I do not cover my baits. Birds of prey come down from above, and the bait is above the conibear. I want the chicadees to work the bait, there flighting back and forth help to draw the fisher's attention along with flecks of meat on the ground. I have never caught a bird of prey. Red Squirrels will eat beaver meat, but they I never had a problem with them., flying squirrels on the other hand live in colonies. If you catch one there will be a lot more to follow.
I do like to bend the springs up and run a stick through them to provide a perch for the birds, rather than the triggers.

On the other hand exposed baits on the ground is illegal in my state, and they must be completely covered. In the past some eagles were caught in footholds.

I'm betting you will catch more fisher In ground sets then In pole sets. Why try and force a critter up a pole when It's running around on the ground.
Since here In WI your lucky to get a tag and then your only going to be allowed one fisher a bunch of dirt holes and flat sets made for coyotes will catch your fisher with out all the box making and looking for or creating a bunch of pole sets.

Find some bear baiting sits and set them up. Fisher just love those sites I think they are attracted to the mice and voles and squirrels that feed at those sites.

When you catch a worthless crow in your trap ..and miss a fisher,cus the trap has a crow in it....you’ll change your way.

I am debating only taking half the fisher I usually do this year. I almost had a better beaver average last year than on my fisher.

My top 20 beaver did better than my top 20 fisher.

I have to agree with the Beav, you can catch more fisher on the ground. There are some that just will not go up the pole. In New York we do need to apply for a free fisher/marten permit, however there is no limit on how many you can take. I've come to the conclusion that I disagree with that.. I guess I feel more comfortable with traps up from the ground and in some cases got me permission.
While I have great respect for Mr.Nessmuck's input on fisher,I must say that I've been trapping fisher for many, many years. Not once have I ever caught a crow or bird of prey. I have caught some big coons, weasels, and gray fox, flying squirrels, and a rare red one. Must be our New York crows are a tad smarter than those in New Hampshire.In any event I just enjoy that I'm still able to get out there in the forest.

Avoiding birds is easy by using a small limb to cover the box entrance and does not hinder fisher or marten entrance.

Never caught a crow here either. And I haven't found much difference in elevated boxes. Having them elevated is darn good piece of mind. If I think I will be short, I'll just add a couple more boxes.

Yup....the crows,red squirrels, weasels, have educated me. With a 31 day season...and a limit, Yah can’t afford any misses.

This year I'm trying the set Sam Wood showed making a cubby out of pine branches. Very excited about this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwDIYUQJpzw&t=360s

Check your NY regs. Unless your conibear is recessed in a cage, box, or pail they must be a minimum of 4" off the ground.

That's 4 feet, not inches.