Concerning canines and bobcats, do you always set on sign or do you also consider good location even if there isn’t any sign? I do both.

I do as you, set on sign and a good location. I also take prevailing winds into consideration.

Cat sign is hard to find at times where I trap. I set locations in good habitat; road intersections, fire breaks, closed logging roads, pond dams, etc. even if I don’t see sign but if I do find sign there’s going to be a trap there shortly. Don’t really have a consistent prevailing wind here. I catch a lot of cats in good locations where I can’t find sign. I just know what habitat they hunt.

Im in sod country so setting on sign means you wont set a lot of traps if you just set on sign. Do more location setting or setting snares on game trails and trying to keep the deer out of them.

I haven’t read up much on cats, but don’t they kinda travel with no pattern? Kinda randomly? Cats have been spotted in my area, but I’ve never seen sign, I just tossed up the odd pen here and there…..which only scored fisher. That’ll do.

Very few of the properties I trap have roads/trails/breaks where I can find “sign” but when I do find it, I set it and quite successful. Most of the time it’s just the use of cameras and setting intersections that help me out.
First time trapping is just blitzing the area and see what produces. After that you just “know” where to set and when.
Some areas are great Winter areas, and some great Spring/Summer/Fall areas. That took me a while to figure out. Cameras really help when no actual “sign” is present.

I like to set on sign than location pond dams, deer food plots,edges of farm fields, brush piles.

I do Both also!
Then start filling in as animal patterns are determined or as they change their travel routes.
Snares are a great tool to use for filling in or just use traps?
Always be watching and willing to make adjustments on the trapline.

I set on sign. My trap setting is basically a Friday night and Saturday nights I have to set on sign to achieve success in a short period of time. I have been on these properties enough to know where to go to find sign if they are in the area.

I look for a macro location then look for sign for exact location and set on that.

Good enough coyote population around here you can set on location. More experience I get the better I get at honing in on those really special locations. Alot of long running hedge rows and fence lines here and they make good travel ways. Especially where they come together at intersections. Find great food sources and the travel ways leading to them are usually good.

I set anywhere I find tracks or poop.

I’ll also set some pinch points, road crossings, field edges, etc even if I can’t find sign. But I understand that my chances are lower without sign.

My ace in the hole is that my two dogs show me trap locations. They find poop in grass that I would miss.

They also find natural pee posts that are already in use by foxes and coyotes.

Here is how it works… I stop my Polaris Ranger at a likely location and look for sign. My two labs pile out and start sniffing around. If they don’t find/smell anything they get back in the Ranger. I move on.

If they both go to a little bush and circle it and sniff it, I put a trap there. My male dog will have peed on the bush already. No need for anything but a trap in front of it.

I’ll also put a set nearby with lure, bait, etc.

I locate the pockets of rabbit habitat.Thats where the cats hunt.I make sets near where they will hunt and also the travel routes that the cats use to travel between where they regularly hunt.
Once you identify all those spots on your line,every year your sets will produce cats when they are present on the land.
Open up all your sets when the pops are high and when pops are low only open a few until you harvest your goal.

I've seen locations that looked good and had the game, cover, and the right habitat, but no noticeable sign. I've set places like that, but catch was dismal. So, I always try to find the slightest bit of sign that I can find. It can be difficult at some spots but if you get out and walk a little your bound to discover some things you missed. As mentioned, a dog helps too. If I'm not seeing sign, I'll let the dog run for a stretch down a 2 track and come back in a week. If coyotes are running it, you'll see droppings on your next return.

I believe, Major Boddicker wrote an article awhile back about this. How he used to set everything up that had what it needed for good coyote habitat, when he was younger. But as he got older, he only set where sign was noticeable, not just because it looked good. His results were just as many coyotes but less work because he wasn't wasting energy putting in unnecessary sets.