Post by Steve Gappa on Jan 17, 2004 23:44:09 GMT -6
Prospecting with trappnman
October 2002
By Steve Gappa
One thing that I have been noticing at the conventions when I am talking to people is that -somewhat to my surprise- many of the trappers I talk to are relative newcomers. Many are attracted to trapping because of coyotes and I also have noticed many trappers that have trapped other animals now want to give yotes a try. Coyotes in their current high numbers are something that has occurred over the last 15-20 years over much of the country. Areas that never had a coyote a decade ago are now overrun with them- thus, the interest in coyote trapping. Coyote trapping is still very new to many areas.
While coyotes aren’t magic animals, it does take more skill to trap them consistently than most other animals- both in understanding their habits and in making your sets. My very first year trapping coyotes, I caught 7 - 4 of them off of one farm. I thought there wasn’t too much special about coyote trapping, so figured if I hit them hard in year two I could easily take 15-20...or more. My next year I went out determined to take a toll on my local yotes. I trapped for about a month-and my sum catch for coyotes was ZERO. That’s right- I never caught a yote. Talk about a humbling experience for this water trapper. I knew then that I had to get serious and I did. Coyote trapping became my passion. Two things that readily come to mind when trapping coyotes- is that trap bedding and trap guiding are the two of the biggest keys for success (lets assume you are on location). And I believe these are the two biggest reasons for snapped traps, pullouts, digging and tracks at the edge of the pattern. I include trap blending in with trap bedding- a solidly bedded AND blended trap is an absolute key. But blending is an art and guiding is an art. Watch any good trapper and any good demo- what is that guy doing with his hands- the whole time he is at the set, he is brushing and rearranging- until he knows it is right. These things of course can and need to be learned to be successful, but as we all know- we need success to keep us in the game- and many coyote trappers get discouraged after not catching any yotes. Here is a set that is certainly not my invention- it has been around for 100 years or more- that will help get you on the right track.
This set is the triangle step down set. It is ideal for higher grass areas where blending is a problem, but is productive in any of my soil conditions. To begin with, find a good location and point the long point of your triangle away from the major approach area. Dig a triangle with a base of say 12” and sides coming to a point of about 2 feet long. I take a trowel and cut the outline first- I want the sides to be sharp. Having sharp defined signs I believe aids how a coyote works the set and also aids remaking the set. Remove all sod and dirt to a depth of 3 inches or so. I toss this excess away as it is quite a pile. After your triangle is cleared out- dig a dirthole2-3 inches around straight back under the sod at the point of the triangle. Give this hole absolutely no angle- it needs to be horizontal and right under the surface. Make this hole fairly deep- say 8 inches to 10 inches. Now go to either corner and cut a bed the exact size of your trap in the bed of the triangle. You want to bed your trap and stake so that when you are done bedding the trap it is level with the rest of the triangle bottom. Give your trap a twist so the lever dig in a little. Sift dirt and blend over trap as normal. Don’t make this to smooth so it stands out- keep a texture to it- just make over the trap the smoothest part of the set. Now for some simple guiding. In front of your trap, about halfway between the hole and the trap jaw- place a small rock, clod, pile of dirt. Lately I have been using small piles of dirt more than other objects, but all work well. If your trap is in the left corner, set a small clod or stone to the right of your trap about an inch or two away from the loose jaw. Rough up the rest of the surface to the left of the trap up to the dirt pile or bigger clod. (Reverse this of course if you place the trap in the right hand corner) Variations include putting imitation kickbacks in the opposite corner or a dropping. Use lure and or bait as far back into the hole as you can get it. This type of set is where a natural bait like a gopher works well. I like to use a cotton ball as a lure holder and place that in the hole so that I can just see it. I think it adds to the curious factor, make up your own mind.
That’s it. A simple set that evens the odds a little regarding blending and guiding. Now for remakes. This is the only set that a remake into its original form- I always remake it back into a stepdown. I find that many of my sets that take multiple coyotes each season are out of step-downs, so even though step-downs take a little work to remake- it is well worth the effort. This set will of course take incidentals, so my remake advice is the same whether the catch is a coyote or some other. Dispatch the animal and remove him to the side quickly- keep the blood out of the triangle as much as possible. If some blood does get in the triangle, just remove it with your trowel and toss it away. Clean out all the debris in the pattern and toss it to the side. It will take some constructing, but get the set so that the trap is again below the pattern, which should still be that 3 inches of so. Remake the3 set as close to original as you can- don’t worry about getting it exactly the same- that won’t be possible- but keep the essential points the same. If the hole is gone, and it most likely will be, go off away and cut a chunk of sod 6 inches across and 10-12 inches long. Turn this upside down so the grass is up and the dirt is down. Relure as before. Now keep in mind that these are the dimensions I prefer- the measurements I gave are approximate and by no means set in stone.
Two problems exist with this set. Number one is that in wet weather in certain soil conditions, the pattern fills with water. I don’t find this to be a real problem in my weather and soil conditions. My soil drains well and most rains don’t affect the set. A second concern is that drifting snow will fill the pattern, and while this can be alleviated to a degree by careful set placement, it is really not a cure. Other than that, this set has a lot going for it. In fact, I am turning to it as my primary set in high grass or thick sod conditions. Hope this helps you beginning coyote trappers out, and as always if you have any questions give me a holler……trappnman
October 2002
By Steve Gappa
One thing that I have been noticing at the conventions when I am talking to people is that -somewhat to my surprise- many of the trappers I talk to are relative newcomers. Many are attracted to trapping because of coyotes and I also have noticed many trappers that have trapped other animals now want to give yotes a try. Coyotes in their current high numbers are something that has occurred over the last 15-20 years over much of the country. Areas that never had a coyote a decade ago are now overrun with them- thus, the interest in coyote trapping. Coyote trapping is still very new to many areas.
While coyotes aren’t magic animals, it does take more skill to trap them consistently than most other animals- both in understanding their habits and in making your sets. My very first year trapping coyotes, I caught 7 - 4 of them off of one farm. I thought there wasn’t too much special about coyote trapping, so figured if I hit them hard in year two I could easily take 15-20...or more. My next year I went out determined to take a toll on my local yotes. I trapped for about a month-and my sum catch for coyotes was ZERO. That’s right- I never caught a yote. Talk about a humbling experience for this water trapper. I knew then that I had to get serious and I did. Coyote trapping became my passion. Two things that readily come to mind when trapping coyotes- is that trap bedding and trap guiding are the two of the biggest keys for success (lets assume you are on location). And I believe these are the two biggest reasons for snapped traps, pullouts, digging and tracks at the edge of the pattern. I include trap blending in with trap bedding- a solidly bedded AND blended trap is an absolute key. But blending is an art and guiding is an art. Watch any good trapper and any good demo- what is that guy doing with his hands- the whole time he is at the set, he is brushing and rearranging- until he knows it is right. These things of course can and need to be learned to be successful, but as we all know- we need success to keep us in the game- and many coyote trappers get discouraged after not catching any yotes. Here is a set that is certainly not my invention- it has been around for 100 years or more- that will help get you on the right track.
This set is the triangle step down set. It is ideal for higher grass areas where blending is a problem, but is productive in any of my soil conditions. To begin with, find a good location and point the long point of your triangle away from the major approach area. Dig a triangle with a base of say 12” and sides coming to a point of about 2 feet long. I take a trowel and cut the outline first- I want the sides to be sharp. Having sharp defined signs I believe aids how a coyote works the set and also aids remaking the set. Remove all sod and dirt to a depth of 3 inches or so. I toss this excess away as it is quite a pile. After your triangle is cleared out- dig a dirthole2-3 inches around straight back under the sod at the point of the triangle. Give this hole absolutely no angle- it needs to be horizontal and right under the surface. Make this hole fairly deep- say 8 inches to 10 inches. Now go to either corner and cut a bed the exact size of your trap in the bed of the triangle. You want to bed your trap and stake so that when you are done bedding the trap it is level with the rest of the triangle bottom. Give your trap a twist so the lever dig in a little. Sift dirt and blend over trap as normal. Don’t make this to smooth so it stands out- keep a texture to it- just make over the trap the smoothest part of the set. Now for some simple guiding. In front of your trap, about halfway between the hole and the trap jaw- place a small rock, clod, pile of dirt. Lately I have been using small piles of dirt more than other objects, but all work well. If your trap is in the left corner, set a small clod or stone to the right of your trap about an inch or two away from the loose jaw. Rough up the rest of the surface to the left of the trap up to the dirt pile or bigger clod. (Reverse this of course if you place the trap in the right hand corner) Variations include putting imitation kickbacks in the opposite corner or a dropping. Use lure and or bait as far back into the hole as you can get it. This type of set is where a natural bait like a gopher works well. I like to use a cotton ball as a lure holder and place that in the hole so that I can just see it. I think it adds to the curious factor, make up your own mind.
That’s it. A simple set that evens the odds a little regarding blending and guiding. Now for remakes. This is the only set that a remake into its original form- I always remake it back into a stepdown. I find that many of my sets that take multiple coyotes each season are out of step-downs, so even though step-downs take a little work to remake- it is well worth the effort. This set will of course take incidentals, so my remake advice is the same whether the catch is a coyote or some other. Dispatch the animal and remove him to the side quickly- keep the blood out of the triangle as much as possible. If some blood does get in the triangle, just remove it with your trowel and toss it away. Clean out all the debris in the pattern and toss it to the side. It will take some constructing, but get the set so that the trap is again below the pattern, which should still be that 3 inches of so. Remake the3 set as close to original as you can- don’t worry about getting it exactly the same- that won’t be possible- but keep the essential points the same. If the hole is gone, and it most likely will be, go off away and cut a chunk of sod 6 inches across and 10-12 inches long. Turn this upside down so the grass is up and the dirt is down. Relure as before. Now keep in mind that these are the dimensions I prefer- the measurements I gave are approximate and by no means set in stone.
Two problems exist with this set. Number one is that in wet weather in certain soil conditions, the pattern fills with water. I don’t find this to be a real problem in my weather and soil conditions. My soil drains well and most rains don’t affect the set. A second concern is that drifting snow will fill the pattern, and while this can be alleviated to a degree by careful set placement, it is really not a cure. Other than that, this set has a lot going for it. In fact, I am turning to it as my primary set in high grass or thick sod conditions. Hope this helps you beginning coyote trappers out, and as always if you have any questions give me a holler……trappnman