Like many of you, we’re about to get around 18” of snow.
If you have experience trapping for canines in these conditions with footholds, can you share any tips to still find success?
I will only be able to access my trapping areas by foot.
Thank you.

Snowshoes. Wait until the dump is done, then snowshoe in and dig everything out. You might hang snares in your trail as that will be the easiest way around.

Thank you. No snares for me - PA requires a certification that I don’t have yet so I’m working with footholds.

I work out of a truck so it may not be an option for you but I've used a snow shovel to clear a 6-8' circle and made my set in there. Works good if you don't get a bunch more snow or high winds. You can look for locations where the wind blows most of the snow away as well if conditions are right.

Man I wish you would send some of that snow this way. This winter is absolutely ridiculous, no snow and none in sight in the forecast.

As far as trapping in the snow, your options are pretty much, dig them out or set your traps in the snow. That kind of will depend on what kind of conditions you have. If it is warm days and cold nights, with the snow getting wet and sloppy during the day and then freezing up at night, you are probably better off digging them out. If you dig them out, ADC has the right idea, large 6-8' area dug out, not just where the trap is. Personally I have had issues with avoidance of dug out areas, regardless of how large an area I've dug out, so I prefer to set in/on the snow. When setting in the snow, take a piece of wax paper large enough for the entire trap, levers and all to set on, put this down on top of the snow and press your trap down on top of it, then use another piece of wax paper over the trap as a pan cover. Bedding traps in snow solid will take just a bit of experience and depends on snow conditions, sometimes you have to bring extra snow in and add to the trap bed to build it up to the right height once the snow is packed solid under the trap, other times you have to dig snow out to get the trap low enough. Usually if you take your hand and punch the center of trap bed down so the trap is setting on the jars and levers it will bed much more solidly, much easier. If it is snowing when you set your traps, that is ideal, just put the wax paper over them, with maybe a couple pinches of snow to hold it in place until it snows it over, and let nature take its course, covering and blending your trap for you. Naturally fallen snow will not freeze like snow you have disturbed will. If it isn't snowing or won't be shortly, you have no choice but to cover them yourself. Do NOT use a sifter to sift snow over them! I don't know a way to make snow freeze harder. except to pour water over it. You want to disturb the snow you cover your traps with as little as possible, the less you disturb it, the less hard it will freeze. Use a flat nosed shovel, chunk of plexiglass or anything flat, slick, and cold to slide under a thin layer of undisturbed snow, and then try and slide that thin layer off of your flat implement and over your trap as smoothly as possible, disturbing that layer of snow as little as possible.

Sets in snow require a lot of maintenance as conditions change, but with a little experience it becomes easy to bed traps rapidly in the snow and move on.

so i have found trapping in the snow sucks for canines but have had limited success because of varying weather conditions
#1 location is still key
#2 bait piles will draw k-9 in stormy weather or really cold temps even if they have had bad experiences
#3 top quality lure is a must when trapping deep snow
#4 i will usually bring my traps above ground when trapping deep snow and what i mean is will not bury with dirt or if there is hard packed snow only go that deep and let mother nature cover them
#5 i will either check from a short distance away or walk right up and past the set because like humans they are going to follow your trail

Thanks for the tips here. I like the idea of bedding in the snow with wax paper (also read about hay chaff) and making sets with as little disturbance as possible. I’ve had no success on canines here in PA when I disturb with dirt or bare ground in the snow. They seem to avoid it completely.
I’m still not certain of how much or little the canines are bothered by human tracks here in PA. I’m considering 3 options to deal with this:
1. Ask the farmer to drive the edges of the field so that I can use those to walk in.
2. Drag something big behind myself to cover my tracks and create a “travel trough”
3. Not worry about it and just walk right through the set and hope the canines don’t mind

I have seen coyotes turn and go right back the way they came when they got to my boot tracks and others walk in them. Seems to be better with snowshoes. I snowshoe into some of my areas and drag a jet sled behind me with my gear in it. If you do get 18" of snow they will be more likely to follow your trail.

Foot holds placed carefully in snowshoe trails, (pulling a sled even better), and especially snow machine trails is a common tactic up North, especially for wolves. Done right, you can walk or ride right over the trap, and the trap blends very well. A couple of small guide sticks and that is usually all there is to it.