Silky, I certainly agree that for the most part first night catches are a result of a culmination of factors.

When I do make first night catches, I look at it as a gauge that lets me know that my recon, location, timing, set look, & attractant were on the money.

While a miscue of any one of those can snafu your chances, I feel some just might be a little more critical than others.

James I think everyone would probably agree location is the #1 factor (at least the majority)

What do you consider the #2 most important factor when trapping coyotes?

Location is a given, but I think timing means everything when it comes to quick catches.

That is where your ability to read sign and compile accurate and current recon is paramount to consistent success.

We are talking recon that is hours old not days.

You have to take into consideration the area, water, food source, and density as well. For the most part you aren't going to have coyotes traveling the same location every night unless there's something causing them to. Such as a dead pile or water where it's not plentiful. When you look at these things you will see that first night catches aren't going to happen like they do for others.

Your point is well taken SPC.

No two areas are the same. It is certainly not a “one size fits all” scenario.

I do believe that no matter what the variables are, little things can make a big difference.

Sometimes all you need is that little edge to put that extra dozen coyotes in the truck. I believe the same applies to those first night catches.

I like keeping close tabs on the local Coyote Crew especially as the season progresses.

Road, trail, and sendero recon is my version of the Wile E. Daily News.

I try to read the paper every day.

Exactly!

Set your most active location, show them your most productive set look, bring your “A” game blending, and then offer them your best attractants.

After all that fanfare, simply disregard common sense scent control measures and stink up the set area.


Wile E. will be quick to show you just how important scent control really is.

Here's a thought to consider. Maybe scent control only matters when you first show up and start setting traps. What happens when you show up one day, walk around, and scout without setting equipment? No negative interaction done on the local coyote population, so maybe a sense of no threat to your scent. Then you come back and set things up. You nail them because the first interaction with your scent wasn't negative.

That is an interesting thought SPC. I think I see where you are going with that.

If that was true, once the element of surprise is lost you would think the quick catches would come to an abrupt stop.
Spinning coyotes & catch circles springing up like mushrooms should be a huge red flag.
That has not been the case on my road lines or bait station sets. The first night catches continue throughout the season.

You know all too well when you are catching enough coyotes in an area you quickly create a void.
The coyotes that fill in from the far reaches immediately encounter catch circles and scent overload upon arrival.
I have little doubt transient coyotes on new ground that are seeing a bunch of stinking catch circles are on high alert.

In any case, I believe those first night snags continue thanks in large part to a few scent control measures.

If scent was as big an issue with every coyote as most think, there would NEVER be first night catches in the South, unless sweat doesn’t account for scent, lol. Make your set and get out. If coyotes were that cautious of scent then once they encountered it they would be gone. Heck, if that was the case you should be able to walk your fence perimeter and keep the coyotes off the property. I’m guessing you don’t trap all year and let the population build?

Good points guys. You mentioned transients do you think on average that first night catches are attributed to say younger coyotes.i do think the least amount of scent you leave the better off you are.My schedule to trap is set Friday run Sat and pick up Sunday morning . Last year I started putting out bait holes.and my first night catches and numbers have went up.

I always expect first nite catches on a new set out line.. Simply because I have 35 to 40 plus sets out on a typical day over a spread out area. This obviously increases your chances of encounters due to shear numbers of traps in the ground and geography.

Now if you only set a half dozen traps or so, your odds will diminish just due to the math. This is also experience working for me and location selection based on years on many traplines across the U.S. .

No feed lots set ups, just cold rolling and reading the landscape. They come slower but they do come in time with reasonable populations, decent weather and avg. trapping pressure and hard work.

When trapping a property over time, you learn the area. You know the travel routes, crossings, etc. My best time so far was a tad over 3hrs from set to catch when using a camera. My longest was 4 weeks and the day I was going to pull it finally connected. Now I’m sure my scent was still around for the least amount of time and had been long gone on the longest amount of time. Now assuming I was on location, why would one coyote get caught the first night and the other bypass numerous times and finally get caught? In fact, when I was going to pull, I’d told my son I was just going to have to walk around until I tripped it because I’d forgotten the exact spot I’d set it. I will say on average, flat sets produce more first night catches for me than dirt holes.

That is a unique take on things WB.


When constant pressure is applied, human scent becomes a huge factor simply because the two are tied together.
Some trappers may snub their nose at scent association. Wile E. showed me ealy on he does not.

The coyotes that survive the blitzkrieg of pressure here are not in grade school.
That graduating class has a master’s degree in staying alive by any means necessary.

I don’t show up with my “B” game in an attempt to catch “A” game coyotes.

When it comes to scent control it’s not so much about the number of coyotes that were missed.
The real problem lies in the number of coyotes educated.

So what constitutes heavy pressure and educated coyotes? Around here, there’s a deer stand in every field. They get shot at on sight in daylight from October - January. Everyone and their brother here has thermals for hogs and coyotes so they are shot at night for a large portion of the year. Trapping as a way to bring prey populations up has caught on and a good percentage of folks have tried their hand at it to some degree or another.

I personally don’t buy the scent thing within reason. As was said, get in, get out, and move on. A guy around here who is an excellent coyote trapper and gets lots of first night catches and I’ve rarely seen him not smoking a cigarette. I believe he wears a pair of chaps and kneels directly on the ground and makes a large percentage of hole sets.

I’ll stand by the argument that the best way to have first night catches is to be on a location where as many coyotes as possible come by the first night.

By the way, I’ve tried the kneeling cloth, only making subtle flat sets, etc. everything I could do to be scent free. I didn’t notice an iota of difference between putting on my knee pads, punching in a quick and messy dh or torn up flat set with a toy, and moving down the road. So I’m either missing something with the scent free and need to be educated or it’s just not a big deal in my area

Out west there are many areas a coyote may see trucks going down a road but infrequently smells human odors within it's home range. That is in sharp contrast to more populated areas where coyotes routinely smell human odors multiple times every day. Coyotes are neophobic, which means they are afraid of unusual stuff. Coyote response to human odors varies greatly from area to area based on what is normal and what is new IMO. Keeping scent and disturbance to a minimum will only improve the odds of catching coyotes wherever you are. Go down a two-track road that may not be used for weeks at a time here, set traps, and start checking every other day and many times the coyotes bounce out of there. Coyotes are always coyotes but your population of coyotes have a different environment than my coyotes and will respond differently.

Dan is right on, have gas or diesel all over your boots, spit Copenhagen everywhere, flick your cigarette ashes around and toss your empty beer cans and chip bags and if you are on a heavily used logging road the coyotes will walk through it all and pay not the slightest attention to it, they may even investigate your lunch garbage and mark over where you got rid of your excess coffee. Walk fifty feet off that road and try the same thing and they won't come within a hundred feet of it. They are perfectly used to all those scents in the first scenario, in the second they are something strange put them on high alert.

The biggest factor in first night catches is having either a high, or highly concentrated coyote population, or a small home range. Here we have plenty of room, and while there is certainly no shortage of them, they aren't concentrated and have a large range. It is normal for coyotes to only come through many good areas of habitat once a week or even longer. You can try to pattern and time them to set your traps out just before they come through next, or try to concentrate them with bait piles. But personally I would rather set a few days before I expect them to come through, then any excess scent I may have left has time to dissapate and the sets can age in and 'blend'. Sure I may not be able to brag about first night catches, but first week catches make me just as happy, and I figure I get a higher percentage of first visit catches if that visit is a few days after I set them instead of a few hours. I do a lot of snow trapping, and setting in the snow without making a noticeable disturbance is difficult, so giving it a couple days have a fresh dusting of snow blend sets is ideal. On the other hand, if it dumps a foot and a half of snow over your sets before your targets get back, it doesn't matter how well it blends everything or how hard they work the set. Your equipment has to be working in order to catch. In those conditions, aiming for first night catches, while your equipment is still working, becomes more important. That would be very similar to those of you who trap on the weekends and pull your traps over the week. Different situations call for different methods.

That is some great insight DB.

Good Stuff!


The coyotes here are very quick to react to what’s being shown to them.
Their response mirrors the pressure they get, and their counter moves seem to be very deliberate and calculated.

I’ve had the exact same experience with trapping an area not driven on.
The coyotes reacted instantly to the encroachment. After the initial sets were made that hot spot became a ghost town overnight.

Since then, I am much more aware of where core areas are and how those locations change according to where the pressure is applied.
Then there is how close I can get recon-wise without a bounce, and how close I can make sets that they will actually work, & not drive-by.
If Wile E. gets an extended snoot full of trapper at any point and time, he will usually bail like he needed to leave yesterday.

And Good Stuff Bearcat....cold weather trappers can relate!

Great question and observation SK!


SK, I do not recall first night catches being predominately juveniles and/or yearlings.

I don’t have the exact stats at hand, but I believe adult male coyotes were the highest percentage, but I am not certain of that.

I've noticed that over the years the number of young coyotes caught has tapered off substantially.
And it should with the number of adult females that have been taken off the payroll.

And on the scent side of things, the less scent you initially leave, the quicker it will dissipate to a point where it does not cause alarm or is not detectable.

I believe that is one key component in those quick catches.