I use subtle guiding to enhance the sweat spot but I don't count on the coyote stepping where he naturally would not. Beleive it or not...

Well I might be the only one other then the person who told me this. But I place my urine In front of the set. Not on the backing or on the pattern. It may be 18" or more from the set. In my opinion It's a suspicion remover. The critter approaches the set and smells the urine before It even steps Into the dirt pattern. I think It just makes the critter more at ease.

And my dirt patterns at a dirt hole set are at least 18" in diameter. The critter I feel Is more at ease by time It gets to the trap.

AS to the question of OFFSET.

WE are talking about offsetting the trap one way or the other from center. It doesn't take much of a backing to get the critter to move around to see Into the hole. If the angle of the hole Is right or a bit left of center the critter will move It's feet In that direction. And critters don't stand with one foot behind the other when working a set. One foot Is going to be right or left of the other one.
And of coarse your bait/lure needs to be attractive to that critter. I like to cover my bait at a dirt hole. I want that curiosity factor to kick In so that critter will work the set better. But then there are times I leave It open but when I do I always have a bit of fur showing for eye appeal. Bait and lure have very little eye appeal. To be successful you need to play all the cards you are dealt. And old beaver hide cut up Into 2" squares works good. You can even pin It in the hole with a gutter spike.

Sounds like you were paying attention in class BNS!

I’m a firm believer that lure placement and application at a set is a critical factor in overall success.

I don’t look at lure as a way to get the coyote to the set, I look at lure as my number one tool to get the coyote to step exactly where I want him to.

If you lose the ability to guide the coyote to the exact spot you want him to step, you have lost your edge.

In losing this advantage, you have also lost out on that all-important first opportunity; and in some cases the coyote as well.