Interesting post Jonesie made over in the trapping only forum about cage trapping and baiting strategy according to jonesie.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/5576614/Cages#Post5576614

I have been experimenting w/ this method and I think he's onto something. If I don't catch my target animal the first night and I KNOW I've found all the holes and I'm at the specific location to encounter the target animal, I can start drawing conclusions about the job that help me anticipate the next move. On the other hand, if I've got one of the 80%, I'm good anyway.

Cage presentation refusals from some target animals aren't much different then that of an educated animal to a dirt hole type set up due to the animals getting wary of those presentations after a few times around the block.

They learn and associate prior experiences that will cause evasive reaction the next time it has a similar encounter. This behavior happens more then we realize. Trail cams help to point this fact out if you get too frustrated and have to resort to that technique to find answers.

Ron has been doing this for a long time and has learned to make the adjustments necessary to deal with such problems. Those that pay their dues put a lot of time into experimentation / trial and error. We all have to pay our dues along the way if you do this long enough.

School of Hard Knocks sometimes.

I have seen female skunks on more than one occasion get young skunks out of squirrel traps. Usually the havahart double doors. They will either roll them or play with the bail on the door and get them out.

You know Bob, Back when I came up with those strategies, cell phones was just coming out LOL Trail cameras no way LOL Many hours was spent watching problem squirrels, coon and skunks work traps. I learned a lot but I wish I would have had these cameras then. then again maybe not LOL I use them a lot now on vid mode.

You know, I am challenged a lot by folks about these methods, saying you don't need to do all that, to catch animals. I agree!!!! NOW folks need to hear me!!!! Most animals we deal with will go into a trap with ease!!!! if the trap placement and location is right. Something I have heard Bob also preach over and over. ( I fear that this understanding is being lost in todays fast pace ADC work) As a fur trapper I don't care to catch every critter in that area, I want to leave seed, may as well be the smarter ones LOL But ADC I need to get the whole problem. There can be a few critters that can be a problem, and when they are a problem I don't want to wait 3 to 5 days to see it. I want to know the very next check if I have a problem critter. So I guess you can say I use these strategies every time I set a trap with the thought of, if the critter is a normal critter it will go in the cage, and if it is a problem critter it will go in because I have taken some of the negative away by these strategies, or at least the critter will show me it is a problem. The strategies I came up with, most times, can tell me what I have the very next check, even when I do not have a critter in the trap. I can tell if the critter was there, or if it was there and not in the trap, I can tell what level of problem it may be, and I can make my adjustments depending on what I see. Maybe just re-baiting with something different or changing bait and lure placement, maybe change to what I call a, can't have it method, or change to a, move just a little method, maybe switch to flip flop or back to back methods just a few examples I have in the bag of tricks to use when I need them. I learned way back then and I have heard Bob say many times, just changing something up, just a little, can many times convince the critter to commit. But to change up, I have to see that I need to change something. By the way I am so use to doing this, that I just do it with out thinking. takes me 30 secs to a min more LOL By the way these Strategies, have taken my wife, who never set a cage in her life until a few weeks ago, to average above 75 percent catch rate LOL Cable restraints she still needs work on. This week end she is getting a full snare course LOL