I haven’t put my yote set back out yet but I have a different idea for making the animals really have to work at getting my bait out of the hole. I think I’m gonna try putting the bait in the back of the hole and then filling the hole about halfway up with gravel or small lava rocks over the top of my bait....packing it in good and tight. That should make them have to work for it a little bit anyways.

I’m smoking a Boston butt today and it reminded me that the smell of raw pork is pretty dang stinky. I was eyeballing some chitlins in the store the other day to try as bait and I may go ahead and give it a try in the hole with some deer meat….covered over with a few inches of gravel. I just can’t help but to think about all the deer me and Otis find while blood tracking that have had yotes on them within hours of dying. There’s no special recipe or proper “tainting time” or anything like that…..just deer meat and gut smell.

Do people ever use a scent drag line for couple hundred yards or so to a coyote set? Seems like it would give a greater chance of the coyote finding the bait???

I’ve been pondering over how to do something like that but I’m not quite sure what yet. A foam couch cushion soaked in used cooking oil would probably be a pretty simple drag to pull behind a 4-wheeler or something.

Day 13: One more big male coon

TCTD: 17

I bet them big male coons like I caught this morning are some of the worst ones in the bunch as far as predation goes. They just seem more aggressive and mean. The one this morning would have given some coon dogs one hell of a fight. He looked like a little bear in the trap. I need to get some digital fish scales to see what they weigh for sure. I had two male coons in my hands this morning and the big one felt like it weighed damn near double of the little one.

I think some coon urine might be a good addition to our scent bag. I bet these big males are a little territorial acting and a little urine around one of our DP’s may help entice them on in. Speaking of scent….I went ahead and ordered a gallon of salmon oil last night along with a small bottle of shellfish oil. I want to go ahead and test them out to see how concentrated they are….and if they work above and beyond other things. It would likely be the simplest route for sure. I’m thinking about having a cotton ball under the trigger with a squirt of salmon/shellfish oil on it….topped with just a little cat food…..done. Still gonna test out the scent pole idea more too though because it’s starting to get pretty rank now after a couple days in the sun. It may get real loud in another few days. I bent the sapling over today and poured some of the juice out of the can and Wheeew! it was getting ripe.

I had ordered some salmon oil a while back and mixed with fish flavored cat food, liquid smoke, and vanilla extract! The salmon oil doesnt have much smell to me! I cant say it increased my catches but don't think it hurt either! I've about decided if a coon finds it...he will eat it and the cat food seems to work the best for me with a couple marsh mellows thrown in the mix!

Try a honey bun and report the results.

We'll see if this salmon oil turns out to be any count. I might have to give the honey bun a try too. I've got some in here now.

I’ve noticed that some of the coons and possums I pull out of the traps have a piece of food still clinched in their hand. Which leads me to believe that they’re probably not actually grabbing the lever inside the trap. They’re reaching around it, making a fist, and then it’s their fat fist that hits the lever on the way up that sets the trap off. It won't fit back around the lever as a fist. For that reason, I think we’ll really be better off to keep all the bait below the lever. Make them reach around it….make a fist….then pull up.

Something like a muscadine or grape in the bottom of the trap along with some fish scent lure might be deadly. Something they make a fist on that won’t easily fit around the trigger. That would get everything the first time a hand was stuck in the hole. I think a cotton ball or small sea shell might work as well. I think it’s the location and scent that are really bringing them to the trap and once the animal is there……it doesn’t really matter if we have cat food or what in the bottom of it…..it’s more important that when they reach into investigate it….they make a fist and their hand doesn’t come back out.

Day 14: Nothing this morning

TCTD: 17

Gonna pull traps in the morning and get things ready to move to the 500 acre tract. If we don't get another catch then that will mean we've taken out roughly one nest predator per 12 acres on this property. That's not counting all the little possums. That's not too bad for the first go around considering there are no female coons being active right now. I wonder what the true density would be? At the rate I caught them on this property it would be around 54 coons/possums per sq/mile.

The honey buns would catch me! I cant bring myself to feed it to a coon when I could be eating it myself! LOL

Day 15.......No additional catches

Final Talley: 17


Pulled my traps today to get ready to move to the 500 acres. Gonna make a trip back to the trap store this week and pick up a dozen MB-550's so we can really start testing yote sets now.

One note before we finish up with the 200 acre project.....cat food turns to chit really quick when it starts raining. A lot of mine was mush this morning after the rain we got. I think I'm gonna switch to floating catfish pellets instead. I'm guessing they at least have some minor waterproof qualities about them.

CNC if you want cheap dp bait that works go buy the cheap cans of Jack Macheral from the dollar store and a bag of mini marshmallows.

I've tried just about every commercial coon bait on the market, I've mixed cat food with everything imaginable and used every type oil for trailing scents.

Canned Macheral and mini marshmallows have produced more catches than anything else plus it's cheap and easy.

I tested some canned mackerel and salmon both and they definitely like fish for sure. I got a lot of action on the salmon when I put it out. The mackerel isn’t getting as much action but I think I’ve about got most of the active critters out already is the only reason. I’m actually hanging my traps up right now to clean out before moving to the next tract. Some of the fish I put down in the traps has gotten nasty. I was hoping that the salmon oil would do the same thing as the canned fish.