Central Texas 2023 Coyote Job

OK. It may not be dead center Central Texas. On about 6000 acres of High Fence. First impressions = Hill Country is very pretty Owners DO NOT have as many coyotes as they thought. Ground is rocky Its sand = the owners said = LoL! = yes but only for 4 or 5 inchs. Wish I had drags. Looks like = Thicker version of South Texas = Below = Pearasol Tx Cottulla that way and so on. Can see = Mountains and Rivers here. Guide has trapped here before I got here. SO setting traps accordingly. Will post picd when I can. BUT = dont look for mass coyote pics here on this 14~21 day job. Saw hole ranch. Sign just aint here. May = have to do = Photo dumps every few days as well. 3g here on phone. Text and phone internet = OK but I sent a message and pics to my daughter and it took = 22 mins to go threw

Running low key flat sets. No urine

Texas Hill Country should’ve told you no sand, lol! I hunted near Roosevelt and thought I was chasing Merriam’s instead of Rio’s! Thought all they did put there was snare. There were some “sandy roads” but it was just a covering for the rock.

Wow! Took 9 mins. Got 4 bars. but says = 3g

Wanna Be it is sandy ! As I said. For about 4 inchs ! LoL!! Drags. Would work well here. Will post up some landscape pics tonite. Just deadly slow on time it takea to post pics. Why ? Dont know 4 bars. And non pic talking on here goes threw like text messages fast

Pretty cool. Saw in = Eden Texas ?

Type stuff. Setting against. Few cattle in here. LOTS of non targets to avoid. Not really happy about having too —— release gray fox. BUT thats what owner wants. Me. I prefer to get rid of them and get them out of MY way

Sent you a pm. Thanks

Good luck! Are you using any lure at these sets?

James Lucero lure is about all I ever use. And a little muskrat down a pipe on occasion

I turkey hunted around San Angelo and Pearsall, lots of rodent holes under those cactus. Keep ya eyes open around them for Rattlers.

Sometimes you have to want to win!!!

Yeah there is plenty of rock in the Hill Country


I bet you catch a few though

Dang it. Trajicdy has struck. Cork broke off !!

Stay on your side of the fence ! LOL!

O yeah. Setting on sign

Set

River?? Everything is bigger in Texas ? Cant walk across no rivers in Alabama! You have to swim ! LoL !

Very. Unimpressing day. NO new coyote sign. Caught 1 grey Fox 2 Raccon and 1 cat. No pics. Went in head guides truck. Forgot. Phone. Maybe some set pics tonight

You wouldn't by chance be running one of my lines now would you? Sounds like a good day on mine!

Kicking stuff loose ant my style. Only carry a catch pole cause law says you have too! LOL! But its good practice any way !

Catch pole down here and MUST be dispatched by .22. I’ve found with a lung shot extremely quick kills and no blood. Cats are just to easy to use the catch pole on.

Same here Didnt get alot done today. Went and looked at a place. That mt lion killed a doe a while back

I mean. Seriously. Who doesnt want to catch a mt lion in a trap???? I know its a slim to none chance. But. I have to go look

Run Forest Run!!! 3 rd grey fox released today. NOT alot of coyote here! Only took pic of this 1 cause. It just sat their while I remade set. I mean after I took pic. I remade set still their. So cunked a rock near it and it ran off. Funny

He was studying what not to do next time, lol.

ST, are you getting foot damage on the greys with the MJs? We dont generally get foot damage unless theres grass to bind swivels here, but those appear to be much bigger and stronger.

No foot damage. Ran off find when I cunked a rock at him. BUT I also run JC Conner Shock TBar and 4 JC Conner swivels

He growled some. Maybe his wat of saying = Thanks for releasing me. I know you normally kill grey fox ! LoL!

My setup

You know you are good at what you do when your catches stay after to watch see how you did it hahaha! Great info and great job as always Steel!

Thanks Hammer. Did not realize how much this was = Sheep and Goat country. Someone. That many on here know of. Told me yesterday = You want catch more than 8 to 10 coyotes in 14 days no matter who you are here! He is well know . So i guess I though 6000 acres would get me more coyotes. I tried = 3 different locations last evening. I have been taught to located coyotes with a call. By 1 of the best. NEVER got a response! So I sit here on tail gate. Waiting for owner. For ride along. May cut this 14 to 10 day IF owner wants. And go to next job. Time will tell. Not catching coyotes depresses me ! LoL!

2 coyotes 4 coon 3 grey fox. Going to lunch with owner. Then work the rest

For the sheep and goat people, 1 coyote on 6000ac is 2 too many

Keep working on them

Property is basically 2 piece or so I run it that way. Back 3000 and from 3000. So got 1 more grey fox on back 3000. SO today = 2 coyote 4 coon 4 grey fox. And had a miss on bobcat by 1/4 inch on MJ 600. Was a small cat so Im not to worry will catch latter. Land owner seams happy. See’s why we charge what we do = 10 aniaml remakes and 12 deer remakes. Reset 24 traps from 9 am till 1 pm

Kind of rocky. Set trap by that white rock.

Flat Set with pipe. In front of that = pokey weed like sticky cactus thing

Pokey weed pipe set

Set

That pokey weed. Cactus thing stuck my finger like a needle!!! Calling it quits. And going to get some bourbon!!!!

I ant driving up their looking for coyote tracks !!! Lol!!!

Flat Set Log. Poured SMC and Coyoter XL on it !

Back at ranch house. Flat Set. Female. Projection type set. Coyotero lure. SMC urine

Male. Older 6 year old. Teeth rounding. WAS making scratch marks on road. Flat Set. Coyote poop. Winter Wolf. Grawes Coyote Urine. MJ 600 Sterling

That "pokey" plant looks like a cholla

Everything from around where you are and south or west will poke or bite

It pokeyed me bout twice! Lol!!

Weeks or months from now you might find a little pimple looking thing and it have a cactus thorn in it. Seems every time I go to south or west Texas it happens to me.

Went deer hunting one year and about a month later noticed a groove in the middle of a fingernail. A few weeks later I dug a 1/8" mesquite thorn out from under my cuticle, how it I got there and me never notice it when it did is a mystery

Good luck on your line today

Not related, but that “smooth” looking part of cactus ain’t exactly smooth. There are little bitty microscopic needles on that blankety blank that will have you heading to town for some tweezers and a magnifying glass!!!

Wanna Be. Im not a tuff as all these Texas cowboys. So I carry tweezers. And pull out stickers and stuff soon as I get stuck. Make fun of me if you want. BUT I get stuck. I stop making a set right then. And get it out of hand ! Lol !

In shirt pocket !

2 coyotes 2 coon 3 grey fox. And a couple of funny stories. Will post latter

This worries me ! Killed on Monday. Thrown in = Tunnel where they always throw stuff. Lots of bones around. 6 days no coyotes? Just a grey fox nibling in a leg

Maybe those coyotes are watching their cholesterol

Around here they eat pigs pretty quick, but in some areas I have heard coyotes will not touch them.

Was told they eat them quick here too! Main guide has caught 6 or 7 and that have killed 6 or so this deer season. So maybe low coyote # s

Plus. On a positive note for the owner. Their head guide. Showes me around. He seamed like a good trapper.. He had never set a MJ 600 Sterling. So I let him make a Flat Set. He use # 3 Bridger. So he got out his tarp and set a MJ 600 Sterling. To be honest. I was impressed with his = Flat Set. Looked good to me.

Told owner yesterday. In my opinion he has a capable trapper in his main guide. He makes a good looking Flat Set. Has been trapping a long time. Just doesn’t have time with busy schedule to trap whole place. My honest with the landowner may cost me work thier in future. But Karma is Karma. I love catching coyotes. But slow catching is better than NO catching. LoL! OK off to back side

I like the way you operate. The situational honesty is how I am with landowners also.

Always best to be upfront and honest. Will pay dividends down the road.

You guys are 100% right ! Know need inflating # s. Have heard of a southern guy this back fired on! I know = 7 or 8 traps that sat this = guy is a horses rear. Keeping it kid friendly ! LoL! I dont know him. But a guy I gave lessons to has taken 2 properties from him. Like I said 7 or 8 people have told me this. HE claims average Alabama properties have 12 -14 coyotes per square mile. I have been in West Texas Talked to = 2 biologist 1 game warden and read about the area close to where I trapped = 44 days total and got 226 coyotes. Was told about 5 coyotes per square mile. Could thier be a place with 12-14 coyotes per square mile in Alabama?? Sure. Trapped in North Alabamq yall see the = 10 in 1 day round them chicken farms and pits. Got 33 in 10 days. Nother place only 800 acres. Catfish ponds. Dead fish every where. I got 19 coyotes in 7 days. THOSE are my 2 best places in 35 years of trapping in Alabama. SO I could say = Yes . I have trapped on places with 10 coyotes plus a mile. BUT I dont run round telling every landowner theirs 10 coyotes per square mile on his 7000 acres hunting land ! Thats wrong. And miss leading. SO now someone = That owns land in Alabama thinks thiers 60 plus coyotes on 7000 acres. I think —- be honest. Educate who will listen. Point them to honest studys that have been done. So they can be educated and help educate others on coyotes. In the end. I feel this works better than. —— O the sky is falling and you have coyotes lurking behind every bush. Rant over. Back to trapping. LOL!

Lots of old bones. 1 set of coyote tracks !

Made a set. Have plenty of time on hands ! Now

More sets

All i did was turn that Tbone around^^^^^^ so I could put some food lure in It. Then some Winter Wolf on Qtip

More sets

Good signal. Rest off sets and day

Remake to left And good story

OK. Coyote was caught in catch circle on left. I remade it. Then made one to the right

I have come to this conclusion = Maybe I should learn to speak = At least some = Spanish??? Most time. People just blast coyotes in traps. OK. It happens. NOT here ! Spanish help. Dispatched coyote =Bloodless catch circle!! Took off trap. Put underall beside trap. Drug off coyote and took brush top and wiped out tracks??? I need to learn Spanish to say -_>>> thanks. Good job

So 2 coyotes 2 coon 3 grey fox 1 bobcat

Bobcat. Nice size. JL 1. Jameson Red Fox Urine. Flat Set. White Bone. MJ 600 Sterling

Steeltraps, Love the rock set. So many ways too use a nice flat rock. Double rock sets, single rock sets, dirt hole covered by rock, bait smeared on bottom of rock, gland lure on edge facing trap, etc. etc. Use what is available and natural too make a coyote set. Lol lots of Rocks where I trap. Thanks for bringing us along on Your trapline!!

No problem Mark. This large male coyote was on a Rock. Flat Set. Coyotero smeared on it

Was told + large coyote for Hill County. Teeth rounding. 5 or 6 year old Rear foot in a MJ 600 Sterling. 4 swivels and a JC Conner T bar held him Well. Not Toe Caught ! LoL !!!

Yes it is a pleasure too trap with good/excellent equipment. Good for the animals also. Not toe caught lol. I understand. When you have the right coyote traps/system toe catches are pretty rare.

Mark. I really think its more about how the trap is made. I know lots of folks. Worry about = a pattern miss. Seams like everyone wants a big pan on their trap. But their are pros and cons of ever traps. MJ 600 is a great trap. But. The trade off ??? Very expensive Hard to get. Small pan compared to other traps its size. As in = 5 & 1/2 inch inside spead

Supper. At a time are 5 pm. Sounds good !

Thanks = Gracias in Spanish. Good job = buen trabajo in Spanish.

Thanks Silkplainscoyot. Will write that down. It will probably take me years to Master Spanish. But if I am going to be in Texas 4 months a year. Guess i better start learning

As I sit here.drinking bourbon. I think to myself. IF i had the sense God gave a donkey. I would just move to West~Central Texas. All that rain we get in the south??? West Texas getting 10 inch a year ? I have seen 10 inchs of rain on a 21 day coyote job in south alabama. Why dont I just leave????Guess im just to stubborn to re locate full time. I would miss my family in Alabama. But not all the rain

Yeah, sometimes I miss Louisiana but I certainly don't miss the 70 inches of rain a yr or the mosquitoes or mowing grass 10 months a yr lol

Not sure what Alabama got, but it started raining last night and has basically rained all day and still raining. Tomorrow afternoon will probably be remaking sets for another inch or two on Wednesday. Didn’t have a thing on camera all last night and all 10 traps empty this morning. You know it’s bad when the beavers didn’t even move, lol.

We had about 3/4" in SW Bama last night with some hail and lots of wind/lightening. Did have critter movement though, caught 5 pigs in Pig Brig and a beaver in a snare at a slide. Second beaver at this spot, they clogged a culvert and had two small dams in a ditch. Pretty sure it was a pair of two year olds just setting up shop. Broke the upper dam and will check for activity.

Yep. My daughter in North Alabama told me bout all the rain. And few days back tornado warnings. All ways wet in the south. When it rains. Just set on the high spots

That hail and lightning worries me the most. When im in south alabama. I dont have a garage to park my Tacoma in sometimes. Just get under a big pine tree. And hope for the best !!! Lol!!!

Going to look at this from another angle my son ran into…that head guide is already getting a salary. He’s got enough on his plate as it is besides running traps. He may NOT want the extra unless the owner/manager is willing to pay, lol.
My son told them you’re paying this guy such and such amount of money for 2 weeks of work and I’m not making near that. Now if you want to pay me extra or make it that that is all I do then fine. So that’s what he does now and extra pay.

Wanna Be not much here. Coyote wise is the point. May me feel = Un~needed. I got place bombed with Flat Sets. When about 18 to 24 sets run year round everyday might do the job. 12 might do it.

Worst part = Grey fox !!! Done got 3 so far on front 3000 and ant even hit back 3000 yet ! Hate these little buggers! How do you keep them out of my sets!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE dont say up pan tension!!!!!!!!! All my traps are 3 to 3 &1/2 lbs or more. I have been putting 2 pads under them. Had 1 yesterday heavy = 2 pads. Almost 5 lbs or right on line with tester. Thought to myself. No grey fox will get in this 1 !!!! WRONG! Got to it = grey fox= both feet in a MJ 600 Sterling???? This happens daily now.

Gray fox # 4 I swear. Every Grey Fox in Junction Tx is going to be = walking with a gangster limp by the timw I leave hear! LoL!!

Junction? That’s where my Uncles place was. Think he sold it now though.
I think Greys are living up to their feline side, just naturally curious. Guess it’s a good thing, I always take it as not a lot of coyotes.

Just caught another coyote. !

Keep hammering them!

Not that it's particularly important, but that "sticky weed" is indeed a cactus. It's called tasajillo. Or pencil cactus. Or turkey pear.

It hurts when it sticks into you!

Female. Flat Set. White Tbone from deer. Muskrat in Hole in Bone then smeared Coyotero lurw on it. No urine. In cows. MJ 600 Sterling

Male. Large brown phase. Little more bourbon. And I may try to catch him!!!! LoL!!!

I don’t think he likes you.

Maybe He would like me IF I shared my Doritos with him???

PLEASE video it should you decide to try to catch him!!!

Yeah I'd pay to see that lol

So this weather makin you think of sweet home alabama???

Yep. 3 wet coons. And 1 grey fox. It’s misting rain now. Back at ranch house. For a bite of late breakfast. Then off to the other side. Will be done by 1 pm. Then bored till bedtime LOL!!!!

Just wondering if you caught that large brown phase coyote and that is way you haven't posted today.

Nope. Left him alone. 1 grey fox 1 coyote in a snare. Will get pic of coyote. I hung up for next door neighbor on fence. Tomorrow. Tired. Going to bed

Another grey fox and 1 more coon! Fixing to go to other side and run 3000 acres. Pulling up friday. Will be in South Texas by Saturday ETA round 1 or 2 pm

Just got old female coyote near watering hole. Set on fresh = # That day tracks and poop. 8 days lates. She is back. Now. She is gone Pics tonight will I wash cloths and start packing up

I like the looks of that dirt. All mine is frozen mud now.

Its nice. I can honestly say. I have NO desire to trap in frozen ground. Wet sloppy ol Alabama gumbo is bad enough for me. Got to be back in Alabama round Feb 16 th or so

Female. Flat Set with Muskrat LDC down pipe. Coyotero on Qtip. MJ 600 Sterling hard at work

Took the advice of a top notch Texas trapper. And got some ribs today at Lums

You eat like that too often you won't be moving too fast.

I have lost about 40 lbs. Last year. Working every day gets you some times. So when i have a chane I eat and drink well

Awesome work. What is your total on coyotes so far?

For year ? Dont have log book with me but = shot = snared= trapped is around 109 or 110 since Jan 1. Last year. Totaled out at 518 coyotes and Year before was 541 coyotes

Got 1 more grey fox today. Pulling and going to south texas for 14 day job

ST your underall do you purchase or what is the material you use for it ... Jon

FNT. Or MB have them = Type A round is what I use I know they can be made but I never have that kind of time on my hands. Its job to job Everyday. From here to March 25 th