As I stood back to look my set over, I had to agree with a trapper friend that it did look and smell a lot like a circus. There were ribbons, flags, polyfill, flashing lights and a vast array of smells. You see I was going after Fat Cats. We have a tremendous population of mice, cottontails, and a new comer to our woods, the wood rat. During these years my best bait sets went untouched by cats. If they are not hungry, they can be hard to get to commit to a set. In the past I relied heavily upon blind sets and snares to make my catch. As of late I have been adjusting my methods to keep my catch rate up. I was having too many problems with non-targets tripping my blind sets and fouling my snares. So I have gone to major eye appeal sets.
One of the biggest changes I made this year was by the addition of a tool I built. I call it Fat Cat. I wanted a flashing light that was waterproof, chew resistant, used common batteries, and had reasonable battery life. No one had one, so I built what I wanted. It is a compact unit in a pvc housing and uses AA batteries. The battery life is very good. I had a unit running in my freezer for four months, took it out put it on my line for over a month before it needed batteries. For versatility I made the unit flash 360 degrees. Unlikethe first product of similar nature I tried, this one is chew resistant and water proof. Most trappers have heard and a bit has been written about the lapel pin that is used to advertise Bud Light. They are very eye catchy but the were not intended to be used as a trapper tool.
This works well at a set but is not coon proof. First hand experience proved that. In my area when I put out a set and am catching upland coon and possum, I know I am on location for cats I needed something that would with stand the first wave of homebody coons and keep going until the cats showed up.
Many of my cat set utilize multiple visual and olfactory stimuli. I feel a flashy set is ideal for cats. Large dirt holes, cubbies, cow skulls and chaff pile sets are a good starting point. I then add up to five different types of lure and large bait. Visual attractors are flags of all types, polyfill and Fat Cat. I find I can use Fat Cat in many different kinds of sets with out the addition of flags for the thieves to find. A flag hanging over a cubby is a good way to get your trap stolen by any passer by. In this case all the eye appeal is Fat Cat. I simply set it in the back of the cubby with only the eye seen from the front uncovered. This way it is less likely to be worked from the back or the sides. The red eyes in Fat Cat cannot be readily seen in the day light. At night when the cats are prowling the woods these eyes can be readily seen. when I got my yearly calls from farmers with coons in their silage piles, I tied units against the upper back wall of my cage traps with excllent results. There is a light in the top of the unit so it can be slid into a dirt hole, pipe, hollow log or such and be seen. At pile up sets, I put Fat Cat on the trap side right at the top of the pile with all five eyes uncovered to flash in all directions. In the heaviest of cover I hang it three to four feet over the set to attract the cats to the general set area and let the appeal of the set finish the job.
Fat Cat works on more than bobcats. I find this is also very effective on coon and badger. In my testing I have taken only one coyote. Fat Cat was not intended as a canine tool. I was designed to take less sophisticated animals than canines. I have taken bobcat, raccoon, badger, opossum, skunk, and mink with very good regularity using this tool. I run from four to eight sets per location. This is primarily to reduce the number of coon, possum and skunks so my sets are open for cats when they come through. Of these, one or two will have Fat Cat at them. In most cases the sets with Fat Cat produced most of the fur taken in footholds from that area. I catch my coyotes in sets and snares 30 to 50 yards down wind of my sets. This is not a new thing. I have done this for years when I made a real flashy and smelly cat set.
Fat Cat is just a tool to help you attract attention and hold a cat's interest in your set. For any tool to help you, your sets must be on location and constructed properly. I will not help to increase you catch to pull a cat to a set with an improperly bedded trap. You will still end up with snapped traps and no cats. If you are on location, cats are not inclined to travel very far out of their way, no matter how flashy a set you use. There are volumes of information to help you catch. Fat Cat is not going to make you a better trapper but it will truly help hold the intrest of those fickle cats to give you a better chance to catch them.
by Garrett Unrein
Rt. 1 Box 17 Naponee NE 68960 308-269-3175 gunrein@gtmc.net
