I can remember one coyote I caught midday, I could see the set from the road and went by it about 10 in the morning, came back by on my way out a couple hours later and had a big dog coyote bouncing.

Now wolves in particular and coyotes to a lesser degree seem to move a lot here in the morning hours up until about 9 in the winter. I don't know how many times I have been checking wolf traps in the morning and came back by in an hour or two and seen where they crossed behind me. Never yet came back to one in a trap behind me

It all depends on the weather and situation SK.
On sunny days I often see a good bit of coyote movement up to around 8 am.
After 8 activity wanes, and by 9 it is a ghost town.

If it's very overcast or threatening rain I always let sets soak longer.
Scenting conditions for the coyote are as good as they can get at that time.
Coyotes can and will move all day when conditions are right.
I stay away from sets during prime time whether it is dark or light.

If I expect multiple catches I never ride up to that location early.

Bright sunshine is a coyote movement killer. When the sun comes up the coyotes go down.

If dawn breaks without a cloud in the sky the check will usually be earlier in the morning.

I most cases my sets are usually looked at twice a day, so I never have to worry about even remotely crowding our check time regulations.

I notice the same time frame with our coyotes here BC2.
That really holds true when they have a reason to be on their feet.
I've found that opportunity can increase the window well into late morning.

I got a picture of one at 6:48 this morning, sunrise was 6:27

Don't know if it stayed out late or was looking for something

I have caught at least one on up in the day that I know for certain

I almost forgot that I picked up an ill-tempered bobcat along with the four coyotes.

I’ve found that most cats will avoid areas that are coyote hot spots.
That didn’t seem to make a lot of difference to this big old nasty cuss.
He has been in this area for some time. No mangy coyote was going to run him off.




He assured me he wouldn’t get caught on the wrong side of the jaws again if I cut him loose.

Last I saw he was headed due east.

Hopefully he keeps his end of the agreement and does not kill fawns either

Looks warm down there.
Sometimes you see beds where coyotes lay down by ones that are caught. I had one spot with a caught coyote and 3 beds int he snow. I shoulda set more traps. They didn't come back.
Thanks for sharing- I like your posts.

You’re Welcome Larry.

It gets hot down here early.
The first week in February we stayed in the low 90’s.
100+ temps showed up in March.
By the first week of April we hit 105.

You hear a lot of folks say high temps can really stifle coyote movement.
That has not been the case with these Brush Country Coyotes.
Wile E. has to make a living every single day no matter what the mercury says.

Single Set Line vs. Gang Set Line

What are the T-Man Crew's thoughts on a single set line vs. a gang set line?

Given the same acreage do you go with singles covering more locations or group sets at fewer key spots?

Do you find one method to be more effective or efficient over the other?

Usually gang set. Two reasons, a)I have the opportunity for doubles or triples when they are traveling in groups and b)sometimes they are picky, so I try to give them a variety, if they don't like one lure maybe they'll like the next, or just urine or crap, or possibly they will ignore them all but step in a blind set.

I rarely set just one set at a location, but if there is only one good spot for a set I will do so rather than skip the location altogether if it is a good enough location. Most often these single sets are a "blind" trap on an existing pee post. A good natural pee post is just too good to pass up, even if there are no other good set locations close.

I'll add, I've really noticed this with wolves, but it is true with coyotes when they are traveling in packs/family groups also. If you can catch the Alpha female, the rest of them will spend a lot of time hanging around and you have a really good chance of pinching more if you have more sets in the area. Oftentimes they will come back looking for her even after you have come by and dispatched her. If on the other hand you nab a pup or subdominant adult first, they are liable to just keep traveling and not spend any more time in the area than normal.

I usually let the location and sign determine the amount I set. If there's a lot of tracks or scat (old and new) that spot gets at least 3 traps maybe even 4. Generally, 2 taps at all other locations where a dropping or a track may be. If I have the good locations already set up with dual sets then I will only set 1 trap where a coyote may be taking a different trail to avoid the area's, it's seen other coyotes caught.

Covering multiple catches & picky coyotes are without a doubt two primary reasons to gang set.
I like your idea of incorporating a p-post and/or blind set into the gang set mix.
I can certainly see where these offerings could easily snag coyotes that are a little spooky.
My guess is you typically place the p-post and blind on the downwind side of the other sets perhaps a short distance away.
I will definitely deploy a p-post and blind along with my standard gang set this coming year.

I’ve eased up to gang set locations and had free coyotes standing right next to incarcerated ones.

The following example was a gang set triple that had no fewer than three satellite coyotes hanging around.

Catch Circle Coyote Recon

Keep in mind there were more sets at the ready on this sendero.

The photos above also illustrate why I never run my line early.

Tailoring the sets to the sign is my usual approach as well SPC.
Going with two sets per is good insurance no matter what.

As the coyote population is cut way back so are my gang sets.
They are replaced by double looks at key locations.
I tend to spread out and cover a little more area at this time
That way I can pick up any new transients & the few street survivors that are still making tracks.

This jip is one of a double play.

She was the second catch in three days at this set.

Another young female proceeded her.




The big frame on this young gal would have made her a force to reckon with had she made it to 4 or 5.




I study faces a lot on both deer and coyotes.

I find that the face is usually an accurate reflection of the choppers.

I learn so much from your observations.
Thank you sir for sharing

While I do tend to note prevailing wind in my mind when setting, I don't honestly pay as much attention to it as most seem to. Here with our terrain winds tend to swirl and switch directions so often that the "prevailing" direction will be something like 50% of the time the wind is blowing that way. Also it is generally hills and draws everywhere and thermals will be going one direction in the morning and the opposite direction in the evening. So if there are good locations I like to have sets on both sides of a travelway (and right in it of course, if possible). I tend to eyeball the situation and put pee post and blind sets where my eyeballs tell me they are most likely to be circling or exiting other sets, more so than trying to put them downwind of them. But yes, if you worked out a percentage there would undoubtedly be a higher percentage of them set "downwind" according to prevailing winds than any other direction, it just wouldn't be that much higher of a percentage, due to our lack of real prevailing winds.

"I study faces a lot on both deer and coyotes."

"I find that the face is usually an accurate reflection of the choppers."


I probably don't study the faces like you, but after taking a lot of coyotes through the years, I'm almost able to judge the gender by the face when I pull up to one trapped. I usually take an educated guess before dispatching. Once in a while I do get fooled though.

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one that plays the guessing game SPC. I do it on every coyote.

The age class I tend to miss the most on are the 2-3 year olds.