A project I've been playing with the past year or so. Down in South Alabama, most of my coyote sets are on logging road junctions. During the summer dirtholes become aintholes in a couple of hours so I am mainly running either really big flashy dirtholes or flat sets and post sets. Got tired of hunting down a log for the post set, and then getting it sturdy to stand up on its on so I've come up with a "portable post" using 5/64" roundstock and drilling a pilot hole into my post before gluing the roundstock into the post.
Makes it easy to arrive on location, shove the roundstock into the ground, slap a trap down, and keep rolling. I've noticed that over the past year, partially rotten logs hold lure through rain much better than fresh or nonrotten logs.
Hope this helps anyone out that hunting down a stick/log whenever you're wanting to make a post set.

I like those. I made some about ten years ago like that from 2×4's. Caught reds and yotes with red fox urine on them. Also bored a deeper hole towards the top for lure. I made mine about 15 inches long

A lot of great ideas on trapping only lately.

Take a few of those posts and burn the top few inches black with a torch....works well and a great change up additional odor....unless your trapping in controlled burned woodlands.

While testing gland lures a few years ago I did a little experiment with posts and I made two videos of the tests and left it to the viewer to determine and give an opinion to what caused a difference in reaction. I was testing different gland lures by putting a dab on a grass clump but with one lure I added a post about 8” above ground and maybe 1”+ in diameter. The post was not there before I brought it to the test site.

The coyotes knew the lure was there BUT stayed way back from it, maybe 10’ before losing interest and moving on. After about 1 week and seeing this reaction on the card I removed the post. The coyote’s change of reaction was very noticeable without the post. The two videos are available on my Youtube channel for those who want to judge and answer the question- was it the post or was it the lure and should the trap be at the post or not?

On another but closed-down trapping forum a couple of experienced trappers told me that I was thinking wrong! I was told to never have the trap at the post where the lure is applied but rather 10’ away if you bring in an object for a post set!!

Seldom I've seen the same issues on videos while trying to see if a rub set would work for coyotes. I was using a proven lure that coyotes love to roll on.

The only thing I’ve got when I created my own set like this (bringing in a stump or post) is fox and coyote……..and that was after a couple weeks. The wolves know that thing wasn’t there before and kept their distance, even the young ones.
I’m thinking down south your coyotes are under a lot more pressure than mine and could be suspicious of new objects & smells in their territory?

I made one of these, and tried it without results. But I don't know for sure if anything even walked past it, it wasn't were I could see tracks. For the last couple years that portable post has been stuck out here between two of my males dogs. Should have plenty of smell now, but I just don't like bringing anything in or making disturbances at sets.

Shakey, how do the wolves act after a storm...when NEW trees, brush, debris are blown over? How long does it take for critters to get used to NEW objects?

What the experience did for me was to verify my original thoughts of never bringing in a foreign object to a trap set as Bearcat stated, at least in my neck of the woods. I’ve watched numerous videos of sets made with burnt wood, etc brought to a trap set and catch coyotes, the only thing I can figure is it’s due to a high population of coyotes. The more coyotes there are I would say there are a higher number of aggressive coyotes seeing the foreign object so the odds and encounters would go up that some coyotes could/would work that type of set but I don’t know nor can I prove that!

Some of their routes never get used the rest of the season after one of those nasty, heavy wet snow storms. Now a skinned beaver carcass frozen halfway sticking out of the ice sure draws their attention……but it’s also directly on their route. Depends on the pack. Last winter, there were so many that they were getting pretty brave. The season before was much harder. Existing pee posts were good, but zero luck with new ones. The old blind sets with no bait or lure was effective.

I’d always avoided using gland lures basically because I didn’t know how to use them properly. So my goal for testing gland lures was two-fold, I wanted to find out how & why a gland set works and of course, to separate the wheat from the chaff in gland lures in my territory. One of the most important things I observed was the height of the object that the gland lure was applied. This related directly to foot placement at the set. The taller the object the further back the coyotes stopped their approach and the foot placement was more erratic. The lower the object for the application (low clump of grass, small piece of rotten wood) the closer the coyotes approached the object with the lure and the foot placement far more exact/precise like the point of a triangle. In addition, lower objects allowed the coyote to straddle the object which they seemed to almost always do male or female. It was obvious that with a lower object and straddling there were increased opportunities for a catch.

I think I tested 8-9 gland lures that year and Bob Jameson’s and Ed Schnieder’s coyote gland lures rose above what I consider the unremarkable rest. I only used gland lure alone in the tests, never any urine was added.

Seldom,
You should organize and compile the info you gathered.

Write a book. I'd buy a copy!

LOL! Thanks Swamp Wolf but nope, no book though I did keep notes with the videos so since I quit coyote trapping I still enjoy talking about aspects of it. The last year I trapped coyote I did use what I learned with using a low object for holding the gland lure and caught coyotes at each of those sets(no urine). In fact, I caught those coyote with a set using each of the lures makers I’ve previously mentioned, Bob’s Prairie King and Ed’s High Hills. I also caught a couple using O’G’s “Good Day to Die” which is the lure I refer to as a call lure that acts like a gland lure.

As a side note, during my work with Ed, he developed and I tested before marketing a “pure” gland lure and named it Seldom “Fails” (not Fales). I used it at all of my lured/baited sets instead of urine until I quit coyote trapping. I highly recommend it and if I started coyote trapping tomorrow, I’d do the same thing, have it at every baited/lured set in place of urine.

I have always had good success using outstanding tufts of grass along travel routes that I found in the right locations.

Or I transplanted some tufts from another area to my choice of set up locations.

Lower profile objects like these have always netted both female and male coyotes and fox over the years. Guiding / subtle blocking is important to ensure the animals approach on the trap location side.

I have used 2 and 3 traps at times at what I deemed a very good location with anticipated traffic.

I typically used this set up with cable slide set ups to preserve the location and allow for multiple catches in a week on avg. A small amount of gland lure will go a long way. I believe some tend to use too much gland and fail to get the best results due to that practice.

Always good information Seldom, with the track record to bear out your experiences.

Great info, Seldom!

Curious why no urine...just to evaluate gland reactions? Wouldn't good quality urine have helped on the trapline (after your gland tests were concluded)?

Thanks White,
First off I do not trust the quality of urine. Sure, there are trappers testifying to the great quality of so-n-so’s urine and some other’s will say so-n-so’s urine is the greatest, and etc. All I can say is don’t give me the buddy blah-blah, show me objectively WHY so-n-so’s urine is the greatest??? I remember reading one of “those who say it to the greatest magnitude” feedlot trappers saying that if you don’t use urine, you don’t want to catch coyotes! BS! If it was physically possible he can go try and do it to himself!!!
https://youtu.be/TcoZad8496s?si=dc-wh2dtHsVhnqRR

The other part of your question “just to evaluate gland reactions” is exactly why I was testing gland lures. I felt I had been lacking in all the years trapping coyotes that I avoided using gland lures. I felt I needed to understand how to use them and using videos I could objectively determine which I would rate highest so I could have faith of their ability to attract.

appreciate your reply, Mike!

cool video!

I’d only use urine if I extracted it or I knew where and who got it and time of year it was taken. A lot of trappers don’t realize how much info is in the urine and it can really throw up red flags to smart dogs. To another dog, that mark tells it everything about the K9 that left it there, sex, mood, physical state, reproductive state, age, was it stressed among other things……. Now add anti freeze to it?
Suppliers can have good stuff for sale, but the next batch sucks. All depends on where they’re getting it from so I don’t mess with it anymore. This info I got from a trusted supplier too.
Seldom, you’d be great at demos or workshops with your voice. Great video!

Thank you for your opinion on urine ShakeyJake. Also for the kind words, a big thank you!
The reason why I used “Seldom Fails” gland lure at sets instead of trusting urine. Whereas I used a good & proven gland lure at sets where gland lure is the main attraction.

Urines overrated in most situations. Especially junk urine.

Gasp!


That being said there is definitely situations and scenarios where it’s use is very advantageous.


But, I’d bet I use urine at less than 10% of fresh, new, clean, sets.

I believe it’s Wiley Carroll that said, and I’m paraphrasing….

Best way to screw up a coyote, change something in an area he’s familiar with.

Wanna screw him up two weeks later? Change it back.

Scent posts are very commonly.misunderstood , any object can be a scent post i tend to favor objects like grass clumps or droppings
Trap placement is about a hands with from the base of the object (if tall)
If low like droppings a couple inches.

The concept of literal posts in the ground or sticks being placed in a area
And expecting immidiete results is not a indication scent posts are inneffective. Typically ive seen them mark objects already there not overly large as often as normal sized clumps or tufts of grass or even bare ground where droppings previously were. Sometimes it is a delayed outcome but over the years i found scent posts for me to be extremely effective abd really simple to use

Scent post in the right spot. Usually I plant... No lure or urine but just a blind post has been one of my best ever sets

I've found quite often if you add a lure or urine to said post you create a pacer that goes and creates theys own post set 10 or 20 ft away..



The times I've put urine on the blind post is when I've caught one of a pair and taken urine from the caught partner and create a post nearby where it was caught.. Very very deadly especially later mid January on...

There's a time and place for it but I personally think in general people try to use visual stuff for coyotes too much. With the exception for turds or dirtholes if your coyotes arent on to them.Watching lots of coyotes working sets on videos my theory is you catch them by their nose not there eyes. In my area too many of the population can be spooked by new objects or two much visually going on. I've even tried bleached bones on several occasions and just can't make them work consistently unless they were already there even though every pasture has them in them.

A totally agree!
Remember in one of my replies I referred to a couple of trappers on a now-defunct trapping forum, that told me I was using gland lure wrong AND the foreign object was to be at least 10’ from a gland lured set. They strongly suggested I use visuals of dried out beef rib bones, or cow skulls and not use wood, charred or otherwise. I will also say that they gaslighted my videos saying I wasn’t seeing what I was seeing even as a “trained” observer! Such is life! LOL

In my experience, subtle soft natural marking tufts are hard for most canines or felines to pass up if made and placed well. Never was one to see the need for what some feel is a good hard marking object. Use what is natural to the area in most cases. Inserting droppings from other areas is beneficial and adds attraction.

I have had coyotes urinate on my M-44 signs. New and defiantly not natural. But I have also seen where they (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) on garbage also!

I’ve found that in and around recently logged units (5 years or less) wolves will happily pee on a beer can or 5 gallon oil bucket because they’re used to finding them so its not foreign to them. Just something to lift their leg on I guess

This spring I decided to do some testing with a post set. I placed a post along a known travel route. I placed it so it was off the trail a couple feet but sticking up so it could be easily seen. I put a dab of gland lure on it and placed a camera.
In two weeks I saw zero coyote come into the camera zone. The deer were very skiddish of this new object. After 2 weeks I knocked it over and tucked it into some grass tufts. The coyote found it and checked it out within days. A month later, without adding or freshening up the scent, coyote still visits it.
I thought it interesting how a new object was avoided but a hidden one was investigated. I also learned that the smells last longer than I thought. I just found this whole testing interesting and fun

Keep in mind once coyotes find an intresting odor they usually mark the area and that will keep them intrested in that spot. Not saying the lure isn't still detectable but because of the coyotes regularly marking that spot it kind of becomes a community sign post.

Yup, Yes Sir is absolutely correct! I found by my testing videos that once a coyote marks it, it’s like priming a pump. The other coyotes have to swing in and give a squirt, maybe a little kick-back or not and on their way again. Usually come and gone in less than a minute.

And yes, testing for me was very enjoyable, learned a ton from it and found it quite additive. It can become quite expensive but the knowledge gained made it worth every $ for me.

Thank you guys for sharing your experience and knowledge. I had not put it all together.

I've seen the dang things ignore every set I had and then go nose an empty potato chip bag the loggers tossed out all over the place. Since the potato chip bag was in a fresh plowed road you know it was fresh with plenty of human scent on it, but they were used to the loggers tossing stuff out and were comfortable with it. Now if you were to toss that bag out on a ridge a half mile from a road, I bet it would be a different story.

Canines will at times check out new objects, and at other times avoid them like the plague. So I usually try to use existing objects leave no disturbance, I figure that the ones that will check out a new object I place will probably check out that interesting smell by that rock that has been there their whole life also. So I've a better chance of catching them all if I leave the area natural. An exception to this is snow, I will often make new snowmobile tracks and set right in them, yeah it is freshly disturbed, but most coyotes or wolves will take the easy route on the packed trail (there are exceptions, but I usually also have sets that aren't in the trail to pick them up).