The Discussions Have Helped

[trappincoyotes39]

hey bogio look this location up on google earth alot can be seen from an aerial photo for sure!

Just a different look that can show one many things.

[trappnman]

Bogio- what do you feel, is the come to spot for this location, if any?

[bogio]

Don't know as there is a "come to" spot. There are cattle in here year round either in the pastures or on the stalks depending on the season. The bales are probably one the the highest spots elevation wise. I think it simply siphons coyotes up off the river bottom and dumps them out here.

What I think makes my set location a good one is that it is HOW the coyotes want to travel through this area. While it is true that there is a lot of random cross country travel, they come through my set location in a fairly consistent manner. They either come up the south side of the draw traveling west, exiting it around the south side of that big tree and turning north to travel up the field road or they come south on the field road, and turn east around the south side of that tree to head down into the draw system. Very rarely do they continue south out to the gravel road. Once in awhile you see a track go west across the stalks but it is rare. The addition of my "ring of death" I feel turns this into a stall out area.

[trappnman]

Bogio- take this as nothing more than my opinion, opinions made without being on the ground, just my take on this location.

Two things- one I have lots of these type locations, indeed I used to set up majority of my line on them, and by staying a longish period of time, good success was had. I still set up such stuff.

but 2, you stated what is occurring- its a "go through" place, not a "come to" place.

so if coming up to this location cold- I'd want to know a couple of things. To begin with, if its a going through location, where are they going to and coming from? What "come to " spots are they going to?

Where are they located, vis a vis this particular setup?

and if possible, try to get permission on that farm.

but if not, I would then set up in the spot I felt the majority of coyotes would use keeping in mind where to, and where from.

so lets say this is the farm you are able to setup.

You mention While it is true that there is a lot of random cross country travel, they come through my set location in a fairly consistent manner

I've had it drummed into me, that its not the coyotes you are catching, its how many are you missing. and have been told I don't have a clue about how many I'm missing, cause I don;t even know they were there (due to the far more random travel beyond edges, draws, etc than most are aware of.

I think, in the draw, you are setting where I would, on that piece of high ground- but looking at that draw, I also see its limitations in that it dead ends, at a fairly narrow point, and coyotes could be accessing that draw at any point, in or out, and how many are actually coming in to the end of the draw, to become aware of your sets?

Some of course- your success proves that.

I've got a fairly good idea on how all the pics connect, and how the landscape looks (it took me time and a little help to get the full picture).

and I still go back to my original thought, that if me, I'd set up at the bales, and between the bottom of the draw, and the terrace, about where tractor was.

I know you said you set the bales last year- was the lack of success due to just no coyote activity there, catching coyotes before that point (if sign at bales) or not giving it a fair chance?

so there, and then at the bottom of the draw. That "dry pond" (I know its a terrace, but that's how we refer to them here) and how everything comes together there, should have coyotes coming through as regularly there, as anywhere, and I'd think, based on nothing but looking at the pics and past experience, more so than actually in the draw.

fwiw

[bogio]

I would admit that the majority of the locations I set are indeed "pass thrus". As we have discussed, we live in areas of continuous habitat and these kinds of locations are everywhere. As I have thought about this particular one since starting the thread I realize that while it produces, it is not the optimum place to be. More ground work is in order to determine where they are going. The "come to". If limited to this particular farm, trying another spot or two would be in order.

When I set the bales last year, the sets remained there for the duration of time that the draw was set up and experienced no action. It sure wasn't because I caught them all before they got there. Could be I didn't pick the correct spot. I am coming to think that is just as if not more important than the location.

[trappnman]

this farm, has a few cows- beef I'm guessing?

on part of my line, I have similar stuff to what you posted, and it seems like about every farm, has a few cows and like you say, continuous and consistent habitat.

hillier country, not a lot of big operations that would have the obvious attractant of a good dead pile but am finding out that many of the bigger operations, don't have a dead pile, but instead just drag the cow out to a field and in a short time the buzzards, hawks, eagles a myriad of other creatures and for sure coyotes make short work of it.

but it's repeated.

in the discussions, the site of a dead pile, etc was mentioned as being obvious location areas, and they are. but the distinction has to be made, IMO, that the attraction, and the spot are not necessarily the same thing.

so we are looking for 3 factors- what is the come to place, how are coyotes coming into that spot and most importantly where would be the best place to set traps, to catch them?

then to take it to the next level- one needs to find large enough attractions to draw from multiple areas, then determine where would be the area where those coyotes, from whatever group- will stall out, will lay up, before coming into the attraction.

but that's "the spot"

What I struggle with, is not finding that spot on singular locations, but in finding that multiple use spot. the bigger the attractions, the easier that will be to determine.
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here is a location that is interesting.

I trapped this farm 4 times over the past 10 years- and didn't do squat the first 3.

the treeline runs through the center of the summer pasture. to the right going up the treeline into the pasture, is a good sized pond. The pasture ends, and it goes into strip fields, to the farm. bordering that, where pic was taken, is a large (maybe 75 acres) set aside, with a grass road running through the gate below, into the pasture and peters out, and then goes through the set aside, about in the middle, and meets with a dead end (at the spot) gravel road. to the left in the pics, the treeline peters out in the bottom, and its just short grass pasture, winding down to rock ridges and coulees

across that road, is the winter pasture, where they have full rein of the pasture, but are also stack fed. it is deer hunted heavily during period I am there, and in fact this year at the intersection, was a big a wall tent setup maybe 400 yards from where I set this year. so the set aside road was connected on one end by the tent, on other by my sets.

first 2 years, I tried setting the winter pasture, with 1 coyote, plenty of possums and skunks-

skipped it a year or two, then decided to set up the set aside by setting on the road, midway or so where there were a couple of scrub pines.

so this year, after 5-6 years, decide to try it again- with the tent, could see winter pasture out- and thought setting field road pointless, so drove to end and saw no cows in pasture, and figured if going to set, had to be spot.

next day - this same day, but between the 2 pics you can see a bit more. add 5 more in the next 5 days. Was I lucky? sure- but sometimes you make your own luck, and to me, that looked like the spot, scat on both sides of gate. PS- also had a ring of death maybe 40 feet on set aside side of gate-





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this location is same as I caught the grey fox, but not the same spot. This is a high spot, below it 100 yards is a woods, that has had the edges brushed and piled. It sits in a bowl, at the conjunction of 2 major short grass waterways. THE spot I thought.

Set 3 traps there- one at woods edge, other 2 on the waterway edge. got a fox, 1 yote and several skunks and possums. few days later, set up a trap where shown.

had a coyote there next day-
had a coyote there the next day- set another trap-
had this and pulled

the spot? seems so



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This was one of my new locations. Hog operation to left of pic, where you can see green on upper right of pic (not the top green, but the next patch down) is where a series of little waterways like where coyote trap is come down to a field road, and then go into a wide open basin (the green) running along side of basin, is a ditch that runs into a big, big woods.

this location is on the high point , or ridge or the setup.3 years ago, first year here. I set up 2 of these minor waterway, that had dry ponds, or terraces below them bordering the woods. Deer hunters present all years.

first year, I got 4 here, both set ups being successful

last year, tinkering, I decided to not set those waterways, but instead go down into the basin, set up that- and bait up the ditch where it met the basin. I had great expectations, figuring those 4 were a splash in the bucket to the potential.

I did zip- no nothing not even a mouse.
so this year said heck with it, set back on those waterways- and got 5.

is that ridge top a stall out point given its location and physcial characteristics? or just a darn good travel way? heck, ya got me

[Possum]

I trap both "go-to" and pass through spots. Why? Because there are many more pass through spots than go-to locations. Many of the go-to spots are off limits. There are deer hunters, pheasant hunters, wildlife refuges, recalcitrant landowners, other trappers, you name it. I can't get permission there. So if I can find a spot leading to the go-to, more likely is finding 3 or 4 spots leading to it, without much more effort, I can catch the same coyotes that I'd snap if I were on target. I love a go-to when it's available, but I've caught a lot of coyotes heading there on routes that don't scream out.

[trappnman]

So if I can find a spot leading to the go-to, more likely is finding 3 or 4 spots leading to it, without much more effort, I can catch the same coyotes that I'd snap if I were on target.

isn't the point that you would have to SET those 3-4 spots? And what abotu all the going through spots, on the way to a come to spot, are you overlooking(generic you) and I find it more effort, and more incidentals, in setting up and maintaining 3-4 going through locations, than one come to one.

and setting travel ways, is a waiting game. I have one "farm" I used to set up 8- 9 locations on it (actually a bunch of neighboring famrs al linterconnected with valleys and coulees.) and would take 10-15 coyotes over 2-3 weeks year after year. I took 21 2 years ago there, setting up 4 spots, in a week.

this past year, took 15 or 16 at same spots, in same time frame. my goal would be to eliminate a couple of those, but with the coulees and such, I might need all 4 to continue the success. in any case, I'll set all four up again next year

I do disagree with thinking I am getting the same amount of coyotes on travel ways, as at the come to location- simply because there aren't 3-4 spokes, but many more. And I don't subscribe any longer, to a coyote is as easy to catch anywhere, as long as a trap is where he passes by. I'm convinced that where he, and the trap is, makes the difference of catching most that come by, or taking one now and then.

I'm also convinced, that if I knew how many coyotes were actually available to me, I'm be flabbergasted, and prefer to think I got em all

and I agree- a man can certainly catch coyotes there. Its what for the most part, I was doing. but I saw the limitations.

I fully understand not being able to set where one wants to or needs to.

here is a piece of advice given to me, and I'll pass it on-

if a farmer doesn't want me to trap coyotes where I need to be, then he doesn't have enough coyotes to be a problem for him, so thanks but no thanks-

[bogio]

Here is an example of a travel way or pass thru that I have been setting up for a while which always produces several coyotes. I set the pinch point between the river and the corner of the canary grass. There is an access pass thru there for the farmer to reach the rear field.
This year it produced 6 coyotes: 2 doubles and 2 (as Tman calls them) singletons.



This shows the immediate set area and the outlying field. The coyotes are the first double caught on the first check after setting up. This is where the problem with travel ways comes in. A problem in that the traps then sat empty for THIRTEEN DAYS before taking an additional four more coyotes in the last six days.



Another interesting thing here is that I have tried setting other spots around that immediate spot within just a few yards. Where those sets are is the ONLY place I have caught coyotes. It matters WHERE you put those sets.

[trappnman]

onm pic #2- have you set traps at the point of weeds, going into the plowed field?

[bogio]

No, I have not.

Very wet over there.

Would be a mucky mess.

[trappnman]

understood.

did you see tracks there w/snow?

[bogio]

Yeah they travel down that edge and pass around that point, there is also a lot of travel through that bank of weeds and brush. Very wet all along that edge.

The area where the most milling around occurs is where I am set, possibly due to the fact that a pretty fair number of coyotes have been caught there over time. I am on the end of a low terrace that comes in at a right angle to the weed/brush edge. It peters out right at the drive through.