I'm having issues with them either smelling something or the wire pan cover isn't sitting flat enough across the mb650 trap or it's not bedded solid enough in the soft muddy ground.

ive had them do that to me on a dirt hole they uncovered the trap covering but I don't use a pan cover just polyfill under the pan and then I use a pair of scissors and cut nearby grasses or whatever is close to use as a covering. in the picute I posted above the only thing on that trap was the same grass that was where I dug the trap bed. I just cut it smaller but not small enough that it fell trough the trap heck you could even see part of the trap and I have them plated with a chrom/zinc plating. see some silver see some grass didn't seem to bother this yote. I don't put anything in the hole other than the bait im using and then the lure on the lip where it runs down the inside and outside of the pipe. I want as much smell to escape the pipe as possible.

Thx, I might just try that. Seems like my traps either get uncovered with pan cover laying to the side or I find em sprung and out of the bed.

I generally assume it is a bedding issue

Darn raccoons

x100 LOL

I wish it was a coon!

Has anyone tried to shove a piece of corn cob a couple inches down in the pipe to keep the bait from falling to the bottom?

The pipe fills with dirt.so your bait won't fall anywhere.

Nice, lol one of those moments

Dark Night,

Is the coyote standing at your set? I don't see the tuft of grass near the canine that I see in your pic?

#1 Your trap is too far back. Way too much real estate for that dog to work in.
#2 Eliminate options as best you can with fencing at the set
#3 It looks like the pope is straight up and down. You should slant it towards where you want them. Don't give them a 360 degree option.
#4 How's your wind direction? You downwind with the set?

Coyotes don't often paw with precision at a set. Usually a raccoon is your culprit. The fact that a coyote sniffed close doesn't absolutely mean he's on to you.

Good luck.
Mark

Thanks Mark. I'll try to post a couple more pics of him working the set.


On the bottom pic you can see him doing his magic. I pound the pipe in slightly angled toward the trap bed. It's a steeper angle than 45 degrees. Pan is about 9 inches back from pipe opening. I make a "hang loose" sign with my pinkie finger and thumb extended and middle 3 fingers bent and that's about 8-9" back.
I put tiny little spiky sticks at each lever and one at the free jaw, lay the black window screen cover over the pan and lightly cover with lawn clippings.
I wonder since the clippings are still green and still smell like lawn clippings it's a different smell so they dig at it. I do fan the clippings out about 6 inches from the bed.
Traps have been boiled in dye and waxed in an old turkey fryer setup. 2 separate pots.
In bottom pic you can see a tuft of grass in front of his nose. Pipe is barely sticking out of that tuft about 2 inches. He is working the set from the side in that bottom photo. Trap is downwind of the pipe for a SE winds, which it was that day but typically we have WNW wind.
Thanks for your input guys.

DarkKnight,

Ah yes, he's a good one.
You got that rascal. He'll be back and you'll catch him.
He likes what you're offering him for smells, obviously super location. Your set description sounds good.
But it would seem he smelled something on the trap or screen perhaps. Or as some say, there was a soft spot in the trap bed and he found it first.
I'd just redo and see if he's that good again
We all get in a hurry and don't catch little things that can mess us up. When we redo the second time, we usually fix that "thing" that we need to fix.

Good luck!
Mark

Look at that bugger leaning on his right front foot, digging with his left.

I'm beginning to believe they ARE left hand(foot)ed.