I see a lot of guys who traps right of ways talk about bridges and culverts funnle animals under the bridges and culverts but i wonder if thats regional i live in the Ozarks and have lived on the same dirt road all my life. Been trapping it 15 years there are 3 low water crossing on it in a 3 mile section none of them show much animal sign under the bridges however I regularly see sign or actual animal movement over the top of the road ive seen several times an otter climb out of the water cross the road then go back in the water same for mink and coon obviously im not there 24/7 but just curious what others think?

I think around here (East Texas) culverts and bridges are places to consider for setting but I think animals cross whenever and wherever they feel like.

I have seen beavers and otters run over over on the road AT bridges and these have considerable banks to traverse to get up on the road. Path of least resistance was not the road for sure

Not sure anyone would mess with anything on ROW here but also not enough money in fur from around here to risk losing a single trap either

That would make it all the better. Set both the crossovers and the culverts/bridges just in case.

Some animals are afraid of crossing under a bridge or culvert as it's a good way to get trapped by predators.

Go to Billingsleybrandlures.com and watch his videos on heavy setting. He explains that sometimes animals go over bridges and sometimes they go under. That said, he heavily sets upstream, downstream, under the bridges, and the high bank trails on both sides of the bridge. Granted, he has the fur to catch. But, not everything goes under a bridge or thru a culvert.

Still do put pockets at them but have yet to catch anything under the bridge yet anyway could be lower population thing the rocky hill county doesn't produce as many animals as the flat fertile county most of these row trappers are in

Set more on sign and less on location. Tracks are good!
Check your bridges a couple times pre-season to see if the bridges are getting any activity.

Set the high bank trails on both sides of the bridge/culvert.

To much rock here hardly see tracks