721]

Yeah I’ve got that one out in a great spot. Full of snowshoes as well. Only running 3 traps I want to set on sign but I guess I’ll just put them in areas I know they’ve been planning for them to do their loop. Didn’t know if they change areas to avoid deep snow but the area is a big forested creek bottom that I’m wanting to trap along. Bummer is a guy has started using the road to go cut firewood everyday for 2 weeks now and let’s his dogs run behind the truck. Hoping that more snow will stop that. Few miles of road with drainages all coming down to it and a creek flowing through along it.

[Humptulips]

If I could get out of the deep snow I would. In my area snow up high drives the cats down. If there is snow all over your trapline I would be looking for a place where the cats can get into less snow like areas protected by trees.

[Tracker0721]

I’ll do some exploring lower down the mountain, I know from last year once the snow was crusted they were up there. This wet stuff is no bueno.

[JakeLand]

I don’t trap cats until deep snow ! This pushes them off the ridges and down to the river bottoms for the most part .
My biggest Toms are generally caught still up high

[Cougartail]

I don’t trap cats until deep snow ! This pushes them off the ridges and down to the river bottoms for the most part .
My biggest Toms are generally caught still up high

Yup.. Waste of time until the high country has deep snow to concentrate them. Was fine when check times were 72 hours but now it's to expensive to check daily.