How do you go about scouting your area for coyote sign and guestimating about the number of traps you will need to set.On a new property I will ride a lot of ground tracking roads.and looking for scat.On old ground I will focus on places where I have had success and seen sign in the past.I will try set the number of traps according to the amount of sign I find on the property.

This is a huge subject. The best way to learn is to drive around a new place with an experienced trapper. It is fastest way to learn.

I do coyote control in Central Texas. So I’m chasing killers, not fur. But the same scouting principles apply.

Poop and tracks are king. I drive hundreds of miles of two track ranch roads every week. I hardly ever drive in the ruts. I drive between the ruts and look for tracks and poop in the dirt ruts and intersecting livestock and game trails.

I also have an “ace in the hole”… my two black labs. They love to run in front of my side by side. When they hit coyote scent, they screech to a halt and start sniffing around. They find poop I’d miss. They find pee posts too. Hint - they are often NOT where you think they are.

Take your time. Think like a detective. Look for clues. Ask the landowner if he has seen coyotes, if so where. Go to the place after dark and howl. Listen for responses. These are just some of the things to get you started. Good luck.

When in doubt, set a trap. My motto is - Don’t fret… set.

Pretty much what Centex described. In winter of course snow is king here, probably not so much in your country. Keep in mind if you are Scouting in different seasons than you are trapping that they use different areas at different times of the year. Some places they use year round, others not so much.

Like Centex said, having a dog with a good nose is very helpful. I would bring my beagle with me when scouting and he'd find scat that I wouldn't have spotted.

Following

I am following also. Up here we know where they are by listening at night. But closer to trapping season they move. Depends on food source and other pressures like small game and deer hunting seasons.

X2

Think of their prey & think of the food sources the prey is focusing on. The coyotes will be there also

If going into a new property I use google maps first. Locate the potential hot spots by terrain and trails. I head to those areas first and look for sign. If there is good sign, I set those spots up first. Then as I travel around the property, I look for sign and other potential spots to set up. I don't go overboard on setting a ton of traps, but I don't have the density or non-target animals like some areas. I set 2 traps at a location with mediocre sign. A location with lots of tracks and scat will get 3 to 4 sets.

A section (640 acres) of pasture ground here will probably only get 6 traps, 2 traps at each location. A third might be set if the spot seems to be getting a lot of action. I'll also put in a couple of snares on good, grassy trails.

Never overlook your rancher or his neighbors and ranch hands. They’ll know where those coyotes are. If you’re looking for a more broad area, the local fur buyer may provide insight.

SPC’s strategy is rock solid as usual, & John makes a good point as well.

About one-third of my recon is road related.
The remaining two-thirds consist of trail, sendero, or edge related features.
The Catahoula bats cleanup.

I see a definite shift off the road when constant pressure is applied.
That is why I focus more on secondary travel-ways.

In the fall of 22 I moved away from the traditional road line.
Records showed the oldest coyotes were rarely if ever caught on road sets.
I do not think that is a coincidence.


Good Luck this fall SK !

Both good points made by 47 and Tejas that I forgot to mention. If going into a new area talk to the rancher, they are your ears and eyes. They'll tell where they constantly see or hear them howling. Even if it doesn't seem like a logical spot to you, check it out. Also find out if they have a dead pit. I usually don't set right at the dead pit, but you can find multiple coyote tracks on trails heading to them. Look at 2 tracks and cattle trails heading to dead pit, you'll find sign.

Like Tejas said, you'll snag most coyotes at those main sets. But the leery ones will start avoiding those areas and start using a different route. Takes a little more scouting but when you find that alternate route you may be fortunate enough to take out some of the leery ones.

Tejas is dead on, I don't notice it so much with coyotes here, because they don't get pressured that much, but with pressured wolves I notice a definite tendency to use the roads less and less the more they have been pressured. Consequently I've had to switch my areas of focus.

Here’s another way to look at it for fall/winter/spring trapping.

And for the record, one should ALWAYS be looking for individual sign.

But, rather than scouting for individual sign, try scouting for the standout locations.

Big saddles on ridges, terminations of long ridges, ridge intersections, big outside bends of waterways, heads of long draws, salient features in flat country, cover transitions, hard funnels, points in fields, coulees, ends of bluffs, cover funnels, etc etc.

If there’s five obvious locations in an area, you should probably have equipment at those five locations, regardless of the presence, or lack of presence, of individual sign.

There’s going to be many situations where there could be all kinds of activity at a location and little to no physical sign.

Learn to find the locations. Than individual sign becomes a bonus.

You don’t want to give them to much country to bounce around in and not encounter your equipment, likewise, you don’t want to be burning equipment up unnecessarily. But, if there’s five locations you think you should be setting, than you should probably be setting them.



Now in the summer, individual sign is king. Not to say you can’t catch canines (mainly coyotes) prospecting, but summer coyotes are an entirely different ballgame typically.