Hello. I am a marten trapper from Norway. I have previously used Fuller Laugeman's Sable Oil and a lure from Tom Krause, the name of this lure I do not know. Unfortunately, in recent years it has been difficult to import lures from the USA and Canada. I now want to make my own marten lure that I can use on my trappline. Lures containing skunk are not good for catching marten here in Norway. So I want a lure that is more like Laugeman's Sable Oil or Tom Krause's lure. Can anyone here help me with tips on this? I have beaver castor, and many different oils and several different types of synthetic musk. Hope to get som tips from this forum

Good information here! Tom Krause's lure that you speak of is called 40 below. He went a more sweet route also as Tatiana mentioned. I know its chucked full of beaver castor and a sweet fruity addition. Im anxious to hear what others recommend.

Ive heard that marten here in the states are fond of raspberry jam.

Trout oil is an under used oil, as some try to use pressed fish oils which are poor quality for formulation work. Pure raw heat extracted fatty fish oils including Paddle fish, walleye, Salmon and other fat bellied fish are exceptional attractants to all predators but not cheap or easy to make for some.

It is a very stinky process and some work and precautions are needed to acquire pure / clean top run filtered oil but well worth the effort and price to get it.

Some of the ingredients listed are all good elements to use in many products. Phenyl Acetic acid crystals can give you some nice results for a calming musky sweet side effect to what some of you are wanting. Be sure to monitor carefully as to the amount that is used, as it can "over time" take you in an odor direction that may be too sweet.

It can take months or more depending upon temps under which this process is developing to get the results you are seeking. It will hold nicely once it has matured.

Sable and Marten are all seasonal food opportunists as are many predators. I always favor a sweet/ musky some what fruity side to some baits and lures. They just work well. Particularly in somewhat milder winter conditions, some of which we are seeing more frequently.

this thread is SOOOO Cool!!

We are currently planning a trip to northern Lapland, Finland for next year!

I'd love to be able to present some of our hosts with great quality American animal lures as a "Thank You"; if we could get them through Customs.

How would we go about getting official permissions, and what lures would you suggest for northern Lapland?

Thoughts?

The last time I visited Lapland the wife wasn't very happy. I told her if she could do that, I would stay home and save some money. I didn't get the official permission from her which I see now would have been the best way to handle that situation. Don, you better get the wife's approval before making that trip.

LOL! (I see what you did there!)

she's going with! so is my sister, so...

Which of your lures would you recommend I take as gifts to the Sami people of extreme northern Lapland?

We will be about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

All they probably use is fish, blubber and seal oil for lure and baits. Not sure how the customs restrictions are into that country. Most likely anything strong and fishy would be a good choice.

I'd love to take some of your concoctions to give as gifts, Bob!

If you wouldn't mind...let's give this some more thought!

Forget about lure for marten.
Use a big fist sized chunk of beaver meat for bait.Along with the scent attraction you will also have the sight and sound attraction of the microtines and birds feeding on the bait.
Make sure you have your bait up against the screen at the back of the box and a stub for the birds to land on to work the bait.
The microtines will enter the box for cover but wont trigger your marten trap.

40 below is the only sweet, nonskunky lure I have used for marten with good success. Other than straight castor. I have heard they really like raspberry or strawberry jam, but did not have success with it myself. I prefer a skunks marten lure because that is what I have always had good success with, and so making my own I add a healthy dose of skunk. But if you don't want skunk I would go heavy on the castor, it has a strong, long lasting odor and is generally very attractive to them. I have used straight castor without other additives with good success. It doesn't have quite the carrying power and range as skunk, but little does.

For most animals I don't use much bait, but marten are the exception. Boco is right, use a big chunk of beaver meat and they will find it hard to resist. I have had virtually no success on marten without a good chunk of meat bait.

I have used a Vaseline base for a good waterproof base with good success, but it has no attraction of its own. What I usually use now for a waterproof base that holds its own attraction is a lanolin/beaver tail oil mix. Adjust the mix for your weather conditions, lanolin will turn hard, freeze and be virtually unusable at low temperatures, while the more BTO you add the lower the temp where it remains easily workable, but also the lower the temperature that it becomes liquid. If you want a paste/smear type lure you will have to adjust the ratio for your conditions.

I have not caught a ton of marten but except for the snow and mountains was a lot like coon trapping. Bait didnt seem to matter much. I caught them on chunks of beaver, prairie dogs, jackrabbits and even my version of nelson bait. Put a set where they will find it and thats all it took.

Thank you all for the feedback. An extra big thank you to Tatiana for sharing the recipe and other relevant information. I will definitely try your recipe. I see that many people write that lure is not important, but that bait is enough. It is not quite right here in Norway, I catch considerably more martens when I use lure, especially lures with a sweet, fruity, castor smell. Big thanks again to Tatiana and everyone else! Feel free to come up with more recipes if possible. Love following my first post here!

Interesting that the marten turned down tainted beaver, Tatiana. I read a lot of people wanting all fresh bait, but I have better luck with tainted beaver or other meat than fresh. Unless it gets freeze dried, once it gets dried out it seems to lose its attraction.

Sweet lure is very effective for both Marten & Fisher. O Gormans Mountain Marten is a good one .
If your setting on sign skunk or any LDC is not needed.
Marten were trapped almost to extinction in MN using nothing more sophisticated then Raspberry preserves.
Banana oil, has proven itself for me. Mints also hold an attraction to both Marten & Fisher.

Interesting that native trappers in MN often use nothing but a 12” square of fresh deer hide in box. Zero lure !

I hope this isn’t considered off topic , I have a question for Boco . I know you are probably as set in your ways as I am ,but hearing others say they are convinced that lure along with bait is best for them , will you try lure with bait in the future?

If your looking for a sweet smell for marten I recommend loganberry oil. I've used it mixed with beaver tail oil and fish oil, sometimes I added some peppermint oil too.I think it would be pretty good mixed with beaver castor but never tried it that way. Good luck......

I've done it all in the past,do you think I would say to chuck the lure if I hadnt evaluated it in over 50 years of trapping marten,lol.
I am a follower of the KISS doctrine when it comes to trapping.
It is not a question of being set in my ways it is more of trying everything over the years and settling on the most productive and efficient methods.
I have trapped with many renowned trappers in my years learning the trade.
Everyone should work up their own methods but make sure you digest info from those with experience as you progress.
This goes for all aspects of the trade from trapping to fur handling.