pre-season fox ideas?????

[ryngood]

Hi, I was curious if anyone does any pre-season fox work in the area of pre-baiting or urine posts or any ideas you might have used that paid off.. Been trapping for 5 years -- would like to increase my fox numbers this year!! Thanks much for your time!

[thebeav2]

Scouting for physical sign like tracks and scat will tell you if there are fox In the area. At least that way you will have a point to start In the fall.
But to make sets or do any kind of pre- baiting In my opinion would be a waste of time. To many things can change from early summer to late fall. And pre baiting Is a waste of bait and will most likely draw every coon possum and skunk to those baits.
Talk to the land owners they live there they will most likely know If they have any fox on their property.

[redeagle]

You may bait family groups all summer, only to discover that they may have all moved on by the time trapping season rolls around, and you will have spent all of your effort in vain (been there, done that). The fall shuffle will disperse those family groups and result in a bunch of lone adults and YOY. In my opinion, you will be ahead to "read" the terrain and figure out travel routes, bottlenecks, intersecting features, etc., and plan on setting at these locations. You could up your odds somewhat by dumping a carcass near these locations as an additional draw, but if you are on location, it isn't 100% necessary. Pros who long-line will cold-roll into an area and without any prior pre-baiting, proceed to catch the heck out of the local animal population. With experience and practice, you will be doing the same.

[redfoxtrapper2008]

get more permission and scout out where you want to set, time spent gaining area and knowing where the set should be will help more than any other preseason work .imo

[seldom]

As BW has said more than once, locate the dens. Doing that alone will get you time afield!

[ryngood]

Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement!!!!

[buckyfox]

Slippery Rock had a good poulation of red and gray fox when I went to College there back in the late 80's and early 90's. I trapped while attending college. I caught them north, south, east and west of town. I actually caught quite a few real close to the campus. Some of my most productive areas were the old abandoned strip areas. Most of these areas had several ponds that the fox visited regularly and old two tracks that the canines used in their travels. There is a road that goes out behind the sheetz or what ever the main convienence store is there now that contains some of these old strip areas that produced some nice big reds. Also there were a few farms that I trapped on the road that goes out of town past the Bowling Alley. These farms were out on the right a few miles. I remember one location on one of them farms out there past the bowling alley where two very long fence lines came to a corner that produced 11 Reds in a few weeks. Do you have any mange issues? I caught some back then that had it.

[jim]

Bucky: I bet I am not the only one that has no idea of where Slippery Rock is located.
Jim

[buckyfox]

The post originator is from Slippery Rock PA.

[Wright Brothers]

Slippery Rock Creek good area too. The section South of the boy scout camp, Muddy Creek Flats?

Slippery = Western Pa jargon.

I've thought about, but not done it, pre-feeding ivomec to "try" and fight the ticks.

[ryngood]

Thanks again guys!! Need the encouragement. I Have not caught any with mange but I do See a few almost every year. I catch only 4 or 5 fox a season. Have always concentrated on coon but would like to learn fox better ---- Reason for post! ----Bucky, neat to hear from you -- I do trap a few farms out past bowling alley.. Do you use bait at your sets??? Much luck with urine posts?

[buckyfox]

I use all step down or trench style dirt holes. A few hay sets in foul weather but mostly Step down dirt holes and trench style dirt holes. I do use bait sometimes. Not every hole gets bait. Two sets close together maybe 10 to 12 feet apart. One with bait, lure and urine and one with lure and urine. Mix them up. Get you some O-Gormans Powder River Paste Bait. Early in the season try some Fresh Chicken Gizzards in the hole. Keep them Fresh. Burnt Bacon works well. Play the wind it is very important. Use some Long Distance Call up behind the sets on a piece of wool on a tree branch or plant a stick about five feet long in the ground if out in the open with a piece of sheeps wool on it behind your sets with the LDC on it and make sure the wind is blowing the smell to the sets or to the foxes travel route. Try folding up a piece of wax paper into a very small square and putting that down in the hole last for a visual. They will work hard once up close to get at that white thing they see in the hole.

[buckyfox]

Buy the Fox Video the Leggets made. Bob Jameison also has a good fox video. Crop Edges, Fence Lines, Crop Corners, Field Corners, Farm Roads (Two tracks) and Intersections in them, Rock Piles, Manure piles, Drainage Ditches, Lone Standing Trees in Fields or Clumps of trees in Fields, anything that stands out in a field to you will stand out to a fox, Draws in a field fox like to travel low spots in fields, Better yet is where you have a combination of these areas listed above that come together.

SOME OF THE BEST PRESEASON WORK IS BEING OUT THERE SCOUTING LOOKING FOR ALL THINGS LISTED ABOVE. Pre-digging some sets may save you some time and pre-baiting has been productive for me in the past. Practice digging sets so when you actually go to your locations to set them up you are not fiddleing around and spending to much time there. HAVE A PLAN. Pick your set locations before you even go to put them in.

[stickbowhntr]

SOME OF THE BEST PRESEASON WORK IS BEING OUT THERE SCOUTING LOOKING FOR ALL THINGS LISTED ABOVE. Pre-digging some sets may save you some time and pre-baiting has been productive for me in the past. Practice digging sets so when you actually go to your locations to set them up you are not fiddleing around and spending to much time there. HAVE A PLAN. Pick your set locations before you even go to put them in.


THAT IS SOME OF THE BEST ADVISE YOU CAN GET THERE!

[ryngood]

Thanks again!!! Should I use a CLEAN trap at a remake?? Your thoughts? PLEASE.

[braveheart]

Bud Hall always prebaited his fox area's.And had his dirt stored near his sets.And he told me the traps at the end of season were so terrible dirty but the fox didn't care and used just stock traps and got thousands and thousands of fox to his credit.

[thebeav2]

I don't. The trap now smells just like all the surrounding ground. Just scrub off any blood that may be on the trap with some of the dirt at the set.
The best thing you can do Is put In new set just outside the new catch circle. There are times when a fox or coyote won't venture Into a fresh catch circle. But of coarse you should have made at least 2 sets at that location to begin with and 3 wouldn't hurt anything. Change up Is the key.

If your going to scout do It 3 weeks before the season opens. Doing any summer scouting Is only going to tell If there are any fox In the area. But by time fall rolls around things could have dramatically changed.

Practice making sets In the summer time. Then when opening day rolls around you will have set making down pat with very little time spent at the actual set location.

Locations and travel ways change with the seasons and so do food sources. When the crops are In the fields critters will react differently then when those crops are harvested and some locations will change.

Large rivers or even smaller streams, major lakes, even major hi way systems will create travel routes. These routes will stay the same year In and year out.

Good luck