locating canine locations

[chub618]

since i am new to the canine trapping especially coyotes how does one find the proper set locations ... and how far off of location can you be and still connect.? should you use test sets to find these locations say a month before season, if so would you use lure or just urine at these test sets...

[Traveler]

One of the best ways is to let the coyote and fox show you.Walk the edges of the fields and fence lines and look for droppings and tracks.Also look at locations where two main features come together.Bean field running up to a fence row.Point of brush coming out from a creek bottom to meet a fence line.Gates at tractor roads going back into fields.A saddle in a long ridge line.Anything that connects country.All good places to watch for sign.Coyote or fox sign at these locations will tell you if your're on target .

[chessiepup]

this is not a blatant plug but

Run don't walk and get Matt Jones hardcore cats and coyotes it is the best I've seen for locations and why you would set there


ok maybe it was a plug ;D

[mattjones298]

many good trappers say coyote locations are not the same as red and grey fox locations. i feel they are exactly the same. if you have some knowledge about fox trapping you also have knowledge about coyote trapping, atleast in the eastern half of the country.

here are some locations i have caught coyotes.

the edges of any field, corn, beans, milo, and hay fields. if a ditch or small creek crosses the field coyotes will have a way they cross it. it might be a cow trail, tractor road or deer trail. coyotes dont like to get there feet wet.

any gap any where in any field is a great location.

fence rows and crop change ups like a bean field next to a corn field without a fence, they will run the edge of the beans most times. (easyer walking)

any farm road, logging, 4 wheeler or tractor road.

edges of ditch lines in pasture or hay fields also cow trails leading to ponds or other fields.

gas and power line right of ways

the highest ridge in a pasture or hay field

any place you see 2 or more sets of coyote tracks, if you see tracks going both ways your on them, make double sets, if it`s just plastered with tracks make 3 or 4 sets.

these locations are where i catch most of my coyotes and a great number of possums.

matt

[k9]

Think of the "edges" or travelways as spokes on a wheel. A tractor trail is a spoke, a ridgetop or creek is a spoke. These long running edges are all travelways, some are travelled either a little, or a lot, depending on what food sources they lead to, etc.

Find where two of those travelways come together and you have a good location. Find where three or more of them come together and you have a better location. Think of it was looking from overhead. If you have "spokes" or edges coming together, you want your sets to be in the hub, to present your set to maximum numbers of coyotes.

There are coyote super highways, that large numbers of coyotes travel for a lot of reasons. Learn to identify those and you will up your catch. There are other travelways that only one or two coyotes travel on occasion. Worth a set but you will learn with experience that once you catch a coyote or two, to move out of that spot rather than try to trap coyotes who are not there.

You gotta know when to hold them..know when to fold them.... know when to walk away.....know when to run...

Not bad for a Mettalica fan huh?

[musher]

I'm not a 'yote trapper but I do catch wolves and fox. Test sets aren't a great idea. Keep things fresh and new. Novelty enhances curiousity.

[chub618]

thanks for the information so far,,, in my area we have alot of small fence rows and woodlots and seems to me more and more farmers are putting in sod water ways with grass especially around creeks and streams! they look like farm roads cept they have grass growing on them maybe if i get some time and find a digital camera ill take some pics and post some of the spots i and thinking about setting

[a1foxhopper]

I agree 100% with Musher on the test sets unless you use a lure you don't plan on using during the season. Just my experience.

[buckeyehunter]

Chub:
Matt Jones does a great job of showing proper location in his latest "hardcore trapping video". I feel much more confident about catching k-9's after seeing that video.

[mattjones298]

thanks buckeyehunter,

len williams and myself teamed up and filmed the hardcore video this past january. i normaly trap alone as there is no money in having partners even if the partner is a great trapper like len. two trappers dont need to work from the same truck. we ran together about 13 days and caught 126 coyotes and 31 cats and some fox. if you cut that catch in 1/2 it aint that great, and both of us would have done a 1/3rd better alone. we both learned alot from each other and plan to trap a couple weeks together again for otter and mink this comming season.

we also trapped two weeks together for racoons, and our catch compared to last season when we trapped alone was off by over 1/2. we realy had a good time making the videos but we both like killing fur more..lol

even when we trap alone we skin together almost every night unless we are off trapping else where.

well i got long winded as i meant to post about canine locations..lol

the biggest mistake a canine trapper makes is starting his land trapping to early in my book.

i feel a trapper should target coon untill atleast mid. dec. coyote locations realy improve over the same location a month earlyer.

matt

[chub618]

matt: back in the day when i was trapping on a regular basis,, our fox season started in mid oct. we would set alot of traps for fox and seems that we would catch alot of coon at this time too,,, we had to release them because the coon season was not in yet. now that the seasons come in all the same, which is nov 10'th this yr. i still feel that there will be alot of coons caught in canine sets. and we have a law here that no coons coyotes or foxes can be released,, they have to be dispatched and put in the bag... just hope the coon are prime i guess when i start out. i have been looking for a video to buy mabe yours can help!

[717 Yards]

Test sets, "with" bait will have the coyote come back later when the trap is in place. He allready found food there once with no ill effects and will work the set faster the next time. I'v done this a good bit and havent had any trouble with refusels,,,, that I know of.
I'v used this on set shy yotes during the season with good results.
We don't have a big number of coyotes around here so I don't mind playing with one inorder to get him. "Matt"

[mac]

One of the best ways to learn location is to get out in the winter and follow tracks. After a while you get to the point that you develop a picture in your mind of what types of an area that canines will travel.

Pay attention to what Matt said in his post. About the only thing I can think of to add is to keep an eye out for salient features. Soemthing that stands out in the terrain. Examples might be a lone thicket, a pile of rocks the farmer left when cleaning the fields, an old farm stead foundation, a lone apple tree. That sort of thing.

I have a ton of videos and must say that most are great on location if in you are trapping out west. The best I have (for eastern trapping) seen concerning explanation and actual picture is Matt's Hardcore tape. Grawes's books are perhaps the best (my opinion only) on location. Carmen's are good also

Spend as much time as possible tracking.

Also what 717 yard said. Pre-baiting with an edible bait will teach you a lot and do little harm. Just do not plaster the area. Kind of feel it out with a set here and a set there. Don't waste lure at this time as it will lose appeal. (Unless you are conducting a specfic well thought out lure test)

Mac

[Planes & Poison]

I think in all it's boiled down simplicity; a good canine location is where you find sign.

I believe any beginning trapper would be best suited to set sign. The more the merrier. Once you do that, you'll start producing and then you can progress into edges, salient features and travelways as locations.

[trappnman]

A location that has tracks coming and going, milling about, scat, sightings, etc is of course a good set choice....but on grass lanes and such surfaces, travel lanes often show little or no sign over much of their length.

In much of the country, choosing lines of sight travel lanes between habitat areas, often puts you right on the coyotes- sign or no sign.

An overly simplistic way to think?......if I was a coyote THERE, and I wanted to be OVER THERE....how would I go?

Set on the pinchpoints of those lanes.

[Stef]

the biggest mistake a canine trapper makes is starting his land trapping to early in my book.

i feel a trapper should target coon untill atleast mid. dec. coyote locations realy improve over the same location a month earlyer.

Depends where you live Matt.

Stef

[vttrapper]

And it depends on the time you have to trap. I also agree with the Cur. Find the sign and set accordingly. After a while You will be able to read the land and set with confidence, not just hit or miss.

frank