Hi guys,
I've been trying the canine trapping game here in SW PA for 5 years now and still have yet to successfully catch one, and it has not been for a lack of effort. I have watched hundreds of videos, read countless articles, and have had other successful trappers come out on the line with me. However, I can't figure it out. I have had 2 coyotes pull out of traps in the past few years, caught one bobcat, and no fox. Last year I had 27 dug up traps. This year so far I've had 3 dig ups. I don't get it. I boil, dye, and wax my traps outside and hang them in the woods till use. I keep my gear separate from my bait and use different gloves for each. I've bedded traps with nails to ensure they are solid, but without the nails they still don't budge. I use waxed dirt to keep them working too. At this point, I'm ready to Quit. Questioning why I still try, and don't know what I'm doing wrong. Every book or video I watch sounds like a broken record and frustrated me more as I feel that I do everything right. I'm not sure what my next move is but after 5 years, days spent checking empty sets and remaking sets, and the money I've spent on gas, gear, and lures, I e reached a point where I'm struggling to continue. I don't want to throw in the towel but it feels impossible at the moment.

… sounds like you’re using an attractant that causes excessive digging and rolling

i would have too agree location is key to any coyote or fox trap but even than even minimal sign should produce a critter lots of good lures out there and baits the worst lures cause a roling response

My bait and lure bag consists mostly of Cavens products. Hiwatha Valley, Gusto, Violator 7, Canine Force, and Yodel Dog. I also carry Milligan's Steppenwolf 2, and a red fox gland lure and LDC from a local dealer

… if you’re running dirt holes your trap could be too close to the hole

… try some sets with just lure (your steppenwolf for instance) and skip the loud bait… see if that helps

Take an old guy with ya.
He might not give the answer that you want him to.
What District are you trapping?

I'm down in Somerset County.

Kind of what S… was alluding to, a little goes a long way as far as smells.

The good news is your locations and presentations are drawing your quarry. You are getting them to deal with about 6 square inches of dirt in their entire territory. That’s more than 50% of the battle. Just need a bit of tweaking.

The glass is more than half full.

Osky

Are you sure it's canine's doing the digging? Do you have a lot of raccoons in your area? My guess would be raccoons being the culprit for most of the digging.

… that’s a good point… especially if you’re running high pan tension

And even if you see coyote tracks .. that doesn’t mean a coon wasn’t there first

Sounds like you are on sign. Agree with the trap being to close to the hole. Is your trap bedded solid, no movement. It doesn't take much lure or much bait. I run through the same issues when I am out there. I am thinking that my coyote move out just prior to trapping season.( Dispersal) Another thing our trapping seasons runs close to our firearm deer season. A lot of traffic in the field at that time. Canines are my biggest problem. But when it gets cold and snow I have better luck using snares. With them plus the snow you are directly on sign.

Maybe try 2 traps per set, or an unlured, unbaited dirthole a few feet away....

Are you trapping on the same piece of land? … could be you’ve created a couple of diggers that are making a game out of it

My biggest learning lesson was what Osky posted. MINIMAL lure, especially with lures like Gusto.

Is your waxed dirt contaminated? just a guess but a possibility not offered yet.

I don't buy that one bit based off seeing thousands of coyote reactions to bait or lure. I'd stand firmly and completely argue a the opposite. I actually design a lot of my formulations to get the most digging and rolling i can. And they've been used by quite a few of what I consider the top coyote men I can find and based off their results i still feel the same.

^^^^ sounds like he needs yessirs super dope to make them dig and roll even more lol

More they want to dig or roll on your attractant the more they like it. The more they like it the more focused on getting they will be and the less focused on your trap they will be. Now rolling at flat sets are an issue but there's ways to manage that too..


If the attractant was getting a strong digging response you see them digging and the dirt hole more than the trap bed. Should be easy to see what there target was

Make fun all you want but if i wanted to toot my horn and tell everyone how my stuff killed more coyotes than mange I could more than fill up this page from my pms from guys that really do kill coyotes by the hundreds that have tried my stuff.

… unless they jump the trap and go into the hole with both feet lol