The other problem with them is way to much avoidance

Looks good k snow, thanks. I've got a couple spots that'll work with the wind.
Bedding is actually super easy in the snow as long as it's cold enough. the broken up snow hardens quick. Bed the trap in it, spruce things up and before I leave I give the trap a wiggle to make sure it's loose in it's hardened imprint. Little bit of something for a pan cover. Works good under snowmobile tracks.

I had success this year by making a row of orchard grass about a foot wide x two feet long about a foot high in the middle and taper down, at each end of the taper i pounded out a trap bed and used a #2 Bridger i used just enough wax dirt to coat the bottom of the trap bed and then cut the orchard grass with scissors to break up the outline. I used a food lure on one end and a curiosity lure on the other with good strong fox urine in the middle. I had a dirt hole about 15 feet away and the foxes travel path on this particular farm brought the foxes past the dirt hole first. in five nights i caught three reds from the hay set and not even a track in the snow at the dirt hole.

I think with what Hern said about right after deer season having a lull is because there are so many gut piles and unrecovered deer that canines have plenty to choose from for a while.......one thing i did notice this year is when i did get a fox to commit to dirt late it was for deer for bait instead of my regular beaver based bait that i use.

I did finally connect on a large male coyote today on one. Will be using them more in future under the right circumstances

Im pretty sure the whole idea with this set is to not bed the trap. I sure wouldnt want my trap even close to the dirt in this kind of weather. Like Hern said they step it up a bit when pawing on the hay. As long as your trap doesnt tip over I would say you are good, at least thats how I did it.

This hay set was made on the snow 8 days ago. The trap was not bedded merely set on enough hay to avoid freeze down and covered with hay lightly. I use hay to guide, and place my attractant deep in the hay to promote a longer search. The snow melted this week but the trap was up to the task last night, and held 2 front toes this morning. I haven't touched it for 8 days.

Years ago a hourglass shaped straw set worked well for me with a rat carcass and a good LDC lure and I highly recommend it. That being said though, that was before I learned why & how to use a blind trail set in snow(or bare ground for that matter). Never went back to using the straw set or scents at that time of year as I feel with gained experience as a trapper should always endeavor to evolve and fine tune his efforts for maximum results.

Hay set finally produced for a Coyote me. We’ve had 18” of melting snow so I’ve been prioritizing hay sets for the weather proofing.
I found a small area in a field with no snow right where the timber can to a point. Lots of canine tracks. I made an hour glass shaped hay set with 2 traps - 1 on each side of the bottleneck. I buried deer scraps and chicken organs in the bottleneck of the hourglass. No lure.

Good for you. They are fun sets to make

I’ve seen some mixed opinions on bedding traps vs not bedding in hay sets. I tried both methods this year.
I caught 1 coyote with the traps bedded, caught 1 grey fox with traps NOT bedded.
Missed 1 red fox and 1 coyote with traps NOT bedded. Tracks in the snow showed the red fox stepped on the jaw and got out of there fast. For the coyote, it exposed the trap and flipped the loose jaw up.

I still find it odd that all beginner trapping instruction will always explain that traps need to be bedded solid, but for this one set, they don’t need to be bedded solid? If I can prevent them from freezing, why not bed them in a hay set? I don’t see a downside besides a little extra work. I have more confidence with them bedded as well, knowing they’re solid.

You’ve got to step out of the box and think about what bedding means in relation to the conditions you are dealing with, not others because you can bed a trap on top of the ground rock solid!! Hopefully this video of mine will give you some guidance and food for thought. https://youtu.be/hwffTWWpBMU?si=3O4f_G-Ip7ASxBKk

Great video and great idea! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Would you mind sharing the specific screws that you like using?