Timber coyotes

Help me out guys! Here’s the situation. I’ve trapped CRP ground since I started trapping coyotes. Our land comes out of CRP in the next year or two and I’m not sure if we can get it back in to the program. If we can’t get it back in the program, it will likely be farmed again. It consists of ridges with hollows of timber. My question is “How do you set for coyotes in the wooded hollows?” I apologize for the ignorance but I wasn’t taught to catch coyotes in the hollows.

Why couldn't u just snare them?

Snares aren’t legal in Illinois.

Actually,it is a good question and a situation many don't have to deal with.Try to find those features.You might try setting at the mouth and heads of those hollows.They may not run the bottom of the hollow like a cat might but there should be some trails paralleling the hollow.Woods roads are always good,cross roads are golden.You can use basic sets,dirthole,flat sets,blind sets,etc..Sets probably won't be as visible as out in a field,so you may need a visual like a charred piece of wood,bleached bone etc. to get some attention.

I would assume that I will have alot of unwanted catches (coons, grinners, etc.) to clean out at first? I’ve always stayed some distance from the timber to avoid these catches.

I simply set in the fields or entrances into each field. Once they work it over you will see areas that I have yet to see the need to set the woods as they generally work the ridges down to the field and enter near the hollows. My fields are surrounded by timber and ridges and have been pasture and crp type in the past. Most of the time they are quickly chisled plowed after harvest but I use a longer anchor to ensure they are set in the softer ground and often set a blind set or flat set after they show where they are walking. They will generally walk the second depression line of the plowed field and set there or have even made a dirt hole in the plowed ridge like a trench set.

I think you are probably right about that.

Adiah, sounds similar to the area I trap. Would the outside corners of the timber be hot spots?

You will get a lot of coons along the timber but coyotes will cut the corners or use the higher spots. I haven’t set much in the woods even though I can as I focus mostly on canines. Also some fields will create wet spots etc that will funnel coyotes along edges where it wasn’t planted or plowed and they will always skirt around these areas. Staying a couple rows off the edge has always helped and I will see a lot of tracks on these rows and more coon tracks on the very edge. Also look for areas where the woods make a point into a field or a ditch line or simple change from weed edge and field. One of my most productive spots this year was a wood line that funneled a field into a narrow stretch of farm ground then opened back up.
Once the area is planted you will see areas that may be different than you have now. The coyotes likely won’t leave But you will have to re-evaluate the locations you set.

Thanks Adiah. That the kind of things I’ve been wondering. As it is now, we have paths that we always drive on, on top of the ridges. This is where I set 99% of my traps, in this roadway. Without this roadway, I’m lost.

Is there anyone out there who actually puts their sets in the woods? I know roadways are places to set but where else in the woods? Or, should I just stay out of the woods all together?

If it comes out of CRP setting in the new fields will not be a problem. As mentioned, canines like high points in fields, but also run edges, entrance and exit spots. Pay attention to wind direction, set both sides of a likely location. If you get snow, go out and look for tracks. That's the easiest way to tell where they travel. And if a coyote went there once, they will do it again.

" My question is “How do you set for coyotes in the wooded hollows?” I apologize for the ignorance but I wasn’t taught to catch coyotes in the hollows."

First, I have to admit that a wooded hollow is not common nomenclature in this part of the country. Forgive me, but I suspect it would be like any wooded area between fields? Where I live there are some fields but mostly woods.

If you are woods trapping consider making locations. Consider bait stations. Just an idea.
Mac

Johnny Thorpe called that "Bush Trapping".If more guys went to bait stations, or draws, in these situations I believe they would be more successful.

I don’t trap in my wooded area simply because I can’t check traps from afar . I had a trail camera up on the edge of the woods this year and kept getting pictures of coyotes. After putting in three traps that I was sure I could see the coyotes work with the camera I waited . The one thing I had not thought of was having to walk within spitting distance to check the sets. After a week without a catch or even a trap worked I started taking the dog with me thinking this would peak their interest , wrong ! After another week I pulled the card and found that the coyotes had been there three times in two weeks and passed within a couple of feet of two traps each time without breaking stride . The third trap was a pipe set just a little too close to be seen by the camera, but had no disturbance. Since then we’ve had a little snow a couple of times and I’ve got a spot that I can now see from a couple of hundred yards away . With a little over two weeks of season left I’m gonna try it again just to see if my daily walk was the problem , I’m betting it was !

Timber setting is normally a winter deal here. Look for trails and eye candy , like big stumps, holes , old farm equipment, brush piles etc. Same flat sets I use in the open. If there's a 2 track set where game trails cross it. If there's a pine or a cedar in the mix they'll key on it.

Golfball, I’ve got that exact same scenario. The best way I know to fix it is to remove the camera!

Mac, that is exactly what I’m asking. I wasn’t taught to catch them there either but if there is a way to do it, I’d like to know how others do it.

Mac,a "hollow" is a wooded ravine,big or small.In the West,it might be called a canyon or more likely,a draw.They usually run from low at the mouth to higher in elevation at the top.There are usually finger ridges in between and there may be a ridgetop above the heads of several of these hollows.

Thank you Taximan. A person just assumes everyone uses the same terminology. I didn’t understand what Mac was asking until I read your post.

Called bottoms down South...if they have water they’re swamps.

When we say “bottoms” we mean the river bottoms. This is the area where the river used to be eons ago but is now some of the best farmland there is.

I thought you were speaking of creek bottoms vs. big time river bottoms along rivers such as the Illinois or Mississippi Rivers. My brother and I have a small farm in Fulton County although I moved to South Dakota almost eight years ago. However, I would place sets where draws intersect with the bottoms, drainage ditches, etc. that are natural travel ways. My guess is if you have a large river bottom there are drainage ditches or waterways throughout the bottom.

I've never trapped anything other than big woods...that's all we have here. Blind sets on logging roads or trails leading to bait are the best producers followed by the usual dirt holes and flat sets. Coyote numbers tend to be lower here and travel routes are longer. Coyotes may only come through every week or 10 days.
Bait piles are really the best tools although with this incredibly mild winter we are having they have remained virtually untouched until recently.
These are some pics from previous years with more normal Western NY winters.
The 2nd photo is an example of the trails that form to and from the bait piles. The pic with the 2 coyotes was from an night with 20 degree below zero temps. Skinning coyotes outdoors in temps like that is a real challenge!!