Was curious how hard everyone else guides on their canine sets, more specifically flat sets and such. Finally got some sets out the last couple days and have already missed several canines, seems they're stepping everywhere but on the pan, have not connected yet. Was running into the same issue last season. Obviously I know that misses are going to happen, it's part of the game, but I feel my visit to catch ratio is way down. So, how hard does everyone else guide their sets? Pictures would be awesome if you have them. Ive always been under the impression that too much guiding can really spook coyotes, so I've always tried to keep sets more open, but wondering if that is doing more harm than good

A pebble here and there or small clump of dirt.Helps if your trap bed right where the trap is is slightly lower then the surrounding area.

In sod ground I try to place sets so I can use the big grass clumps as natural guides. If I put anything there to guide the foot, I prefer to use either droppings or something that's gonna hurt if they step on it

I don't do much guiding, maybe a pine cone or a single small stick or stone if I think it is necessary. But if there is guiding already there naturally, I like to dig my trap bed where there is already a rock, root, etc. naturally there as guiding, without placing anything myself. I do a lot of trapping in the snow, and you just can't guide much there, you just need to do your best to place the trap where they are going to put their foot. And yeah, I like to have the pan be the low spot, as long as that is where they are going to want to step anyways. Of course you have to watch that, so that water doesn't puddle there and freeze a plate over your trap.

Guide them as much as they’ll let you.

Try a step down set. Some guys hate'm but they have their place.

I do some face guiding. Where a critters nose goes so dose Its feet

That is one thing I have not been doing. I've been keeping them as level as possible to prevent water puddling, but keeping the pan lower definitely sounds like it's worth a try

John Heart was brought in to put on a wolf trapping workshop here. It’s geared more towards summer predation trapping, but he blocks heavily. He kept saying “I know all you coyote trappers are cringing right now”…lol

Picking a spot with natural guiding is a great start.

That's a common theme from a lot of good wolf trappers, you can guide wolves much more heavily than coyotes. I've heard plenty of them say that. I didn't used to use any guiding, I've gotten to using some light guiding but still can't get myself to block in a wolf set like some do.

I don't do much guiding, if I do I try to keep everything as natural as possible

I also think doing a good job of blending your trap bed in helps

I know John Hart real well,you can guide coyotes do it naturally,John has caught 100's of mature big male coyotes while trapping wolves.Some might refuse blocked in sets if so change it,blending is very important in coyote trapping up here.

and making your trap bed as small as possible

I would rather have a 2or 3-foot sized trap bed. I don't like small unblended trap beds I don't what to pinpoint that trap.
And large trap beds have lots of eye appeal.

So on my flat sets I do always try to blend and make as small of a trap bed as possible, and they are bedded solid as I can get them in peat moss. Gonna try what some of you suggested and do some subtle guiding with either small dirt clods or very small sticks and see how that works

Eye appeal isn’t always a good thing.

Sometimes, it’s the LAST thing you want.






Small trap beds are nice when the grounds real hard too.

Micro topography can also be used to get a coyote to not step somewhere.

Not many coyotes here will step down a great deal, especially something like a trench or trenched in dirt hole.

But you can use that to get them to step somewhere else.

I don't want any eye appeal on a flat set. If I can see where the trap is, or even that there is a set there when I'm done, I did something wrong. The only eye appeal I have at a flat set is possibly a turd, a white bone like a T-bone might be okay, but I haven't made a T-bone set in a couple years.

Now on a dirthole, eye appeal and fresh dirt could be a good thing.

By eye appeal I mean anything I do, I do look for a rock, tree, bush, etc. that catches my eye to use for my backing or scent post. I am looking for something that will stand out to a canine as a good spot to mark, but I want it there naturally, I don't place it myself.