commercial marten lure is way to expensive and it's so easy to make, the only ingredient I buy is pure skunk quill and 1 oz. will make alot of lure, all other ingredients are free. I know some longliners who swear by cheap perfume which they get for free. over the summer they collect bottles of cheap perfume and dump them in one spray bottle and thats all they use, never tried it but they swear by it............

Amen Northway and white17. I am sold with the squirt bottles. Any pointers on a good mixture for the Cold Weather- Yellow squeeze Bottle Marten Magic?

Tell me how ya make it? And with what.

I found anise to be a superior moose Call. Wow. The moose came to sets like crazy. In places I didn't know had a moose around. There they would be stomping around my sets. Had to be the anise.
Skunk=Marten

I'll expand:



In the wrapper is supposedly a 1 ounce bottle of "Gusto" that Tim Caven gave me to try at least a decade ago when I stopped by his barn in Pennock to buy some wolf traps. Free to me, but $5 per ounce normally. In the two sixteen ounce bottles is rotted down hooligan juice mixed with about 3 ounces of glycerine. Comes to about $1.50 per bottle. I use the Stink'um ( as I call this stuff ) primarily as a marten call lure. Though I have used it to catch fox and coyote and to attract bears to bait stations. This is salmon country and scavengers will dig fish carcasses out of the snow all winter long. Fish smell like rotten fish. Nough said.

I bought fox urine once back in the eighties. I bring a plastic baggie with me on the trapline and scoop up canine urine when I see it along the trail in the snow and put it in the baggie. When I get home I melt it in a plastic container and then pour it in a bottle.

I have never made a castor mound set for beaver. Last week I trapped beaver for 4 checks. I had a 60% catch ratio per trap out. I can live with that.

All those commercial potions most likely work, but a little overpriced for this poor trapper.

I typically go through two 4 oz. bottles of Gusto a season. Granted, I'm only running about 3 dozen marten sets at any given time, and I re-lure every pass, but at $80,00-$100.00 a pelt, I find the $32.00 money well spent.
Of course I also use it at wolverine sets.
While I have no doubt a decent skunky home-made lure can easily be made, I'm pretty comfortable an confident with Gusto.

I used to use gusto, but after having to spend the time taking off the cap, dropping it in the snow, and getting gloves covered with skunk, decided that it wouldn't work anymore. There is nothing in there besides the skunk that is going to make a difference. I bet if you render some fish oil, etc. and add skunk to it and put it in a squirt bottle, you will see the same results, with less stink on your gloves, quicker times are sets, etc. JMO.

havent seen a marten thread archive ever so i thought i would make one. any one have some new techniques they are trying or just pics of last years catches and sets i have some pics.

the first is my very fist



and these are in new brunswick



y first marten and the others are my friends. in new brunswick on a marten population.

more pics from new brunswickwe put spruce to keep the birds out from the bait
marten in box

img:gal:178644eb4b344881fe]http://www.trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2011/11/full-17864-50212-habitat_funnel_1.jpg[/img]here are some habitat funnels.

colured the spots were marten would rather go.`ll try to explain a habitat funnel and see if I can find a few aerial pictures on the internet to attach that will show it. As an example, in the Maritimes when they cut the forest there`s regulations in place prohibiting them from cutting within 150 meters of waterways and they`re only allowed to clear a certain sized area. This means you get a square of forest that`s been cut between 2 areas that haven`t been cut, and if the cut part runs parallel with a river or stream there`s still a strip of forest along the edge of the river. Marten avoid open areas as much as they can, so if there`s a marten in one of the uncut areas moving towards the other uncut area, he`ll almost always stay along the river in the woods rather than going out into the open. This strip of woods along the river would be a habitat funnel and it`s your best bet for placing a trap since any marten moving through will have to come fairly close to the bait when they pass through. Martens` favourite habitat is old growth, softwood forest with quite a bit of fallen and standing deadwood, so to get a funnel it doesn’t have to be near a cut – the same idea would apply if there was hardwood forest, younger softwood, a burn, fields, lakes or whatever – any habitat type with a strip of old softwood going through would work.

The three pictures I attached can give you a pretty good idea – I`ve put red stars on the pictures where it might be a good spot for traps (assuming it was old softwood forest).

Note that this info text was my friend in nb not me talking th rest was me talking though

Others mileages may vary
Marten here do and will cross large areas.Seen them many times in the Alpine and subalpine hunting red squirrels and rabbits,that also live up top along with many whitetail ptarmigan we have in this country.Usually the larger mature males.Guess they count on dodging predators by ducking under the many many feet of snow we get in that country.
For me (and remember my opening sentence) I shy away from sweet smelling lures -anise or jam.They atract to many squirrels when I gave this stuff a try years ago.
What i do, like the rest of us is usually make my own.
I save any large lumps of marten fat from those that are lucky enough to live large,I also save all the anal scent glands,male and female mixed (tried separating them years ago to make male and female lure no difference in working)spin it all in my very own yard sale blender with just enough mineral oil to get it to spin then stir it all together with warmed brand x petroleum jelly.For a mix up I will do the same with beaver oil sac and castor gland and use it some years with good results.Works very well for me.Some will tell you the six gland thing will only work at certain times of the year,not in my experience.
been at the trapping since 77 like to think that maybe Im getting some experience.
Thanks
Dan'l

Do any you guys use cage traps like my friend

Can't see an advantage there.

Ive used cage traps.Reason I did was on account I was at the local landfill-new age term for the dump !! - and there was 4 cage traps free for the taking.Set them on a slide wire on every bridge that at the time was on a logging road on my tenure area.Then set them at the camps so that my children could see the captured marten.Now I sometimes set them and give the females a free pass.Interesting to use and interesting to see those marten.
Dan'l

nwt what is the pic of the tree with a sliver and a stick under it?

Oh that is were she put lure about 4 feet away just chopped upwards with a hatchet and put the lure stick in.

There is piles of coffee cans at the airport, anyone use them for marten sets? I think i'll make a few #1 sets and or coni set with them. Plus they stand out like a sore thumb out there lol. Make marten sets along my trail and i'll have trail markers also. Any pics of coffee cans in trees?

Juan Julio makes those.

They will work. But don't nest