I saw a post by trappergbus on trap placement that made me wonder what others have experienced. I like my trap centered for the most part, and a hand width or so away from a low backing and my attractor. I also use subtle guiding and a low place over my pan. If the the ground isn't level then the trap is offset to the low side an inch or so. This works for me on flat and dirt hole sets. I have tried urine posts with no success. I really didn't understand why until I went to the Texas Predator School. Wayne showed me trap placement and I had been setting to far away from the post. Most of the time our ground doesn't show tracks, but on one occasion it did, and it was a great lesson. Again, Wayne said when using one bait stick the trap needs to be off set to one side or the other because the coyote will square up on the stick to pull and he will plant his feet on each side when he pulls. My trap was in the center and there where coyote tracks on both levers, and my bait stick was gone. Lesson learned. I'm looking forward to trying some new things this fall. What say Y'all?

A urine post isn't meant to be pulled.I think you are confusing it with a grab stick which has a lure applied that is formulated to get them to grab and pull.Two different things.

I was having trouble last year, think I was bedding trap to close. Went to Ed Schneider's school and learned alot about subtle guiding and trap placement. Can't wait for this fall to see if I can put it all together.

[A urine post isn't meant to be pulled.I think you are confusing it with a grab stick which has a lure applied that is formulated to get them to grab and pull.Two different things.]


Taxi, I guess I wasn't very clear. Those where ment to be separate things.

I new coyotes like to pee on stuff and didn't understand why
I wasn't catching any thing at my urine posts. It seemed odd that I could catch coyotes at other sets and not at post sets. It was explained to me that my traps where to far away from the post, and I wasn't putting the pee in a specific spot.

Makes sense.A second trap can help.Watching how dogs approach,mark and leave may help as well.

You can't get the trap to close, Wayne's spot on. I call it the straddle effect. Watch your dog when he/she pees. They approach most of the time with the wind in their nose so I place the trap on the down wind side offset. The most common response to any set is to pee on it. No low spot over the pan , all nice and level. reason being, Low spots gather moisture. Since I realized where they want to step my misses went way down. You'll still miss some but not near as many.

Here's my thought, but im not good enough of confident enough that I can make a coyote step where I want them too. There are "tricks" people do but I don't think they really work all that well like small stepping sticks and rock pebbles. I go into it thinking, that coyote if working the set, wont ALWAYS end up within 8" of that bait hole. I always favor farther than 10". My thought is that if its working the set, it will have a way better chance of getting within a foot of that bait hole. Even if all they do is take a look at the hole, they should be within trap reach.

For a post set I position the trap to catch the coyote when he investigates/smells the post; not when he goes to mark it.

My target is the front feet, not the back.

When a dog initially walks up to investigate a post set, his front feet will be extremely close to the post.

I’ve found that those front feet will usually be 4-6 inches away from the base of the post.

I position the trap pan about 6 inches from the base of the post with no offset.

Tejas, you barely caught those two lol. Talk about buried.

Most guys set way to far back than blame it on guiding or lack thereof.

The farther back you set, the more real estate you can’t cover.

It's a crap shoot. Once you think you have It figured out a critter will come along and prove you wrong.
I set 8" back and 2" to the right. I have my lure stick 2" to the right of my bait hole.
I pile up my dirt from the bait hole to the left of the hole. I also cover the bait with some ground duff and then spread a very light cover of dirt over that ground duff.
It doesn't always work but most of the time it does.

I still don't understand what is meant by off set or no off set, unless the post or the hole is fenced- there is 360* of possible approach, so offset from one approach is dead center on another approach and vice versa? Fenced with backing and guiding as in a cubby, offset makes some sense.

The best way to understand this is to go out and make a set without the trap where you can see tracks. Then the light bulb should go on.
What Boone said....

I go 6-8" out and less than a foot back

You Betcha!

Fencing & guiding techniques are a poor substitute for time–tested lure & trap placement in conjunction with wind direction.

I’ve found that an open trap pattern that allows for unrestricted movement encourages the coyote to work back and forth though the set area yielding better results than any fencing ever could.

The more I study how coyotes work various sets, the more I crowd the attractant and open up the set pattern.

I want the coyote to work the set on his terms, not mine.

Fencing & guiding techniques are a poor substitute for time–tested lure & trap placement in conjunction with wind direction

Agreed x2

I don't know what you guys consider fencing or guiding. But learning subtle guiding Is in your best interest.
A low spot over the pan a small rock or a dropping or a mound of dirt Is all you need to move a foot a few Inches one way or the other. And face guiding Is a lost art for some. But In the right circumstances It's a killer guiding system. And very natural.

x3 I think it was Clint Locklear that said it best, " you'll never make a coyote step where he doesn't want to step" Thanks Clint!

I don't believe that for a minute. All critters can be guided to some degree if you know what your doing.
The angle of the hole the height of the urine or lure placed on a rub set or a post set. Placement of the lure at a set and working wind directions. Placement of call lures (not at the set). All these things are considered guiding.

I still don't understand what is meant by off set or no off set, unless the post or the hole is fenced- there is 360* of possible approach, so offset from one approach is dead center on another approach and vice versa? Fenced with backing and guiding as in a cubby, offset makes some sense.



TJM, another thing I was doing wrong was not placing my urine at the set like I would at any other lured or baited set. I would just squirt some pee on the backing and call it good. That left the coyote to many options as to where to stand and get a whiff. Wayne showed me by concentrating the spot where I placed the urine I would have much better control over where the critter would stand. And the wind is always a consideration.

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.