weather fronts, etc & canines

[braveheart]

I have made little wallow out holes and I get same results as the small hole small catches .
Make them deep and make them work the set hard.
I have one spot every dirt hole will get dug and bad and every flat set will catch.It is close to town.

[trappnman]

pulled everything yesterday-

I've come to a couple of conclusions- ones I've been thinking on, and over past 3 years have stayed longer on last loop, to prove or disprove my thoughts.

over the season, I was blessed with dry warm weather for the 1st 5 weeks. During that time, I'd think, boy, if we just had a front come through to move things around, get a little action going.

this last 2 weeks has been a mix of everything- rain, snow, warm, cool, repeat. A bunch of low and high fronts moved through.

--------------------------

let me hasten to explain- I know what I did, isn't how to catch the coyotes still there- but that wasn't my goal per se (granted, I tried various things to do just that). I trapped this last loop 3 weeks. Same sets, same traps.

the reason why was this: if any movement or dispersal occurred- those sets would be fresh and new for those coyotes- and they should produce as they did when they were fresh for the local coyotes. In other words- I've wised up the locals beyond a silly one now and then- but my catch rate should go back to day 1 % on fresh coyotes.

2x on this last part of the loop, I've had good snow - snow where tracks would be easy to see- and on neither occasion, did I see any tracks in the following days, except for my couple of locations where I had a local. No tracks at other locations. I had 12 locations with 28 traps- all locations had given me from 1-5 coyotes during the first normal part of the loop- so decent enough locations-

but none set on big attractions- just ain't too many on this portion of my line- but all set at or near minor attractions.

what I saw this year, confirmed what I saw past 2 years -and 2 years ago the last month was all snow

-----------------------------------

I concur without a doubt- precipitation fronts move water animals like crazy, And I even think, that fox will move during a snow quite a bit. I got a fox sunday, and in recollection it seems I've caught a disportionate share of my fox during snow.

the only reason for a coyote to travel more, besides sex, is harassment or food. harassment here is nil, at least during the spring, summer and fall. And food they got everywhere. So what would cause them to move more around fronts?

so my conclusion is, in the normal course of things- my coyotes here, are pretty much unaffected insofar as moving solely because of weather. I don't think anything I their instincts, cause them to do so.

comments?

[RdFx]

From what Steve has posted on the type of land he is trapping, it seems to be large open areas which i dont have. My area has small farms with large tracts of woods (500 acres) interspersed with huge 2000-5000 head dairy farms which rent every available crop lands. The yotes here dont bother dead cows ect on small farms, they just dry up. The large farms have dead animal pick up. That said it doesnt mean the yotes dont visit a dead cow on small farms which still allows me to nail yotes there. Sometimes it is two weeks or more before some sets are visited. During deer season the canine population is routed all over the place and usually a week after main season is over yotes migrated back to home territorys which is proven by the pick up of my catches in former catch sites, which also could be displaced yotes. I have wolves all over my trapping territory and occasionally nab one in my yote sets. I find that the wolves and yotes sort of coexist in same territory. One thing noted when wolves are in area where yotes are the yotes DONT vocalize. I can always tell when its (wolf free, LOL) when yotes vocalize. Our snare or cable restraint season is open now so it is easier to keep catch sites working. I still use footholds in certain areas but not as many as in earlier season.

[trappnman]

yes, large open areas but with deep valleys and coulees all around.

your deer hunting is more concentrated- here, we have gun seasons running from nov 5 to next weekend- and you never see the numbers of hunters in the woods as you did years ago. I almost thing that its a benefit here, at least get a few people moving through woodlots, woods, etc.

but I understand your situation.