First Bobcat !

[Smokey]

IL just opened its first bobcat season and lucky me I caught a big male right in front of a trail camera! Had two coyotes come in during night and pester the cat but did not attack it?



Momma wants a full mount done! OK by me...

 

[Bushwhack Jack]

IL just opened its first bobcat season and lucky me I caught a big male right in front of a trail camera! Had two coyotes come in during night and pester the cat but did not attack it?

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Momma wants a full mount done! OK by me...

That's awesome! Way to go! I've never seen one up close. That cat is a lot darker than I would have pictured it to be. Cool picture on the trail cam too! Did you catch it in a dirt hole set like you would typically catch a coyote in?

 

[Smokey]

Yes sir, it was a dirt hole set.

 

[Brian M]

That is so excellent! So this is the first season you've been allowed to keep them, but have you ever caught one before? If so, then you had to release it?! Must have been a crazy experience.... And if this is your first, you didn't do anything different than your normal coyote sets? Sheesh...what an awesome series of events to have that end up in your trap. Would love to hear more!

 

[Bushwhack Jack]

Got any close up pictures of that cat before you skinned it out? I would love to see them. Hey smokey have you ever heard of those bobcats interbreeding with ordinary barn cats? My wife's grandpa owned a large farm in Oklahoma before he died and he always had wild, feral cats living in his barns. He claimed that one time one of his female barn cats had a litter of kittens that had really short bobbed tails and they all looked like little bobcats. Do you know if this is possible? That would be pretty cool.

 

[Smokey]

Well Brian and Bushwack there is a story for sure on this! I wanted to be clear on the laws before I dispatched the kitty - at first it seemed all I had to do was buy a $5.00 pelt permit within 48 hours of the kill - peachy. But, thankfully I contacted a retired CPO and he said no I had to have been one of the lucky 500 draw permit holders first - Grrrr And to make matters worse these permits were only $5 and a large PETA group that had fought this new season in IL had hundreds of members apply for these coveted permits thus few actually reached the sportsman's hands that deserved them. What the hell good is a season if the participants can't access the permits! What BS!!!!!!
So I had to get a 3 foot piece of 1 1/2 in pvc tubing, run a doubled up piece of wire down it to make a loop and then open the MB550 trap with my feet while this mad SOB was tearing at my leg with its paw and bit through my boot once when I lost my balance and let it get too close... He was not hurt foot wise and ran off just fine, but I will never do that again. My dogs sat in my truck watching and trying to get out to help, but had ringside seats to quite a dance! I had taken my trail cam down so missed a great chance to see that clown act!
What really burns me is someone could easily get bit - then you are looking at rabies shots - infections etc - this is a ridiculous law and probably ruined my once in a lifetime chance at a beautiful mount... Not to mention saving a lot of my local deer in the future...
Anyway I got some cool pics!

 

[Smokey]

Caught a really big male coyote the next day in a set that was about 10 feet from the cat trap - is it the one in the pic with the cat - Maybe?

 

[Brian M]

Ugh...that's terrible to hear! What an amazing experience, but what an absolute shame that the system was gamed like that. I am so sorry to hear that you had to turn that fine cat loose.

I know it's not likely, but I sure wish you luck in the future in getting one of the tags and finding another cat. Either that, or get your tail up here and we'll go find you a lynx instead!

 

[Smokey]

Ugh...that's terrible to hear! What an amazing experience, but what an absolute shame that the system was gamed like that. I am so sorry to hear that you had to turn that fine cat loose.

I know it's not likely, but I sure wish you luck in the future in getting one of the tags and finding another cat. Either that, or get your tail up here and we'll go find you a lynx instead!

Oh Man a Lynx would be a dream for sure - I don't know if this old body will be able but in 2 yrs I plan to retire and if possible a trip to AK for a few weeks is in the bucket list! There are a few of you chaps I would love to meet and I could see trying to get a lynx either by trap or gun for sure!

 

[Bushwhack Jack]

Well Brian and Bushwack there is a story for sure on this! I wanted to be clear on the laws before I dispatched the kitty - at first it seemed all I had to do was buy a $5.00 pelt permit within 48 hours of the kill - peachy. But, thankfully I contacted a retired CPO and he said no I had to have been one of the lucky 500 draw permit holders first - Grrrr And to make matters worse these permits were only $5 and a large PETA group that had fought this new season in IL had hundreds of members apply for these coveted permits thus few actually reached the sportsman's hands that deserved them. What the hell good is a season if the participants can't access the permits! What BS!!!!!!
So I had to get a 3 foot piece of 1 1/2 in pvc tubing, run a doubled up piece of wire down it to make a loop and then open the MB550 trap with my feet while this mad SOB was tearing at my leg with its paw and bit through my boot once when I lost my balance and let it get too close... He was not hurt foot wise and ran off just fine, but I will never do that again. My dogs sat in my truck watching and trying to get out to help, but had ringside seats to quite a dance! I had taken my trail cam down so missed a great chance to see that clown act!
What really burns me is someone could easily get bit - then you are looking at rabies shots - infections etc - this is a ridiculous law and probably ruined my once in a lifetime chance at a beautiful mount... Not to mention saving a lot of my local deer in the future...
Anyway I got some cool pics!

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Man that sucks! I can't believe the PETA people actually could do that! The Fish and Game in Illinois need to do something about the law to change that! What a crazy experience you had releasing that cat! Reminds me of a video I saw on the news yesterday about a rabid bobcat in Florida. Check it out.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/01/04/rabid-bobcat-attacks-wildlife-officer.html

Did you get bit or scratched? If so, maybe you should get it looked at to be sure you didn't get rabies.

 

[Smokey]

No skin contact but got a bite through my knee high boots. I can't imagine a youth trying to let one go, this is a dangerous law in my mind... I feel sorry for the cat but not enough to risk major health issues...

Looks like that CPO will be getting rabies shots - ouch!

 

[SmokeRoss]

Man that sucks! I can't believe the PETA people actually could do that! The Fish and Game in Illinois need to do something about the law to change that! What a crazy experience you had releasing that cat! Reminds me of a video I saw on the news yesterday about a rabid bobcat in Florida. Check it out.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/01/04/rabid-bobcat-attacks-wildlife-officer.html

Did you get bit or scratched? If so, maybe you should get it looked at to be sure you didn't get rabies.

This is why we have to buy a license before applying for permit hunts. There was a time the anti hunting groups put in for permits in Alaska to keep hunters from drawing the tag.

 

[Bushwhack Jack]

Smokey, not sure how much influence hunters and trappers have in Illinois in changing the game laws, but perhaps there is a legal process where you could get some hunters to contact fish and game, or your local representatives and try to make some minor changes to the game laws. An idea might be to start some type of registration permit instead of a drawing permit for bobcat. That way, anyone who wants a tag can get one, but there will be a set quota and it will be mandatory to report a harvest within a reasonable set time. That would prohibit the antis from consuming all of the permits. Just an idea for you. There might be some other solutions, but that was just something that came to mind. Good luck.

 

[Smokey]

There have been several complaints including mine registered with the dept, unfortunately they are not the law makers but they do influence it heavily.. We have a otter program that works well, limit is five and you buy a cites permit AFTER you take one. As trappers know its pretty hard to isolate one species when you trap.
Smokeross, that's fine to force a hunting license purchase first, but if the antis pockets are deep enough that's not much of a deterrent. I imagine this process will go through many changes before its through...

 

[Arrowchaser]

Nice cat. I have put game cameras over deer that were put down by the local police after car accidents.
The bobcats always seem to come in first and then coyotes or bears.