Mr. Jameson’s response on another thread got me to thinking. Didn’t want to hijack that thread.
I’ve been trying out some new lures and bait since season closed. Mock dirt holes and pipes mostly. Sure does separate the wheat from the chaff. Some yotes don’t even break stride while others look like a bass when you set the hook as they get down wind.
I’ve pulled my cameras now because it’s spring and figure the yotes reactions might not be the same as during the fall. Am I correct in doing this ?

One thing is for sure I’m going to experiment with different trap placement next year.

Are you considering moving trap out to about 12 inches? That looks about the distance from nose to toes.

The best stuff I've tested is the best no matter what time of the year it is. I test year around and believe it is beneficial to do so.

Thank you. Have many places to test this time of year. Cameras don’t get stolen as bad as in the fall.
Those two yotes were very timid in their response. Hard chargers had their feet much closer but also farther back at some point. Close trap would have missed the bigger yote for sure. Trap back a little would have had a shot at all of them.
The smaller yote is missing his toes on on foot. Interesting property. I have video of a three legged coon, deer and this yote. It’s right next to a highway.

Big pregnant girl. Four yotes in this group. All took turns peeing on my dirt hole. There will be several sets on that corner next fall. Got this location the last week of the season. Big time waterway and highway intersection. Yotes will die here.

Curious about what kind of cameras your running? Took me awhile to find ones that the coyote couldn't detect. Doesn't help I'm cheap either. Lol. I have noticed some periods of the year it maybe easier or harder to get responses but that's also were you can separate the good from the average.

These are all stills from videos. I run browning dark ops cameras for the most part. The video of the four yote and this one was taken with a browning 79.00 camera. Command ops I think. My yotes have never been camera shy with IR cameras. I have a video from a scout guard camera were the yote is fogging up the camera with his breath.

Testing lures and baits can be done year round to a degree. However depending upon what you are looking for in results is the important factor to understand.

Most animals will show interest in most anything new whether it be an odor or object that may be familiar or unfamiliar that they find within their travel corridor !!!!

Not real good data results to interpret here just basic animal curiosity and reactions at work. Just another pretty girl to briefly look at for a moment, take it all in then you go on your way.

Routine...>>>>>>>

Just after seasons end in my opinion is the most prime time for getting very solid " material results " based upon an animals most current seasonal behavioral reactions.

An animal is on his game so to speak and still well conditioned to trust his judgement at this point .

The way I interpret more reliable test results after all my years is by this way of thinking. >>>>>>>>>>

The remaining predators who have made it thru a trapping and hunting season will still have much if not all of their learned behavior and stimulus reactions still sharply engrained..

In my interpretation I have rationalized that much of their seasonal learned experiences are still fresh during this time frame. They will still be primed and ready for a quick evaluation and response as is the nature of this extremely resilient animal.

Coyotes may not remember each circumstance individually but I think they do develop some degree of association awareness which they use when it comes to instinctual reactions.

We as humans depend upon our accumulated learned behavior to get thru life in making good decisions or bad ones. I think some animal behavior is not much different in my opinion.

Some people just can't help themselves in things that they do at times. Animals are no different. They are most curious creatures. They all have to eat to survive. They like to horse around, they find interest in objects and things of odor that get their attention and peak their curiosity.

An extremely strong driving force is that of reproduction and their desire for social interaction both physically and vocally. Territorial and physical presence marking behavior is very strong I found in testing products to promote urination reactions.

My results showed wild canines will in most test cases readily mark a scented object if presented near a lured or baited set in 87% of my visitations during the testing of specific odors and combinations of odors. It took me many years to acquire these test results on video. Years ago such tools weren't available to me.

Taking advantage of a few of these behaviors and other viewable animal behavior will help you in becoming a better trapper.

Observing animal behavior and their response to various stimuli presented to them is a great learning tool if you spend the time in the field. It is priceless knowledge and quite rewarding in my opinion.

Thank you Bob. Valuable insight as usual. I’ll play with them over the summer. But will get back hard on it around dispersal.

Very interesting, thanks yote and Bob. What Bob said about a lured object close to a lured or baited set needs to be noticed. Especially with hole sets. They just gotta pee on something to tell the world " this is mine" ..

I saw that time and time again after they stole the bait out of the holes and pipes. Surprised that dirt hole wasn’t full of urine. They were still peeing on the sets a month later.

Yote bed a trap with the jaws zip tied shut at the trail cam test sites to see if it makes a diff or not. I've done it without Cams and learned a bunch. It was an eye opener!

I'm 15 sets into that test so far. 2 holes foot and a half apart, same bait ,one with trap out front one without.

Zip tied shut? You mean set trap correct. I have an old welded up 650 around here somewhere.

Any trap, working or not would get you a ticket here.

Would not a steel plate about the same size of the trap work? No violation there but still same results I would think.

I am not worried about metal or not, I have a couple 4 " PVC pipe pieces that are 1/2 inch. I bed it and try to get a print in the center. Sometime no pipe just loose dirt to look at tracks.

Yep, set and disabled , anchored. strke2x, no closed season for yotes in Michigan..

You can also dig a trap bed and sift it full, without a trap, and with a trap. You'll be surprised..

Found my welded up 650. I have a call into a warden.

I just pop the springs off the levers and they lay pretty flat under the pan for testing

Nice!

Hunting is open all year, trapping not.

True but read the upper left of page 5, pretty grey area . According to Plainwell Trapping and Hunting yotes on private ground is open all year. Personally it's promoting wanten waste of a valuable resource... They may look at it different up your way tho. When a paw hold is disabled by disconnecting the springs or zip tied the jaws it's just a piece of steel.. Make sure ya stake it tho. I've had coon and yotes carry them off..

I read it as on private land when they are doing or about to do damage. I just went through the process to get my ADC license and that explains "doing or about to do damage" pretty well. I don't see any reason to trap during off season unless they are really a problem. Like you said, that would be a waste.

Just adding about the game cam part. I make my own and found no difference between white flash and IR, in fact have seen more negative reaction to IR (am talking deer here, for the most part they investigate and have had multiple of them walking up to and touching lens with nose). Fisher, coyote, coon, fox, bobcat, etc. have multiple pics. of them working bait (right now set for fisher and have at least 200 videos over 4 days in same spot, same at several other locations too). The fisher pics. are with a cheap Wildgame Terra Extreme ($50.00) I got specifically to test against a homebrew. Night videos with it are SUPER but daylight pics. to me suck (homemade uses a real camera so quality is better but trigger time is slower). Haven't made up any video builds but one about to make will use a GoPro but be day only video so nighttime won't be able to do...no flash.
One thing you may encounter though is bear having an affinity of biting the camera. One picked up 2 days ago had both night and day pics. Have heard that the plastic smell makes them investigate more. Have several pics. of open mouths and teeth.

I have been using trail cams for years. I use the picture mode at first to see if activity happens then I go-to video for the final testing. I started using them on my deer scent test sites. I make a lot more money selling deer scents so I needed to see the real-time activity. One thing I have noticed in testing both deer and ADC/Trapping is that a scent will work all year, but the animal's response will be different on both time spent and reaction. For example, Doe in heat urine is an attractant all year, I start all my New deer scent testing in June and go till Sept. A deer both doe and bucks will come to a doe in heat urine at this time, and just smell it. they may spend a min or maybe 2 or 3 mins then walk off. Where in the fall from mid-Sept to late winter the buck will pick up the urine from say 50 feet away and run into the scent and spend time smelling and pawling rubbing trees and just react hard to it. Doe will come in and spend time on the scent and even urinate at the spot. The point is the dee reacts to it all year, just different reactions. Furbearers are the same. most reading these posts are Fur trappers and are only interested in the scent/ baits reaction power during the trapping season. But many of us are full-time ADC/ Wildlife control trappers and we need to not only know what works but the 4 w's what, when, where, and why it works at different times of the year. Real field dirty knee knowledge and information is a powerful tool.

You got that right Ron.

In New York you may not set or stake a trap prior to 7am opening day of season. May or may not apply here.