I believe male coyotes in this age class probably dish out the most damage to the fawn crop in any given year.



The look on the face is all business. I have picked up some heavy duty males in the last week or so that was the same way. They will not wreak anymore havoc on the deer this summer.

Snow is a great learning tool. I rarely have any snow down here in Central Texas. Most of my trapping is like trapping on the moon. All rock and no soil. I’m always envious of guys who have snow.

A lot of guys crowd the hole with their trap. That it’s fine if you have what the coyote wants. But take a look at where most of the traps are concentrated. With a dirt hole set, the tracks are farther back - 18 inches or more sometimes.

It takes some confidence to set a trap way back there when you think you might miss a coyote coming in from the side. I rarely set whole set down here because it’s hard to dig a hole in our ground. But when I do, I’ll put one set crowding the hole on an earth anchor. I’ll set another trap back 18 inches down wind on a drag.

I’ve had some luck catching a coyote on the drag and having one stuck at the hole. I have more luck catching a single coyote on the drag 18-24 inches back.

With flat sets, crowding the attractant is more important. The set is more subtle and natural. A coyote has no fear of a single piece of poop on a road, so he walks right up to it. So there is no need for your trap to be set back. He won’t hesitate as much. Down here, even a T-bone driven down to the ground can make a coyote back off a ways. So I set my trap accordingly.

All this is just my experience. Let your experience guide you. Thanks for sharing. Maybe try a flat set before a snow and see where the tracks concentrate.