This is my second year trapping and last year taught me that I knew absolutely nothing about these animals...

Im in a high desert in Wyoming and have many miles of dry stream bed probably 40-50 foot wide- wider at some points. Is this a reasonable place to set? It runs water in the summer but drys up about a week or two ago and stays dry until early next summer. Sporadic trees down either side and some real high bank at some points. No real trees anywhere else

Would this be a fair place to call a "travel way" for cats and coyotes?

Very possibly. Go check it, walk it for a ways and look for tracks, scat, etc.

I would think they would run the creek bed some but I think would look for crossing more than anything.

There are a bunch of cuts in the high bank where animals cross, mostly deer/antelope tracks. Occasionally cows closer to the main road. Would you trail set the crossings or Dirt hole in the middle of the creek bottom between the crossings?

No experience in that kind of habitat but id think some boots on the ground would show you how much sign is there. Looks like pretty open country for cats unless that drainage is connecting one good cat habitat to another. If you can find where multiple features such as roads, fence lines and major cattle trails come together with that drainage I would think those would be the hot spots. Maybe close to a reliable source of water like a windmill of solar tanks too. The habitat that concentrates what ever the prey animals are a good place to key in on too.

The mapping system will give you a good representation of where to start your scouting but it only gives you starting places. Boots and eyes on the ground is an absolute in order to flesh out your plan! I know as fact from speaking with a sort of a new generation of trappers that feel AI is the end all to finding trapping locations but I figure I’m about as astute as most in using the technology so I do understand your question. It will help with getting a starting point as your question presents itself but it will not at this time replace the boots & eyes scouting! Remember, trying to be efficient is great but, “any reward/success with trapping will be in direct proportion to the amount of effort applied”. Avoid the trapper trap of thinking “well, it looks like this should be a good location”, “it looks like the coyotes should travel through here”.

If you can get to Grahams Coyotes Days in Lusk in August there will be some of the best coyote guys around there that would b happy to help you. Probably some that have trapped country just like yours.

Those outside bends can be dyn-o-mite.

Especially if they coincide with another topographical feature.

I absolutely agree I'm just away from home and for work looking through OnX to find access into the area better



Are you setting on the top of the bank on the outside bends or in the riverbed? Obviously sign depending of course.

Keep it simple.

Set where you see the sign...tracks, scat, kick scratches, etc.

Follow directions, as many here have already pointed out. The ONLY way is to put boots on the ground and look for sign. You may not feel it is necessary, but you are wrong. If you want to become proficient at catching or hunting any species, finding and reading sign is the single most valuable tool you can learn. Take time and help yourself to become more confident and effective at this valuable skill. Best advise I can give.

These are the locations I'd look at not knowing the ground & surrounding features.



We all know typography dictates travel just like the creeks & roads do. Where those features meet are always a point of interest.
Deer, antelope, and cattle all use certain travel paths for a reason. You can bet coyotes and cats use them as well.
Any road, trail, creek, or terrain junction will usually outperform a solitary line or feature. It is all about the odds. Use them to your advantage
I would investigate and backtrack all of those cuts you referred to and look for intersections of any kind.

If the creek has sandy washes along its length I would look for cat sign there.
I'd also take a look at non-active loitering locations where the cattle have been like old hay/feed spots. I would avoid setting close to water.

Setting right on top of sign is a given for most. Keep in mind a location doesn’t have to hold current sign to be a killer spot.
Remember that a just a single catch circle in a seemly run-of-the-mill location can generate a lot of new interest and traffic.

Ultimately, the most effective trappers read sign and the playing field equally well. Learn these skills.


Best of Luck on your second season WYnot!

Awesome, thank you! Thats exactly what I was trying to figure out. I know that I need to get out and walk it but looking on onx is something to fill my time while I sit at work 77 miles away from home.

I absolutely understand that I need to get out and walk it and look for sign, I never eluded to thinking I didnt have too.

I have 508,000 acres of desert I can trap 5 minutes behind my house, if I dont narrow down where I need to walk and look for sign I could be walking through some sage brush for quite a while so I'm simply looking for the area with the highest probability of actually finding sign.

If I know the critters are in the area, and there are good spots that look like hotspots, and I can't see sign there because of conditions, I will sometimes set them. But, I have been out studying and scouting sign my whole life, so I have a bit of a feel for where particular species will use. I can't really explain those places to someone else, but I can point them out. It is always preferable to set on sign though, if it is available. Pay attention to where you see sign and what the terrain looks like, after a while you will get a feel for where to go look for sign when you are looking over country.

If you have any rock outcrops out there in your desert, check them for cat sign, and when you are driving those two track roads, drive off to the side of the tire tracks and look for tracks in those tire ruts, cats and coyotes both like to walk them. Like Tejas says, look for intersections of travelways, I like to set intersections, it ups your odds when you are covering multiple travelways with your sets.

I just set on sign, where ever it may be.

Absolutely reasonable, in fact more than reasonable. I guard "almost" every wash I come across. As others pointed out, and you've acknowledged, boots on the ground will pinpoint those hot micro-locations, but certainly crossovers are great spots to start. For cats, I personally hike these with the intention of finding hotspots of rabbit activity. Any cats in the area already know those spots. If I'm lucky I'll also find cat sign, but it won't put me off a location if I don't. Especially if there's rimrock or other rocky cover nearby. I've had great luck in long washes that connect rock features, it seems cats love laying up in the rocks and come down to hunt in the evenings. Traveling cats like to use these long washes as highways too in my experience.