Ok

caught another pair coming in on a cow path in blind sets. I agree with tbn.

prepared lures and baits work great but so do other options


these two were caught by just bedding traps around the dead calf.

Keep track of what you're using at each set, its location, the weather conditions, the length of time before/between a catch, and so on. At the end of the season, collate that information into a spreadsheet and start playing with the numbers. Do this season after season, and you'll start to get a picture of what works, when and where; patterns will emerge regarding bait/lure combinations and set selection. And you might just discover some things you never anticipated - that's the fun part.

Don't think you can just rely on your memory to analyze what worked and didn't work. Most people are not that gifted. Besides, we tend to be our own worst enemies in this regard; subjective biases and the human capacity for self-deception too easily distort the bigger picture. We're just not naturally attuned to looking at the things in such broader terms.

What if you have 75 percent poor locations for one reason or another? Your results and conclusions are subject to the effects of your own decisions, which may or may not be understood by the investigator. IE you stink at picking spots and blame the lure for lack of success.

Why don't you tell us how you really feel wr Otis

The test here is about the effectiveness of a specific range of lures/baits for coyotes. As such, there are certain assumptions or effects that are more or less fixed so-to-speak, or at least should be:

1. You have a sufficient population of coyotes present for the test to be meaningful. E.g., if you drop Craig O’Gorman onto the Hawaiian island of Maui and ask him to conduct the test with everything he needs, he will conclude after several months that all the lures and baits tested are worthless for catching coyotes. But he will have a nice tan when he returns home.

2. The person conducting the test is sufficiently skilled to carry out the test for meaningful results. E.g., if you drop Rosie O'Donnell onto the plains of eastern Montana and ask her to conduct the same test with everything she needs, we’ll never see her again, and the person who recruited her would receive the Presidential Medal of Honor and a ticker tape parade.

You can see where I’m going with this. So yes, someone who sucks at coyote trapping will have a difficult time figuring out the effectiveness of one lure/bait over another. But your question brings up an important issue having to do with internal versus external validity, and why studies like that of Graves and Boddicker are so difficult to do. But that discussion would get us deep into the weeds....

I met Russ Carmen at the same convention. When I started trapping in the 70's, his and Hawbackers were the go to lures. We didn't have coyotes yet but I hammered the reds and greys with his Final Touch.... It was an honor to meet him (and Mr. Dobbins) and they was very cordial. I've had some pretty good success on coyotes with his Circle Maker and Circle Maker Magnum when it gets colder. Need to plug Dobbins Backbreaker because its been a killer on K9's too.

Is there a GoFundMe link for the Rosie O'Donnell part?

LMBO

I would donate generously if she really would disappear. Lol

Yes Backbreaker is always close at hand when on the line.

Awesome idea, Laz! So which of the following portraits should I showcase for the GoFundMe page? I'm leaning toward #3.

<< Just had to get rid of those first two pics...and probably should toss the third too. >>

Yeah, I thought that was a little on low side too.

That was probably before they told her to put BOTH feet on the scale.

She's such a babe. I sort of have a crush on her....or a fetish to be crushed.

Edit: I'm thinking NOT family friendly and slightly off topic.

Sounds like you're inFATuated with her.

Your a sick puppy. Lol

Originally Posted by Buck (Zandra)
"That's fascinating Lazarus.The theory being that they could get habituated to the lures being used consistanly.Alot of guys will say it don't matter because the catch is made up of pups,but it seems like I once read something similar happen when poison was used with large baits.Coyotes,thru time began to steer clear of bait stations.Never thought about it in relation to lure and baits."


"Exactly. My friend says he's always finding old sets where guys left their lure sticks behind so the coyotes see and smell that stuff year round. They may not have even had a bad experience with it, but maybe they saw a buddy that was caught and they've just associated all that catch circle odor to a particular lure. Even if they've not had a bad experience with an odor, if they smell it all year long it loses its "punch" when the coyote gets a whiff of it during trapping season. Its that novelty idea again."

Ah, if young folks or beginners at any age are reading this, you may have just learned a pretty important thing most experienced old timers had figured out. Not talked about much but it is by some of the better teachers in the game.

Thanks to everyone that has shared on this thread.

Mac

Thank you, Mac, for bringing us back into the fold. The issue, as I see it, is that a systematic determination of which lure works best for coyotes is just not feasible. We see a lot of questions that ask which lure or bait is the best. The problem here is that the question itself is flawed because there is no single answer to that question. What works in the sand hills of western Kansas is not necessarily what works along the logging roads of Northern Maine.

More importantly, we focus way too much on lures and baits and far less on location. I'm amazed at just how little we talk about location these days. Comparatively, how many threads on Trapperman have you seen about canine location versus set or lure selection? We're always looking for that secret set or lure that will turn us into a professional-class trapper.

Good lures matter, good sets matter, but none of that makes a hill of beans if you're not on location. And being on location begins with the property you choose all the way down to where you place your lure.

Darn she has more chest hair than me....

Good points, location is the first major building block to success.