What is your favorite set, bait, and or trap for dryland coon

Dry cat food coated with molasse's in a DP

We run some dyland coon sets with DPs and some are dirtholes. I also like 160s in tight spots in grassy trails.
Jim

Dp's and floating catfish food pellets.

I only Dp's on dry land anymore.

I use corn because when catfood gets wet coon won't eat it neither will my cats but I also put in some vanilla or something to give it more smell than just corn

$1 cans of Jack Mackeral from Dollar Store, mixed 50/50 with cat food, unless around farm buildings then marshmellow with a sweet syrup of some sort.

Favorite set for me is a cubby set with a 1.5 or #11 set at the entrance. Lately though i tis hard to warrant spending that much time to build a cubby and bed a trap for a coon when i can slam down a few DP's and roll on. I am trying to make a conscious effort to get back to the roots of trapping that i truly enjoy and this is one i need to get back into doing.

Yes I catch coon in dp traps but looking to set some footholds.

Molasses for lure and grape jelly for bait, in a dp

#11DJ in a pocket set, still my favorite coon set. I like cut up fish in the pocket, a drop or two of lure above the hole, sometimes. It's kinda like those 4x4 pick ups from the late 70's, some classics just can't be improved on.

cleatus it is getting late enough boat trapping will work, something i am certain you are aware of. hard to beat a little fish in a pocket set with a 1 1/2 on a drowner.

1 1/2 coil in a coon trail. Minimum 4 no bait blind set. DPs jack mackerel oats salmon and liquid smoke mixture down in the tube. Coyote gland on the side of the dp. Then circle each dp on the ground with gusto. Big Coon. Few tinks

I've got 20 in the freezer now, all december prime Nebraska coon, huge sizes, no kits, and none were taken from water sets. 5 or 6 of them.were from dirthole sets for coyotes, rest were from DPs and 160s in tight grassy trails. Some locations I set DPs to keep coon from getting to the coyote sets. Not that I'm avoiding coon, we have great coon here. It's more the coyote type traps tend to be a little too big for coon and I have less issues if I can catch them in DPs or coon specific sets fiest with coon type traps. DPs are a great dryland coon tool.

If I'm making a dirthole to target coon, it's a coon dirthole. Big hole, flashy dirt pattern, lots of eye appeal. Load it up with fish and coon lure. Load it up. The bed the foothold tightly to avoid flippers. Set it back a bit, I use my outstretched hand as placement guide. And also use a big backing. They like to stand on it and try to reach into the hole. Make em work it from the front. Stab a big weed or two into the backing to force them around to front of the set. You can take a stick and pin the bait down in the hole too. Make them work for it. Fish oils works great because they can smell it but never can quite get a paw full of anything to satisfy them. Double dirtholes are one of my favorite coon dirtholes I get few misses with two holes and a trap between them out front.

I know the water guys can really put up big numbers of coon, but I've always got almost all of my coon over last 40 years or so on dryland.
They stay clean and fluffier that way.

Seriously I will always get about as many coon in my coyote sets as coyotes. And setting way out on some long-running fencerow or field edge, I typically get some gigantic boars. I catch way fewer kits and sows when I get away from the water.

Jim

Those are some very nice coons

Nothing beats a good trail set. You can catch them in most every type of set, though. I would say cubby, then dirt hole, then flat set. I think you get less misses with a cubby type deal, because it lines him up over the trap. I've watched coon work dirtholes on camera and they can hit it from any angle, unless you have it really boxed in and clean out the hole without their feet being over the trap.