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.
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.
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 downwind 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.
Good Observation CT.
Sure, It’s about what they want, but it is more about what the
don’t want when it comes to consistent effectiveness.
I have covered flat sets countless times over the years. Simplicity is without a doubt the key to the flat’s overall effectiveness.
That is why I constantly repeat
"show them what they expect to see".If the subtle look is indeed the key to the flat set’s continuous success, then it stands to reason this can also be applied to the dirt hole set with the same results. Most folks don’t realize just how quick some coyotes key on the visual of the hole set. It is an easy marker even the youngest coyote can spot.
This can easily transfer to attractants in the form of association making your lure lineup as worthless as the hole they keep walking past around every corner.
Constructing a smaller hole(s), with minimal dirt disturbance, along with a small plug of grass to obscure the visual of the hole can reverse the stall.
Instead of committing two traps to one set, you could tone down the overall look of the hole set to make it more acceptable to Wile E.
This would eliminate the need to hedge your bet with a second trap, and free up more steel for individual set locations.