Here kitty kitty......

[mudmarlin70]

Not sure exactly what to say.. 5+ months of a crash course in critters and traps came to a close yesterday in Pike County Pa

Adam, you kinda lit the spark last year with your pics. The PGC announced it was going to a general season instead of a lottery in the springtime. And I can honestly say the hardest part was getting in the car that first time in May and driving out there and just figuring out where to start. Then I found that first track in the mud and the ball was rolling. Literally countless hours pouring over aerial photos of that area, all immense and all public ground.

The plan for me was (like always) find the food. SO that is what the scouting revolved around, gambling that when the time came, the bigger cats would be there, even if they werent there in the summer. I may stink at scouting critters, but I can scout habitat...and hope LOL!

The cat was hunkered down when I came up on it. I actually gave it some thought to maybe releasing it for it's color compared to the one I caught in November until I saw the size. This cat was a keeper. I figured it had to be a male. I was shocked after dispatching her that it was actually a female. She shows her age in her teeth...one fang is broken and worn smooth. I thought she had a chance at thirty pounds, knowing htat is a huge cat, especially for a female. SHe turns out weighs 34.6 lb.

Redneck, thank you for the help over this past few months...being able to talk to someone who has done that type of trapping back in the day was a huge help. Chris was a huge help too, even though he's not on this board, tine was able to help me out with figuring out what gear would be best for over there and even met up with me up in upstate ny at the NYSTA convention. Kudos to both of you guys..

more pics to follow..but here is one at the catch site. You just cant appreciate her size in this shot though. Fiesty Kitty..

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/Resize_P201210_08_17_021000014.jpg

[stiks]

Awesome congrats:bow: Glad it paid off for you

[ub1243]

a lot of time went into that cat.
and it paid off. :thup:

show some put up pictures would ya. let see the belly.

[hunt4life]

She looks like she wants to give you a kiss Mud.:eek:

[ACEarcher]

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You worked really hard and you deserve it! Great catch MM! Awsome looking cat! Really happy for ya man!:thup::thup::yahooo::cheers:

[philjam]

Awesome cat, awesome photo. Gives me the good kind of shivvers.

[mudmarlin70]

Well, my bad....apparently a tom after all, but the taxidermist thought the same when he first looked at him, so I dont feel too bad, lol. I decided no skinning..having it mounted.

Here's a couple more shots..and thanks everyone for the kind words.

The belly for UB
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/DSC_0094-1.jpg

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/DSC_0104.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/DSC_0119.jpg

what pads..
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/P211210_0838.jpg

[mudmarlin70]

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/Resize_P201210_08_161000015.jpg

[ACEarcher]

SPOTS!!!:D
Very nice Bro!

[Ole 20 Point]

I'm not into the trappin stuff myself but that's a GREAT catch Mud! :thup:

[ub1243]

that is a nice size cat.
nice belly spots. would make a nice collar on a jacket. i'll give ya $15.

what a great story you have on that cat. ton's of hours and hard work into scouting, then you had to release one.
i would also have it mounted for that reason.
great job.
this time, the bow down goes to you.
:bow:

[mshoyt]

Beautiful looking cat. Congrats!!

[ACEarcher]

She have any fleas?

The one I got last year had a fair amount of them. They get em from rabbits a lot.

[ShurShot07]

Congrats :thup:

[mudmarlin70]

She have any fleas?

The one I got last year had a fair amount of them. They get em from rabbits a lot.

Didnt see any on him ace...the grey had a few.

[upbowhunter]

Awesome cat and story Mud! UB1243 and I were talking today what a great story that is, he said you have been working hard for a while for that tom! Pick your taxidermist wisely. great stuff.

[mudmarlin70]

Awesome cat and story Mud! UB1243 and I were talking today what a great story that is, he said you have been working hard for a while for that tom! Pick your taxidermist wisely. great stuff.\

Thank you.. took him to a guy up near Port Jervis. I know he's done quite a few cats. It's tough though. I see alot of bad mounts. Alot of guys screw up the face...I'm hoping it turns out. I almost shipped him up to Michigan I think it was. Saw a few online that were beautiful, but someone highly recommended this guy. I am nervous though.

[upbowhunter]

Yea your northern taxidermists will generally see more cats, but if a guy is good he is good. Dont know the port Jervis guy you talk of, did you see any of his other cats?

[mudmarlin70]

Delaware Hudson Taxidermy is where I went. They only had photos and one other cat still in progress when I was there. There is a photo of one mount on their site.
Another one was dropped off today that went 30 lb.

He said he has either bought/sold or mounted probably close to 500 cats as a fur buyer and taxidermist and has only seen a handful that size..he said it was one of the nicer cats he has seen. I told him to make it that way!

Hey Adam, what do you think...same cat? It was a bit away from where I got the summer shot, but where I would expect him to start nosing around once the ice came. The bigger spots on the fronts seem to match up...If so, that's great, he was my first choice with the one I had on Redneck's lure as my second choice.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/Bobcatspics001.jpg

[ACEarcher]

I was just gonna make that recommendation to you MM. Make sure your taxi has experience in bobcats. I've seen more junk cat mounts than good cat mounts. I heard reasoning because taxis don't get much practice on them and their are sooooo many more facial expressions on a pred than say a deer.

As far a the same cat? lol I could tell ya. I do know that bobcats especially toms have a big home range. Could be? See of the spots line up.

I got a pic message last night from a good friend in Bradford County near Athens. He got a 40lbs tom last night. His place is so loaded with cats I know he's released up to 13 different cats in one trapping season. I think he basicly picked this one out. It's a big cat!

[mudmarlin70]

wow...40 is a huge cat. I know mine is damned big and that has me by about 5 lb. I stopped back up there yesterday to pick up the carcass for next year canine bait and they had a 30lb that came in. They do seem to do some cats, I just worry about the head/face. So many look like their pushing out a watermelon or something..:eek:

I have drawn blanks these last two days, but there are definitely more cats in that area. After I pulled the likely cat sets, I left a couple cubbies still flagged with bait, just no traps. Yesterday a natural cubbie in a log pile had the quail body taken and flagging shredded and today a cubbie I made down in a basin along a beaver pond had the juvenile rooster taken.

[buckhorn69]

congrats! saw my first one in wild walked under my deerstand in ohio. neat animals

[mudmarlin70]

Pulled over there today. It was a race to beat the storm...I was afraid I wouldnt get to sets after this weather.

I'll try for some beaver at some point out there. Finished without another canine, but caught and released the third cat. Smallest of the ones I caught, but pretty all the same. They are neat.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af265/mudmarlin70/P261210_0708.jpg

[Bud8Fan]

Nice!

[paco]

First off congrats, those are some pretty animals. Too bad there not really here in way south jersey, though i did see one once. i do have a question. you mentioned releasing two. how does that work because i doubt you are walking up to a live, unhindered cat. thanks in advance and again good going

[mudmarlin70]

Paco, there's a couple ways. You can use a shield of sorts with a notch in the bottom to pull the foot and trap through and release, or a barrel over the cat with a notch in the bottom to do the same thing if you are near your vehicle. I use a snare pole because of the distance I was from the car.
A cat chokes down really fast and you have to be firm, but kinda gentle too. They start to get really lethargic after only about fifteen seconds. As soon as I sense that is about to happen I drop down onto the pole with my knees and free the trap. I immediately release the snare pole. Only takes about ten seconds to release the trap and pole if you are real deliberate with what you are doing. Both cats popped right up and hunkered down there until I backed out. When I came back a few minutes later they were gone and I was able to remake or pull the trap then.