Innards for bait?

[redeagle]

We all know that when a predator begins to dine on the carcass of an animal, such as a deer, his first priority is to eat the "innards" (intestines, stomach, stomach fat, kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, etc.). For proof, look how fast gut piles disappear during the deer season! After all of this soft tissue has been devoured, a coyote proceeds to eat the muscle meat. When that is gone, he will then eat the skin (a coyote will rake the hair off the skin with his teeth and then eat the hide). Finally, he will gnaw on the bones for the few remaining morsels. Over the course of a few days, nothing remains but a spinal column, skull, and other miscellaneous bones. Knowing predator dietary preferences, why do we routinely throw away the "best" part- the most favored part- and use only the carcass, instead? It seems to me that the innards would make the most attractive bait of all. Has anyone tried using just the innards for bait? If so, what were your experiences using it? Any difference is success ratio over using muscle meat chunks?
Even skunks, opossums, magpies and crows, go for the guts first! I've seen video footage of numerous kills on tv over the years- wolves killing moose, lions killing zebras, etc., etc. First thing they always eat is the guts. That's why I thought maybe the guts might be a first priority type of bait to use. What do you think?

[trappnman]

since everyone is shy, I'll take a stab on it- I think the trouble with using innards, is that they rot so quickly. thats an attractant I guess in itself. I use in innards in pocket gophers but not just. chop one in 2 pieces, and half goes in each hole. seemed like 1st visit, gopher sets were hit before prepared bait sets.

[redeagle]

Steve, that's interesting that coyotes would find the gophers more appealing than prepared bait, because prepared baits have all those additives (musks, castor, etc.) that we believe to be so appealing to canines. It could be the smell of the guts in the gopher halves that attracts them.

[trappnman]

I also had lure in the hole as well redeagle- so perhaps the combo of guts/rodent smell plus the lure.

Gophers are like any other small rodent- they have a VERY distinctive smell-
my dog loves gophers- he goes nuts over them- jumping, barking, etc-

thats the only animal he does such on- fox. coyotes, etc he sniffs and forgets. and moles- he has zero interest in- won't even pick them up.

been using more and more gophers every year- might go 100% to them w/0 any prepared bait

[thebeav2]

I think the hair on thing Is what grabs their attention.
Is PREPARED bait all that natural?
While a gopher with It's natural smell, guts hanging out and the hair still On Is the most natural thing out there.

Down south I do the best with a fresh chunk of beaver meat covered with a patch of beaver hide In the hole. And of coarse a bit of lure placed at the set. The lure gets them there but the bait and the fur gets them caught.

[Wright Brothers]

I'm not packing inards around. But, you know the marbled fat around the stomach you notice when slaughtering live stock?

[redeagle]

WB, I agree it would not be fun to pack innards around. My original thought was to grind them up and preserve with SB while still super fresh and store it in jars. Then, a guy could just spoon out a gob of this mess and plop it down the dirt hole. But no, I wouldn't want to just haul around a bunch of stinking guts, either. That would be nasty.

[Wright Brothers]

I have used, and still do, livers, hearts, lungs and some others like that and fresh. I can't say it out performed other things tho it did seem to work. I gravitate to bait more in winter weather. I don't know if that's good practice or not, just how I find myself rolling.

Seems the times I used bait in early season I clogged my sets with opossums.
I'm sure other guys observations/styles differ. Good friend of mine can not pass up a road kill anything, uses a lot of bait, and does pretty dang good IMO. It saves on the lures payment bill.

I've tried patterning with this in this set, that in that one over there. Just when I think I find a pattern, the animals blow up that pattern. Kinda like fishing, yellow roostertails worked last season but this time minifoos are it.

I think those things keep it fun.

[mostinterestingmanintheworld]

I prefer fresh bait to prepared stuff. I like to bury a half a pkg. of frozen butchered deer meat paper and all. chunk of fresh frozen carp in an old can bent over, a gopher or other rodent with guts cut open, big chunk of coyote meat, half a badger, fresh coyote skull.

Something big enough that it holds it's water for a while in this dry climate.