Trapping; I got questions, y'all got answers

I would really like to get started trapping , or at least 'try to' trap some yotes down at my buddies hunting club in Forkland. I've called them and will get replies from several different packs that are on 2400 acres but they won't come in too regularly for me to get a shot on them, even though I am the only one hunting them. I go down there about every couple of months so its not like they are highly pressured.
For the guys on here that trap, what are some of the traps to start out with and ones to stay away from? Do you recommend some kind of beginners starter kits for dummies, or just what? And lures, what seems to work for you? I've got lots of questions as you can tell😃.
Thanks for any advice you can throw my way. I've been watching some of the yotes trapping guys on YouTube just to get ideas and kinda see how it all works.

Lot of guys in here are good - type trap - Duke - or MB500 - they will need to be dyed and waxed (never you CC a trap w bare hand - leaves sent) - k9 jr extreme has trap ready to go out box - I like it
I did start w starter kit - google how to catch coyote w dirt hole set

Lures - wind walker - good - toxic dog ain’t bad - I use dunlaps predator bait - Hiawatha not bad - so many details

Most important for me - bed your trap good - when I was rookie - mine were loose - that stupid - you can cover you hue w pear Miss after u set it and pack it down or make sure it in ground good - u hav to dig hole for trap to go In - left that out - need a bait hole 8-12 inch deep at 45 degree angle

Lot of details

Pollwoll has lot of info in here - pages of detail if u can look it up

On your sets - u need a couple lures and a bait - put fox pee behind the hole - put bait on hole and cover w small peace of lambs wool - put a lure on wool - put a spec of Kure about an inch behind hole - find coyote or dog crap and put around set

Lot of details and this was scatter gun shot out to u 😀

Good luck

Steve and Shawn Phillips at Down South Trappers make really good lure here in Alabama. Crows Blood, Confederate Grey and Clear Cut Canine are 3 good lures. Their baits are very good as well.

MB or Duke Pro series. I like Wolf Fang anchors on chain. Southern Snares is a good place to buy them and a quality stake driver. You’ll need a sifter, hammer and a small broom for blending.

Set on sign and bed your traps solid as said above. The Management Advantage has some good YouTube videos.

All good advice above
Start simple with dirthole sets and develop your skill as you go
Ive been doing this for years and most of my sets are dirthole and trench sets
It cannot be stressed enough to bed you trap properly bc if that trap moves when stepped on you just educated/made wary a coyote

^^^^

Yes - management advantage has great videos - I use to hunt some w Casey - good guy - great videos

And I got a starter kit to start w - should hav sifter for covering trap etc and I said cover tongue w peat moss - u really just covering open area around tongue

I watched several diff guys videos

Look for dog tracks and poop for setting traps - I got several cameras up in my road - where I catch them
Most - good spot - intersections etc but go where sign is

What’s a trench set Deadeye ?

Flemming traps right there in bama is a greAt company too

A trench set is ditch dug down to about 12" deep and 24" long angling down with a dirthole in the deep end so the dog/cat/fox has to step in the trench to commit to the bait site
Set you trap as you normally would on a dirthole set
I prefer my sets to be 10-12" from center of the pan to center of the hole

YouTube is loaded with videos to help someone start trapping.

Here are the write ups that may help answer some of your questions (excerpts from last season's 20-21 Catch Thread, pages 3 and 7). The 550 traps would be the most economical for your application, being that you have so much land to trap. You could go with Duke, the budget choice or Minnesota Brand (MB), the premium selection.

There's a friend of mine that expressed interest a while back, so I wrote up a beginner's guide for him.

I've been learning about trapping for several years and started my first trapline a year ago. It took a while to accumulate all of the equipment that I'd need on a trapline. I have trapsout on a neighbor's land and on Redstone. My buddy, who used to cut my grass said "take all of them you want" when I asked him on facebook if I could help with his coyote problems. There's 100 acres, but only about 20 are accessible by truck in the winter, 90% of the land is farming property and is too soft to drive on. I found out he owned land using the HuntStand app that shows parcel owner info.

When trapping, it's easiest to traps nearby a dirt or gravel road so that you can quickly cruise through your line and see if anything has been caught.

Unintended targets are a part of the game. A skunk will clog up a set and you'll hafta try to get a syringe close enough for a lung shot full of acetone. A half-buried skunk set would arouse some curiosity in a coyote. If it’s a bobcat out of season (Mar-Oct), then you can put a large pan over them and release their leg. Coons can also clog up a coyote set. There are so many of them, it wouldn't hurt their population to dispatch them then toss them into the woods or skin and tan them. Possums and raccoons are nest predators, so you’re doing the turkey population a favor in eradicating them from an area. Coyotes love decimating deer herds and neighborhood pets, so eliminating them to the best of your ability is a civic duty for responsible land managers.

The best way to make sets is using knee pads or a gardeners kneeling pad. You'll be down working in the dirt for a while, about 30 minutes per trap at first, and anything that you can do to be more comfortable helps. You want to use shoes that you only wear into the woods, never out in town/at a gas station. Coyote’s sense of smell (220 million olfactory senses) is nearly as good as a deer's (300 million olfactory senses) and you have to work hard to leave as little human scent as possible at a set. Most trappers use different gloves for bedding and handling a trap than they do for baiting. Gloves can save you from painful situations when the trap closes on your fingers, too. Coyotes are known to dig up traps if there's any scent left on them.

The equipment required to trap coyotes is rugged stuff. The traps have to be bedded properly, flush with or below the grade of the ground. You'll need a cookie cutter or a sod buster mini sledge hammer to dig the footprint of the trap out of the ground. Then, you compact the soil under the trap. You don't want the trap to rock to one side or the other or to press into the dirt when you're done bedding it. The coyote needs to be committed to placing its foot down on the pan of the trap.

To attach the trap to the ground, you can use rebar stakes or cable stakes. I'm using Wolf Fang anchors attached to cable stakes. They are set into the ground using an anchor driver. The trap and chain are attached to the anchor using Minnesota Brand Crunch Proof Swivels, Barrel Swivels, and Quicklinks.

The coyotes are very strong and can wreck a cheap trap or pull out of a trap. Shock springs keep this from happening, they do just what it sounds like. Every time the coyote pulls, the shock springs absorb the energy. It reduces stress on your trap, the animal, and the staking device holding the trap to the ground.

Trap pan covers (screen or latex) go over the trap pan or you can use some polyfill/pillow fluff to go under the trap pan. It's important to keep the area under the pan clear of clay, dirt, mud, or rocks. The pan should release the jaws of the trap with 3-4 lbs of pressure and anything in the way of the pan traveling downward will prevent the trap from firing. To cover the trap, you'll need a dirt sifter. It helps to carry a 2-gallon bucket of peat moss to cover the traps with, as it’s light, absorbs moisture well, and won't clog up the jaws of the trap when it shuts.

While checking traps, it's state law to carry a catch pole/choke stick. Stray dogs and vultures may clog a trap and are easier to release using a choke stick. It's for releasing non target animals.

It may be easier in your area to call coyotes in using electronic game calls and shoot them when they get within range, using a shotgun or rifle. Trapping equipment can get expensive and it's a daily responsibility to check and clear any traps. There are so many homes around me that it's not an option to predator hunt. If you have pets, they may get caught a few times before they learn a lesson about suspicious smells.

Once you have the trap bedded and anchored, you'll want to bait your hole, pipe, or tire. For dirt hole sets, you want to have backing to make the animal funnel into an area that the trap is hidden inside of. I use logs that I find in the woodline for backing, but sometimes you can use grass clumps. I try to place the trap 9" in front of the hole and 3" to the right, and left sometimes. It helps to have your trap off-center from the hole in order to have it aligned to attach to the leg of a coyote.

One bait and 2 lures is the standard for baiting sets. I use Elk River Lures, No BS Lures, Caven’s and Pro Line. The bait works best when it's applied to some sheep's wool. It causes the coyote to get curious and dig it out of the hole, pipe, or tire. Coyotes think that dirt holes are where mice are hidden or where a fox has buried a nice snack for later.

The limit for inside jaw spread on a leg-hold trap in Alabama is 6". The K.O. K9 Xtreme traps are more than 6" unless you order them with inside and outside laminations. The lamination is just a small gauge wire that is welded to the contact surface on the jaws of a trap. It spreads the pressure over a larger area of the coyote's leg. They call jaw type traps leg-hold traps. The more springs on a trap, the faster they shut but they also become harder to set. If you were in Kansas or the Midwest, where the coyotes are huge and powerful then 4-spring traps may be best. A 4-coil trap also breaks icy ground better than a 2-spring trap for those who live in icy climates. But, our coyotes in Alabama are smaller, our weather is warm and a 2-spring trap is usually plenty. The K.O. K9 Xtreme would need to be inside and outside laminated, 2-coil, with offset jaws, if you decide on those. The 550 traps are best with offset jaws, 2-coil. The offset jaw will let blood flow to the foot of the animal, they're easier to release non-target animals from without lasting effects. If you were on a ranch where there were no non-target animals, like housecats, then a closed jaw trap would hold the coyote better.

A good trap with laminations, swivels, and shock springs won't hurt animals that get hung up in them. Snares are illegal in Alabama for that reason. Snares are the best way to trap coyotes but they're indescriminatory and will kill anything that gets hung in them, like chihuahua's and housecats. Trapping coyotes in leghold traps is extremely difficult. You have to make sets (dirt hole, T-bone, pipe dream, tire, and urine post) to trick the yote into stepping on a 3" x 3" area (the trap pan), whereas if you set snares, you can place them where coyotes travel. They're cruising the woods and all of a sudden they're hung and choke to death.


Recipe for Success

Step 1. Identify coyote sign or paths of travel
a) Coyote scat usually has hair in it, rabbit or other. It’s K9 and about the size of what a beagle would leave.
b) Coyote footprints are K9, with a 3-point pad with 2 toes directly over the top of it and 1 toe to each side of the tightly spaced inner toes.
c) Paths that coyotes frequent are road junctions, where 2 or more roads meet. The more roads that converge the better. Whereas deer are known to stick to the inside corners of fields, coyotes stick to the outside points. If there is a peninsula of woods that reaches out into a field, a coyote can more quickly move through the field and browse that point. Coyotes are constantly focused on covering ground. Gates, roads, pass-throughs, or points of woods that reach out into fields are excellent trap setting locations. Coyotes travel in a similar fashion to the way water flows, they follow the paths of least resistance. Coyotes enjoy ridges to look down from atop on deer and other small game.

Step 2. Identify the location for the trap.
a) A natural ‘V’ shape in the terrain will make the coyote funnel to the bait. When you can control where they coyote is stepping, there’s a much higher likelihood of him stepping on your trap pan.
b) Flat sets are used when there aren’t any natural contours available to funnel the animal. A log with some urine on it can be placed out into the open with a trap 3”-12” away, in the walking path of a passing coyote.
c) Backing will keep the coyote approaching the bait from the direction you choose. Backing, found in nature, can be made of a large tuft of grass either growing or gathered up, a dead limb/log, a rock that’s too big to be moved by the coyote, or any structure that has been sitting for a while.

Step 3. Digging the trap bed
a) The tools needed include a hammer, sod cutter, bucket of peat moss (2-3 gal), and dirt sifter
1. Lay the trap where it will sit back from the bait 9” and either 3” to the left or 3” to the right, a pinky to thumb measurement works for this, then estimate 3” to one side or the other. Traps can be placed on each side, then another trap 18” back if gang setting for ‘trap smart’ coyotes.
2. Visualize the footprint of the trap. Take the sod cutter, a sod buster hammer or digging trowel, and removed enough dirt so that the trap can lay in the trap bed and be at or just below the grade of the dirt around the trap bed.
3. Pack the dirt in the trap bed with the hammer so that the trap bed is firm. This will prevent the trap from moving if the coyote steps on the jaws of the trap and not the trap pan.
4. In cases where heavy rain or freezing ground is expected, make a small void under the trap where water can collect. This will allow the pan to be up out of the ice or water. Be sure to leave a lip around the void where the trap jaws can rest to keep the trap from rocking.
5. The depth of the shelf for the levers to rest on will determine how far into the trap bed that the jaws will sink.
6. Take the dirt from the trap bed that was dug out and place it in a dirt sifter. This will be used to shake over peat moss and/or poly fill to blend the trap with the natural surroundings.

Step 4. Set an anchor in the ground
a) The tools needed include a cable stake and anchor driver or a double rebar bracket and 2 x 24” lengths of rebar, a mini sledge, and a long handled sledge for dry ground (optional)
1. A cable stake driver needs the channel for the anchor to be cleaned prior to attaching it and driving it in the ground. Pound the stake into the ground so that it sticks up less than 3”. For double rebar stakes, hammer them in a criss-crossing (X pattern) 45 degree angle.
2. Yank the stake puller out of the ground. Hard ground may require a long handled sledge be wedged under the stake driver to pry it up with leverage. Muddy ground may require hammering the stake in another time as it could pull out with the driver, same as it went in.

Step 5. Attach a quicklink, 3/16”-5/16” from the trap to the anchor
a) Crank down on the quicklink once it’s tightened to prevent easy theft of the trap, by animal or human.
b) Pull on the anchor to set it horizontally deep within the ground. The coyote may take off with the trap, cable stake, and anchor if it isn’t set and the ground is really muddy.

Step 6. Bed the trap
a) Set the trap, if it wasn’t already set, and place it down in the trap bed
b) Use 2-3 scoops of peat moss to mound on the trap pan
c) Smear the mound out around the jaws of the trap
d) Put your fingers in the levers and pull up the trap to allow the peat moss to get under the trap jaws
e) Mash the trap down in the trap bed and repeat the process of mounding peat moss and pressing the jaws into the trap bed until the trap doesn’t rock when one side is pressed on
f) Alternate method is to cover the trap with short grass clippings enough to camouflage the jaws, levers, and pan
g) Alternate bedding material to peat moss is poly fill (pillow or quilt fluff) under the trap pan to keep dirt from resting under the pan and preventing downward travel of the pan
h) Sift dirt taken from the hole made for the trap bed over the trap. Be sure not to get any dirt clods or rocks inside the jaws of the trap. Any hard material that gets hung in the levers or jaws can prevent the trap from closing fully.

Step 7. Make a bait source
a) Baited sets include the dirt hole (most common), pipe dream, tire, T-bone, and walk through
1. The dirt hole set is a hole 12”-18” deep at a 45 degree angle, dug away from the direction of your trap. The angle of the hole forces the coyote to stand where your trap is to look down into it. The depth of the hole is important because it will dictate how long the coyote will be trying to reach the bait in the bottom of the hole. The longer that you can keep a coyote working your set, the better your odds are at catching it. Dirt holes can flood in swampy areas, requiring rebaiting after heavy downpours.
2. The pipe dream set is a pipe at a 45 degree angle, leaning away from your trap. You may want to hammer the 8”-10” long section of Schedule 40 PVC before setting your trap. The pounding on the ground only 9” away from your trap may make the trap snap shut. The pipe has a hole for drainage drilled 3” from the top on the side closest to the ground. This hole lets rain come out and it helps vent the smell of bait out into the air around the trap. This set is very rain and ice resistant, coupled with a void under the trap and grass clippings over the trap.
3. The tire set is a tire laid around a trap. With the trap in the middle the coyote has to step into it to see the bait placed in the tire. This is a good rain proof set because the bait won’t get washed out like it can in a dirt hole.
4. The T-bone can be a box turtle shell, cow vertebra, or any bone that might be found in nature. The white color makes for great eye appeal. By smearing lure on the T-bone, or placing it inside of the box turtle shell, the goal is to make the coyote spend time investigating the attractant. The bone or shell needs to have a large spike driven through it to prevent a coyote from carrying it off and chewing on it. You may have to drill a hole in a turtle shell, most cow bones have natural holes to drive a spike through.
5. The walk through set is a dirt hole set with the bait in a dirt hole with backing placed behind it on one side and the lure placed in a smaller hole, made by the anchor driver, on the other side. The idea is to arouse curiosity in a coyote to get him to walk between your bait and lure. This is a flat set.
b) Urine Post sets
1. A urine post is any piece of wood that absorbs urine placed nearby a trap. It is a flat set because it looks the same as the ground around it. The coyote instinctively want to leave its scent on top of other coyote, fox, or bobcat urine. Gland lures from predators work as well. During deer season, the smell of coyote or bobcat urine may frighten away deer. This is when fox urine is the go-to choice. Backing for urine posts can be the corner of fenced area or logs placed at road junctions. If you have backing, it puts the coyote on the side of the set where your trap will be waiting.
a) A urine post set can be made by hammering a skinny limb, 2 x 4, or 1 x 1 into the ground.
b) Urine post sets can be made by placing some coyote scat and spraying it with gland lure or urine
c) Urine posts can be made on the edge of a large log

Step 8. Camouflage the area and make the set look natural
a) While you can place clods of dirt or rocks adjacent to the side of the set that the trap is on, don’t work too hard to funnel a coyote. They’re extremely skittish and can easily get frightened by an area that doesn’t look natural. If the smallest thing is out of place, they’ll take a hike.
b) Use step sticks to keep the coyote funneled toward the ‘V’ of the set location, where the narrow portion is your bait. If the coyote can run circles around your trap set, he’s taking more steps that aren’t in the general area of your trap. If his nerves are focusing his movement toward your bait, then there’s a much greater chance that he’ll wind up on your trap pan.

Step 9. Let the trap hunt
a) Traps hunt 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
b) Control any interference with the trap set by limiting human scent around the set
c) Check to be sure the traps aren’t sprung after heavy rains because a sprung trap could educate a coyote. Trap smart coyotes are nearly impossible to catch.

Step 10. Check traps daily
a) State law requires 24-hour trap checks. Try not to trap out on a busy road where the anti-trappers will get fuel for their squawking about how cruel it is trap animals. Dispose of the carcass where people won’t think there’s a serial domestic dog killer stacking victims. Within 4-6 months, nature does the job of recycling the coyote back into the habitat.
b) You don’t need a trapping license to trap your own property or to nuisance trap. The license allows you to sell fur. Fur sales are down drastically, making skinning, fleshing, and drying of hides a hobby and no longer a profession for southern trappers. Southern furs are much smaller and less full than those from wide open ranges and mountainous regions. US sentiment for fur trapping is mostly negative nowadays. And, world powers are battling recession, making their (China and Russia) fur purchases scarce.
c) State law requires a catch pole to release non-target critters. If it’s your property, then all critters may be target animals. I have caught 3 domestic dogs over the past year, they eventually learn to avoid strange smells in trap sets.
d) Bury or burn coyotes with mange. Mange is an awful disease that makes animal’s hair fall out and they freeze and/or starve to death. It can be passed by carcasses. Coyotes can get rubbed on their back, mange is more noticeable as large patches of hair will be missing.

Step 11. Dispatch, avoid entering the catch circle
a) A bat is the simplest tool to use to dispatch with, it is over in a second. One or more strikes directly on top of the head will be lights-out. An axe handle also keeps you at a safe distance. A strike or 2 to the throat to collapse the wind pipe can insure that you don’t get bitten. A boot on the lungs for a minute, to force all air out and none back in can prevent the coyote from recovering from dispatch. Viper blowguns with razor darts are just as quiet.
b) Ammo is in short supply, but during normal times a 22 short is the most preferred method by some trappers. A shot through the chest, just behind the armpit will stop the pump station and result in minimal bleeding.
c) A luggage scale is helpful in weighing catches
d) Once dispatched, you can determine the sex of the coyote

Step 12. Trapper’s Log
a) A log book, or app is good to keep track of lures and baits used, set types, catches, and trap set locations. Analyzing data over time can identify proven techniques that work for your area.

Step 13. Trapper advocacy and political activism
a) Trapping is a dwindling skill that deserves to live on. Pass on old equipment, mentor youth or budding trappers when possible. Our country owes a great debt to the hardworking trappers that settled these once wild lands. If anyone questions your authority to trap predators, let them know Our Creator is our authority. Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
b) Join your state trapper’s association, www.ATPCA.org. Without support for trapper's rights, the anti's will eliminate trapping. Start local and expand from there in supporting trapper's rights.
c) If inclined, join the Nat’l Trapper’s Association, www.NationalTrappers.com

Pollwoll - great to hear from you - glad you still around

Great info above - will look over again more in future

Tried the bat once on Coon - had a glancing blow - I hav got fat n slow in my old age and so I started using 22 behind the shoulder - too much blood w a head shot

Finally tried the tire set u showed me On This site - hav only tried in very short spurts - set it the other day and caught possum on like the 3rd day - hav not reset yet - May wait till Feb to get serous again - I got tires and left them along my roads last year so animals get comfortable w them

Deadeye - really appreciate the info on the trench set - great info

Trapper J on YouTube makes trench sets on all of his videos.

Where travel corridors converge will be the hottest trap set location. See the hub below.



Mark Zagger's Pipe Dream diagram

Trapping Pinterest page with tips and stuff.

To pollwoll and all you fellows that commented, thank you so much for sharing this information ! I am really interested in giving this a try. Is there a place that you can purchase some traps that are already dyed and waxed , or is that left up to the buyer? Would any of you out there have some traps already dyed and waxed that you would want to sell me to see if I have any luck doing this? I can see that the waxing and dying part is going to be an issue for me since I dont own any kind of fish fryer or the like to heat the stuff up.
Thanks again !!
John

If you want traps ready to go in the ground then check out NO BS Lures
You can find them on F&T website too

Dakota Line Snare and Trap Dip is cold dip used to dye traps. It is diluted with water. I keep a 5 gallon bucket filled halfway with it ready to go.

For wax, you can use speed dip. My choice is Full Metal Jacket. I have a 5 gallon bucket filled halfway with it, too. That way, you don't need to boil anything or risk catching wax on fire.

Before you dye and wax the traps, you'll need to remove the protective layer of oil that has been applied to them. It also helps to rust them up. I use generic degreaser/cleaner and let them soak in a solution of it. Once you've rinsed that off, you can etch the metal using vinegar. It's worth putting a couple of gallons in another bucket. After they've etched for a bit you can spray them with peroxide (16 oz), vinegar (2 oz/4 Tbsp), and salt (1/2 tsp) to rust them to the level that they'll hold dye. You'll need to keep them wet with the solution until they're rusty all over. You could also just use them and they'll rust in the elements naturally. You'll want to remove the oil from them 1st to make them rust faster.

Another simpler way is to buy the traps from No-BS Lures. They come powder coated so you could skip the dyeing step. But your shock springs will still need to be cleaned, etched, and dyed or used in the elements until they're rusty.

If you have the resources to buy the No-BS K9 Xtreme's then you could just get them in and dip them a couple of times in Full Metal Jacket. It' more economical to use walnut hulls to dye and use real melted wax to prep traps, but that takes a large amount of space and equipment. My cold dye/speed dip method works best for my situation. And, I like the No-BS traps because they're more reliable even though they cost several dollars more per trap than the MB 550 RC.

Good stuff guys - appreciate the pics Pollwoll

Hey Deadeye - if u think about it - next time u do a trench set - take pic of trench right before u cover trap - no rush and if u don’t ever think about it - no worries

And John - catching a coyote is a super cool rush - good luck

John,

Lots of great info above that I will not repeat other than a properly bedded trap takes more time than you think if you are new at it. I will advise to go ahead and buy one of the 2" auger bits that will fit in a portable drill to make dirt hole sets with. Goes a lot faster and lets you have time to bed. Also, google the term "night latching" and get you a file and do that to whatever trap you buy. Need 2 sets of gloves - one for setting/bedding the trap and one for baiting the trap. Small detail but important. I went with the No BS Lures traps and love them.

Evening guys. Sorry I haven't been able to get back here to chat lately. My 90 yo MIL who lives with us had to be transported by ambulance day after Christmas to Grandview Hospital. She has vascular dementia and is still at the hospital and not doing too well but holding her own for now. Prayers are appreciated. Been dealing with that and working so its been kinda hectic.
I did call Fleming Trapping in Ramer today and placed my order. I've got me 7 MB 550 traps coming along with anchors and bait, urine ,trap dye and a few other things. The only thing I may have messed up with the order is the anchor chains. They only had the hard earth ends in stock and the guy said I'd have to literally dig them out with a shovel to get them out. They are 15 inch chains. I've got a screwed up back and any type of digging with a shovel really messes me up. Would I be better suited getting some wolf fang ends with cables instead of what I've got coming? Would the wolf brand be easier for me to remove when its time to pull the trap?
And would you get an 3 inch auger for a cordless drill or can I just make my bait hole with a piece of rebar by driving it in the ground and wallowing the hole out some? They said the order will go out Monday.
What say you?
Thanks!!!!

^^^^
Sorry to hear about MIL - I just had to put Mom in nursing home and she don’t like it - been hard

My trap kit came with a steak driver for driving anchors - I actually pound that in the ground 8-10 inch for my dirt or bait hole - I move it back in forth some as I drive it so it don’t get stuck

U did not mention wax - u need that too - dye then wax. U may want a small trap shovel - came w my kit and a sifter and peat moss - some people use trap pans - I just use peat moss - spread over trap jaws - pack down around trap tongue (don’t touch tongue- ouch) then I put little more peat moss then cover w dirt

And I prob do my trap securing diff than most - i ordered trap drivin steaks - can’t remember what they called - it like rebar steaks and a round end that want let trap chain pop off - I just hammer the steak on the end of the ring on the trap chain - one time I could not remove one from ground

The anchors may be best but the above work for me

John all you have to do is use quick links so when you’re ready to remove your trap just detach the link
I do this in most places I trap bc I know I’ll be putting a set in that same spot next season and the anchor is already in place

Tdog, I'm sorry about your mom. Yes, that is a very very hard decision to make. They have lived all their life in a place they call home and then having to go to a completely different place to stay is very unsettling and scary for them. I do understand and will keep y'all in my thoughts and prayers.

I did get the stake driver and the 3 in 1 hammer to go with it. All Fleming had in stock were the Berkshire hard dirt anchors with 15 inch chains so I just got those.
Deadeye, I did get a dozen quick links too.
As far as the wax, the guy at Fleming said to clean and decrease the traps first. Rinse them and let dry outside to get a very slight layer of rust on the traps. They had a cold dip that mixes up in a 5 gallon bucket and he said the leave the traps submerged in the dip for 3 to 4 days then hang them up to let them dry for a few days. He was telling me the dip will work well without having to wax them. I guess I'll see about that,lol.

Here's the deal with where I go in Forkland....I'll go down for 2-3 days max then have to come back to Bham.It may be a month before the next time I get to go back. Would you just leave the anchors in the ground down there or dig them up and bring back with you for next time? They are not that expensive but I may not recall the exact spot I was at. Which leads to the next question... do you mark your spot or a close by tree with a marking ribbon or something to help you know where the anchors are? I'll be bringing the traps back with me for sure.
Appreciate you guys!!!

I will send up prayers for your MIL. One option that works well for removing anchors is using your drill and auger to drill down beside the chain. Usually makes quick work getting your anchor out. Also makes putting in a dirt hole very easy as well so I would recommend the auger.

I'm also wondering about when you bait your hole. I see on some videos that guys use lambs wool or something put down the hole then put the bait on that but lots of guys just smear about a small spoonful of bait directly into the hole. What's your way that works for you and how far down the hole are you putting the bait? I've got both bait and lure along with a bottle of urine coming. Maybe use just a few drops of urine outside but in front of the bait hole, maybe putting a small log or branch in the ground for the urine? As you can tell...me got lots of questions

That makes sense to me, thank you !!

The reason for the quick links is so you can leave the anchors in the ground if you’re going to use that site again and if not the drill auger works well for removing them
There’s plenty of experience with all these guy so ask anything you need to know
One bit of advice……don’t over complicate trapping with things you don’t need or need to do

I use sheep's wool and bait. I think the sheep's wool adds an extra smell and when they are looking in the hole they can see a little of it. I usually push the wool/bait down the hole at least half way or 3/4 of the way. I have been using bait in the hole and a lure, a few drops behind the hole and some fox urine squirted around the back of the hole.

If I find some coyote scat I may add some of that around the hole as well. As has been said before, bedding the trap so it doesn't move is probably the most important aspect as well as choosing a good location.

Good-luck, I hope you are successful early because once you trap a coyote it makes all the effort worth it.

Lots of good videos out there, I like some of these videos, not sure they were mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SgJmxNt-YPv2L5QHu4-nw


https://www.youtube.com/user/HoosierTrapperSupply/videos

Really appreciate the comments John - nursing home has been tuffer adjustment than I expected and I did not think it would b easy
Another tip - u need 2 sets of gloves - one for baiting and one for setting trap

I put my pee a few inches behind the hole and I use multiple lure - put some on wool and some inch r so behind hole - I don’t mix lure and pee r put in same spot

And the reason for the 2 sets gloves - if u use 1 set and bait with them - they will start smelling like bait and animals will dig up your trap caise your trap now smells like bait

Sometimes mice will steal your wool from the dirt holes. Also, understand that when using urine deer, hogs and cows will investigate your sets.

I am blessed to not hav to deal w hogs

I’m Fixin to boil my traps and tools since they are all new. I’ve been told to wait on dying until later. I didn’t buy any wax, so can I wait on that til later also? I’ve got several yotes and I’m off the rest of the week.

I’d go ahead and have them ready so all you have to do is get them in the ground when the time comes

If I can set them without dying and waxing I’ll set them tomorrow or Thursday right after the rain

Here's yet another question for you fine dog catching gurus..after a day or few days of rain, how do you determine if the ground is still too wet to make your sets? Just curious..?

If you have a 5 gallon bucket full of dry dirt you won’t have to concern yourself about the ground being wet or too wet bc the dry dirt will allow you to remake your sets

Another question on the dye pack it says to use degreaser when boiling. Should I do that or just boil

Degrease they traps first
Use vinegar to start rusting process
After rusting has coated the traps then put in the boiling dye

We’ll at least I know how to set a trap. Caught a possum.

Hey, well congrats on that, its a start !! What trap did you end up getting?

I just checked with UPS and it shows my 25 lb box of goodies from Fleming is sitting on my front porch now. I cant wait to get home from work and check it out. It'll be like a kid opening his big box of stuff on Christmas, lol.

Take it inside by the fire with your wife and check out the traps and make sure you open all the baits and make sure they hadn't gone bad. You can store them in the kitchen pantry.

Yeah, good idea, lol

Bridge dogless

You gonna get the man killed, or worse, cut off. Especially if he ordered Dunlap’s Hellfire.

Everything came from Fleming except my anchor chains, free hat and knive, they are out of the free stuff,lol.
I called them yesterday and the anchors and chains are on backorder but they did have some 12 inch cable and bullet type anchors so they are sending me a dozen of those to get me going for now. I've got my traps sitting in a 5 gallon bucket bath of hot water,dawn and a shot of muratic acid as we speak now to get them degreased. I'll take them outside tomorrow to start the rusting process, then cold dye them for a few days in brown logwood dye. I don't have wax so I may end up trying things out without
waxing . Wax off,wax off.

Did you read up on nightlatching? I prefer to nightlatch my traps. Others on here may have a different opinion. Not hard to do with a flat file. I would go ahead and do that now too if you are going to do it. That click sure is nice when you are resetting in the dark.

Yes sir I did. The mb's that I got are already night latched out of the box. Ive got them hanging on a chain link fence drying/airing out as of yesterday to let the logwood dye get good and dry for a few days. Thanks !!
Still waiting on my anchors and chains from Fleming......

Hey guys, the week is FINALLY here that Im gonna get to go trapping for the 1st time. I'm headed down to Forkland on Friday and will stay until Sunday afternoon. My plan is to put traps out not long after I get there on Friday, say around noon or so. Ive got 7 of the mb550 traps. I just hope it hasn't rained as much as it has here, although they are calling for yet more rain Thursday afternoon or evening,...go figure ! Some of the places I want to put the traps out down there may be too wet to get to with my truck, we'll see.
Yall wish me some luck for some success, Im gonna need it I think !!

Not sure how much land you have, but, you might try baiting a few extra dirt holes with some can dog food and see if they get dug out. If so, you can set/move a trap to that location and see if they come back. Hard to get a lot of action in just a couple of nights on 7 traps. But, definitely need to try it. Put your bait holes away from your trap sets. If you pull your traps, I would definitely bait the holes afterwards and you can see if they get dug up before you get back. I've got some holes that were hit the last couple of weeks. Gonna try and set on those when the rabbit guys are done.

Update from last weekend's first trapping outing for me: of course it had rained nearly every week day last week which is not good and there were flood river warnings out...not good either. But hey I went down to Forkland on Friday anyway.
The ground was saturated with wetness and water was up in some of the fields and the roads were just a muddy mess. I put out 4 traps Friday afternoon at intersecting roads and green fields. The kinda bad thing at all my sets is I never saw any yote tracks or scat anywhere, but still made some sets. It of course rained Friday night/early Saturday morning so I set out 3 more traps Saturday morning on the opposite side of the property. Where I was really wanting to go was under water so that ruined those plans. The Black Warrior river surrounds the 2400 acres on 3 sides. Water was up out of the sloughs and into the hardwoods as well.
I did make my sets with some dry dirt out of a 5 gallon bucket. I checked all the traps Sunday morning before getting ready to come back home but had no takers....nothing was moving, no tracks anywhere near the sets, no set off traps,...nada. Im going to chalk this one up to the wet weather. I did get experience with making sets...thats a good thing for me I feel.
I left most of my earth anchors in the ground and marked them with ribbon. I'll go back down at some point and give it a go again. MAN that yote bait sure stinks,...lol

It took me several weeks to catch my fist dog - doing it 2 days at a time is also more challenging- leaving them 6-8 days r longer helps
You got some experience- good luck

Agree with you Tdog...2 days is not much but its what it is for unfortunately. I'll give it another shot in the next few weeks.
The yotes bait I got from Fleming is almost too liquid, its very runny. What are y'all using and is it thicker than mine?

Cravens Hiawatha predator bait mostly - I got 4-5 diff lures also I can use - usually use a bait and 2 lure - I hv also used Dunlap predator bait

Both thick

Does anyone here use the spring carabiner type snap hook link that goes between your chain/cable and the trap? Ive got the threaded type 3/16 quick link but just looking for something a little easier to disconnect. Those quick links can be a pain a little if any dirt gets in their threads or if the ground is a liitle damp.

Locklear’s Primal Paste is doing good for me. Got about 3 different gland lures I’m using. Using some red fox and coyote urine too.