A couple of coyote thoughts...

[trappnman]

After attending a few conventions, and talking to people that attended various demos, some theories have been tossed out there.

heres some:

1) a coyote travels the outer fringes of his territory more

2) a fox approaches a set head on, a coyote approaches a set from the side

3) A coyote approaches a smaller backing, more head on

4) given multiple sets, a coyote will work the backing on a smaller set first.


Comments?

[mostinterestingmanintheworld]

I always prefer a small backing for a flat set.

Dirtholes can be a bit higher, and buried baits higher and denser to make him work for it.

Joel

[bobwendt]

I don`t know how you came to those conclusions. or maybe I should pose that as a question, how?

[Jeffrey]

So if you had no backing they would like it even better, according to theory. Now that I think of it, I caught one small yearling male on a clump of golden rod, but I've made a lot of sets with a more solid type backing and now that you point it out, the sets that are more or less open catch more coyotes, the backing being just tuffs of grass or a hump in the plowing of a field. It seems that the more I place the trap up against the edge of a field with woods or tall grass and weeds as the backing the less likely I will score. I've never thought of this before, thanks Steve, of the few coyotes I've caught they were always in the more open sets except one small male.

[bobwendt]

I commonly make sets into a bank, not just a bank, but a 50 foot perpendicular cliff face. like a pocket set. cuts off 50% of any hanky pasnky right off the bat. they seem to work fine. seen zags does similar from all his pics. I thought everyone did it. if flat ground and nothing there ,I actually tote in ,or over ,logs, bales, about anything for backing and the bigger the better.

[Traveler]

Actually I've made flat sets right up close to a tall stand of dead grass or weeds.Did this mostly for the reasons Bob mention on cutting down the approach.Never had a problem doing that..... that I could tell.Been workin' over 40 years.

[Jeffrey]

Bob that's why I like hearing from you experienced guys to set me straight on some conclusions I make. Those were observations I've made so far in my short coyote career. It would seem that a large bank like that wouldn't intimidate them as much as say four foot tall grass that they can't seem to see into as well, does that make any sense? Small backing that they can see around or over wouldn't seem to put them in as much of a cautious mode would it, but still direct them the way you want?

[bobwendt]

I just don`t think the backing size has any negative effect at all. by big-ness I mean. I set a lot of stumps, corn stalks broke over, rocks, hunks of wood, 4 foot borrow berm banks, cliffs, 3 foot tall thick sage,etc. just anything to cut his approach off 50%. and some pretty open ones on little grass tufts too. never saw big being a negative. just use what`s there to your advantage.

[trappnman]

Bob- these aren't my theories, They are comments from others demos.

[bobwendt]

WHO`S?

[trappnman]

Now that I'll stay away from-

What does everyone think about a coyote being on the fringe of his territory more often than not?

[coyotewhisperer]

Gappa what did your collaring study show? A kansas coyote is not a SD coyote and so on and so on.

Unless collared how could a guy determine where any particular coyotes fringe or heart of territory is?

And for that matter for average joe trapper or anybody..... how would he know where each particular coyotes fringe was on his trapline?

Sounds like hokey pokey to me

As far as the backing thing goes I haven't taken notes on every set or every coyote but get back to they are not the same everywhere so don't think this backing thing could apply everywhere.

Wiley stated for him a coyote won't touch a dead doctored calf. Here in my neck of the woods that calf could have been given a 120 cc's of any drug right before dark and die and there won't be nothing left of him in the morning.

Jeff

[DaveM]

trappnman said:

Now that I'll stay away from-

What does everyone think about a coyote being on the fringe of his territory more often than not?

I thought the core area was defined as the place they spend the biggest amount of time. So, if they spend more time on the fringe, then it wouldnt be the fringe, it would now be the core area. Boy, now I'm really confused.

I havent come to any of those conclusions.

[trappnman]

good point Dave- good point!

Coyotewhisperer- I don't have the data to terriory range- wish I did

[walkercoonhunter(Aaron L.)]

here in my area of pa with all our yotes i find that our red fox are less likely to work a set with a high backing...now with that said...a big bank is different than a big clump of high grass....a bank set like bob and zags use is ok...but from my data i have found that a big high clump of grass the red fox shy away from...i have done numerous sets side by side with the same lure and all one with a high grass or bush backing and one with just a little tuff of grass and the one that catches 90% of the time will be the lower backing...

as for the coyotes and the fringes of territory...here i see that the yotes spend more time in the core area than the limits...here the feed is at the core area in the farm ground....now the big dominate male might do his rounds on the limits of his territory and only make a stroll thru the core area to eat and check the females out...this i do not know....but im betting that here its the core area that most time is spent by a yote....

[garman]

I am guessing without trying to bring up something I shouldn't these thoughts are based on research and studies this person participated in. This is if trappnman and myself are thinking on the same person doing the demo's I have read a book (new book) that cites all of these things. I believe this gaoes against what most believe is true. Alot in the book I find is true with my limited experience. I find that it could believe from what I see and others talk about is coyotes would and doo travel fringes the majority, then hunt the wind, and likely looking areas accordingly. But as I have said this is limited experience I am speaqking from, also when in NW Iowa I tried dirtholes next to some bigger boulders etc and did not have the luck like when setting next to smaller backing.

[trappnman]

as Dave says- if he walks the fringe more- its no longer the fringe.

I'd be more than interested in the study that deduces that a coyote works from the side the majority of the time.

[musher]

That DaveM is pretty clever. I don't know much about yotes but I do recognize logical thinking.

I'm curious about the fox head on thing. From what I've seen in the snow it doesn't seem to always be the case. Also, what about walk throughs? They are always approached from the side! And fox sure do get caught in them.

[bobwendt]

I think I know who the "pro" is telling all this stuff. lol, apparently he isn`t.

[garman]

I guess when I think of fringe I think of "fringes of heavy cover" not a core area vs. fringe area" if that's what is the thought I would agree with davem. Well I guess to each is own, I believe I know whom this is also. Well we will see if this is a truth or only in his mind, I know some things in his book I have seen at least on my limited coyote lines over the years but I have not decided whether his understanding of why this occurs as being the real reason or not.