Got to the camp a couple hours ago..about 6:00 pm....4 hour drive from home. Unloaded 1.5 weeks worth of food and clothes. Mapping my line now, then a hot shower and bedtime.

Same pay job properties as last few years. Start tommorrow setting mostly for coyotes and cats. Will set a few Z-traps for coon at deer feeders and a few Belisles for otter and beaver at the easy to get to spots. Will post a few pics daily over next 12 days.

Stay tuned and enjoy the ride!!!!

Nice can’t wait to see the pics..good luck

Well..this trip is off to a bad start. Armour cheated me out of a Vienna sausage...the one in the middle....dang it!

Your trapping .If that is the worst thing that happens you are in for a pretty good trip

Stopped for a quick lunch. Got about 30+ in the dirt so far..

Good Luck!

That is some sure fire fart food there. Guess it's best you are working alone. Had partner years back in doing some big beaver control jobs that had a ventilation problem due to his boots.

He was eating too much deer jerky and Vienna sausage daily. Being he was wearing chest waders most of the time he had a chimney draft effect when he passed gas.

He was forbidden to ride in the drivers seat of our ATV and have me catch the back draft all day riding on the back.

Looks like some nice trapping conditions!

Will find out how prescribed fire affect predator movement. Landowner lit about 100 acres today...only one trap so far ran over with atv..about an hour after I set it.


Good sized bcat track....

Got about 50 set today. All dirt sets except 4 DPs.

First check tomorrow...then setting more properties. Was frosty this morning. Temps are forecast to warm up..lows in 50s...and good rain chance for several days.

good luck

Yeah Good luck, sounds like a lot of fun.

No rocks, I wouldn't know how to act. to get 50 land sets in here you would need and excavator to move the rocks. Waiting for the next posting........jk

Cant wait to see some pics!

50 brand new sets to check tomorrow! Please show us pics tomorrow.

Glad to see your gonna bring us along again this year !

Bad juju there. Bad Medicine. Deal breaker for me. I would have gone home for the day until I found the antidote.
I did have a can one time which all of them had helmet heads. I don't know what that indicates, but it sure was weird.
Then just today, I pulled out the 6 pack of Vienna sausages, that's right six cans, only to find out that they were barbecue flavor! More like dirty ashtray flavor. I am going to use them around the foundation of the house to run off all forms of life, probably kill the azalea bushes too. Nasty!

looking forward to the journal.

Good luck! That is some work getting that many sets in. Looking forward to the results

The highlight of the first check. Very slow movement last night. Low temp jumped from 28 yesterday to 48 this morning. Also had 16 college students helping landowner burn and they were riding ATVs all over the property last night until midnight watching the fire lines. Glad I'm being paid to trap,or this would be aggravating, but the burn crew is leaving tommorrow and all should quieten down. Predators should explore the burns...

Set most of another property today about 10 miles away. No human activity there...except me.

Looks like a lotta rain is on the way... just great...!!!

Pretty kitty

Nice cat! What traps are you using? Can't wait to see today's check.

Today coyotes. Also had a couple coons and several possums.

Had 10 traps ran over/tripped by fire crew ATVs. They have left now...burning completed for next few day anyway.

Bridger 2 dogless

Stay tuned....

Nice job! Keep em coming

Nice!

Excellent...

Love the annual ride along.

Thanks for sharing. I know this adds to an already busy day for you. I enjoy your pictures.

Great job! Love seeing trappers getting paid for their knowledge and hard work.

Great pictures I love the mixed bag It would be fun to run a line like that and not know what might be the next critter to be found in the next set . Do you generally trap for a mixed bag on Pay Jobs or is it sometimes focused on one or two species

Coyotes are the target predator most landowners want in check, but all other legal-to-take predators that eat fawns and eggs of game birds are asked to be taken also. If same andowner asks if I can/will remove beavers I advise that is a job in itself but I will set the easy to get to locations as I'm on the property for a 10 day minimum anyway. Any otters are a bonus, and I cant just ride by a good otter crossover or toilet....lol.

Down here in the Deep South it is the only way a trapper can afford to keep going.

Looks like where I was trapping in south ga. last spring, lol. Got the whole place set up then they set it on fire, fun fun fun dealing with all that going on.

Definitely a nice bag of critters. Thanks for letting us tag along. Congrats on your success so far..

hey Swamp Wolf what's your coyote population look like over there in SE Georgia? Right across the big river in the lowcountry of SC our numbers appear to be down. All the pen owners are scrambling to find game, coyote price for live market has doubled. My buyer traps himself every year. He usually catches 100-150 each year. Right now he's right at 50, and said he's trapped harder than ever. Lot of people thinking parvo, heartworms, or something as hit the population hard. I myself am on my usual numbers, but I have trapped more property than usual. Instead of pulling 5-8 coyotes from one property, it's 2-3 from here and there. You seeing anything similar over there?

I enjoy the Ride Along Swamp!! Looks like a good haul so far!

I'm enjoying this thread a lot! Thank you for taking the time to post and share.

Yeah..coyotes seem to be just starting to filter back onto the property they burned. About a thousand acres were blackened in a week or so.

Back at home at the Florida line we have a high population. I'm trapping now about 30 miles south of Augusta. This is 7th year here and there are not as many critters, including coyotes, as in past years. Not sure if thats due to me trapping here every year or some other reason. Critters always fill the void from adjoining properties so I doubt I'm making a big impact.

Note the Mark Zagger grey PVC pipe. Coyote got mad and threw it out of the catch circle. Btw, I skint that one...decent pelt.

Good job man

Pear trees in food plots are blooming and putting on leaves already.

Huge sign post buck rub on bank of Savannah River. Looks like the boar hogs have used it cut their tusks on too.

Road coming off bluff and going down into river bottom.

Landowner road repair. Had to use big rocks as small rocks mashed down into that sticky gumbo river bottom silt.

Egg eater...

Otter toilet. Dont know what they're eating that makes black squirts., but the other is 100% crayfish.


330 on tall support. Water depth is perfect. Minimal blocking here. Had otter here yesterday.

Same stream..opposite side. 330 on tall support but water is deeper and more blocking neccessary.

when I was up in Mo. the otter started eating coots and ALL their dropping's turned black so that may be what they are eating on.

Flash floods over here rest of the week, not sure if it's getting down to you or not but if so your in for a real treat the rest of the week.

Yeah..I see that rain coming..

Nice Work

That little porker isn't going to make much bacon! I caught one in TX a couple years ago that still had its spots and probably weighed about 3 lbs.

Where were you in south ga Jtrapper? Just curious.

WMA on the banks of Lake Seminole .

What a cute little Arnold. Make for a great meal no less. Sarge

I turned the little guy loose. He had already been thru a night without coyotes pulling his guts out. I'm getting soft in my old age. Didnt dare tell landowner I let him go. My wife, even though she's back at home thinks I'm a hero...lol


Buddy came over to ride along for a couple days. We asked to fish a pond on one of the properties. Caught and kept a few of these slabs this afternoon. Gonna fry them up with some grits and home fries tommorrow.

Also kept the backstraps from a big beaver caught today. Gonna slice and grill in a couple days with mashed taters and green beans. Its marinating now.

Catch was slow today. 2 coon and 1 beaver.

Fine eating there SwampWolf. Question? You use the Bridger #2 dogless and I'm thinking of buying some myself. What kind of modifications do you do to these traps?

That's some fine looking crappie but that keeper coyote is not lol

Cool that's bout an hour or so south of me.

Come on...that coyote is prettier than them Indiana fawn eaters....lol. He had all of his guard hairs..except for a few missing on his tail..

No mods. Other than my custom chains. I do shorten the pan notch slightly and adjust pan level.

Hahaha yeah you're probably right.

Hahaha yeah you're probably right.

Jtrap,
Were you trapping for Ga DNR or the Corp of Engineers?

Headed to catch a few more of them slabs for a fish fry tonight.

Stay tuned...

Ga. DNR, silver lakes wma I think is the name of it.

Love it! I like the miscellaneous pictures and not just catch pictures. Throw in some more pictures of your coyote/cat sets if you get a chance. Good for you on posting daily like you do.

Tell us some of your top secret info like baits, lures, etc. Looks like you are staking most of your sets - what type of stakes do you use.

Thanks!!!!!

Enjoying yet another ride-along with ya Swamp Wolf! Thanks!

best thread on tman

Looks very different in that area now due to hurricane damage...lots of big timber is no more.

No top secrets.

I bring several different lures with me. A couple of my favorites are Granpa's Black Magic and Fox Hollow's Bounty Hunter. Have also used some Jameson's Sierra Mist, Southern Snares gator oil, Marsyada's Coyote 601. I also brought several lure made by David Gore from Mississippi....good stuff. I could go on and on...brought about 25 different kinds. If there is a "secret" it's that I swap out lures in my set bag three or four times in a week.

Use commercial red fox urine. Save and use all bcat bladder urine. Using some Reuwsatt Private Stock coyote urine...big, big difference in this compared to what is most likely watered down commercial urine. Smells like the coyote just peed it.

Usually bring a couple baits, but this trip only brought my deer gut bait (deer meat, deer stomachs, livers, hearts..all ground, glycerined and preserved with SB. I use fresh front feet off of caught cats, coyotes, foxes, otters and beavers...mainly at dirthole remakes.

Using homemade pogos to anchor. 14" 3/32 cable. 20 penny nail j-hook, 2" fender washers. Can make them for .15 cent each. I cut them at the top loop on pull day.

I'll post some pics of sets and remakes tomorrow and throw in some of my theories on coyote set locations for this type terrain.

Thanks jonesy! I enjoy sharing it.

Oh my...buddy and I are full as ticks! We just polished off a bunch of the specks and bass filets, hushpuppies, home fries, and cheese grits.
Good trapping camp meal that was!!!!

This is great, can't wait to see more tomorrow!

First year getting to follow this and man it’s great. I trap areas like you’re trapping now and can’t wait to see some of your sets and reasoning as to why. Thank you for sharing, some of us are still learning!

""" No top secrets. """""


I was joking when I asked for "top secrets" as I know the real secret is hard work. I usually try to put in 40 to 50 sets on my first day of setting and know the grind that it can be. Probably 80% of the time when I stop I'm putting in two sets (usually one on each side of the two track). Are you doing about the same?

Yes...if the critter sign justifies 2 traps.

A couple of remakes after coyote catches. Both were original dirthole sets and I remade as dirthole sets. Did not move trap to catch circle edge after these two catches and later on today I'll go into why. Gotta go skin a few critters after a quick lunch...

Stay tuned....

Too tired tonight to post....check back tommorrow....

This is a great thread, Thanks for taking the time to share photos. I’m all rained out here, so this is as close as
I’ll get for a week or so. Congrats!!!

Fat female.



Yesterday's and today's check...

I don't think those will grade western heavy, hahaha.

Whether or not to move the trap after a coyote catch is based on whether the coyote appears to be an alpha. If the coyote is a male then I make my decision off of that coyote's size and demeanor. If the coyote is larger and barks or refuses to submit to my presence then I assume it is an alpha. By submit I mean as you walk up close he lays down and puts his head on the ground. If he submits I remake trap in same spot..sometimes a dirthole..sometimes a flat set.

If the coyote appears to be an alpha male I pull trap and reset just on edge of catch circle. If the coyote is a female I always remake in same spot. If the coyote is a yearling I remake same spot.

This has worked well over the years....as the subordinate coyotes are reluctant to get in the middle of that dominant male's scent....but will spend time walking around the edge of it. Subordinates dont seem to mind walking all over the catch circle of females.

Btw,
The 2 coyotes on page 4 of this thread were an adult female and a yearling female. Both sets remade same spot.

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure some will disagree. And I realize this dont mean much until a series of second coyote catches are made. Sometime it happens...sometimes not.

Trap moved to edge of circle after an older male coyote that never layed down until I dispatched him. Original set was a dh and new set is a dh.

Yeah...those graded "carcass dump section"...

I dont comply with any set distance from hole or scent to trap pan center. I bed my trap first, pan exposed, then auger hole., using auger's dirt to cover pan. Most sets are about 5" or 6" from hole lip or scent to pan center. Most of my sets have a slight pan offset from straight back....but some are straight back.

I've missed 2 coyotes that I know of in past 8 checks and they worked set from the side. Do I go thru a stretch occassionally where I seem to have more misses? Yep and so does every other truthful coyote trapper.

Those Bridger 2 dogless traps sure are flat. They bed solid very easy and fast. Hard to beat that trap for $137/dozen.

love them bridger 2's

Testing coyote set locations somewhat on this trip. I made an effort to set on single road or fire break edges as opposed to making the set at the intersection of two or more roads or breaks. I wanted to see if using the road/break as a natural funnel made a difference. I am a firm believer in not depending on your lure or bait to pull a coyote more than a few feet so I try to make all sets within inches or only feet from where I see tracks, scat, or kick scratches. Plus everyone always try to trap/hunt all critters in funnel/pinchpoints. I wanted to see if setting the intersections was more productive or setting the single road/break edge was better due to the coyote almost certainly passing within inches or feet from the set...whereas in the intersection the coyote could pass by and miss the set by several yards (I know wind direction is a factor here..but bear with me.) I bypassed several good intersection locations and made sets down the road/break several yards....leaving the intersection trap free.

I have picked off a few of these coyotes on this trip because of setting like this, but have caught a few at intersections too. Coyotes on this trip are readily working sets and I havent seen a single instance where they have bypassed a set along the edge of a road/break without either getting caught or stepping on trap pattern. I can track them easily on these sandy roads and have followed their tracks right to the set past several days.


Not rocket science and I had got into a rut of always setting only intersections over the years. Hard to make changes....but this only makes sense.

Most trappers, me included, will only set the intersections (red)...

But, the sign shows the road the coyotes are using then you can "funnel" them closer to your set by setting here(yellow)....



Takes more traps....not necessarily...set only on sign..

Just food for thought....

Wow I wouldn't know how to act with no Rock's,Mud,or Ice. Keep it coming

Really enjoying this thread!

Love my Bridger 2 dog less traps. Things are tanks! Good catchin Swamp.

heck, just in the yellow areas, I see at least a dozen traps being set.
Is that a power line I see also? More traps I see being planted. And not to mention that open field. Sarge

Could be done, but would be overkill for the amount of predators on this property. The pic is just a small part of the property. Its 3500 acres.

I got lucky when I arrived on day 1 and was able to find sign on top of last rain that showed me primary travel patterns...

Enjoying the thread. Gonna give those Bridgers a try.

I think you will be happy with them. 15 minutes per trap with a flat file and wrenches turns those traps into a fantastic coyote and cat trap.

If you are ilve marketing coyotes you will need to laminate jaws. They are a tad too big for grey foxes and coons can get their mouth under the jaws.

Also, out of 9 dozen new Bridger 2 dogless there were 4 that had weak springs right out of the box. I put Bridger 4 coil springs on those. Perfect.

2 or 4 coiled??

Thanks for the ride along

2 coiled...except for the 4 traps that were weak out of the box. They are now 4 coiled.

Only coyote I had this morning but what a rarity it is. She is a beauty! Had her sold b4 I got back to camp..

I have been following this since you started and it has been fun to see how you make out from day to day .However the info you added about the remakes adds to my knowledge about how to remake sets .And that picture you added most recently is a beauty. Congrats on making a catch on what you call a rarity

Glad your enjoying the thread. Looks like my rare red coyote isnt that rare in the NE. I guess I should add that this coyote is rare that it has nearly all of its guard hairs...lol. I've caught several red ones..just not that pretty and well furred..... and with the very white face too.

I was not implying it is not a rare colored coyote . It is a very nice one for sure .I only ever caught a few .I was just using the same words as you did to describe it .When I see one it my set is always looks good .

No problem.

Ebsurveyor had a wagon load of red ones...lol

Was gonna post a couple more pics but theres a problem. Might be on my end...

Still wont let me post pics....

I can post pics again!!!

This is a set of sheds landowner found on one of the properties I'm trapping. Given a modest spread measures gross 172"

Catch has been slow past 2 checks..a couple beavers, 1 coyote, 1 coon, several possums.

Pulling tommorrow and headed home...I'm tired.

be safe and thanks for the ride.

Thanks for the ride and instructions. Setting traps on a place this week that’s about identical to what you are leaving. Safe travels!

Enjoyed the ride and pictures And your theory about remakes is certainly worth some thought Thanks

Swamp I’m just curious, are you setting the up wind edge of the road on those straight aways or are you going to the middle of the road in case of a wind change ? Don’t know how much traffic your getting if any, just seems like the middle of the road would be safer for the bridgers,lol .

Thanks for the ride along! Great thread!

whens your next ride along???????

I do sometimes pay attention to the wind but not much as it changes so often. I pay more attention to where I see tracks and put set in as close as possible.... within inches of the tracks. I have set the middle of the road if there is some grass clumps for backing..my favorite spot.

Our fur season ends last day of February so this is likely my last run until next winter...unless I get a coyote or beaver call from somebody with some money..lol

Just got back from giving most sets a shot of fox/bcat urine. Rained this morning and clear now with temps dropping tonight...should be a good predator night.

Good luck! I've had enough for a while. The warmer temps and rain makes coyote trapping a challenge. Plus I dont like trapping as much when everything but coyotes and beaver have to be released starting March 1st.