Lynx set tips?

[bullgetter]

I am new to trapping and have signed on as a junior partner for the first time. I really want to get some lynx this winter and have been building alot of cubbies. So far we have only caught 1. Is there any tricks to getting these guys with 330's? I think the biggest battle is getting them to the set then curiousity or hunger will do the rest. You seasoned cat trappers out there must have a few tips. thanks.

[canadaman]

i am not a seasoned cat trapper but im sure anyone that traps them will tell, scent scent scent. Make sure there is no forgien odors at the trap site.

[kelly]

I am no expert but generally lynx are fairly easy to trap. I also use a 330 in a cubby. I like to set rabbit, grouse or goose parts in the cubby and if possible hang it up a bit (get it off the ground) to the same height as the center of the trap. I also take a slender long narrow diameter tree with the branches off and set it in place so tthe tip is hanging way out over the trail or seismic line but within your height reach. I hang with fishing line a grouse wing or some foil (rabbit fur works) and this will flutter in the slightest breeze - visually attracting the critters.
Lynx have poor sense of smell so for the last couple years we have been dousing the wing/feathers with womens perfume (just about any type works) and then we use lynx or some other lure on or in the cubby.
Another way you might want to try is the foot snare/trap - works well but watch out cause the kitty wil be hiding in the cubby and be very lively when you approach.

[bullgetter]

Kelly, thanks for the tips. that is pretty much what we have been doing. For bait we have been using beaver or rotten deer scraps but maybe something fresh is required? I think I'll start using visual lures next as I was thinking an aluminum pie or small tart plate hung above the cubby. We have also been using catnip sprayed in the cubbie so we'll wait and see. There is no shortage of cat tracks around but I am not sure if lynx typically travel the same routes over and over like a fisher does.

[bullgetter]

Finally managed to catch a kitty in a snare. I built a large pen with 2 openings with snares and hung bait in the middle. I have 2 other snare sets and hope to get 1 more before the season closes as I'm pulling traps soon.

[kelly]

happy to see you were successful - I had a lynx and coyote the day I pulled my sets. Lynx was in a snare in a cubby. Also try s sanre or two around the backside of the set - lynx will often walk around looking for another way in and will get hung up on these snares.

[bullgetter]

I have 1 set with 4 snares around it just to pick up the lynx if it decides sniff around the area. On Friday the the snare on the cubby was pulled out and the bait laying outside. I reset and checked Saturday to find he pushed his way in to the side of the snare and packed the bait off 30 yards. So sunday I set a soft catch in front of the cubby. Next morning I found my nemesis caught firmly in the soft catch. I left the snares up and will pull the remaining sets tomorrow. I would like to use soft catches next year but only if I can check them every morning. Thankfully this lynx was probably only caught for a couple of hours before I showed up looking at the snow that was still falling. I would perfer to use kill traps when I can if I can just get them to stick there heads in my 330's. Several times lynx have sat right in front of the 330 staring at the bait then walk away? Oh well I've got their number for next year.

[C-GMIC]

I use the two entrance cubby with 330s and a whole bunch of snare on the choke points, save my chicken wings and spray them with anise, use tinfoil on the branches lure on the entrances, best ever was a tripple header fisher in the cubby, lynx in the back snare, and a wolverine in the first choke point made for a happy trapper, anyone use the bucket technique on a rabbit run wondering how it works?

[sourdough doug]

Hi there India Charlie, Did you say just how long it was that you were above 120. ft. :lol: :lol: :lol: :wave:

[C-GMIC]

120 thats about 50 more than normal vne is not a restriction its a goal

[bullgetter]

Last year I managed to take 2 cats and picked up my first of the year yesterday in a 330. I have built cubbies with 6 foot diameter like a pen (open roof). I have set a 330 on one entrance and a snare at the other entrance. I'm hanging large pieces of beaver in the center for bait and smearing lure on the trees 6 feet up. I also put an extra snare on the side of the cubby on likely trails. Then I hang a 6 inch pie plate in the open where it will be seen close to the cubby.How does everyone apply there lure? Next trip I'll and catnip and anise as a treat to sweeten the deal

[Brian Bildson]

Here's a bit of info from a past column



I owe my best neck snare set-up to Ross Hinter, an instructor for the Alberta Trappers Association. My wife wanted to take the introductory trapping course a few years back and I tagged along. Not only was I impressed by the instruction given by Ross, but I also learned a few new tricks. Ross shared a lynx cubby set that he used while trapping near Wood Buffalo Park. He and his partner had a huge line and a lynx harvest to match. This set-up is fast, basic, and deadly effective.



2/4

To start, find a mature spruce tree that supplies good snow cover. Cut an 8-foot pole with a 2-inch diameter at the base. Stand the pole up vertically about 3-feet out from the tree and wire off the top end to one of the spruce branches. Fasten your snare to the pole with the bottom of the snare loop 11-inches off of the ground and the top of the loop twenty-inches off of the ground. Have the side of the snare a couple of inches away from the side of the pole. The 9-inch loop set at this height leads to a high percentage of neck catches. One way to speed up setting times is to mark off your ax handle at the 11-inch and 20-inch point. I place the ax head on the ground and immediately know where the bottom and top of the loop need to be. Once the snare is place I hang a visual lure between it and the backing spruce tree. I like large goose feathers, grouse wings, or rabbit feet. I don’t limit myself to natural materials for a visual lure, lately I have been purchasing small 2-inch square mirrors from craft stores and hanging them from a length of dental floss. The glitter and movement of the mirrors really catches the lynx eye. Regardless of the visual lure used, place some scent on the tree trunk for additional drawing power. I then fence off the area between the snare and the backing tree with dead spruce boughs in a circular pattern. The object is to prevent the lynx from accessing the visual lure and scent without going through the snare but, at the same time, keeping an open appearance.

The one constant with any lynx is they do not like to be crowded so an open-looking set is more attractive to them. You can substitute a foothold or Beslise foot snare in the above set. Just eliminate the snare pole and place the trap in the entrance. I place two small dried sticks in an X pattern right behind the trap to force the cat’s paw onto the pan. Lynx have big feet and need a big trap. Currently, only two foothold traps meet the regulations for lynx, the Victor #3 soft catch and the Belisle foot snare, both of which are ideally suited to lynx.


3/4



There is one other trap in common use, the 330 conibear. I’ve been experimenting with them over the last couple years with limited luck. I’m now using a set-up which holds promise, as it appears more “open” to the lynx. I salvage plastic milk crates for this set, as the open plastic mesh design is the perfect size for holding a 330. I cut the handle portions off of the front of the crate, which allows the springs of the conibear to slide in and hold the trap firmly. I place my bait and lure on the back of the crate and hang it off of the tree, with the top of the crate two feet above the snow level. I put the crate on the side of the tree, which allows light to enter through the back giving a more open appearance. I finish off the set by hanging my dangling visual lure off the top of the crate. Once again secure your trap chain securely as this set is also deadly for wolverine or fisher.

It’s not often that I’ll make trail sets for lynx, as I find they’re not as trail bound as other fur-bearers. With their large snowshoe-sized feet they can pretty much wander at will through the deep snow. There is a place for trail sets however, as lynx can sometimes become very finicky and seem trap shy. Usually this happens during times of plenty when bellies are full. At times like these, I’ll head for rabbit central and set the rabbit-runs with lots of snares. Hung at the right height the hares will go under the snare while the lynx will end up neck caught and humanely harvested.

The lynx is one of those magical animals that capture your imagination. I appreciate the opportunity that trapping has afforded me to observe and admire this reclusive feline. My adrenaline still flows when I see a fresh lynx track headed down the trail towards my next set, in hopes that one more hazel-eyed beauty awaits me. Happy trails.

[bullgetter]

Thanks for the info Brian. The crates you are putting on the trees, is the trap opening facing the ground or is the set horizontal on the tree? I have seen where lynx stand under my marten boxes but have not had one try to climb up. My partner experimented with 5 gallon pails with 330's and did take lynx and fisher. Last year the lynx would not commit and simply walked around the bucket and away. I believe half the issues I have had is that we have rabbits everywhere in our area and the lynx just have no interest.
I built a new cubbie on Saturday that had a 330 set at the entrance and 2 snares on the side. I was proud of this set and firgure it's only a matter of time. I checked 2 days later and found the cat had pulled down 1 snare and walked away from the other. I have since installed a foot hold with grouse feathers sprinkled around for his return!
Lynx is the reason I started trapping as I have always been fascinated with these creatures. I am very greatful to be signed on as a junior partner and have enjoyed it immensely since I started. I wanted to do this since I was a kid but never had the opportunity. At 30 I have had a slow start but every day in the bush has a new lesson to learn. My apprenticeship is far from over but I look forward to one day being able to call myself a "trapper".

[Brian Bildson]

The crates are mounted up high on the side of a tree with the open end facing the lynx. I've had limited success with these sets. One adaptation that I'm hearing good things about is bending the trigger up and to the side with a wire attached, which then connects to the bait. Rather then the lynx having to push their head into the trigger they just have to grab the bait and pull.

Lynx can drive you crazy. One day they're all over your sets the next day they walk by. One tip is put your sets close to your trails and have your traps or snares well back from your bait and lure. Often they'll only go into your set part way and then back off. If the trap is set back a way you'll often catch them. If it's any consolation I missed on lynx yesterday by about 2"

[Eastern Trapper]

It's a game and your playing under their terms, what they know is, if it's natural that the grass is green in the fall in my back yard, then it's ok for to spend time in it. So in a matter of speech, use natural substances like, snare a rabitt or get a grouse and offer it to him without making noticeble that someting is not right, I snare a rabitt, leave it in the snare and right befor dark, I use a rabitt in distress call to lure him in, I set a couple of snares and a few traps (Conibears) around my bait and hope he'll hit one of them. I've had sucess when I call them in, it's like I'm saying super is ready come and get. If your a new trapper, feel free to experiment and no Idea is a bad one, practice will make you better.

[Eastern Trapper]

Happy to hear your interest, just a hint to help you out, they prefer rodents, it's like an entree for them, try hanging a squirrel, usually this really gets their attention, I hang it at the end of a branch on a tree and place 2 foot traps at the bottom of the tree, remember he's going to go up and get him and step right where you want him. good luck!

[bullgetter]

The most success I have had is with snares. Last year I took 7 lynx (partner on another line) 1 was in a 330 the rest in snares. I still have cubbies and boxes with 330's but I gaurd the sides with snares. The cat I took this year walked to the front of the cubby without entering and walked around the side straight into a snare

[Da Jimmer]

I know this doesnt involve connibears, but lynx tavel along the same trails, in the same paw prints. Find one track, and there might be one or two dozen using it. Set a snare on the track, bang, one. Take it out, set the snare again. My grandpa has done this tonnes of times back in the day.

[gsteeves]

It has never been proven but a good visual boost would be to hang
A piece of folded tinfoil from a tree near by the set at about 10 feet on a string
They may be drawn to it……………….

Dad and I have used this trick with great suggsess in the past…
But the other guys are right………………scent ………..scent …………scent………….but try the visual trick as it cheap and
The old saying is curiosity did kill the cat………………LOL

Gary