Nice above the pad catch Chevy! Fooled his butt good!!!! I LOVE walking out on a set with a coyote in it! Almost as good as walking up on a deer I've just shot……MAYBE even better!!!! I seen one pouncing on a mouse in the middle of snowy field this morning. Pretty sight.

HEY BEAN! Had to pass a mink dead on the interstate this morning! Too much traffic going 75 MPH! Wizzed me off!!!! :p

Nice looking yote Chevy... Generally what are the reactions you guys often get when you approach Coyotes that you've got in your traps...

I would think that they would be going berserk since they are tapped and can't get away from you...

way to go chevy. thats a good looking coat.

Bryan,
Some are aggressive, some are more timid. This guy had a pretty bad attitude and was barking and howling from when we locked eyes.

Lots of bouncing and spinning usually.

The excitement of driving or walking up on one is what keeps me going on days when the temperature is 2 degrees (like yesterday) and I am looking at lots of empty sets.

Nice catch 76 chevy! . h.h.

Awesome. Pretty yote......

Good Job Chevy, you're tearing them up

Ok Chevy….I gotta ask. Peat moss, or no peat moss?

Looks like a picture in a magazine. Congrats Chevy.

congrats Chevy. good one

no peat, I used dry dirt.

Very nice 76!

I didn't mention it before. And it may or may not be a problem. But I have noticed when there is moisture in the ground like we have in our area now ( you have dry frozen ground right now), is that the calcium actually draws moisture from the surrounding dirt.
I don't mix my calcium into my dirt before I make a set. I just use it under the trap and layer it in as I bed. Then sift some of the "native" dirt from the set over the top to blend. It don't freeze often, but it does leave a wet spot, with darker colored dirt in the middle where the trap is, with ring of dry dirt around the outside.
I don't know if this would cause digging, or a coyote to shy away from it.

i havent been able to run our line much since been working but got out today and remade some sets and put a few snares out. the yotes are working all three of our dirtholes just not commiting. hopefully i fixed that today.

Stay after them PSE.

its amazing how much they will circle a set but stay just far enough away. the snow sure tells alot. seeing a lot of yote tracks . and very few coon if any at all.

I'm not seeing any coyote tracks in the snow. You reckon I've got them all spooked off? I've got another farm to trap, thinking I might need to pull them all and move for a while.

Gilley,

In my opinion, they move a LOT. It seems like the coyotes around us will move in for a week or so, then disappear for a couple weeks. Its like they have a route, in their core range that they do. There will be the occasional straggler that moves through. Usually a young male. I know when I start trapping/snaring hard for them in January, I will catch them 3 or 4 a week, then nothing for a couple weeks….except for that straggler. Then have a week with 2 or 3 more.

They do shy away from pressure though. Thats why I try to run my traps/snares from as far away as I can with the bino's. If I feel that I have pressured them, or I pinch one, I usually pull traps from that location for a couple weeks. Then go back into the area with a different set location, and different "look" to the set. I also keep track of which lures, bait, and scents I use at each location. Not only to know what is working, but also to know If I have been found out by them, which ones to use next time, so it gives them a "new" smell. It truly is a chess match!

Finally got a snare victim today. A nice male. Photo was with my phone so not the best pic.

NICE job PB!!!! How the he!! you guys snare em in such open areas??? I can't do it!!! I done a little deer/coyote scouting this evening. Got some "crawl unders" the coyotes are using. Got some coon bait stations set up to put traps sometime. Lots of fresh tracks. Got renewed "hope" on a buck, so I'll delay trapping for another week.

Way to go PB. Got some good looking fur there

Good to see a picture! Congrats PB.

Nice PB - keep it up.

Been no traps set here for over a week and I am having withdrawls. In WV for a couple more days and then going to hit it again.

Love the pics! Nice one!

nice one PB.

finally got 2 of 3 mb550's set today. how do you guys set those 650's??.......... i had a heck of a time setting the 550's.

snares and the other trap will be set out by monday.

i used hoosier trapper yote bait and yote pee in two hole sets. the ground was froze 2-3 ". i used peat moss and a leave to cover the pan.

this is my first attempt at foot hold trapping for yotes. maybe by the time seasons over I will have learned a few things. h.h.

Nice PB. Sooner or later I'm gonna get one too.

They will teach you a thing or two HH! You'll be boiling over mad before its over!!!!

I can set the Duke #3's as easy as I can a 1.5. Those 650s are TOUGH!!!! Just about have to have a 3'rd hand! They just feel awkward to me.

I've been prospecting around the house here with a couple baited dirt holes with some rank scrap deer meat, just to see if I can get any coyote hits. I done everything but put a trap in them. I have not heard them in a could of weeks, so they are due back any time. When I walked out there to look today, its so friggin mushy, there is no way I'd set a trap in that slop! It is suppose to freeze back up early next week though.

I got 6 more MB 550 off sets for christmas. I think they are alot easier to set then my duke modified 4 coils. I got more traps now then I can even set. I guess it's ok though cause the wife has more purses then she can wear at one time.

Thats a good way to look at it PB!

I was 10 minutes too early on my last statement about the coyotes around here…….they're back! Right outside the bedroom window! Had to yell at them and my dog to shut up! :rolleyes: I don't know how they know, but they DO know when we are about to start dropping calves around here!

These 650's are the first dog less traps I have owned. Not having the base back there where the dog is at on the Dukes to hold on to when flipping the pan up into position is what feels odd to me. I can get the levers down ok. Its hard for me to hold the jaw down with one hand, and try to push the pan up with the other. Need the "3'rd" hand to flip that catch over to get it under the pan. I like how they hold down the front jaw too. I'll have to be careful when setting these suckers. I always flip the front jaw up while I'm bedding the inside of the jaws. Won't be able to do that with the 650's!

i had a hard time holding the levers down and setting the dog. ive come up with an idea of using wood speed clamps to hold the levers down while setting. my hands about give out yesterday trying to set them. this was after running a chain saw all day. my arms feel like the fell off about noon yesterday! h.h.

Am I the only one who just steps on the levers and set them??

You guys are using the good stuff, my coyote traps are all dukes.

chevy i also have dukes and just put them over my knee and use my hands to set them. sometimes you get bit but it hapoens.

Caught a LOT of coyotes in Dukes. Nothing at all wrong with them. Especially for guys like us that do it as a hobby. Now, the long liners, and control guys......I can see why they would want to use the MB's. SOlID built trap, and most of the parts are replaceable just by unbolting them. Mine are dogless. Im always fooling with bent up dogs, pans, and frames on the Dukes. Stuff the pros dont have time to mess with.

I have more trouble setting the Duke 1.5's than the 3's. seems like they're harder to hold open. You guys think the 1.5's will hold a coyote?

I always heard that stepping on the levers to set them are hard on the levers and springs because you can over extend them. But like everything else in trapping, do what works for you.

Gilley I personally think 1.5 are too small for yotes. Yes they probably will hold them for a little while but will probably tear up a 1.5. I have caught them in sleepy creek 1.75 but prefer something #2 or bigger.

PB I think you're right. I set a couple 1.5's in a dirthole set but thinking I might pull them up and just use them for coon. They just don't seem like they'd hold compared to my #3's.

Checked my traps and one was tripped with rabbit or squirrel hair caught in the trap. Reset both traps. Not much sign right now. h.h.

ok, this is the second time I've caught this dog. I was on the other side of the woods and heard him start screaming like a coyote. I had already ran the traps on that side and thought 'dang' I caught one while I was out there...lol. Well I jumped on the 4 wheeler and ran back over there only to find him and 3 other dogs. They all scattered but he couldn't Not sure how to keep them out of my traps but I guess it's not my problem. Only about 3 houses in that mile square. Anyhow I got him out, he was lucky 30 min later and he would have spent the night out there not just 5 min.

He looks like a friendly, but not too bright of a fellow! That would be ticking me off!!! All that work to make a set……..Do you know who the owners are?