Cold Trailing

[david]

Thank you Dewey for sharing your strategies and methods. I probably wouldn't if I was making part of my living bobcat hunting. To me it is amazing that you do. I remember being with you when we found a scrape and droppings of a big tom bobcat, and I know you were back there every day till you hit his track and got him.

I probably will never be in a position to collect hides, but I was a fur taker since very young and it is still a part of my dreams. So I will probably never get to use your fur harvest strategies, but thanks for giving some more fuel for dreaming. Bless you for your generosity. It is Easter today, so I am especially thankful for those who give even when...

[david]

Can dogs have anything to do with cat population?

Did you want that on this thread?

I can really only give an opinion:

I have always believed that in small pockets of cats, hunting and trapping can have a tremendous impact on cats; both positive or negative depending on strategy. Scientific studies say the further north, the larger their core exclusive territory. And in areas where they do not have endless habitat to filter out to roaded areas: one fur taker can have a noticeable impact and if he is not smart about it he will be out of cats in three years.

But the biggest problem is lack of habitat. They need food, features and growth that favors their hunting style, safe travel and safe lodging. These are why you have a hunt-able population there, and I don't here; and that has nothing to do with dogs.

[al baldwin]

Dewey your memory or my memory is bad? The buddy hound had days when he was very good, like the day he dumped your dogs and caught the cat. Remember that? Then he had days when a cat would run numerous tight circles that he looked bad. All dogs have something about them that is not desired in my experience. Yes I know how to locate where a tom is using by the scratch post. I suppose one thing that makes we question some of your post is how you like to tell others how they need to change to your way of breeding dogs. Then you say it takes a pack of dogs to make a complete cat dog. Not everyone wants to keep 8 to 14 dogs. You have in the past stated you catch more cats than others because your dogs cold trail superior. Now that you are questioned on that cold trailing ability, you only had one long trail job all winter. I am not the only one to ever disagree with you. Driving hundreds of miles to find toms is not something the average hunter has the time or desire to do. If you are teaching a young hunter how to be the next authority on bobcat hunting, kodos to you. Al

[mark]

David, my mind wanders. Dan Edwards posted recently somewhere that he had a dog that didnt do much cold trailing "he just goes to where they live and jumps em" i know he was talking coyotes but it is the same for cats. I know at times in my life it has been tough to find cats and and then a dog comes along that just finds em, whether its from the box or on the ground. I think the right dog can eliminate a lot of cold trailing by being able to go to where the cat is not where it has been JMO

[dwalton]

Hunting bobcats with hounds in western Oregon I think will have very little effect on bobcat population. We have very low take going by tooth reports and numbers taken. Far more bobcats were taken in the late '70's and early 80's. We have so much area that is prime habit that is locked off now and roads close on public land. I believe hunting and trapping can affect an area for short time but cats will come in from areas that are not harvested. I think all predators will benefit from some harvest to open up territories for next year young. There has been some good studies on coyotes showing that in heavy harvested areas the surviving coyotes produce larger litters with a higher survival rate of young because of a better food supply. Habitat as David said is the factor that makes the difference. Just my opinion Dewey
Al Buddy never caught a cat let alone in front of my dogs the times that Tim had him. He was out a head on several races over running the track pulling dogs off when he was barking off track running threw the woods. What does each to their own mean to you Al or hunt what you have? Every dog I have has treed their own bobcat but if you have ever hunted with a well balance pack you will see a big difference [just my opinion]. As far as only one long trail job that is correct I don't think we had 2 days in a row that it didn't rain or snow this year, just maybe that had something to do with that if you stop and think. The young guy is a friend of yours also Al that has had 25 years of hound hunting. He has shared with that he never knew where to look or what bobcat scat was, what habitat to hunt in, how to find bobcats and that you could hunt all day hitting bobcats at anytime. He learned that you could catch bobcats in the rain if you just knew where to look. He learned to look at each dog to see if they are helping or hurting you on a bobcat hunt and yes he learned that no dog is perfect but there is truly a big difference in dogs when it comes to bobcat hunting. You know what I have a idea he will be a top bobcat hunter with tops dogs. He just has one big thing that I don't have he knows to keep his mouth shut. Happy hunting Al Dewey

[david]

David, my mind wanders. Dan Edwards posted recently somewhere that he had a dog that didnt do much cold trailing "he just goes to where they live and jumps em" i know he was talking coyotes but it is the same for cats. I know at times in my life it has been tough to find cats and and then a dog comes along that just finds em, whether its from the box or on the ground. I think the right dog can eliminate a lot of cold trailing by being able to go to where the cat is not where it has been JMO

Mark I am totally with you and Dan Edwards on that. I did not experience that type dog till too late to really do much about it. But I saw it in a big way and it is really the only thing that sets me on fire any more. I call it locating ability. It's a dog that locates game wherever it is and whatever it is doing; and the scent trail is only one of his many tools for doing it. Some of his tools I can't even identify except maybe "extra sensory perception" E.S.P.

In my opinion, a young dog that swings and looks like an idiot to many hunters, has an outside chance at developing into that if he is extra smart and learns from each mistake. A track for track reliable track dog has no chance of it as far as I have seen. But I hope I can always find one of those great track dogs.

I absolutely love and appreciate a faultless cold tracker who makes all the corners, as Dewey says. And I absolutely need one in the frozen North. But that is just business as usual. If this was a business, that is probably what I would want and need for flawless consistency.

But it is not what excites me and makes me laugh and smile and scratch my head and ponder certain events for years and years. It pretty much ruined me as a bobcat hunter because I really could care less about catching a bobcat, I am mining for my next super dog extra sensory locating adventure so I have plenty to ponder when I can no longer walk.

Dan Edwards knows that about me and that is why I laughed so hard when I saw him teasing me with those two pups he's got now.

[david]

have a idea he will be a top bobcat hunter with tops dogs. He just has one big thing that I don't have he knows to keep his mouth shut. Happy hunting Al Dewey

Well, I for one am very happy that is one big thing you do not have. I would be a poorer man if you did.



I am glad Al doesn't have it either.

Things would get pretty boring around here if you guys were not courting.

[david]

...and we would have a lot less information about bobcat hunting.

[mondomuttruner]

Mark, a lot would depend on how many cats you have in the area. With a cat living behind every tree like you guys have(lol), how many fresher cats are going to cross that 12 hour old track? I've seen 12 hour old cats around here travel 5 to 10 miles (according to gps on the dog). Now, if the dogs jump the cat in a mile or two, who's to say they didn't take a fresher track somewhere along the line? Variables are endless.
With snow, you can generally tell if it's the same size cat you started on but without, how would you know? Sure, you can tell by the sound of the dogs but a cat could have bedded several times in that 12 hours so you wouldn't know if they switched tracks or that track got fresher from a secondary bed. Again, variable are endless.

[mark]

The point i was getting at is i have heard so many times from people "the cat population is down" but there are other guys catching the shit out of em in the same areas. Are there dogs that find cats where other dogs cant? Are there hunters that can find cats where other hunters cant? From my limited experience i have found that not all dogs and hunters are created equal. If they were there wouldnt be anything left to run.

[merlo_105]

David, I like a dog you describe I like to call them head hunters always seem to get a clean jump always seem to find a cat. I like my pack 50/50 with them swingers and them trailers. Have had good luck. Mark, I know exactly what your talking about I hear about it everyday. But I'll go behind those people and start a track right behind them. So I think it's like you stated not all are created equal. This winter I was told there was a track at so and so creek they couldn't get it off the road, by the time I hunted my way around there it was a little over 5 hours from when they were dinking with it, Dog's struck it trailed maybe a mile and had it jumped. So was it the conditions changed some how where my dogs were able to trail it. Or is it the difference in dogs? Who knows.....

[al baldwin]

Amnesia - loss of a large block of interrelated memories. Bad stuff

[merlo_105]

Amnesia - loss of a large block of interrelated memories. Bad stuff

Hahaha, So Al, Can I claim Amnesia when my dogs don't catch?

[dwalton]

Al if you are like me I bet you had to look that one up. Thanks for sharing. Dewey

[dwalton]

Mark you answered your own question and I think you are right on. Let me know if you find a place with a cat behind ever tree. I hunt all day to hit one or two cats a day. They must be all hot because I catch most of them. Mark I got a cat I would like to see you run. It is the only bobcat that I jumped last winter that handed it to me and my dogs in style two days in a row. Toms going to give him a try maybe you could too. Good hunting stop in sometime. Dewey