wise ol cats

[robbyson99]

We found I nice track a few mornings back. Probably 30 to 35 lber. Put a dog on it about an hour before daylight. We followed it to a brook. Crossed the brook and hit some railroad tracks. Then the track went into another road. Simple enough right? Well we looked for the damn track for an hour. Drove up and down the road. Checked both sides and found nothing. Finally we walked the opposite side of the road down the railroad tracks. Found the track 25 yards down the tracks. The cat had walked the rail 25 yards and then hoped in from there. I truley understand why it takes a good dog to consistently catch cats. We tried to run it from there but the cat walked the brook. On the ice from what I could tell. My dog couldn't smell anything on the ice. He would find the track for 10 or 15 yards off the ice. Open up and then hit the ice again and loose it. I'm sure with a little more searching we would have found where the cat left the brook but I pulled off and headed for the truck. Lesson learned. I have much more respect for the bobcats we run!

[BuckNAze]

Damn right they are tricky. My dog was working one the other day that we started and was a little melted out. Well it started to warm up on the ridge and I was following her watching her and taking some film. Well I had to leave her around 4 because it was going to get dark and I needed to get back to the rig to get a light. Never sure what happened but she was picking up the track in places that I thought the cat wouldnt go. He would walk on some slash piles where I couldnt figure out where he went, on logs for aways, underneath trees where there wasnt snow sometimes. They love to walk on logs (railroad tracks), anything that they can walk on top of they seem to like. Sounds like an ol timer bob cat that knows what he's doing! Keep trying for him

[robbyson99]

Yes I intend on finding him again. He's a good cat. I learn more about these critters every time I go out. Guess that's why this sports so addicting

[david]

One thing that took me a while to figure out, but I am pretty certain of it now: Bobcats do not like snow! They will avoid it whenever they can. I have seen things like you describe too much to beleive otherwise. I have seen where tiny rock tips are melting out of the snow, and the cat track just disapears into thin air appearantly, because he is stretching out to step on those rock tips.

When the snow gets deep in some areas the cats will not even move until the deer and rabbits have broke trail for them. Then it still can seem like the cats are laying low, because it is very hard to see their tracks inside deer tracks and on packed rabbit trails. This is not a magic formula, but I have found many bobcat tracks inside deer tracks and faintly visible on hard packed rabbit trails through the years.

[robbyson99]

Yes it seems the cats here in maine will hang tight to the deer yards by february. We have over a foot of snow now. Railroad tracks are out of the question!

[david]

I thought of another thing I might mention in case it helps someone some day. I have hunted with some guys that consider them selves expert trackers, almost as good as me but we all miss these. I know we do because I have been staying with the dogs on a track and they cold trail it to these points that we had checked earlier and missed:

When a bobcat is staying under the trees where the snow is less, and then needs to cross a plowed or traveled road, he will often jump from under the trees, over the ditch and hit the road or the frozen plowed snow. They hate the deep soft snow in those ditches. And then when they leave the road they will do the same thing. It can make it virtually impossible to find where they left the road.

If you do find where one came into the road but you cant find where he left it, the only thing to do is get into the trees a ways, and walk parallel to the road on both sides till you find it. This can take a couple hours. You have to weigh how hard you think it might be to find a different one. Two hours is not much when you consider how long it can take to find another track in some areas.

Sometimes on bigger roads with huge shoulders and cleared banks they can not make it with one leap, and you will just see one big bobcat sized hole halfway between the trees and the road.

Another thing: when you are driving the road looking for tracks, if you are only looking for tracks that cross the road, you will miss every one of those mentioned above. You will also miss those that come near the road and walk paralell to it for a bit before fading back into the woods. I seriously think they just dont want to fool with the deeper snow of the open road and ditch. This happens fairly often in some areas. As you drive, Look as deep as you can into the woods for tracks and not just for tracks crossing the road. You will definately find tracks you would have otherwise missed. Your buddies will start to wonder if you are part Indian.

[BuckNAze]

What if you are alreday Indian?

[david]

What if you are alreday Indian?

Then me and your buddies start wishing we could have been born with the gift too.

[BuckNAze]

Haha everyones born with it, Im not different. You're probably a better tracker then me. I can track down a McDonalds Double Cheeseburger like no other though!

[BuckNAze]

Went up to where I ran that last bobcat to see if he was still hanging around. Well he is. I was up in the same area where I turned loose on him at and they did some logging in there awhile back and a lot of thinning! Well there are slash piles that are about 10ft tall and 40ft by 20ft up there, perfect cat country. Of course I see where the cat tracks go right up and over these piles. You could imagine what you dog would try to do if this wiley ol cat went up over there and around the other side, he might get stuck awhile long enough for that cat to make it up and over and be gone long enough so that the dog cant even catch up. Smart little sons of guns thats for sure. I saw where the cat had done it on 2 different slash piles. Also that beats walking on the snow as well.

[big bite]

We call that walking the iron. Cats here in Michigan do it regularly.
Regarding getting on the ice on a creek or river, we plan on that one to the point we try to place a poster with shotgun. A nice load of lead cuts down on ice walking. The poster has to be hid, still and quiet or them cats will leave the ice and go around a poster or even just lay up on the edge until dogs go by and then return on his back track. Even to the point of walking step for step in back track.
That is another I have seen lots of times. Them buggers make a loop to shake the dogs and then step for step there back track out of dodge. Again a poster watching the back track cuts down on that problem.
Hunting bobcats here in Michigan's Cedar swamps is the toughest dog hunting I have ever done in regards to consistently being able to kill something.
Big Bite (I love it for all those reasons)
Oh ya, don't forget your snow shoes because it is up to your .......