Does it hurt to pre set coyotes so you can really set a large number opening day? Does digging a trap bed and pre drilling a hole affect catch ratios? I'm thinking of pre digging trap beds and putting my earth anchored out before season. Then when I want to trap all I have to do is set the trap and bait and lure. Thoughts?

I do it every year, works great. For coyotes, I wait till about a week or 2 before I start trapping. Then I make sure I'm seeing sign where I'm going to set. I trap all winter so I get all my sets pre made before ground is froze. Just make sure you're still seeing sign if you plan to set it a month after you pre set everything so you're not wasting your time on animals that may not be there anymore. Possibly already harvested or dispersed.

It will work. However, if you dig a hole and leave a pile of fresh dirt some coyote will investigate the dirt. Finding nothing, they may hesitate to check it out again. So when you put traps there consider changing something to get their attention. Some coyote, and especially fox, have been caught with no lure, urine, or bait. Just fresh dirt.

I don't, due to hearing from someone that once they satisfy curiosity they might just walk by

I leave my stakes in year round but I don’t pre-dig any beds.

I'm a hobby trapper. I enjoy the whole experience of trapping. To me, making the set before I start actually trapping, takes away from that experience. I like digging the beds, setting my anchors, digging my dirt hole, setting up my flat set, etc. If I did most of this pre season, it wouldn't be as exciting to me. If I was in it for the money, that may be a different story.

I set as I go and add sets every day and fill in at the busy spots as I go, pull and move later on and add onto the end all of the time. Always looking for spots to add sets like snares in tire tracks and crawl under spots. I do set BIG baits if I have them and let them sit until they are getting hammered to increase the catch in less checks.

You would be surprised how quick a 600 lb cow will get hauled off in the winter.

I basically only get to trap for a solid 7 days to amount to anything. About a 50 mile line this year, I just thought I could save some real time by putting earth anchored out and pre digging trap beds. It would be less to haul and do when I wanted to set traps.

Just how many coyotes can you even skin in a day? scrape and put up?
50 miles of actual trap setting line is remarkable to me, 100-200 traps? I could not handle it. I operate kinda like Jerry described, on a smaller scale; set as I go and add to as I check, but I don't ever want more than about twenty traps out at once. If I only had a week I'd limit my line to 3-4 locations and save drive time. Good luck.

I've got a place down in Prince George you can practice pre-digging this weekend. I'll need it ready to set for Labor Day Weekend.

Thanks.

It'll definitely speed things up for you. Give it a try.

I don't dig my bait hole. Just the trap bed and drive an anchor. The bait hole always get dug when the trap is set. Then you have a fresh dirt hole with some lure or bait that get their attention or curiosity.

If it's in a pasture I just dig up a big sod plug and put back in trap bed hole after driving anchor. If it's along a crop field I just grab a hand full of weeds or stubble throw in trap bed so it doesn't fill with snow or rain water.

I pre dig about half my beds. About 10 % will go right where they were last year which helps. I set out drags and rock in the summer plus i make sure crawl unders are getting used and not filled up with trash , ect.
I ran 175 miles for two weeks for all furbearers for about ten years and the preseason work will pay big dividends. Some states allow you to stash traps too.
I know quite a few guys who set right back in the same dirt hole year after year also. just dig it out and make it look fresh

I been running 8-12 stops, check with atv, I try to make each stop in a new coyote territory

if this happens I'd be for finding a different lure.

Something I remember a 50 year professional told me, unless my memory is incorrect

I do have a lot of backing rocks out there waiting for me at many a fence/gate post for set making, it's just easier to have them there then hauling then around every year. I don't pick my spot my spot picks me so no sense in doing all that work for the area to change during harvest on me.

Takes longer to decide trap placement than it does to bed the trap.
On opening day I might decide to skip a particular location altogether if sign isn't where I want it, so all that preseason work is wasted time and fuel.
Usage can change seasonally and where there are 50 fox and coyotes eating blackberries in that season there may not be even a song bird for them to eat in December.
It won't probably hurt to drive all your anchors and dig all your beds now, but, the beds will cave in and the anchors may be lost.