I've been testing some of my own creations for the last couple of months. All of them are for targeting coyotes. Basically all I have been doing is punching deep dirt holes and seeing what happens. Tried earlier in the yr putting black flash game cameras on the dirt holes and couldn't get coyotes to work set with cameras to save my live so kind of gave up on cameras for now. We dont get snow here very often the last several yrs and if we do it doesn't last but for a couple of days so most of the sign I can read is just digging kick backs and droppings. Earlier in the fall couldn't get a coyote to dig a dirt hole but did get quite a few kick backs. Now using same formulas I'm getting dig outs and some droppings on hole after digging it out. Any pointers on testing lures and baits? Or advice on things u look for to know u have a "great formulation "? I'm learning a lot making mock sets and having a ton of fun. I could have fun taking a trip somewhere were the was snow just to test lures and baits without traps. Any pointers are appreciated. I know the final test will be with traps out front but I can make mock sets faster and cover more ground this way and the sign is still there for me to read this way.

JMO, bait&lure have 2 functions. Getting the animal there and having that animal "work the set/hole". The rest of the responsibility falls on the trapper who is making the set. The trapper who fails to connect whether it be steel or a cage needs to address those issues for success, not the bait & lure.

Good post Yes sir. I hope lots of bait makers join in and explain how THEY test their bait recipes.

I don't do a ton of testing. If I get it made early enough, I do like you, drill holes, leave a pretty good sized dirt pattern, bait, and check tracks and the holes. If it's close to season, roll the dice and use it on the line. I guess I've been lucky. Last years batch of chunk worked good. This years batch of ground worked great. Glad I made 5 gallons of it. Lifetime supply for me.

get you a "pet" coyote. dig a blind pup out of a den. When you put it in a collection pen it wont be scared. big plus. you cant trust it. wont be a good pet in spite of what you may have read. you can pet them, watch them work mock sets, watch them mousing. lots of plusses. you will need an outdoor kennel for your "pet". anything that will get that coyote to lick rub and then pee will catch you a lot of fur. and not just coyote fur either.

Danny can u get them tame enough u can turn it lose and still be able to catch it and put it back in kennel

yes for awhile. eventually 1 1/2, 2 years old it will not let you cage it if allowed to run loose. IMO if you get a blind pup you need to keep it till it dies or kill it when it gets to be to big a problem. It will be 100% on you that the animal isn't fit to be a pet or a wild animal. If you get one you will definitely learn a lot.

Gotcha

Or you could get a pet opossum and ..... no just kidding I don’t think their is anything they won’t eat , lol !

possums stay tame. never get mean. very gentle creatures

Removed one from a customers kitchen last month due to their kid leaving their backdoor open. He wasn't so nice, chased the mother out of the kitchen. They can snap and move quick when they want to.

Opossums make great pets if you get them young and generally quite friendly with kids.

JMO, if you're collecting raw materials from canines then a pen would be a plus. Caged animals know at some point during that day you will come out with food, unlike animals who have to fight for it in the wild. More power to ya if that's what your going for. It isn't hard to get canines to react to bait and lure. Your bait&lure can "talk" to the animals like you've been in the business for 40+ years with some "magic code words". How good is that bait going to be if the person using can't scout for sign or make sets? Begs the ? what is "good or bad bait"? If you can get an animal there on a consistent basis and have them dig or react as intended for your bait and lure....what else more can you ask that bait&lure to do for the trapper?

I make my bait&lure to entice movement at the set, rubbing, digging, eating and rolling after it's dug up. In regards to "GOOD" bait&lure.. animal is there, it dug the product up and now the trapper has to finish the job not the bait and lure. JMO, There is no need to purchase ingredients for $90 to $100 an ounce because X said its the next best thing. No magic involved, it either attracts them or not.

TDHP
When you say it either attracts them or it doesn't are you saying there's no such thing as mediocre, good , and great lures? It either works or it doesn't? Also do you think that every coyote that smells a proven lure will work the set? Just trying to make sure I'm following you point.

Ask yourself this question, we'll use this site for an example. This site has hundreds to thousands of posts with people using "proven big ole trapper named bait&lure" right? So if "proven" bait&lure were the staple why would you need so many if they are all proven? Shouldn't one suffice? That would mean there should be no problems or posts with individuals using "proven" bait &lure because X made it and trapper so and so down the street traps X amount of animals with his "proven" bait&lure right? Go ahead look at the posts from people struggling or are low on numbers...pretty sure they all are using "big ole proven bait&lure" or used at one point.

That means all the "proven" bait&lure that have all these supah dupah awesome ingredients in them should be automatic, why isn't that the case? I think a lot of folks put too much stock into the bait&lure aspect rather than their skill set and animal population. Animals are curious by nature, I can get a coyote to dig up bait in every location I make a hole at, whether the ground is frozen solid or not. That a mediocre, good or great bait? How good is that bait to the trapper who beds a trap in a location where there is no sign of a coyote? BUT wait...the bait claims it will call coyotes in from 8 miles away... will it really?... good luck with that. Like bedding a trap in a fenced in yard with a 20ft fence. I'm saying you put bait in an area where there are coyotes it's your job as a trapper to make that connection with your skill set in making and presenting an interest to the desired animal, or take an educated guess based off of habitat and knowledge of that animal for location. Getting them there is the easy part, and yes you don't need "big named trapper bait&lure named products" to do it. I don't know many people who just walk in the woods and just set traps without doing a little scouting.

Lol I like you TDHP.

I'd like to know too. I'm hoping this is good, because I'm always up to learning new magic tricks. Maybe, just maybe my son won't have to cover so much ground anymore.





Lots of time in the field with final product and single ingredients teach very well, along with studying the animals you're trying to attract. Warm glove wear and a comfortable pair of go faster's and you're in business. Lets see those magic methods!

All holes are punched with threaded rod or rebar no more than 3/4 of an inch. If the ground is soft the opening of the hole is bored out just a tad.


Frozen solid



Frozen solid.


Frozen solid damaged threaded rod punching this through. They want it, they'll git it.


Two holes side by side with same bait.

Finally got traps in ground yesterday , made six sets. Caught two on my own formulations. 2 years of practicing on my own formulations and over a hundred test sets and first time I try my own stuff I double. One was a double dirt hole with a bobcat meat bait and mink gland base curiosity lure, second was flat set with coyote gland lure. All my own original formulas. I'm no means a good lure maker yet but i'm learning. Lots of information I picked up here helped me.

Good deal. Doesn't look like any mange, lucky you. Now you know enough to be dangerous. I can see it now, a video and lure line will be on the way by next season. On the Line with Seth.

Going to try half of my sets this year on my own stuff and half on commercial formulations that have worked for me in the past.

Thanks Bob. Not much mange here the last two years. Wish you were coming back out this year. The more I learn the more questions I could ask.