1Simplemann, are there some good stretches of bare dirt along the trails in your area?

Do you have both cattle and game trails?

You Betcha’ Mr. Jameson!

It is as fun and educational as you make it!

My Catahoula takes that enthusiasm to another level.

Both of these sets were remake catches.




Adult Male - Flat Set




Juvenile Male - Flat Set

Right now no bare dirt. 4" of fresh Snow. More on the way and more COLD. Below 0 temps for a week. Farmer usually doesn't put his cows in this area much till calving. Even then they are not where I'm trapping. He mostly just farms this property. Mostly game trails on the areas that he doesn't farm. Saturday I'm gonna head out and see what the snow tells me. I know I'm close. REAL close. Last night I had one on camera that I would bet $100 he's standing on it. I'm almost positive that one is bedded in wax dirt. They are educated for sure. Neighbor ranch puts pressure on them. It's trapped and has night vision predator callers on it.

You can probably guess what kind of sets they show them next door.

Holes & flashy looks are probably the main course.

Show them something different and you will get a lot more play.

Think Really subtle looks. Be generous with bait and urine, but use lure VERY sparingly.


I see a spinning coyote or three in your future.

Good Luck !

Do any of you coyote trappers ever get the old sidelong glance ?



I see this quite often.

He says "Dangit, outsmarted"

Bombastic side eye

Yep had that look a time or to.

The look your dog gives you when you caught him doing what he knows he shouldn't have done, and is wondering what you're going to do about it LOL.

Great pics

The Stink Eye!

I had not thought of that. Not only am I competing w/ the coyotes, i am competing w/ the other trapper. I talked to him. He said was 65 and that he doesn't get out of his truck to check traps so I'm guessing his sets are close to the road and very obvious. I have not been generous w/ bait or urine. I'll make the adjustment.

Since it got cold, I'm starting to see some action on the cameras. Several near misses. I think my traps are frozen. Heading out to check them w/ the Grandkids as soon as they get here.

Tejas,


Got me one. Mangy little female on a backfoot catch. Intersection of 2 trails on a pinch point. Grandkids were with me. They thought that was pretty cool..

I did learn something though. There's a foot of snow. They are running in my 2 track that I use to check traps. I didn't have time to set but there are a couple spots that are promising. When i get some time I'm gonna try to set them.

You'd be best off to set the middle of the two track...to prevent run overs. It happens.

I believe he said he is on private, where he is the only one driving. I'd set right in the tire track with a foot of snow, that is where they are going to be walking.

Simpleman, google "mafia set", there are a ton of videos out there depicting everyone's version of a mafia set that will explain it better than I can, but basically set two traps in the tire rut end to end. I'd put the levers pointing the same direction as the rut (so if walking down the rut the coyote steps between the jaws instead of over them) and have the levers of the two traps almost touching. Blind, no bait, no lure, nothing to distract the coyote from walking down the rut normal.

Yes I'm on Private. I'm the only one out there. I will look into the "mafia' set as you describe. The key thing I took away from it is that coyotes are coyotes no matter where you are. Tejas gets them on the 2 tracks down where he is in South Texas. I assume they do that because they like to take the path of least resistance and they can hunt more efficiently. Now that I have some snow up here in Central Montana, I can see their tracks. They are doing the same thing. The track winds it's way to the back of the property. In most cases they take the inside corner especially if the track goes around a clump of bushes. I'm going to set all of these spots as soon as I get some more time. It's been informative though. Other than the cold and snow, trapping coyotes is probably very similar up here as is it is in South Texas.

OUTSTANDING!

And a female to boot!

Glad to hear you had the young ones along on the check as well!

If you caught her by the back foot more than likely she was marking the set when you snagged her.

Just pay close attention to what they show you and counter accordingly..

You'll be surprised how well you can do once you get on a roll if you play your sets right.

Thank you. Are females harder? I never even thought that she might be marking it. I just thought I got lucky. I try to include the G kids in as much of my outdoor adventures as possible. They were thrilled w/ the catch. I was pretty much focused on them so I did not investigate further. Maybe on the next one. I'm gonna pull a few sets on Saturday. Drifting snow is going to be an issue so I'm not sure if I will re-set on the 2 tracks locations I found.