Let's see some of your favorite sets past or present (pre catch) all dressed up and ready for action.

don't have many pictures of setting up the sets but will post what i have from last year:

dirt hole:


urine (pee) post




flat set (i think)




step down set

I looked through my photo bucket and guess I deleted all my set pics. I can post some water set pics tomorrow if anyone is interested in them.

I am! Looking at getting some 330's here soon

Alright! I'll get some tomorrow and post them.

Thanks hank.

Yeah, I'd like to see them too. I've never done any water trapping.

I get dirt hole sets. I have a couple questions about some of the others. How do you know where to place the pan on a flat set or urine post set? Also, do you use coyote urine for coyotes and fox for fox on this type set or would you probably catch a coyote on fox urine post? Is it harder to catch on these sets or is there some way to be confident which direction theyre going to work them from and where their foot will be?

And I thought step downs were like dirt holes but just kind of in a small trench. Thanks.

I run a lot of flat sets, but don't have any pics right now. I find a tuft of grass or rock/stick for a little backing and smear a little lure on it. Also you can punch in holes around your trap with your driver and put different lure/bait/urines at a set. I can't remember who posted that up last year, but it has been a productive set for me.

It's called a compass set Matt! I love them. I've had really good luck catching fox with it.

we use red fox urine and it catches both fox and coyote.

as far as making the sets, i look at the area where tracks or poop are present. if there is a stick or small log with a branch on it, that's a good place for a urine set. about 7 inches from the stick or branch, set the trap. offset it a couple of inches. squirt a little urine on the stick or branch and then apply a small dab of gland lure. just think about a dog walking down the road and wanting to mark his territory. just picture the coyote walking by the stick or branch and hiking his leg. think like the canine, especially think about it's height. if your area doesn't have sticks or a funky log with a branch, you can make a post set in a corn field or cotton field using the stalks. if you have a small bush, just use nippers and remove the limbs, leaving a post and go from there.

yes, in my post above, that wasn't a step down. that was on the same road i had a trench set (step down) where we caught a couple of coyotes and a bobcat but i guess i didn't save the picture of the set.

flat set - if it's a known travel area, especially a funneled area, just place the trap in the travel path. if it has something natural in the area like a tuft of grass or fallen limb, rock, what-have-ya, all the better. those items will provide the backing you need to keep the critter from entering the set at the wrong angle. you don't want them to come sniffing the lure from behind the grass patch or limb or rock or other. you want them to enter from the trap side so you use those items as your backing and place the trap in front and offset a couple or three inches. picture the coyote be-bopping down the road and whoa! he catches a scent. he mosies over to check it out and as he walks up to it, whap! the trap gets his foot. remember, coyote aren't real big so think about how far apart their legs are and picture them walking up to the set. we don't place the traps any farther than 9 inches from the sets. when you finish, blend in the trap area real well. i like to pull grass from the grass tufts and rub it between my gloves and let if fall naturally over the trap set. crushed up leaves if in a forested area. use your surroundings to make it look as natural as possible. flat sets aren't like dirt hole sets where you don't have to be as careful with presentation.

don't give up, it took me getting a professional to show us the correct way to make the sets but it was money well spent.

Sorry guys! Been super busy running the last 2 days. Gotta set another lake for beaver and otter tomorrow and I'll have the camera lady (aka MsN40r) with me so I'll have her take pics.

I finally had time to reset some traps. The first 2 are remakes from coyote catches a few weeks ago, I made them into compass sets. The last is another compass set in the edge of a pasture, I left some dirt around to look like a critter scratched off after it left a turd.

Those look great Matt! Nothing there for them to get nervous about.

One thing about the compass set is it has no visual attraction so you really need to be on the X with it. You already know you're location is good on two of these sets as they are remakes from earlier catches. I use them a good bit as an extra set in high traffic areas also. A coyote bouncing around in trap will always draw attention and a subtle set like the compass will sometimes pick up leery onlookers.

Dirtholes attract nosey calves a lot for me, so I try to keep it toned down and set on sign, field edges or terrain features. Yekrut and little man are going to check with me tomorrw do hapefully we will have something. I got 5 coyote sets and 8 DPs put out so we shall see.

Looks good. Blended in well. I'm gonna try a compass set or 2. Thanks.

I've had cows mess up sets before and figured they were checking out the smell. I didn't realize it was a visual thing to them.

Urine will make deer investigate sets so I wonder if maybe that's what is drawing the calves to it also.

I use the same urine and lures at both and they always find my dirtholes lol. I just figure they are being nosey and playing in the fresh dirt.

Look good. I should be able to add some Wednesday. I'm going to put a bunch out if it's not raining.

Second to last picture with dozer tracks.

Will a coyote come to that set? Looks like the set elevation is about 2 feet below the tracks. I didn't think the coyote liked to be to where he couldn't see?

God Bless,
David B.

Yes, it is probably a little "low". So is the actual pan placement. I like em flatter. However, cats and coons don't mind it.

Good looking sets Gobbler! Glad to see you back posting. It's been a while!

Looks like you get really detailed on the stepping sticks. Looks pretty good.

Ok. I finally got a chance to set some traps today. I put in 16 mb550s and 10 freedom brand DPs. I'm not as experienced as a lot of y'all so feel free to kindly critique these sets if you feel the urge and think it'll help me improve and catch more critters. I had to throw in one of those compass sets to try it out. Photobucket is slow so I'm only going to post 5 right now. The guy I'm trapping for has lost 35 chickens and a turkey to coyotes so I used feathers at the mouth of a few dirt holes. I can't wait til daylight.

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My only advice on your sets is they look a little unnatural. A little too neat. The dirt hole should look like something has been digging at it. Spread the dirt around a little instead of smoothing it out so much. You can use the dirt to help foot placement without using stepping sticks as much. Good luck though they look better than mine when I started.

Sets look great T_K! No reason those shouldn't produce.

Check them without getting too close and adding more human scent. First nights are never great but after they've had a day or two to weather and season a bit you should really see good results if the critters are there!

Had a coon in this one this morning.
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Had a fox in this one. I knew it was a good area, but I wasn't confident it the set. It's my first try at a scent post set. I was unsure of where to place the pan, but turned out ok. At scent posts are you looking for back foot catches?
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Looked like someone shot the fox before I got there. Small wound right behind front shoulder.

He says he is covered up with them. I guess we'll find out.

Good deal. Those feathers probably caught that coons attention. I get mostly front foot at scent posts but any catch is good. Try to get out earlier to check if other people are around is the only advice I can give you for the other.

It's private land and landowner is surprised. He said no one is supposed to be out there

An animal bouncing around in a trap draws a lot of attention. At least they didn't steal your trap. If there is a road you can see that trap from it could have been someone just driving by. I would keep an eye out anyway. Good luck.

Caught a bobcat in my remake of the coon catch yesterday.
Remake after bobcat:
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Caught another bobcat in a different set. Here's the remake for it.
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I found 5-6 piles of scat in about a 50 yard stretch of "road" that goes through a cutover. Put 4 sets in that area. Dirt hole, scent post, compass set, and blind/flat set. It's my first attempt at a blind set but it's on a really good game trail where 2 directions meet up to enter a thicket.
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Reminder - keep the larger clumps of dirt away from the pan. Animals avoid stepping on them. I use them to help guide the foot to the pan.

On your flat/compass sets use some of the thatch and leaves to help blend it in, rub it through your screen to break it up. Let your lure do the work on those sets. You want the coyote to be sniffing around and shuffling his feet smelling, not looking at the odd pile of dirt that smells weird.

There aren't any big dirt clumps near the pan on any of these. Not sure if you were talking about any picture specifically or just in general.

Yeah, I could blend it better, but the compass set location was already exposed bare dirt before I started so I just left it. Do you think I should blend sets that are bare dirt to begin with?

I was hoping on the flat set the coyote would just step over that grass and be caught before it had time to think about it.

I try to make them look like the surrounding area. If you have trouble finding it when you check them, you know they are blended good and shouldnt throw up a red flag to a coyote.

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Made another dirt hole set today. Now the bottom fell out so I'm not expecting much.

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Step down dirt hole set

Just in general. Sharing a mistake I make until a old timer thought me.

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Caught a coyote on this set last night. First time I'd tried this type dirt hole set. Caven's minnesota brand predator bait plus in one hole, dobbin's bobcat medley in the other. Red fox urine and gusto on backing

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I've done mostly dirt holes all season with a few change ups thrown in here and there. I guess this would be my attempt at a flat set. The backing was already there. I wasn't sure how to make it approach from the front so I stuck a couple of sticks in the ground and raked the leaves up some to guide it a little. How does this look? What should I do different next time?