Bait making

[rustyg]

As a taxidermist I get a lot of deer meat and bobcat meat and was wondering if I should grind the meat up or just cut into chunks for making bait out of it How long should I let it taint and will it hurt to add some beaver Castro with it. What else could be added to spice it up. Haven't trapped in the last six years and thinking about getting back into it.

[calvin]

There are "bait solutions" on the market that have all the ingredients in there. You just add it to the meat. Only one I have tried was Dobbins Bait solution (to tainted beaver). Worked really well for me.

Grind or cube...up to you. Decide first how you want to apply it down the hole. Toss a chunk or smear.

[crichards]

Rich Kasper, Bob Jameson, Paul Dobbins, and Brian Roberts all have ready made solutions.....have not used Bob J. but his station in the lure bus pretty well assures its quality...the others have all performed well for me.

Of course it is fun to make your own solution.......but you will have more invested for quality ingredients than a proven solution costs.

[Velgang]

Like the others said, ready to use bait solutions work well( I have used Dobbins with good results) I do make my own K-9 bait with left over Beaver, Venison, Muskrat and woodchuck. I use the large or course blade on my grinder to grind it up then let it taint. I do add some other things like caster, fish oil, skunk juice and whatever else I have laying around. Each batch is a little different than the last. You cant go wrong with one of the bait solutions to add to your tainted meat.

Joe

[trappnman]

bait solutions are nice, but defintely not needed to make good predator bait- most bait solutions main function is to preserve although they do in most cases add some "spice"

to answer your question- chopped up deer and castors makes a predator bait that is as good as any.
I would chop up venison scraps, layer it in a bucket at 2-3 inches, add a good sprinkling of ground up semi moist castors over, add 2=3" more venison, castor, and so on, finshing with castor.

cover loosely and let sit outside for 2 days in "shady sun", mix it all up, let sit another 2 days, put in pint ocntainers and freeze. that gives me the taint I want, and freezing stops that process.

you can add stuff to it, but never found adding made a whole lot of difference-

tainted deer and castor is good enough on its own.

[Bob Jameson]

"most bait solutions main function is to preserve "

It may be the function of some bait solutions. However our solution isnt made for that purpose or does it have that primary function.

It does contain some amount of preserving qualities but it isnt enough to stop the bait ageing completely. Separate material needs to be added to stop the age process first then the solution should be added or add a preservative together with the solution to the meat. Then stir frequently until it is mature.

I have to disagree greatly with the statement that regular prepared baits are equal to baits made with a good bait solution or those baits boosted by adding other ingredients like castor, skunk Ess. etc.

In my experience a good solution will make a significant difference in the final result bait and a predators reaction to it overall.There will be alot more evidence of this to come in the near future with some results of regular stand alone meat baits vs worked up baits with a good bait solution.

[trappnman]

I'll respectfully disagree-

I have used nothing but commercial baits for at least 10 years when I use bait (with the exception of gophers)- and I saw NO difference in success from commercial vs deer/castor or even a tainted pocket gopher

you add too much stuff- and its not a bait- its lure.

[Bob Jameson]

Mixing castor and ess. and other elements are good additions to boost a natural bait no question.My statement was that regular meat baits without any boosting of sorts do not compare to commercial prepared or bait solution boosted baits

[Wright Brothers]

Glad you guys brought this up. I assumed the mentioned products stopped all reactions.
I would have been exploding things. No instructions as the label is wiped out.

I use quite a bit of frozen spiced up meat and like it fine. Just like all else, when I say or share that, there are at least 4 trappers I know that told me that freezing bait is a no no.

I was thinking of cleaning out what I have, spiking it with ivermec, and dumping it in locations I have permision.

[calvin]

Why not just preserve it with Sodium Benz instead of freezing? Can put it on a shelf anywhere and will keep for years. Also won't spoil on those warm days.

[redeagle]

Does the addition of bait solution make the meat taste better to the animal? Kind of like pouring gravy over roast beef? Or, does the solution work as an additional smell, like a lure would do, to hold the animal's attention? From the lists of ingredients that I have seen mentioned for typical bait solutions, they read like a lure formula. If the solution does not consist of additional food flavors, then it seems more like a person is spiking the meat bait with some sort of "lure." Would it not be the same effect to just place meat at the set and then dope the set with a multi-purpose lure? You'd still get all the same smells, just separate instead of all combined into one.

[trappnman]

sure could calvin but but had no need to preserve- freezer stops the taint until I bring it out, and in the ground for thep urpsoe I sue, I wanted a natural smell, not a chemical smell, and I wanted it, indeed considered it part of the bait, to continue tainting in the ground .

a pint is used up so quickly, that there never was a problem of keeping partial jars around.

[calvin]

If not a time/decomp/temp issue then not and issue. And most k9 stuff it isn't. I have gotten into the habit of preserving mostly due to the fact I preserve ground up fish each year as there are always those stretch of warm days that ruin fish in pockets very quickly. I get tired of cleaning out slimy/yellow rotten fish so I grab the jars of preserved fish when it turns warm. No need to worry about the heat with the preserved fish paste, but fish in pocket sets is different than meat chunks down the hole. Meat chunks can decomp pretty well and still have an attraction.

[Bob Jameson]

Sun dry cure your fish in the summer months real good, then package them.When ready for use you can make a brine to re constitute them a little, they will always remain fresh and fishy in pockets and such.

[calvin]

Can you explain the sun dry cure, Bob? is that the same as the salting in a bucket method?

[Bob Jameson]

Indian cure is what I call it. Basically pre cut the fish to the workable sizes you like or want. Hang or lay the cut fish on old window screens or a grid type surface to air dry in the sun. The flies wont bother it much if you have cleaned the fish fairly well. They need gutted at least or the flies will work on them.Dry time depends upon the size and thickness and temperatures. A slight breeze will increase drying time. If you feel the flies are becoming an issue just lightly spray them with common aerosol fly spray as needed or hang a couple of fly traps close to the fish layout area as a primary odor distraction.
I Indian cure all my fish baits first as then they wont break down in a brine flavored bait solution that I add later.You can salt the slabs or pieces shaken in a bucket to coat them if that is all you want to do. Then when dried you can jar them or freeze them however you want to store them. Once cured they will last quite a long time. I would plastic bag them if kept long term.

Salting slabs will work just fine also if that is the method you wish to go with.It requires a bit more attention as to changing the salt and relayering the fish until all the moisture is drawn out.Some just layer once but it gets messy as all the mositure in the fish creates alot of water in the bottom levels.

I prefer indian curing best.I can do alot of fish in two good days of sun and wind.It takes more time to cut and clean the fish then it does to dry it all.

[calvin]

Ahhh, Maybe I/ll give that a try. Thanks for the response, sir.