Excellent post Tejas. Old girls are a pain in the butt.
Here it’s usually mud or early morning frost that lets me see the sign.

It’s not the yotes I catch that keeps me trapping it’s the yotes I can’t catch that keep me after them.

Tejas,
I am one of those that remains quiet in the forum, I sit on my log and read and listen. Mainly, because my jaw is on the ground in awe of your(and others) trapping skills. I read every word of threads like this. I study pictures like there is no tomorrow just too see differences and pick up ideas. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I will say that I appreciate threads like this, Swamp Wolfs, Steel traps and others just to name a few. I know I appreciate all those that share their knowledge.

I really like following these threads and learning from you guys.

It's interesting that dirt holes don't produce well with your high population of coyotes down there. I have found the same here in Michigan, fox will work them but very rare for coyote.

Yes I have CF, especially on some of the problem coyotes.
As you know, there's more than one way to up your odds on catching a wise guy.
I gang set early on, so there may be two or three more sets close by.
I would rather have the coyote work four separate sets with four different looks & attractants than only two sets with the same amount of traps and fewer attractant choices. I have a chance to catch four coyotes with the first method and only two with the second.


C 1, it sure doesn’t seem like a big population at the movement.
The absence of tracks on the roads and trails tells the tale.You earn every single coyote you get at this time of the year.
Trapping Pressure along with the visual association is the reason hole sets won’t work well here anymore. Sure, you might reel in a few pups, but the adults will have a field day at your expense if you show them a line of dirt holes. It would be like trying to pull a fast one on an elementary school class vs. a bunch of college grads.


Thanks for posting DK.
Remember that studying photos, reading, and asking questions can provide more than just useful information. It will also help you generate some great ideas of your own. Keep an open mind and don’t get locked into one way of doing things just because it worked well a time or two.

Texas how many sets are you running at this time of year .

Yes sir I can see it’s open, I’ve actually been in that type of area before. You stated coyotes don’t care for holes and notice, so that was why I asked the initial question of where do you put your lure you post on each catch. I’m guessing a small grass clump maybe. Some on here punch holes and drop it in, others say lures need to be up high and only bait in a hole. So what do you do?
I thought by definition, flat sets didn’t have guiding anyways, at least none I’ve seen posted. I too have noticed that I catch more coyotes on flat sets than dirt hole sets. Don’t know why, just know that I do.
I trap the polar opposite of your terrain. My lure goes in a punched hole. But I’m always reading others posts trying to learn something new that may benefit my catches as well. If lure goes up high or on a grass clump, then where exactly?

I agree with the dogs learning about dirt holes from pressure in some areas.


I meant the high population as a general statement. It seems you guys have tons of coyotes in Texas. It appears you have done a great job at keeping the numbers down on this place from the previous years trapping it.

Golf, I’ve cut back to just over two dozen right now.

Traffic on the road dictates how many I have out at any one time and where.

Out of the twenty-six remaining flat sets fishing, twenty have hit at least once.

Lure is usually under or on the backside of the main attractant.

I use a small amount of lure and keep it above ground.

I haven’t used backing in the last two seasons.

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C1, the brush holds a lot of game so we have a lot coyotes.

Tejas,

Thank you so much for sharing all the great photos and thoughts on methods. Excellent stuff.
Really appreciate it, as do many others. Lots of coyote knowledge. Awesome sharing.

Mac

I’m always open ears and trying to learn to be the best I can for my customers. With that being said admittedly flat sets are not my strong point. My go to sets are natural looking dirt holes with natural bait, Blind sets, trail sets with turds, and snares.

My struggles with flat sets come from Misses, for example last week my wind forecast was out of the S, SE, SW, N, E and so on. Seems you only get a night or two when sets are lined up with the wind.

My question is how do you consistently get a coyote to hit a 2” circle, with an open pattern, no backing and changing winds? Also you say that you do not use any backing. Does that exclude grass clumps and rocks? Are you only setting turds, and you put your lure on the opposite side your trap is on? Sorry for so many questions, but like I said I really struggle with flat sets. Thanks

Working the wind is not a given when it comes to catching Wile E.

They will work the upwind side of a set without a second thought.

Being able to read and interpret sign is what kills the most coyotes for me.

An extra helping of persistence reels in the problem children.

No backing means just that.

Tejas,

My question is similar to Yotgiter. How do you get them to consistently step on the pan with open sets with no backing? I miss quite a few with open pattern flat sets. They work behind or off to the side more times than not.

Misses are just a part of the game C1

The use of backing is a poor deterrent for side digging and back door approaches on smart adult coyotes in this neck of the brush. In some cases, it seems to illicit those responses because it puts the focus on the backing itself.

If you were calling plays in a football game and certain ones weren’t working you would change your strategy. You read what the defense is doing and call an audible.

If you leave a miss just like it is and hope for better luck the next day you can most likely expect the same result. If you remake a defeated set back the way it was, you can bank on a repeat performance and another empty trap.

There is no magic spacing, offset, or location when it comes to traps and their attractants.

I'm trying to get a few ideas across more than a specific set or its construction.

Learn to read sign well and be relentless. Those are the two most important assets you can bring with you on the line.

Here’s some coyote mayhem from a set just few days back.

Coyotes were running this game trail that skirted the brush instead of using the main road on the left.

This set along with two others close by had each picked up a coyote.

Make note of the wind direction. The X marks the pan.




Notice how hard the coyote worked the outer edge of the upwind side of the set.This was not a hot catch circle by the way.

The downwind side of the set is completely void of tracks.
.



The lone arrow shows where the coyote shuffled both of his front feet in a small area smudging out the tracks while checking out the attractant.


With the sign the coyote has provided, what would be your next move?

If you're setting up like that and not wanting to have misses, you would be better off having a trap on each side. I've never trapped in Texas but I can see a lot of things to use naturally to possibly make the coyote work from the proper angle. I would have to be there to fully understand what you are dealing with though.

To me you are using a backing. That cow pie is a backing. You mentioned earlier that you sometimes put the lure on the opposite side of a object. If that's what you did here it can be expected for the coyote not to work the trap side. Set that cow pie closer to some of little brush sticking up from where the wind direction is coming from. Even in the best situations though, you'll always have some work the opposite side.

First off, great thread TEJAS!
I would move the attractant straight across to the other side of the trap.
Then add some droppings to the side of the attractant with a tiny squirt of urine to peak his interest since he’s already visited once and brush out the tracks where he shuffled his feet leaving the tracks close to the trap.

Not me...I wouldn’t add any scent at all...I’d let those sets sit. But I’d go to where all those tracks were and add a trap next to the bush in the bottom right corner...no attractor.

I wouldnt touch that trap. I'd ride up to it on the SxS and squirt a fresh puddle of urine on the opposite side of the trap from the cow patty....and then drive away without getting off the SxS.

Great advice Swamp Wolf.

I developed a product for just that scenario Swamp Wolf some years back. I always worked from an ATV for many years and rarely got off to touch up or add a scent to a set. I learned about getting off too often after running hard and fast for problem animal cleanouts.

I made up a set refresher that I used like this a few years back. I ran out of it and started using urine only. The urine - gland lure mixes marketed today are excellent for this scenario. It would 4 sure benefit a coyote/bcat/fox trappers to have a squirt bottle of good product on hand.