This year I kept pretty detailed records trying to find the "real deal" baits & lures & sets, as I finally had time in my life to run more than a few properties as in the past several years. I used 11 lures (food/call/gland) and made bait using ground beaver and 3 of the most popular bait solutions, prepared them all early at the same time. I was able to keep pretty good records for the first 20 days, then my record keeping got to be a mess running up to 47 traps before 7am & after 4pm plus skinning and everything else thats involved, so I stopped.
In that 20 days I caught 7 fox, 30 yotes and undocumented amounts of coons & grinners.

22 were caught in dirt holes & 15 were in some sort of "flat" sets

All fox were in dirt holes so that evens up the coyote catches to an even 15 in each of the two types of sets.

All 3 baits preformed pretty evenly at 5/8/9 catches each in the dirt holes.

29 of the critters were caught with 5 of the 11 lures (none of the top 5 were gland). Maybe it was not the gland lure time of the year (mid Nov into Dec) or my choices suck? Not sure about that yet.

Average catch days were 4, with 5 first day, 8 second day, and one flier being 16 days.

It really seems clearer to me that location trumps everything.

Did you use a skunky call lure at all the sets or up high near the set?

Good info by the way.

I have tried in the past, I believe if your on location you don't need it.. I do use things like that in snaring later in the year though

What was the arrangement of the lure/bait? Example: bait down hole and lure on lip of hole? Or bait in hole lure of to the side of the hole on some grass? Etc.
thanks

Great to see that you kept records and paid attention to the bait and lure used at each set. I tend to agree with your conclusion. What percentage difference does one lure make as opposed to another? I think it's quite minor relative to the difference location and other variables play. I talked about this in a recent podcast episode: http://trappingtoday.com/trapping-today-podcast-episode-11-important-trapping-lure/

That's not to say good lure isn't important, and sometimes critical. It just puts things into perspective. Thanks for sharing your observations.

it varied at each location, sometimes lure under the lip, or on top if I had a backing, or on a stick in the side of the hole. Actually later in the season I was getting way from any lure at all, just bait down the hole and "good" pee at the dirt holes.