I just started getting into trapping last January/February. I caught my first animal, a 28lb female yote, and was hooked. After that I got 2 grinners. So I studied all year, watched/bought videos and read books. Subscribed to several magazines, read tons of stuff on here, attended my local trapping district's trapping school, etc..., etc..., etc...

I only have a 100 acre farm to trap but the farmer says that he sees and hears fox, yote, etc... quite regularly. So in doing a little studying this past summer I set out with a game plan. Not really setting on sign per say as I am setting where he says that he sees them and what you would think would be the best spot. It's a farm at the bottom of a mountain, literally right on the edge of the mountain, and they all come down to the farm.

I did do one thing right, at least I think that I did. I set everything on the west side to take advantage of the west to east wind.

It's been a week tomorrow and I haven't even caught a grinner. It's funny how I'm hoping for at least one of them. I go out everyday to check as a responsible trapper should. I also plan on putting in more sets tomorrow and/or on Sunday.

I don't know the point of this post. Perhaps it's just to vent and get some encouragement. You all make it look so easy. I plan on setting a dozen or two dogproof's out tonight or tomorrow along a creek. Maybe I'll at least be able to gain some confidence by catching some trash pandas.

Ok, vent/crying over. Tight chains everyone.

I should also add that about every other week or two the farmer says that around 0300-0430 the coyotes will run from the west of his property, 100 yards away from his house, running to the east barking, etc... Obviously chasing deer or something.

They had to come by a hay set that I put out but nothing. The only thing that I got on my cameras are a few pictures of deer and that's it, not even many of them.

I'm wondering if I should just start baiting them for a week or two with table scraps, etc... Then once I get them on camera and coming there regularly, set some traps.

But I just don't want to do it like that. Yes, I want to be successful, but I want to learn how to read the land and catch them in their element. I want to outwit them as most of you do.

If I were you, I'd set on roads, well traveled paths and trails, especially those which lead to a water source. Make some Bacon Bait, stock up on bait, & lure. Speaking of lure, I think you'd do well with Law Dog's fox lure!

AT, I'm on the roads, next to long fence lines, etc... all of which do lead to a creek. I've made the bacon bait and am using it along with other baits such as Powder River and some mice baits. Lures? I have a lot of big name ones, Violator, Pro's Choice, etc...

Don't give up. I went through the same type experiences, and I think most do. Frustration and discouragement in yourself is just part of it. Being able to stick with it is when you'll start really learning. May not even notice some things that you're learning, but it'll start coming together. Gonna take time and lots of work. All the things you did in the off-season to prepare will make your field experience more productive in the learning sense. Still have to put some time in the field to gain the experience necessary to bring the picture more into focus. My best advise to you is to find the sign the animals are leaving and start setting there if possible. Setting on location is the key. If you don't have any sign to set on, you're just guessing. Sometimes that works, but it's a lot more productive to set where you find the sign. Find enough sign, and the pieces fit together better as far as being able to tell where the animal(s) are traveling. Over time, your eye develops an ability to identify the places to look and set easier.

I'm no expert, just passing on the advise given to me. I think it's working. I feel that I get a little better each season. I think you will too.

Thanks Brother, I appreciate it.

A running coyote is unlikely to stop to investigate a set no matter how good the set is. My suggestion is you keep learning the terrain, noticing ditches, ridges, what's growing where, and looking for sign. Not all animals will be just chasing something across the property. Look for trails and other sign to find where animals come down the mountain to enter the farm. 100 hundred acres is a start but you will need trapping ground.

I will add that coyote and fox trot more than they walk, so the farmer may be misinterpreting what he sees. Wind directions charge, so spread you traps across the entire property, not bunched up. If you see a rabbit or rabbit droppings consider that a place a predator would go.

Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not. You can do everything right and it just doesn't work some days. Then there are sets that you think you wasted your time making but it is a catching machine. All one can do is keep after it, good luck.

What side of the mountain is the farm on? Big hills and mountains have a completely different air flow pattern.

Your camera may have something to do with it. Try taking the camera away from the sets.

A week isn't a ton of time. Also, make sure you aren't over luring and baiting your sets. I've found that when I'm not catching much that's what I tend to do and it only makes things worse.

early trappin is harder to boot.fruit and nuts and small critters abound now.hang in there it'll get better.

Don’t get too discouraged. During my first season, It took me 3 weeks to even catch a coon! Patience and persistence is key, especially with k9s. Good luck, you’ll get them!

It takes me about 25 trap out to average a coyote a day and we have a lot of coyotes. I'll go days without coyotes and then when a cold front comes through i'll catch a lot of coyotes. Sometimes I think a coyotes got to want to work a set. Because when the cold front comes they know right where the set is and I hammer them. Just my 2 cents.

Land owners can be a wealth of information, some of them can point you right to the spot, the place with all the sign. Others will swear they see a coyote or pack of coyotes every day , same time same place ! When in fact he saw one coyote one time three months ago !

Set on sign ! Not say !

The full moon was not much help either.
Empty traps are no fun.
Do you check them for a distance? With binos.

I agree with Ave! Also, you might try using lots of different sets, like: dirt holes, double dirt holes, hole w/ trench, trench's, double trench's, mound with hole, T-bone sets, scent posts, charred stump sets, feather sets (if legal), rub sets, etc. Good luck, you'll get'em!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.

Sniper, the farm’s on the south side but it does blow west to east.

You also will have the the cold air coming down the mountain at night as the air cools so that will influence the currents during the convection phase.

Don't get discouraged. I listen to my landowners because they see things in off season that I don't. But pay attention to sign more than anything. Tracks don't lie, neither do droppings and other sign. And animals don't carry watches to my knowledge and don't always come through where the landowner says they do.
And then after you go in, do some scouting, carry all your stuff in and have everything set and just right...there are so many other factors that can come into play. Harvest here can really change animal movement patterns. Their habitat changes, everything. Food supplies change, eating habits change, and hunting seasons and other activity can change movement patterns too.
We trap coyotes on land in area where a couple dog hunters run their coyote dogs through on nearby land. That really changes things for us. Didn't run them on the land where we trap land, but evidently they go through nearby and close enough it makes it tough to trap where we do. Of course they take a few coyotes and now are a few less in area to trap.
All kinds of things impact a line over course of the season. Be patient with coyotes too. They aren't coon or beaver that spend their entire lives in a relatively defined area and are much easier to set for and expect results. You can find a coon den area and pretty much clean out the whole group in a few days. Not so with coyotes and their range area can be much bigger and might not use exact same travel route next time they come through either. And sometimes they just plain aren't interested in bait, or lure, for whatever reasons.
Good luck sir, keep at it and you will figure out what works for your line!
Jim