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Recently dumped out on what was a good visible Bobcat track, snow was starting to melt, but my lead dog had a hard time picking up the scent and could not run the track, does moisture affect the scent in the track

From what i have experienced when the snow or frost melts off the scent will go with it.

Thanx for the info Zeek

No different then the sun burning off the scent in your neck of the woods, ice and snow under the right conditions can disperse the scent to the point a hound can not move it.
Melt out here is the worst conditions usually during poor snow years in December and March, when we get a fresh inch over night and then it warms up to 35-40 the next day and then re-freezes that next night good luck. You better find that track the first morning not the 2nd.

It would be fair to say that if the hound dont strike the track, dont try running the track.

RUFUS wrote:It would be fair to say that if the hound dont strike the track, dont try running the track.

Not to argue but this is not always true it depends on area and conditions. I hunt 95% snow and in this are I can just about say if you waited for your dog to strike you would never run a track. For some reason (dry, cold conditions) scent is just not strong enough for dog to strike, like i said in most cases. A cold trail dog is a must in this area and alot of the tracks I turn out on being bobcat or lion it takes the dog sometime to worm the track up before they really start to move on it. Conditions are a factor no doubt about it.

A cold trail dog is a must in this area and alot of the tracks I turn out on being bobcat or lion it takes the dog sometime to worm the track up before they really start to move on it. Conditions are a factor no doubt about it.

I agree with that. We have cut hounds loose many times without hearing a peep for several minutes. We usually cut one or two veteran hound loose and then wait till it opens and lines it out then filter in the others. We generally never cut more then 4.

I have had lions cross behind me as I went up a canyon, then see their tracks on top of my snowmachine tracks as I come out. Put the dogs on it and they acted like it was days old. I had to keep pushing them on the track until they finally got it jumped. For whatever reason the track just didn't hold much scent or something, but couldn't have been half hour old. If the dog don't like it and you know its fresh, keep pushing them on it.

I have dealt with the the occasional cougar track on snowmobile track and I believe the exhaust of the snowmobile has alot to do with the hounds trouble moving it initially.
All snow mobiles exhaust blow straight down out of the belly pan right to the ground. I have no proof of this but its my theory and sounds good anyway

It can really be a mess in our country because the temp. with the high elev, and very clear air climbs rapidly when the sun comes out. I started a tom this morning on a little snow with a little sleet in it. H e was really traveling and scraping some . We put 3 experienced dogs on it, and it was slow going at first but steady, and the miles began to go by. 2 miles three miles 5 miles and still going the dogs warming it up a bit and the sky still cloudly. We are cutting roads cutting around to them. Now it's as good as caught we thought. Nip and Blue were right on it, and really making time, it can't go much further and it will lay up or make a kill. Wrong! Still going several nore miles now we are wondering what got into this cat but he starts making some loop to loops and cut backs so we figure he is about done. Nope, and now the sun comes out big time. It was 19 degrees when we started and now it is 41 and melting big time and the skiff snow is going going gone, the slopes are bare and the dogs are down to a snail's pace . Yep when it lifts off the frost or the top of it, boom it's adios aqnd El Gato thumbs his nose and goes over the next ridge. LOL!

great story Mike.......

Yip Mike I agree. We trailed a female lion last Saturday for 3 miles . We started on a half inch if snow, the sun came out and took the track away.
Start one Tuesday on the bare dirt, trail for 6 hrs and put her in a tree.Would rather work the dirt than melting snow.

Mike and Tom vary interesting I never gave that much thought before you wrote about it here, that explains some things that I have had problems with in the past, I believe, with those kind of conditions, which may have been caused by what you just explianed to all here, thank's for sharing, vary interesting reading.

Jeff

Boy I agree on the dirt Tom. Had a big tom today show me just what a lion hunter must be, and I sure wasn't it today. He had been circling this area and I knew he had a kill in there some place. Had one dog pretty well worn down from the day before and a green dog and a big pup and that was it, but I figured this would be a cinch. Well this tom had tracked all over that place and I mena crazy stuff, and then here comes the heat and it hit 53 degrees snow melting, water running dogs trailing about as fast as a snail, and that old tom never left there that I saw. Man some of these days I sure miss old Kate and Booger they usually took these miserable situation and still made it happen. If I would have had some nice level temperature and some dirt to work with that fresh track probably would have took his picture as it was BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME>

It was a pretty day to be out, and when I looked up at those La Plata Mountains shining like the silver they are named for. Made me wonder what the poor folks were doing. LOL!

Howdy Mike, long time no see ! I hear what you say on those old veteran hounds makiing it happen. My hounds were on a bad track once that started at 30* and went to high 50's. Turned into a mud wreck fast. We were so close that the water in the track was still murky. I could see it but they couldn't smell a thing. I kept on showing it to them and saying here it is - here it is, as we walked along. The lead bitch knew I was sight trailing and kept quartering out in front of me checking all the high ground. She would strike now and then, just enough to keep the others going. I'll be damned if we didn't come to a kill, and make a jump. From then on they ran with their heads up. A few minutes later we were treed. Damn glad I was wearing my gators, but irrigation boots would have been better !! The snow is so deep up here I'll bet alot of colorado lions are in New Mexico huh ?