Baiting DPS

[dpomm]

I tried DPS for the first time this last season with some sucess but I feel I had more refusals than I should have. Location was good, most mornings had fresh track walking by the set but no takers. I used fish based food all season. It seemed to work very well late winter early spring but not so well during the fall and early spring. Does anyone notice a difference in the type of bait that is used during certain seasons. If so what types and when. I used DPS for both dryland and water sets.

[trappnman]

for sure, coon get food orientated like anything else- and will gorge on certain foods as they come into season. You mention "early spring" as being good one time, and bad another. I find early spring, is the most productive time for bait.

IMO, lure makes or breaks a coon set- that contrary to common opinion, they are NOT always gluttons eating anything they can. Add a godo lure with the bait, and I think your refusals will go down.

but you are, again IMO, going to get more misses with dps, getting tracks walking by- I think its just the nature of the trap. the larger the coon population, the fewer walk bys.

[dpomm]

I did not what to jump the other DPS blog with this question and it was an interesting season with what I noticed. Some of the areas I was trapping they would only allow DPS traps so I was limited knowing other sets might work better. I also know you like PRO COON. Do you use this all season and also do you use it with a baited DPS. I believed that was discussed earlier ie lure alone vs baited vs baited with lure.

[trappnman]

I honestly think Pro coon, is the best coon lure I've ever used- and I use it all season- fall and winter work, and summer ADC in cages work. Its never let me down yet.

I no longer bait dps, just use lure/fishoil. I started with bait, then bait and lure then for several years tried it lure only, vs lure and bait, and found for me, that adding bait does little for the success rates vs just lure, so I decided why bother.

[trappincoyotes39]

there are some baits just as effective as sweet/ tangy lures out there. IMO alot has to do with the trap as well and location. Chumming creates a positive effect and is cheap,quick and simple.

[cmr2]

Agree with the chumming its what gets the hunger on , I like putting in two baits when possible ,the lure can add more to the curisty than just one thing ,gotta throw some opinions out

[trappnman]

there are some baits just as effective as sweet/ tangy lures out there.

at times- but not consistently.

[trappincoyotes39]

sure there are Tman, many multi compounded baits are nothing more than a thicker lure is all, but because it is made up primairly of natural ingrediants we call them baits.

Chumming and the natural reaction from such with a tube and a hole is right in line with the very nature of a coon to investigate.

[trappnman]

reread the opening post- what does it say? what was his problem?

in that vein, I answered him with advice I find to be true over the years.

[dpomm]

With what is being said I think there are two different opinions as to which works best and since I never used anything other than a fish based bait with some fish oil around the DP, does anyone see a difference in catch rates of a sweet lure/bait vs a fish based lure/bait or does anyone use both with good results.

[trappnman]

all baits fall short during winter.

at least here in southern MN winters.

for someone that has trapped coon all winter long from the first day they extended the season, til now- its a given that coon DO NOT work bait well during that period consistently.

I believe its because coon are semi hibernating, and as such, "normal" bodily functions are slowed way down- including the ingestation of food.

AT THAT TIME- early dec til warmup- a good lure, will far far outproduce any bait.

TC wants to debate that point, and he is free to do so- but the reality of winter after winter, shows a remarkable decrease in baits attractiveness during the core of winter. Yet a good lure still attracts- curiosity is the key

Nothing is easier to see than when that changes- rat and mink traps that are blind, and haven't seen a coon all winter, are full of coon- they are NOW in that "eat all they can mode" and you can tell because THEY ARE HUNTING.

something else that is a given- coon become food orientated when food cycles and will often igonore one bait smell, on their way to a preferred food source-

if they are eating plums- they pretty much ARE eating plums, and little else.

Rather than play the guessing game on which bait, or keep a variety on hand, experimentation shows me, that a good lure, does the job consistently.

I didn't wake up one day and decide that, I based it on quite a few years of experimenting with different baits, and tons of different lures. For me, the ultimate "bait/lure" quest, has been solved.

I see a lot of boxes and buckets under bridges during winter off and on- a lot of empty boxes and buckets- yet 50 yards away, I'm pulling up dead coon with just a hole and lure.

Hardcore is another top of the line coon lure- only disavantage, is cold weather shuts it down quite a bit.

If you trap with big populations, or just trap the first few weeks, bait will do about as good a job- but if your coon numbers aren't Iowa type numbers where 5 trappers catch 50 coon under a bridge or you want to have continued coon trapping though the entire season (weather permitting), it is indeed my opinion bait doesn't come close to lure.

but as beav says- most guys are done before I start.

if you want a top line coon bait- tainted vension scraps and castor, is pretty much "free" and works very well.

heres a tip for those that do want to trap coon during the winter- on short warmups, be ready. Most guys get a warm day, then decide the next to set out traps, and then pull them when it gets colder again-

but on 2-4 day warmups, the bulk of the movement is in the FIRST night or so before the warmup (assuming its moderating) and early in the cycle. To set up during the run, is often too late- those coon are still in semi hibernation, and will go out to roam, stretch their legs I guess, hit the closeby creeks, and then back in- often only out a day or two even though the warmup continues for a day or two.

Which is why a lure that is always ready to go- doesn't freeze and is incredibly long lasting, is my choice- I don't have to relure in anticipation- my lure is out there working every day and night- its ready, when the coon are.

again, if you trap only the fair weather coon, then use whatever works, and ignore the refusals because as Carlis says, 10 more will be along.

I don't take no 1000 coon with this method but I do take 300-400 most winters, running 40 or so pure coon sets, if that many, on 3 day checks from Thanksgivng to mid feb or so. Granted, some of those are in 220s here and there, mink/rat/beaver sets, but the bulk from fishoil and ProCoon-

It works for me. I'll answer questions if anyone has any on the details, no secrets there, but will not respond to debating it.

Sorry, but I'm getting like so many, tired of argung givens.

[cmr2]

Do you mix the pro coon and fish oil or use them separete (each bottle) at the set

Not tried the pro coon so no experances with it

[trappnman]

the first year I used procoon, I used it from mid october until late february, 100% straight, w/o any added bait or fish oil.

I wanted to know the worth of the lure as a stand alone.

It convinced me and i haven't used any other coon lure since then.

The reason I add it to fish oil, is 2fold-

One is I hate opening lure bottles and finding applicators- so squirting a lure is to me simple and quick

Secondly, I want the maximum amount of lure smell possible, coming from my set for coon. the more lure is in contact with air, the more the odor gets out. Fish oil provides that medium- instead of a pinpoint of lure, I have a large surface by squirting lure, thus more odor gets out. I want to smell the Procoon on the way to the set-

I also many times, run a stream of the mix along the tree or bank- I don't subscribe the theroy that if you give coon exposure to the lure before the set, they iignore the set. I find this to not be true at all. But again, this is lure specific cause thats what this is based on. I find the smell of Procoon so appealling to coon, that a trail of it and fish oil, simply makes him try to find the source of that odor- and that leads him to pipe or trap.

ProCoon certainly works alone, but for me, I just prefer a mix.

in cage traps, all I use is a Q tip dipped in procoon hanging in the cage with a paperclip- but thats 99% warmish weather, and smack on location- whereas in fur trapping, I not going to the coon, I'm making the coon come to me.

again, its what works for me.

[trappincoyotes39]

The majority of LARGE coon catches aren't in the winter!

There is a guy in SD that takes a large number of coon each fall with DP's with less time and hassle than other methods the reason he switched to a very high % of DP's to begin with, what he can get set in a day is 2-3 times that of other traps just sayin.

[thebeav2]

lets just face the facts. You mix with fish oil because your cheap. LOL
I used Lennons rat lure along with a piece of apple or carrot for bait this spring On my rat stools. Caught a lot of coon that swam out 20 to 30 feet to get to that combo. I would smear Lennons rat lure on the wood 1x2 stake. After a few trap checks the rats would just about have the wood stake chewed off.

I still believe In a strong bait at a set I believe that you need to have a something visual at the set to make that coon commit. And no matter what time of year your trapping you NEED TO BE ON LOCATION no matter what type of bait/lure combo you use your not going to draw any animal very far off It's Intended route.
Getting back to the mixing of any other ingredient with your lure. In doing so your actually cutting down on your lures strength. Thus cutting down on your carrying capacity.

Here's a tip for all of you liquid lure users. Get yourself one of those small hand held oil cans with the squeeze type handles. Makes a perfect lure dispenser. And the long nozzle delivers the lure to a exact point with no muss or fuss.

Your lure or bait Is only as good as your LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION there Is no silver bullet In a bottle.

[trappnman]

beav- with fish oil I can put a couple of ozs in the set, giving me the surface area I want.

why waste lure and money, by doing the same with pure lure?

while there is no silver bullet, there certainly ARE things that work better than others.

[blackhammer]

IMO nothing works better will dps than fresh fish.Speaking of Lenon's rats lure I have at times used some close to the set like a call lure for canines when dp coon trapping.Especially if for some reason the location was a little iffy as far as it being exactly on the coon.I will also sometimes chum of more accurately I don't mind if I have a little ground up fish laying on the ground for the coon to eat it sure isn't going to fill that coon up or satisfy his curiosity but just make it want more.Like me with a potato chip.

[thebeav2]

That may be so.
I did a small test when rat trapping this spring here's how It went.

1= Straight lure on the stool stake. some success

2= Lure + apple or carrot for bait. Better success.

3= used a small 2" section of 3/4" WHITE pvc on the bait wire. Lennons rat lure on cotton stuffed In the pipe. Better success then the lure and bait combo on the stake. And less stolen bait. I figured it was the visual effect of the white Pvc. The rats actually dug the cotton out of the pipe and had the wire pulled down Into the water they worked It so hard.

The point being I think you need a visual to keep the critter working the set. Why not tip the scales In your favor buy using multiple attractions.

And any one telling me that rat lure doesn't work has never trapped many rats In the spring.

[trappnman]

not sure how rats are your major discussion point on a coon thread, but ok

no, I've never trapped spring rats- but have trapped them fall and winter for 50 plus years- and find lure to be of absolute zero value over not using lure.

so compare apples with apples.......

as far as white vs black- one can speculate, or one can know

[blackhammer]

Visual on coon dps I'm not sure about.Painted a few white so thieves could find them once and the coon wear the paint off anyhow.I believe new dps and the shiny metal does attract coon but it's mostly location and bait odor. On rats I think color indicates food to a rat while to coon the color is a point of interest.