Bobcat hunting Questions??

[Derek m]

Just a few Questions? for you pro cat hunters??
I,m new to cat hunting but Im likeing it!!!
I know day hunts are better but i work , so what would be better to jump a cat at night and, wate till morning to cut the hounds or, cut the hounds at nite and run till morning?

Will bobcats cross water(biger then they can jump)?
or dont they mind getting wet?

Would a dog coming into a tree late(a few min.) make the cat jump? Also baying in some rocks??

Went on my first cat hunt friday nite jumped a cat at midnight, treed twice and bayed up once then that cat went on a run, and the dogs ended up 30 min behind, dident help being 3am ,10 degrees or less and snowing at that point!!

thank you for any help!!
Derek

[Tim Pittman]

I'm no pro or will I claim to be.But I'm full of opions and Ideas.Where ya located?And when the word jumped is used I get the idea you mean cut a track?
Tim

[david]

if you treed him twice and bayed him once on your first bobcat hunt, you are doing mighty good. Just hunt when ever you can, day or night if it is legal there. Just get your dogs on as many bobcat tracks as you can, as often as you can.

I am not sure what you mean about a dog coming in to a tree late. Do you mean there is already a dog treeing, and then another dog came in to the tree, and at that point the cat bailed out so the race continued on? If that is the case, it is hard for me to comment, as I have not had cats bail very much. I think it is a regional difference. If I heard that happen, I would be searching my memory to see if the first dog had ever false treed on me. If it had, I might be thinking the second one came in there and showed the first one where the track had gone so they could continue on as they should. It is very hard to judge without hearing the race myself and without knowing the style, strengths and weaknesses of the dogs involved.

My experience with a second dog joining in on a bay-up is that it makes things more solid if the dogs click together at all.

As far as water goes. Our water is very hard durring cat season, and streams are highways for all kinds of game including bobcats. But hopefully Mr Clay and others will have some comments on the water cats.

I'll make a suggestion for you on getting help If you ask for pros to comment, you probably will not get too many responses since me and Tim are the only pros on here. (Actually I dont know how I could be a pro since my real name is Hanah and I have never been bobcat hunting a day in my life. Amazing how much I have learned from you all.)

[Derek m]

I am in PA not the best place to hunt cats but they are hear.

We cut the track and walked it and found a fresh bed at the base of a pine, and running track going in to a clearcut, that is what i mean (jumped) it out of its bed.

As far as the late comer, hear is what happend twice, my dog Gee treed and about three- five min latter my buddys dog came in but dident even get to the tree and the cat jumped, 50 yards or so, i watched it all on my garmen, once the other dog got to that spot she located a cupple of times and then fallowed up to Gee. As far as the bay, Gee had blood on him(iced up on tracking collar) but he had no cuts or any thing, none of the dogs did?? After the bay, is where the water Q? comes in, it went across and up the mountain side this is where they made a big loss and took 30 min to get it lined out.

[BuckNAze]

Well my dog had blood all over her collar and leg last night, pretty sure they didnt bay the bobcat I had, your dog probably just got cut by a log or stick while running at night. They very well could of bayed it up, not saying they didnt but that could of have happened as well, I know it happens to my dogs during the day just bear hunting.

[Dads dogboy]

Derek m,

We get lots of bloody collars and it most often comes from frayed ears.

As to water, here in the Southeast, if you pressure a Cat at all, to the water he will go. If you have Hounds enough, and I mean quality not quantity, they can put enough heat on it to make the Cat leave the water. Some will then go back to it several times.

Dad has seen a Cat go to a deep creek and get in the middle of it with just its nose sticking above the water. He will stay that way untill a Hound literally swims by and touches it, then the Cat will come up spitting and fighting, this is usually the end of the Race.

Hope this Helps! Merry Christmas and welcome to the Brotherhood!

C. John Clay

[david]

my dog Gee treed and about three- five min latter my buddys dog came in but dident even get to the tree and the cat jumped, 50 yards or so, .

Derek, I dont have the bailing out experiences to draw from much, But I can offer a possiblity from observing many bayed bobcats. A bayed bobcat is searching every second for a chance to slip away. He cant do it nearly so easy if there is a dog making eye contact with him. And the dog making eye contact with him is equally waiting for the cat to turn his eyes elsewhere so the dog can strike and hopefully get hold of the cat. The cat knows better than to look away. If the dog gets distracted for one second, the cat is either gone, or the dog is wearing a bobcat hat. Usually, the cat will be gone, and the dogs will get frantic trying to find him. I think here is where it would be easier for one dog to find him than for more than one, because the dogs distract each other and the confusion allows the cat more time and space. Day light helps. But It does not always help all that much. They can be like trying to hold a handfull of smoke.

In an area where bobcats tree, but do not at all feel secure and safe in the tree, I would imagine it would be almost the same as a bayed cat. He will leave as soon as he thinks he can do it without being seen. If your dog turns his head or maybe even comes out to greet the incoming dog, that would be the perfect moment the cat has been waiting for. He may even do it when he knows he will be seen, but he needs those eyes to turn away so that he is not jumping into a set of canine teeth.

If you have identified the one dog that seems to be getting the cat treed, and your main goal is to harvest a bobcat, I would try using only that one dog. Stay as close to him as possible, and then stalk the tree like you were stalking a trophy buck.

If your goal is to get out, have some fun with all your dogs and get them cat minded and learning, just keep doing what you are doing. Things will fall together eventually. You are off to a great start.

[Hoff's BigGameHounds]

Ive been tempted to hunt some new country (my work ) cant kill but we have alot of bobs but its right on a river... have any of you guys seen/heard one cross a good size river?

[Dads dogboy]

Dad has seen pressured Cat cross the Brazos, Quachita, Trinity, and the Atchafalia (sp) Rivers.

The Brazos was a Hundred yards or so wide. The Quachita twice that, the Trinity maybe not quite a hundred. But the Atchafalia (sp) at Melville, LA. is BIG. Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile wide. The Cat hit these Rivers and swam them like Mark Spitts.

Bobcats have no fear of water and when pressured like to use it!

CJC

[CasB]

Derek,
Where in PA are you located?

[Derek m]

Thank you guys for your insights and tips. I like the eye though, makes sense to me!! I'll keep you all posted on how I make out on my next run. I am hopefully going out on Christmas night, going to try and hunt my G dog all by himself.

Im glad to be part of the brotherhood of houndsmen, i got hooked when i was 8 and been traing my own dogs from puppys for 12 years now, and love all of it!!!!

I'm south of Erie Pa 40 mile or so.

thanks again and merry cristmas
.

[CasB]

Derek,
I read on one of these sites to not be too quick to go into the tree when you have a cat up. I think the post said something about waiting 45 minutes ?? Allow the cat to cool down and tighten up...less likely to bail on you when you walk in. Might be worth a try. Maybe someone else can comment on this notion.

[BuckNAze]

Well if you do hold up and wait that could work on your younger dogs treeing ability as well. Let them stay in there awhile and tree, do some training!

[Derek m]

Well the weather didn't cooperate, it warmed up into the 40's and rained. Most of the snow melted, so I couldn't do much tracking. But did tree 3 coon, always some kind of critter to chase with the hounds.

[pete richardson]

cats may swim when its very cold if pushed-
-sorta rare -

they just love to walk on the thinnest ice-
they walk on ice all the time to avoid walking in snow -

if waters open , dont worry about it-- if its iced over, but not safe for dog .try to avoid it