I have access to national forest ground this year that is reportedly loaded with foxes.

I have only trapped coyotes and bobcat.

I used dirt hole sets, cubby sets, flat sets and cable restraints.

What should I do to specifically target foxes???????

Your dirt hole and flat sets work great on foxes too but you will have to change the lure and/or urine that you use. Coyote urine or coyote gland lure will scare off the foxes. Same set locations as you use for coyote but you can use a smaller trap. I set mainly 1.5 colilsprings when targeting fox. Good luck.

Your standard dirthole will catch fox, coyotes, and cats. A good 1.75 or number 2 will handle the bigger critters and still work fine on the fox, including the smaller greys.

I would stick to the same smells you have been using. For years people wrote that coyote smells would scare off fox, but I haven't found this to be true. Cat gland lure is a great change up on canines and will of course nail the cats as well. If greys are around I would use something with a castor or fish/shellfish smell.

I use 1 3/4 offset 4x4s and take a lot of grays here in Michigan each fall in my coyote sets plus some reds too.

Use a fox gland lure on a post near a trail!

I've never had a problem catching foxes with coyote gland and urine.It doesn't work that way.I've had coyotes go inside wolf circles.I alternate coyote,fox and bobcat smells for canines.You can catch any of them on any of those smells.When I trapped reds and greys in the East,I had better luck with red fox odors for both species than with gray smells.I'm not sure why that was but it was very noticeable for me at least.

You should catch foxes in cat sets as well but not as often in cubbies.I personally don't like cubbies even for cats.


I have coyotes and red foxes traveling the same country so I set for coyotes and still catch more reds in those sets,just due to current population numbers.

your gonna be suprised how close to the attractor/post,hole,etc. you want to be for fox compared to coyotes on a regular basis.

I agree on closeness of traps! On grey don't be scared to crowd them tight if their is a tiny opening to step unguarded that's were they step majority of the time. I never saw any issues using yote smells on foxes! They are just a curious as any predator wanting to know whos in there living room. I highly recomend a few bottles of hawbakers fox 100 and a good mouse bait. You get access to lead mine or bennot springs? lol both are excellent fox country

To each his own, but I a lot of my foxes this past season were at sets where I used coyote urine or gland lure at. Also like others have said keep your trap tight to your dirt hole. I read in one of Marsyadas books about mid season that he set his traps as close as possible to the hole or backing. When I started doing that the number of sets worked but I missed the fox dropped drastically.

Most of the grey fox I have caught at flat sets have come off of coyote gland/urine. I don't think the coyote smells scare them. Not around here anyway.

With all due respect PHD coyote urine and or coyote gland lure will not scare off fox. I trapped coyotes for 50 years in a region which has both coyote and fox. always using coyote urine because they were my #1 target. I never in all of those years ever saw one shred of evidence that my use of coyote lures and urine ever scared off even one fox and my region in upper Michigan is a vast area of great lakes sand and winter snow so tracks of a retreating fox would have been easy to see.

fox with cable look for your grown over edges. The little trails that runs along two vegetation growths. weedy edge butting up against a woods line for example. Those little trails that shoot through a hedge row from one opening to another.. The faint trail on the lip of a field ditch that is over grown. Those corners where you put your dirt holes look at the thick stuff on those corners and set the trails going into it off the open corners. For greys and cable become a coon snaremen. They run the same places as the coon do. I use a 6 x 6 for both coon and greys, or 5 to 6 loop at 7 to the bottom of the loop for targeting greys, but a lot of coon get into that set also. Don't forget to look for those spots where the rabbits live. The honey suckle and briar patches and set the small trail going into them.

Invest in MB 550's and set on good sign and a little patience.

I have found this to be good advice. Dirtholes can be very effective also. Gray fox in particular like to work in close and from the side and often need more guiding to connect.

i swear a grey would work a set hangin upside down if it could.

Bacon bait!!!!!!

your an animal Mr.Laz.

as much as i like to hunt them little buggers at night up here,i probably wouldn't wanna go home if i ever got down there.my dad and i were addicted to it for years,him worse than me for a change.

Thanks for information Asa, no offense taken. I was taught that back in the 70s when I started trapping and took it as the gospel. From your and all the other responses in this thread, clearly I have had it wrong for a very long time. Just goes to show, your never too old to learn new things.