For your trapline, what do you feel is a good ratio of coyotes caught to number of traps set. I know this is going to vary depending on coyote populations in your area.

I typically run 45 traps at a time and expect to catch 25 to 30 coyote every two weeks

I run about same amount of traps as Savell, but I typically don’t catch as many as him. His two week catch would be my average catch over about a month.
Could be lower populations here, or maybe Savell is better at it than me

Jim

… probably just population jab lol

I normally can run around 15 traps per night to catch one coyote. Sometimes i can get down around 12 for awhile and some years it will get closer to 20. Best I know of is guys staying closer to 10/ 12. But u better be in lots of coyotes, know the absolute best locations for big numbers and move often

It’s an odds numbers game for me. Set as many good locations over a large area and run em. Two or three sets per farm and on to the next. Got to cover a lot of ground for coyotes around here. Many farms.
Spread em out and run em per your states check laws. And here we fight the freeze-thaw, and of course non-targets galore. So many coon, possum, and other non-coyotes can visit your sets plus all the sets that deer trip means a lot of remakes as you go too.
Then there is the aspect of only keeping the good coyotes. Mange, mites, rough and ugly ones abound here but not as many of the good nice and puffy ones with long manes and light colored bellies. It’s all about numbers and keeping the odds numbers in your favor as much as possible.

Jim

From the others answers to your question GT I’m not sure I’m answering your question correctly but the premise of the question is how I tracked and rated the catch-ability of my lures or lure/bait combos. I would always run small lines of 14 nights each and I made sure that I did not play favorites when choosing scents to use at locations. A best of the best lure/bait combo would get me a 1:1.2 ratio. Meaning I would catch 1 coyote per 1.2 sets used during 14 nights. Any catch ratio of over 1:1.8+ would get that scent(s) off the line.

Using this method I could objectively show which lure or lure/bait combos were the most productive and could prove it.

I wonder how many keep track of their catch rate and use it as a guage to try and get better

U take off work to run 45 sets?

Depends on time of year.

Summer time I don’t set as many traps, but I may set 6-12+ sets to catch just two or three coyotes. Once they’re caught, you may as well pull.


Maintenance season (November through May) targeting dispersing and moving coyotes primarily, in my country, is still low. But I’m setting places I will (try to) have working equipment at for 5-6 straight months. Some that will catch 6, 8, 10 coyotes, others that will catch just one or two, or none. But you have to cover the bases, create those voids and they will come.

Last year for reference I was dead in the water for Jan and Feb due to snow load. But last week in Feb I was able to start re-activating buried stuff and add new stuff.

By April 1st I was running at my peak with 380 traps in the ground on 44 different producers, as well as some trail snares where applicable. I killed 210 coyotes in March and April.

The biggest problem I have is I just don’t have the equipment (or time) to cover my country the way I’d like or the way I should. I’m perpetually setting too light that time year. Places I’d like to set up with 20 traps im only using 10-12 as I’m always rationing thinking ahead to the other ten places I still need to get to. And I definitely think a guys is better off setting on the heavier side than lighter when it comes to coyotes. I usually have to dye a bunch of traps
by May to make it through summer again.

…. Jealous of you Boone … you’re living the life partner

I do not take off work to run them. I run them after work during the week, and early morning on weekends.
Go fast.

Age and Arthritis has really slowed me down. I set about 25 traps and 10 snares and this is with the help from my nephew. I probably average one coyote every 15 - 20 sets . However, this area isn’t over run by coyotes and I would say the population is fair at the most.

We typically trap the sane 2 farms . these days my boys do most of the seting. they also know what places produce year after year so only set productive spots unless the find fresh sine that says set here. seldom do they have more than a dozen 2 dozen max sets for k 9. trapping limited area typically catch 10 max a year.