Asa Lennon wrote where he had a pair of setting boots In the box of dirt In the back of the truck. At each set he would take off his driving boots change Into his setting boots. Then repeat the process after making each set. Don't know If It made a difference but it must have built up his confidence when he was trapping. And that in It's self makes a difference.

^^^^^^ Yes it does,a big difference

I agree with the confidence building aspect. That'll make a trapper go at it harder and result in better catches.

I guess to be fair, critters back then had wayyyy less human interaction than they do these days. So I’m sure human scent then was much more unusual for them to encounter compared to today.

Good point. My way of trapping down here would probably yield zero results in a more wilderness area. Our critters are used to a “working” environment.

I think that being as clean as possible increases your chances in a set. Especially if a coyote comes along soon after the set is made. Just anecdotal evidence, but I think the foreign scent dissipates slowly. The cleaner you are, the faster it dissipates. Just my opinion, and I don’t advocate being overly cautious to the point of making it tedious but I do wear rubber gloves and won’t kneel on the ground unless wearing hippers. I hang traps in the bush for a month or so if I can’t dye and wax them. I try not to drip sweat on the set and so on. I guess if you have really hungry, or lots of dogs it matters less....

It seems too easy or convenient to just say scent doesn’t matter much. Coyote may be much more used to humans now, but it’s not like they come lay in the back yard and hang out with the fam. They still avoid us to a great extent. Again, just my opinion.

I also trap some of the same land that Asa was talking about.... Could be the area.

I think you’re exactly right. I also think that all animals have their own individual reaction to humans. Some are extremely skittish and avoid as much human contact as possible. Others just aren’t nearly as concerned. I caught a coyote last week in a set that I made the afternoon before, with zero attempt minimize my scent. There’s no way it didn’t smell me. In other cases the tracks in snow showed coyotes purposely walking around a set I had made recently.

I would not say being reasonably cautious is a bad thing. What does a person gain from being a sloppy trapper, anyway? I can't stand seeing guys make a set with gloves then use the gloves to handle lure bottles. Maybe it doesn't matter, but it gives me more confidence to wear gloves when setting the trap and remove them for luring.

My uncle shot a deer while smoking a cigarette. Once had a fox walk around the cabin while we were all in side making noise and odor. Had a deer bed down right outside same scenario. I’ve had game on camera within an hour of setting it without any regard to scent control. Seen deer walk down a well used hiking trail minutes after people. All sorts of wild animals come through my yard at night after kids and pets outside all day.

Few places an animal can go these days without encountering human scent. If it bothered them that much, there’d be no wildlife around neighborhoods, parks, etc.

The animals obviously get used to and adapt to living around humans. In the remote wilderness where animals don’t often encounter humans, scent and sign of people is rare and they are more sensitive and cautious of it. I can’t say whether human scent on a trap makes any difference. I’ve got a lot more experience hunting than trapping. But if there is any similarity then the importance of scent control is probably a function of how accustomed the animals are in that particular area.

Having said all that, I do wear a scent control outfit while bow hunting and take precautions to mitigate scent while doing any hunting or trapping. It might be for nothing, but I’ll take any advantage I can get.

Something else that hasn’t been touched on in the context of all these practices is the mental game. If that scent control suit or handling the trap with rubber gloves makes you more confident, your chance of success will greatly increase even if the scent control is futile. The importance of mindset and confidence was emphasized to me as a young hunter, and I can attest that it makes big difference. I suspect that many traditional practices that continue to be followed even if unsubstantiated by scientific research are mere rituals that give the hunter or trapper the confidence to perform at his best and have an edge. And if that is the measure of effectiveness, then it does make a difference.

Could the reason a coyote or a critter avoidance of a set be the lure or bait, because I am pretty sure if they coming from down wind side they smell the bait lure first ??? Thoughts??

The success of remakes after a catch shows how the overwhelming scent from a previous catch can be attractive for some reason. I have always wondered if there was a way to reproduce that scenario from the start as a cover scent. I can’t remember which famous trapper’s directions I was reading long ago, but he used a ton of urine on the sets. He even coated his hands with urine as a cover scent for any contamination by his own scent. EJ Dailey maybe? While I have not put urine on my hands, or on a bare trap, I have misted a whole set with a few sprays of urine as a cover scent at dirt holes with louder bait. I don’t keep good enough records or control other variables to look at the stats over the long run. I like to do this at sets I make when it’s warm out.

Again, anecdotal evidence is all I have. Once a coyote gets caught, I remake the set as best I can and usually put in another new set nearby. The remake is definitely more attractive than the newer set, at least in the next couple days in my experience.

One of my favorite topics. Debunking old methods. One of my favorites is the scent control. I grew up in world where coykte trapping was only for the older experienced trappers. Ticked me off. I couldn't wait. Well by time I got out of high school a 30-40 coyote season was a farly regular season for me. I swore id never let my boys have to wait that long, dumbest thing was to make them wait like I had to.

I started my boys out VERY young digging dirtholes and trap beds, pounding stakes, putting stinky bait and lure at sets. They were kids...what kid doesn't love to dig in the dirt, pound with hammers, be outdoors, and tease each other about smelly stuff on their hands? Little boys are the perfect coyote trappers! They may not be strong enough to set the trap, but making the set ain't rocket science.

They were catching coyotes like crazy at a very young age and hooked em for life. I never scolded them for hanging around too long at sets, or getting human scent all over everything. We just had fun, spent countless hours together, and caught a jillion coyotes over the years. Now they are really good at picking out spots, making sets, and even driving the old man around for checks.

When I was a kid I was confined to coon and rat trapping....the coyotes were something evidently I wasn't qualified yet for so had to listen and read about it. When I finally caught my first coyote I quickly realized it wasn't as mysterious as the professionals made it all sound. Never looked back. Been my favorite animal to trap ever since.

Start your partners very early and have fun. The scent control is important but (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) any kid can catch coyotes with a little guidance from dad and keep it fun! Pack some lunches and go have fun together!


Back then....







And as they got older...





Couldn't have asked for better partners!

Great topic and some excellent posts! I’m still trapping now in fairly deep snow conditions....well at least for my country. Keeping sign to a minimum is still one of my concerns but in this situation it just ain’t possible.
Thoughts on snow trapping and old timey theories?

Great pics jabNE

jabNE that's really good stuff. We need more dad's to do what you've done. Time spent with our kids is never regretted. Thank you for sharing that.

Everone knows by now that mink travel 20 miles and take 2 weeks to do it.....dont know how many books said this? Where one mink goes they all follow......check out every hole......afraid to get their feet wet....dont walk on mud that will scare them off, etc.

Harvest some of that catch circle dirt and use It when making new sets and see how that will up your catch rate.

True story.

I can remember making my dirt hole back in the 70s as a kid after reading some of the mystery ways on what you must do to catch red fox.

Equipment:
Two sets of gloves
Trap setting rubber gloves that were never touched by my bare hands. They were washed and hung out doors for a week. They were then hung on the back of my pack basket
Bait and lure cotten gloves. They were never to touch my trap sitting gloves, traps or set making tools. They were also hung on the back of my pack

Traps
All were dyed, wax, and handle with surgical precision. They were not to be breathed on and never to be touch by bare hands
All other tools were handle the same way

Set making
Finding the perfect spot. Wind had to be going in the right position to carry the smell f your lure and bait to the fox
The dirt hole set was made exactly and noted in the book
You made your set when you were down on your knees on a canvas cloth.
Perfect 45d hole. 2” wide. 10” deep
The trap was then firmly bedded 7” back 3” to the left
The trap was then covered. From the hole the sifted dirt was to come out at a 45 d on both sides
The covering had to be perfect. It looked like a groomed sand dune on a golf course
Finally I saturated the set with fox urine both around the set and my exit steps from the set.

Results
The 1st night I caught a pheasent which the fox ate. After consulting with my father on what I should do, he told me to “throw” a trap on the outside of the now demolished dirt dole and the exposed trap.

The next day I had my first red fox..

Most of those "oldtimers made their living trapping walked their lines and a fox or mink made a big difference so why not put all the odds in your favor Todays Trappers still jump on the newest trap next great lure or newest video methods nothing's changed
andrews1958 didn't see where you listed having to wade ina creek to take a leak so you didn't contaminate your boots