Could it be because prey animals can see better so hunting conditions are not as good?

That’s basically what I’ve read and heard from those more senior than I. It’s not to say coyotes don’t hunt or eat, it’s just they don’t roam far wasting energy. I’ve read/heard they just stick closer to their home area. Sorta equate it to a warmer wetter night you can about guarantee a line full of possums, lol.
Down here a below normal cold night (especially with wind) and you can just say there’s always tomorrow. I used to think my line would be full, actually it’s just the opposite.

Activity is starting to ramp up a bit down South Texas way.

Ten coyotes can make short work of a 250 pound boar. The hard part is getting past the armor.

This marrano had huge cutters so he was caped out for a mount. That was just fine with the cleanup crew.

The old boar had a few friends stop by for the holidays.

The three together weigh in around 700 pounds.

These big pigs work well because the birds can’t deplete them during the daylight hours.



It won’t take long for word to get around that the buffet has been restocked.

The bait station is finally starting to roll.

Eight coyotes still remain on the bait at 8:30 even after an all-night vigil.



Keep in mind the vast majority of these coyotes are not locals.

This shows just how effective a good bait can be when everything comes together.

You have a never ending supply of coyotes James

Bet it won't be long and we will be seeing some caught ones

So my question is this…

How do you set up on the coyotes after the bait starts getting hit hard?
How far from bait are your sets?
What is your setting strategy?
Traps on trails and snares in fences?
Flat sets or hole sets?
Lures and or baits?
Drags or anchors?

I’ve ready through the thread, but if you covered this stuff, I missed it. Thanks.

Ok. No problem. I get it. That is what separates the men from the boys. I love your posts. Trap on!

Hey Centex!

I apologize for the delayed response. We’ve been real busy around here .I planned on answering your questions.

It’s good to see folks putting some thought into what has been posted.

I will try to do the same with my responses.

At first glance it certainly appears that way BT.

In reality, it’s a poor example of coyote density for the area. What it does illustrate is the raw pulling power of a good bait station.

Sure, we have a healthy population of canines, but the pictures posted here are not representative of how many coyotes per square mile are in the area.

It’s a concentration of coyotes drawn from a large expanse of acreage over time.


Photos like the one above would lead some trappers to believe that there's a coyote behind every bush, and trapping here is a cake walk.

The pressure that is applied to this ranch from both ground and air insures that neither are the case.


Folks that can see past the numbers and read between the lines will gain the most from the information presented here.

Once again, it’s important to note that the vast majority of coyotes in the photos don’t actually live here.

The bait brought them here. That is where the real magic lies.

Ok, now I’m curious.
You trap this ranch, paid I’m assuming, to catch coyotes.
You catch the uneducated coyotes, then move on to the educated coyotes.
Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ve reached your goal of eliminating the majority of the coyotes.
So you hang up the traps and now you set out bait to draw in more coyotes on the ranch?
That’s the part I’m curious about. Why?
Why would you intentionally draw in more predators if the goal is to reduce the predators to as low of numbers as you can get?

Does any of the T-Man Crew have an answer to WB’s question?

I would be interested to hear your responses.

I’ll give you mine…when I leave a property I want as few critter left as I can leave. That’s the whole purpose of me trapping the properties. I’d probably be shot on sight if I was trying to bring more in. Even though it cost me money in the long run, I’d rather have fewer critters and more game each time I hit the property. I’d think natural travel is enough to deal with. I’m already amazed at how many can filter back in during a 2-3 month layoff, lol.

"I would be interested to hear your responses."

Jump start the "filter back into habitat" so he can get on with the task.

Right or wrong, black or white, it's perpetual and we are not there to see all, or "think" we see all.

At any rate, enjoying the read thanks.

I am going to guess the neighbors don't spend much on trapping coyotes on their places so he is drawing their coyotes in to knock down a wider area population. Can't trap on them so pull their coyotes to him.

I don't remember how big his place is, but say it was a square mile (I know it is considerably bigger than that) and everyone around owned a square mile. If he could pull coyotes off of all the neighbors he would be trapping more like 9 square miles.

Just a WAG but makes sense to me this early with no coffee yet

Trapping coyotes is a war of attrition.

The bait is ground zero. The area the coyotes call home is the blast zone.


When I kill the local coyotes, the blast zone only reaches a short distance. That void is filled by coyotes on the perimeter.

Those contestants are also pulled in by the bait and killed. That makes the void area even larger.

Wile E. sends in reinforcements to fill in the vacated area from even farther out and they also become casualties.


The blast zone continues to widen with every wave of coyotes that fill in behind the previous group.

This extended void creates a large buffer around the ranch that takes a lot longer to fill back in.


That helps insure that the post rut bucks and upcoming fawn crop have a much better chance of survival.

So no one around traps?
And instead of setting the whole ranch, you just set the interior?
How are coyotes getting educated then? I wouldn’t think a bait with a stake through it and chained off would be anything natural that any coyote would ever see whether they are new or educated.
Guess it’s this “educated” term that throws me off.

Ranches in the area trap, snare, and gun.

Unfortunately, that leaves a glut of coyotes that others let get away using all three methods.

Cleaning up coyotes other folks leave behind is just part of the game.


The coyote line is constantly changing. To stay effective, trapping strategy should mirror that change.

I trap where the coyotes are at that particular point and time. That could be at the bait, on the road, at a windfall carcass, or all three.

A key location can turn into a ghost town overnight and vice versa. You have to have stay current on your recon to keep one step ahead of Wile E.

How big is the ranch you trap?
If those aren’t “local” coyotes then that bait has some serious drawing power, unless you’re baiting the edge of the property.

At a dead feral hog here in SE Georgia you will NOT even find a coyote track. Heck buzzards don't even eat em.