When Mark drew that diagram for the article, the hole was meant to be a drain hole. Somebody at Minktoberfest demonstrated the difference in dissipation with a hole and no hole though and the purpose of the hole for me now is for a draft. They will still work your pipe if it’s full of water. Another thing that he does different now is using a larger diameter pipe just because his bait knife fits in it easier.

to clarify. using a 3/4" or 1" is whats commonly used. Maybe a 2" possibly?

3/4 or 1” is ideal. I’m not sure if you would benefit going bigger than that because they wouldn’t have to work as hard to get the bait out of the pipe. I could see them being able to get the bait in a 2” pipe. They are usually bitten up pretty good when you catch something. You can tell they really work at it.
In response to the haylage, dried lawn clippings is what Mark uses and it’s what I’ve been using this year and it covers really well. You don’t have to cover it much. When you stand up and look down at it, you can still see some of the steel screen thru the grass.

I'll definitely be trying this. Not only with the pipe keeping the bait above ground, i really like the trap set up. I am only in my second year of trapping and i tried to make waxed dirt this past summer using the solar method. Obviously i waited too long and missed the really hot days.

I was checking my sets for about 2 weeks, staying away as all say and not hounding them continuously. I was getting plenty of yotes and reds on camera and couldn't understand why i wasn't catching anything. So i finally went to check a trap. Just what i was afraid of, frozen solid. As a matter of fact, they all were. All i could do was just flip them over on thier face, couldn't even set them off.

I'll be going back now and setting everything in this method.

Just one question as I'm new to using screen, where do i buy it and is there a certain size or structure which i should buy?

One more question, has anyone tried to set their trap like this while making every other set? I mean with the hollow bottom, etc... I'm assuming that you'd darn near have to worry about anything.

I use the bedding method if I am trapping in grassland, but if I’m in the woods, it’s peat moss and waxed dirt. Glycerine under the jaws and levers helps keep from freezing down too.
I just buy screen from Lowe’s. I like either black aluminum, or black steel screen. It’s easy to cut with a paper cutter.

The real secret to this set is in your canteen. Zagger prefers fox pee in his.

I use 1 inch id grey pvc and grass clippings from my yard. Caught a young female bobcat yesterday the set had been out about 1 1/2 weeks baited with dunlap bait solution with ground deer.
J

The main idea is a waterproof bedding system not the pipe

His bedding system does not use dirt, peat, etc

The trap is suspended by it's levers, screen over the pan and covered by grass (Haylage, dry lawn clippings, etc)

The pipe is just a waterproof lure/ bait holder (instead of a bone, etc)

Read his article on CoyoteU.com

I am a newbie, tried this set last year and caught my first double. I used 1" gray conduit (it's what I had laying around). I leaned it toward the trap bed slightly, left about 4" sticking up. After putting in the lure I slid on a 90 degree elbow, toward the direction of the lean to keep water out. This was during the spring when they were mostly holed up. The set sat there for 3 weeks through freezing rain, snow, freezing and melting. One day I came home from work and had a male in one trap and a wet female in the other. I am sold.

Guys heres the interview he did that explains in full how,what when where and why

http://trappingradio2.com/trapping-radio-123-trap-coyotes-mark-zager-pipe-trapping-system/

I had some lengths of 3" thick bamboo that I fire blackened and the work great. Really stand out in a flat picked bean field or mowed hay field. A little bait in the hole, or gland lure, or fox pee. Any of those work. So will a smear of skunky call lure. Bamboo when dried is really tough.
Use your imagination.
Here is one from this morning. Fire blackened bamboo tube with Carmen's bushwacker bait in the tube, that's it. Flat picked bean field.
When it snows this set really stands out.
I leave my bamboo pipes up out of the ground a little more than others it sounds like. I like mine to stand out a little more from the surrounding area. I've had better luck with bait than lure or pee though, not sure why.

Good idea. I've read a lot about use of charred wood as an attractor

It looks like the set is working for you, Jim, but the pipe was actually intended to be hidden in a clump of grass, and not intended to be a visual attractor. Until I saw Mark’s demo, I was making my sets the same way. I do better on them now that I hide mine in a grass clump though. Maybe try it both ways and see if one out performs the other. You can always transplant a grass clump in an open field.

Thanks dfabs.
I like to set these on outside corners, so when a coyote is traveling from either direction along the fence row or field edge it is there in front of them as they approach. My wife had a bunch of these for decorations she was throwing out one year. I washed them, dried them, cut them to about 15" lengths, and stuck them in our firepit one summer. Ended up with a whole tub of these and they make quick sets to pound in for variety to a dirthole. I have at least one set this way on each farm we are setting on. Worked very consistently last several seasons this way.
I'll try the more subtle approach on a few other farms we are hitting this weekend.
Thanks again. I'm always up for trying something new.
Jim

I also like to use bamboo for my pipes. I have one farm that has a ton of it growing on it so I just take what I need. I like being able to pull the trap and leave the pipe knowing that it will not impede a mower. I didn’t like carting all of those stinky pipes home, and I think my wife appreciates me leaving them in the woods also.

Had 1" green pex pipe to try the set this season. It blended so well I ran many with no backing. Did not seem to matter. They really helped with all the rain we had in November. Ran 1/2 dirtholes and 1/2 pipes, the pipes ruled. I really like the reduction in volume of bait used per set.

What's the Charlie Dobbins book: Variations of the Dirthole Set?

Guess I need to write: Variations of the Pipe Dream Set!

I've seen just about every part of that set changed, tweaked, removed, etc. Mostly addressing the pipe itself.

When I came up with the set and finally shared it, I WAS drilling a hole in each pipe as a way for rain water to come out.....in the end, the rain water goes DOWN into the dirt or pours out the top.

IF you ONLY use heavy, thick pasty baits and lures, I think a few holes drilled would not hurt. In the end, I run so many of them, I just stopped keeping track of which end had the hole in it. I trap in about as much rain as anyone I'd guess and have used this longer than anyone, and I'd say without question you do NOT need drain holes. They don't hurt, but you don't HAVE to drill them.

I am glad people are having a TON of success with this set......some very GOOD trappers fought for years but finally came around......LARGELY because rainy weather forced them. Trappers are hard headed!!!! LOL

I've said it a million times: I think many guys thought it was a gimmick set, complicated even. Or, it was a gimmick because "Zagger just gave it away for free". I didn't put it in a book or DVD and charge for it, so it MUST be junk!

It's not for all guys, all areas, all applications. BUT,....if you trap in rain and snow or both, its for you! Try it.....you will like it.

I ran almost 100% Pipe Dreams this fall and caught more coyotes in NY than the average guy......AND I rain 100% pipes in Illinois last year in snow vs. my partner running 100% dirt holes, and the pipe stole the show!

Read all the articles......read the million-plus hits on this website's other Pipe Dream Set post. Educate yourself on the premise of the set, as its NOT solely about the pipe!

Mark Zagger

If you've seen my demos or read my stuff, I too used bamboo, T-bones, Grab and Die, etc. In the end, the pipe wins in my mind because its durable, reusable, available and cheap. Or even free if you know any electricians/contractors.

Bamboo cannot be driven into hard or frozen ground and in MY experience are good for ONE catch T-Bones often get eaten, or break and no longer have hole for lure/bait.

In the example above of the black bamboo, why not just paint some pipe black OR use heavy water pipe that's already that color........

Again, if a guy is running 2-3 sets no big deal. I am running 100-plus for weeks so will be driving FAR more than 100 in the ground!

And, you tight-wad/cheap trappers can pull the pipe, dirt plug in bottom, and use it at another set and NOT have re-lure or re-bait. What lure holder above can you do THAT with????

MZ

I've had no problem with pipes 2 - 4 inches out of the ground. Chewed pipe visible in the second photo. Yes he was caught by both front feet. My traps are only in the ground a week to ten days and I haven't hauled a pipe around for two years. They work OK but I only need it about half of the time, where I trap. FWIW I plan to use some pipes next fall. Two years ago when I tested pipes I made 6 or seven pipe set and got about a dozen coyotes in a week or so. I did have a pipe hid in a grass clump and something took the pipe, checking before daylight I never noticed the pipe was gone. Don't know how many days I checked a pipe-less set.






This was BIG WOODS trapping. The year before I had a second set closer to the road, but only the upper set caught coyotes.

The zagman speaks, and we listen...
Jim