Cats in thick blow downs?

[wablkandtan]

All the track we have found lately have been in the nastiest crap I've ever seen. Problem is we can't get any jumped. Trailed one for 3.5 hrs on Sunday and the snow warmed and melted out and they lost it. Any advice at catchin em in the thick sticks?

[jones32]

I would try and stay away from that nasty blowdown, if you can. I got some areas I won't even go to because of that crap, and I can find them in better areas. I think once those cats start walkin logs, jumpin to other logs a what not it would take a damn good dog to get one. If that blowdown is the kind I'm thinking about I would have to see a dog catch one to beilieve they even could. I would say those cats are pretty safe in them areas unless someone puts some steel down. That's what I think anyway, but I'm far from being an expert, I think it's hard enough to catch in easy terrain, why stack the odds agaisnt yourself even higher. Where are you hunting?

[CatCrazed]

All the cats where I hunt walk the logs. And I've had some hung tracks because of it. Finally got one jumped and he went to the rock slide. So I'm interested in the responses to

[coastrangecathunting]

alot of places i hunt are windfalls and bluffs. where they slash is one of the worst. it takes real catdogs to catch cats in those places . the more u hunt in spots like that the better your dogs will get . i say dont stay away from them look forward to hunting them. when u do run a cat and they dont have the hard stuff to trick the dogs u will catch everytime. keep hunting those tough spot it will pay off. the dogs will learn to run logs and go around a tough spot

jc

[wablkandtan]

Menand my brother in law are new to bobcat hunting. Well kind of we used my old coon hounds to try and catch some and in 4 yrs we caught 1. So out with the old and in with the new and on to new game. We hunting in Oregon south of hoodriver. Didn't see any of you guys out just very nice elk hunters telling us were the cat tracks were. So I told them were the bulls were. Well non of us had any luck. I think the cat walked on logs only and only hit the ground when he had too. Next time I go in there it's gonna be with a chain saw and I'll cut my way to them. I couldn't get any of you guys to go. Seems no one will hunt with out of staters. Well I found cats lots of bobcats and saw one nice lion track. Snow was good both days till it warmed then went to crap. Headed back down dec 3 if anyone want to go.

[Warner5]

If you have fully open dogs mixed with semi-silent one's, Try leaving the fully open dogs out of the race next time. Just to see what happens. Good luck. John.

[CatCrazed]

Menand my brother in law are new to bobcat hunting. Well kind of we used my old coon hounds to try and catch some and in 4 yrs we caught 1. So out with the old and in with the new and on to new game. We hunting in Oregon south of hoodriver. Didn't see any of you guys out just very nice elk hunters telling us were the cat tracks were. So I told them were the bulls were. Well non of us had any luck. I think the cat walked on logs only and only hit the ground when he had too. Next time I go in there it's gonna be with a chain saw and I'll cut my way to them. I couldn't get any of you guys to go. Seems no one will hunt with out of staters. Well I found cats lots of bobcats and saw one nice lion track. Snow was good both days till it warmed then went to crap. Headed back down dec 3 if anyone want to go.

It nothing personal but fur prices were high nobody wants to give up there spots. Plus there is the whole do ur dogs have bad habits. I couldn't even get somebody to let me go on a coon hunt. I'm sure ill see ya I run that area sometimes. Good luck.

[jones32]

That is a good point coastrangecathunting, I would rather hunt in areas that give the dogs a better chance at gettin the cat, but if the only track I found was in some of that nasty stuff I'd sure as hell put down on it. I guess the dogs can't learn to catch one in that stuff if they never hunt in it, but mine are still learnin to get one in the "easy areas" lol

[Marshall]

A week or so ago i was hunting up high and found one of the largest bobcat tracks i have ever come across. They trailed for awhile and then got hung up for a bit so a buddy and i decided to head into them. We fought through the nastiest manzanita you could imagine and then right after that it was blow down like crazy and the cat was walking log to log. The dogs were having a tough time but you could tell they were starting to put it all together and soon they were walking down logs and they got it lined out of there (This is where i agree with jc that after they get that blow down stuff figured out and when they come to the easy places they can flat move). After they got it out of that blow down they screamed that sucker for about 1,000yds and within 30 seconds we couldnt even hear them anymore. So we are heading toward the dogs and the cat doubles back into that mess and its back to a snails pace. We were soaked from our heads to our toes and 3 miles away from where we had started the hike into the dogs so we decided to throw in the towl and call the dogs off for the day. After that i was telling my father inlaw later that day that i would never go back to that place again but he just smiled and laughed and said.........yeah you will........ A few days later i found myself back in that same area that i now call the "Devils Playground" (I have never claimed to be smart). I like a good screaming race but i also love to see what my dogs can do and how they progress, so naturally i will be back to that place again to see what kind of strides we can make in the next round and like i stated before, I agree with jc on this deal and it damn sure aint hurtin my dogs to be pushed in their progressions.....It just hurts me . So i say keep em poundin in those areas because i believe that if and when that cat decides to leave that mess you will have the experience and dog preasure to finially put him up. Good luck!

Marshall

[northwesthoundmen]

wablackantan, try hunting up in dufur south of the dalles,its worked well for me in the past,but there is alot of bears in that area also

[wablkandtan]

Ya we hunted up there this last Sunday. Found a few tracks and ran the he'll out of one. Dogs don't like bears so were ok. Good looking area still learning it. There was some over guy out and about but could never catch up to him to bs with him. Thanks for the help.

[david]

alot of places i hunt are windfalls and bluffs. where they slash is one of the worst. it takes real catdogs to catch cats in those places . the more u hunt in spots like that the better your dogs will get . i say dont stay away from them look forward to hunting them. when u do run a cat and they dont have the hard stuff to trick the dogs u will catch everytime. keep hunting those tough spot it will pay off. the dogs will learn to run logs and go around a tough spot jc

I enjoyed this thread, and I really like this response. It brings back a lot of memories. When I was trying to get started at this in the early eighties I was desperate for some help, just as some of you feel now. The only people that would take me with them were bear hunters. It was impossible to find anyone in my area that was a straight bobcat hunter that would have anything to do with me. I understand why now, but it was hard to understand back then.

I finally squeezed a little advice from a government hunter. He told me a spot to hunt where I would certainly find bobcat tracks. He said I would never catch one there, and that I would have the area all to myself because the experienced bobcat hunters avoided that place. He was telling the truth. I had it all to myself, and I could not catch one there, and I always had one going within about a half hour of starting to road my dogs. My dogs got hundreds of hours of practice there among those rocks where the best dogs in the area could never catch a bobcat. One snowy morning though, guess what, they treed a bobcat in there just 150 yards before he could make it to the rocks. It is still one of my favorite memories. I don't even have a photograph of that day, but that memory may be my best trophy yet.

"the more u hunt in spots like that the better your dogs will get . i say dont stay away from them look forward to hunting them." -jc