Spring coyotes

[trappnman]

Robert, I saw where you brought up this issue on Tim's board, but it got sidetracked rather quickly.

The biggest difference I saw in spring coyotes, when trapping for "any" coyote, is that there 1) was a LOT less coyotes available to work with and 2) locations in the spring were harder to pinpoint.

I almost think that true dispersal here is very late in the year, if not into late spring itself. During a normal winter, the places you expect to hold a lot of coyotes, do. But a few weeks later, these same locations shut right down.

I didn't have the time nor inclination I guess to really look for concrete signs of denning, instead tried to guess where dens might be located, and to set up on hunting, travel areas close by.

This worked, but a slow process of collecting yotes. I also, rather to my surprise, caught more bred females than anything else. I expected to catch mostly if not exclusively males or YOY females.

this did have a bonus though, several dens were located with the collars. And this brought up another thing that surprised me- the dens were either located in thick coulees- or right smack out in the middle of a bare field. I passed by one such daily gopher trapping, thinking it was an old badger mound, when the tech was stopped there one day, and told me he was monitoring the den and pups.

I did find though, that the lures and baits I used in the fall, worked exactly the same as in the spring.

[Timber]

I only work spring coyotes if they are causing a problem or have a complaint. I always use the dog to locate the den before setting traps or calling. Anything else is a waste of time.

Lure and bait selection is the same as the fall.

I have quite a few dens located in open fields. I think they like being able to see 360 degrees. We also have quite a few located near the fences along the freeway.

Quick story on an open field den. I was calling one afternoon last winter and had to walk across a 200 acre cut corn field to get to my set up. I got there and started calling only to be suprised by a coyote responding from my downwind side out in the middle of the field. He was about a 100 yds and just standing there looking at me look at him. After I smoke-checked him I back tracked him to a den smack in the middle of the field and only about 100 yds from where I walked in. I must have woke him up.

Tim

[robertw]

Steve and Timber,
Thanks to the replies.

Your information pretty well mirrors what I beleived to be the case.

I would certainly rather work coyotes in the late summer through mid February as I would in April and May. It is so much easier to rack up the numbers during any other time of year.

"This worked, but a slow process of collecting yotes. I also, rather to my surprise, caught more bred females than anything else."

When do your coyotes welp their pups in Minnesota?

[trappnman]

end of Apri, early May seems to be the norm.

I figured those females would stay close and not travel as far, but (small sample) that didn't seem to be the case.

[bobwendt]

mostly the same, basicaly just 20% of the numbers that were there were last fall, or less,, irregardless of trapping/shooting etc. dens in the west are holes in the ground, in the east almost never. maybe easternsare just too big physically and prefer dozer piles, fell in old buildings etc. I`ve a knack for finding dens in the west pretty easy, mainly from knowing the land I work inside and out and just that 6th sense that comes from doing it as lifetime. one can instruct and explain, even show and the student still needs the 10-20 years to develop that "den feel". once you are close, it gets pretty easy fast. howlers can be used, or best is later when the pups are a tad older and singing like canaries, litterally. they do that and i think you poor dumbasses, don`t you realize guys like me listen for that stuff and now you are all dead? in the east the denning is so much harder as too much property off limits, heavy brush and poor vision etc. what robert is asking for is he has an offer in the east for adc now. I told him quote the job and not by the head as the heads aren`t there now. and probably he`d look bad no matter what if it is numbers that impresses them. easy to do 20 in the fall and look the hero and then let the real spring hero catch the mated pair and no travelers and look the bumb because he "only caught 2" . butr the actual trapping/snariung, as easy or easier now than any other time. feed is still scarce in the way of new babys, fruits etc and everyone is still cold and hungry and the bitches insatiable for food for the new life growing in them. they can get real dumb now from needs.

[trappnman]

our coyotes mainly are holes in the ground, fox too now that I think of it.

When I used to train a lot of spring derbies on bunnies- not in pens, as I like fair chase..... ) I'd find a fair amount (say 4-5 a season) of fox dens.

seems like most if not all (this was 30 years ago) were on small sidehills, usually sumac/brush around- but you sure could tell them. Rabbit fur and bones scattered all over the dens.

are coyotes that messy?

I once saw a coyote pup playing area- but that would have been 3-4 month old pups, and not around a den.

so- does that offically qualify me as a western trapper...LOL

[bobwendt]

I was speaking of coyotes only. all the fox I`ve seen are holes in the ground, east or west, a few under buildings. coyotes are pretty clean at the baby den, little messy at the puppy den and real messy at the juvenile lay up. not s messy as fox as they actually eat everything up, hair, bone , everything bit maybe a dried up carcase or some petrified skin. foxes are messy quick as the pups can get out. and forever after.