Urine on scat vs urine on backing/feature located opposite or 90deg to scat location. And maybe no visual at all and just a squirt on the dirt.
But I also know you like to put scent on something you can relocate to get them where you want them to be

You said more foot movement and having multiple focal points will certainly get them stepping around to investigate

At least that is my best guess until I get another clue

I love this thread. This is like getting a sneak peak at Doctorate curriculum in catching Wiley when your still a freshman. Interesting stuff. Thank You T for sharing.

I think you have stumped the trappers Tejas! Or maybe no one wants to be wrong in public. Either way, it makes me think and think… and think. Good job on this thread.

Thanks Fellas.

As all of you well know, getting folks to think is what this thread is all about.

The method used and results shown prove that this is far from a coincidental string of catches.

I think I will take this question off table for the time being. I’m sure it will be brought back up on down the line.

I will continue to apply this method under certain circumstances with no variables and see if its effectiveness continues to pan out.

The same method just discussed produces another coyote for six total.

That makes back to o back catches at this set.


This long lanky 3 year old female appeared pretty cool on the outside.




Proximity quickly changed that demeanor.

A little closer look brought a much more defensive look & stance.




Then you have the “Call My Bluff” game face.

Not sure if this is what you are doing, but I dribble a little urine in front of the trap as they would approach. Gives them the confidence to move forward and get a whiff of the urine that's behind the trap.

A while back it was discussed a bit about catching males vs females coyote.
I have been thinking about that and keeping track on my catches. My property is 435 acres shaped like a bowl surrounded by ridges with a creek in the bottom. Along the creek is some thick autumn olives and south ridge is a gas line.
So far, on this property, I have caught 7 males and 1 female coyote. Half on the gas line ridge and the other half along the creek. It seems like all I catch is males regardless of the animal. I have caught 4 bobcats, 3 toms and 1 female. The toms were all caught along the creek. Even the vast majority of coons have been male.
For my sets, it depends where I am. Along the creek it usually some sort of flat set with a curiosity based lure. I throw in a couple small punch hole with some bait too. I have caught one male on a snare. Along the ridge, I seem to catch more on a post set with some gland lure and urine along with some flat sets and a small mouse hole with bait. Of the set the female was caught along the creek with in a mouse hole set with bait.
Now the adjoining property is laid out almost the same way. I use the same strategies and look for the same type of locations to set. This property has produced 5 females and 1 male coyote. All have been caught on the ridges in either a mouse hole bait set or a flat set with urine and gland.
The ages have all ranged from a toothless old female to young males.
I think it has to catching the males is they are on the edges of their territories and catching the female more in the middle of their core area. I could be wrong but it is my thought. I do find it interesting.
Thanks for this thread, it sure makes me think and I feel it has improved my bag of tricks.

That is interesting. There are so many variables…

I trap 12 months a year. I tried to keep track of everything, but I always get busy and quit. I trap lots of ranches and I have to make my rounds. I video each catch for the landowner and for me to keep up with the numbers.

I wish I had an assistant who could track the bait, lure, weather, moon cycle, wind direction, temperature, sex, age, etc. I just don’t take the time. I’d rather put in a dozen more sets a day.

The only thing I do now is keep track of catch numbers on each ranch. That is how I get paid. And I change out my baits and lures every full moon. So I don’t overuse smells. I try not to reuse the smell for a year. Just what I do right now. Hope it helps.

Thanks for the insight.
I am just a hobby trapper that enjoys predator trapping in my area. I like to see what is working and what I am doing wrong. I take pictures of the set and usually with the lure/bait but sometimes I just know what I use. Now, I am only running a couple dozen sets which makes it easy to keep track.
I do switch up bait/lure each season. I also keep it close what lure/bait I use and I do not buy what is on the shelf at the local shop. I have learned that coyotes know what Hiawatha Valley does, it sticks them to the ground, and it is used by many here, I have not had much luck with it once they started stocking the shelves with it.

My county has two full-time government trappers. Every deer hunt and rancher shoots coyotes on site. Lots of people predator call here. You can hunt all night with a thermal or a spotlight. I trapped 12 months a year doing predator control work.

We have 50 times more sheep than people here. Many ranches pay for helicopters to fly and shoot coyotes and pigs. We hold several countywide predator calling contests. Our coyotes are paranoid to say the least.

Commercial bait and lures rarely work here. Very subtle homemade baits and lures is the key to consistent success as far as smells go. Half of my foot trap catches are in blind sets. I drive by a lot of empty sets every day.

Catching livestock killers is a real challenge. The killers tend to jump fences (making snaring impossible) and avoid anything that is not a live lamb.

I said all that to say this… Every tip and trick from this forum is important for me to file away and use when I need it. That is why this forum is so important to me. This thread is one of the best locations for information on predator control trapping available. I just wanna say thank you to Tejas and all of the people who have contributed to this.

Thank you,
Steven Bridges
Bridges Predator Control
Goldthwaite, Texas

Very nice compliment to Tejas and this forum

You are on the right track but still just a little ways out.

This idea stems from something you can encounter in the field

You’re Welcome DugK !

Keep up with those records.
They will continue to pay off by allowing you to catch subtle patterns you would have otherwise missed.
It takes a bit of thought to stay one step ahead of Wile E. in the long run.

On a new line, the majority of my catches will be males on the first few waves
Adult females almost always take longer to reel in for the most part.
They also seem to wreak the majority of mayhem on the line as well.
Many of the big girls seem to get an extra dose of wariness by nature. Act accordingly.

Keep in mind, your bag of tricks does not consist of just different set looks or smells.
The ability to read sign and counter what the coyote shows you is paramount to consistent success.

It is all about orientation of the odor position at times with relation to your traps(s) which I believe is your point. Your ground conditions can make some detail sign reading much easier then folks dealing with primarily pasture and row crop like conditions. Just an observation of your trapping terrain.

My other thought would be that you placed a coyote dropping between the 2 sets, being that that they are only feet apart and gave it a shot urine.

Yes Sir it is MC.

We all can improve our game if we keep an open mind and bounce ideas of one another.
The trappers that interact with one another learn so much more than the folks that just hide and watch.
The few select folks that choose to participate and share their hard-earned knowledge are truly the ones that add value to T-Man & this thread.

Steven not only seeks out, but also adds valuable information to this site because his trapping situation and mindset demands him to do so.
He has to think outside the box to continue to be productive on the line. His job depends on it.
He knows you get out what you put in whether it is on T-Man or in the field.

Thinking outside the box equates to more options.
More options mean more ideas to store in that magic bag of tricks.
More tricks reel in more coyotes.


Thanks for the input & kind words Steven.
The same goes to all who have continued to add to this thread.

Here is another contestant for your consideration.


This handsome male made it past the first set he encountered.




He was not so lucky on the second.




Here is the first set he made it past.

Less restriction - More foot movement



The main approach was a little offset to the left of downwind.

Notice the narrow span of foot movement.

I hope you don’t mind that I share something I like to do to learn. Your photos of tracks inspired me.
I, personally, learn a lot from tracks at a set. I have learned a bunch on how a set is approached. Here in my area it’s difficult to see until we get snow. When we are about to get a deep freeze or a bunch of snow, I will make a few sets with no trap.
The first set is/was mouse ground up with a whole mouse under a fallen limb. This set is back were the hill slipped years ago and is grown up with Johnson grass. I find the coyotes hunt these areas for a quick meal. I can see how the coyote worked the set, it approached from the rear, then circled before committing but stayed back a couple feet. He did go in and get his treat. This guy went straight in and would have been wearing a bracelet.
This, second picture, set was a big hole that I shoved a road kill squirrel down months back and regularly replenish with road kills but this time I had liver chunks down the hole. This coyote really work it from the side. He has learned not to come straight at the hole. Ha worked the set from the side, he only got close to the hole from the side.

Snow is a great learning tool. I rarely have any snow down here in Central Texas. Most of my trapping is like trapping on the moon. All rock and no soil. I’m always envious of guys who have snow.

A lot of guys crowd the hole with their trap. That it’s fine if you have what the coyote wants. But take a look at where most of the traps are concentrated. With a dirt hole set, the tracks are farther back - 18 inches or more sometimes.

It takes some confidence to set a trap way back there when you think you might miss a coyote coming in from the side. I rarely set whole set down here because it’s hard to dig a hole in our ground. But when I do, I’ll put one set crowding the hole on an earth anchor. I’ll set another trap back 18 inches down wind on a drag.

I’ve had some luck catching a coyote on the drag and having one stuck at the hole. I have more luck catching a single coyote on the drag 18-24 inches back.

With flat sets, crowding the attractant is more important. The set is more subtle and natural. A coyote has no fear of a single piece of poop on a road, so he walks right up to it. So there is no need for your trap to be set back. He won’t hesitate as much. Down here, even a T-bone driven down to the ground can make a coyote back off a ways. So I set my trap accordingly.

All this is just my experience. Let your experience guide you. Thanks for sharing. Maybe try a flat set before a snow and see where the tracks concentrate.