Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Squirrel, Alligator, Trapping, and Varmits School me on what Im doing wrong

I need yalls help!! So let me tell yall what I did this past Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday....I went down to Forkland to a buddy's hunting club. I saw where the yotes are using the main dirt road that goes through the club as a highway/travelway, lots and lots of deer and yote tracks!! So I set up 5 different MB550 traps about 800 yards apart total. I did the 2 dirt hole set on all of them and used a bait that I bought from a guy in Kansas ( Predator Potion is his name on facebook). He catches lots of yotes there in Kansas. I used his #1 bait which is beaver based and #2 thats bobcat based ,both mixed with some kinds of oils in them. I put out the traps Wednesday when I got down there. I made my sets on the sides of the dirt road, no more that 5 to 6 ft away from where they were walking. I was sure hoping to snag something after having the traps out there for a few days. I would drive by and look at the sets every morning, not getting out of my truck, just looking to see if anything came near the traps and I got NOTHING-NADA !! It looks like a rat or mouse may have been in one of the bait holes to get a free meal but thats it. No yote even came close to sniff them. What the heck am I doing wrong?
I also took a called with me and after dark I could talk with them back and forth and make them come alive. One pack of 2 or 3 was right sounding off where I had made my sets, thats why I was disappointed not to even have any tracks near my sets. The only thing I can think of that may be hurting me is I am not wearing rubber boots..., thoughts on this please? . I am gloving up when making my bed for the traps and setting them.
The only thing Ive caught at this place was a possum last year, my 1st and only catch of anything, lol.
Help me, give me guidance, just what the heck am I doing wrong? Its gotta be something Im doing. I know for a fact the yotes are there, several different packs too.

Could the bait Im using be an issue? I bought it early last year and kept it in my basement in a cool temp. Im frustrated but not ready to give in ...yet, lol
If Im doing something wrong Im wearing my big boy panties and can take criticism....lay it in on me Sandy !

Be patient, most of my sets don't catch until 2-3 weeks after I set them. I have caught some in the first 3-4 days but that's not the norm. I'm not sure if your using a lure but you may try adding them to your set. Put some behind your backing or use your driver to punch a hole in the ground and drop some there.

It is hard to say. I never have much luck on a beaver based bait but you'll talk to the next guy and they will probably swear by it. That's how trapping works. I prefer a mouse based bait where possible myself but I doubt this would have anything to do with not making a catch. If you get more bait give Caven's Hiawatha Valley a try I have never seen it not work on a Coyote. There are certainly other good ones but that one works everywhere I have ever seen it used.

A call lure would probably help. Mark June's Fox Frenzy is what I like and works really well on coyotes I think there is a territorial response but that's my opinion. If I am in a real open area I like Dunlap's War Paint but it has a lot of skunk in it and I would use that around a field or food plot not on a logging road. When I am not using this stuff I keep my call lures in a Mason Jar sealed off you'll figure what that is all about.

I wear rubber boots and use a gardening pad to kneel down on when making my set. But you have to also pay attention not to wear your rubber boots around pumping gas and eating at the waffle house. And the pad you kneel down on you need to leave outside or in your trapping gear so it doesn't get tainted somehow. I keep my bait in a separate bucket than my traps and never let any of that touch. Separate gloves for making the set and handling the bait.

Doesn't sound like you are there yet. You might get into those problems later. Sounds like you are having trouble getting them interested. I might add a call lure and see what happens. You might need some more visual attraction by simply making the dirt hole bigger. I would not use more bait myself they can probably smell it but there is not enough to get them to circle the trap. I have put a trail camera on the trap before to see what is happening that can tell you a whole lot and teach you a whole lot when you are just getting started.

When I pick a spot for a dirt hole it is usually at a road intersection or a bottle neck and I make the dirt hole really visible and obvious. I want them to notice it that's the point. There are different sets you can try if you don't have any backing like a trench set.

The other thing I do when I can't get them interested is use an obvious visual they will definitely notice....and I prefer using a T-bone steak bone and smear a little call lure in the eye of the bone and stick it down in the ground. They rarely ever pass that one up. There are about a million things you can come up with there is literally no right or wrong way to do this you just have to find out what works for you and I think after that 99% of this is just confidence when you make your set.

Try to make a set somewhere there is a lot of bare dirt around if you have a spot like this. You can brush the dirt and see where they are walking and determine if they stop, keep going, circle the set, etc. Their tracks will give it away.

My best bait is a dead chipmunk that is just starting to stink (I catch then around my house in rat traps I can explain how to anyone interested) shove that sucker down in a fairly large dirt hole head first.

Thinking while I am typing. Stick with it.

Has it ever been trapped before?

Don’t over think your scent, nothing you can do to completely hide your scent. I wouldn’t spit dip next to my set but I wouldn’t overthink it.

Bed your trap so there’s no movement. Use a whisk broom to blend the pattern so it looks natural.

You may be a little too far off the road. Also, watch the weather and place your sets so the prevailing winds blow the bait/lure across the travel pattern.

Also, pay attention at intersections, they often leave the road to “cut the corner”.

^^
Bedding my trap is utmost important - dont want trap to move - but tounge needs to be able to move or be pressed down

I am anual on sent and most trappers i know are - i never touch traps w bare hands or touch area around trap w any skin

I sometimes set traps if can only set for 3 days - but my expectations are very low. I hav caught several times on first 3 days - but several times i hav not. I hav cameras in my roads - i get yote pics - sometimes on back to back nights - but more times than not i get a pic and 5-7 days later i get another pic. Almost like i am a part if his loop he hits every 4-7 days - my point - 3 days a short time to expect to catch a yote

Haiwatha bate good - dunlaps predator bait good - wind walker works good - also use yote r fox pee and i put yote turds around my set or more often my own dogs turds around my set

3 days short time for a yote - it can happen but lower expectations

Amd if those yotes are more subordinate - u may scare crap out of em talking to em - let the traps work

I’m fairly new to trapping myself but probably need more time. Also take it with a grain of salt

I didnt see where you sprayed any coyote urine near your sets
One thing a dog will do is steal from another dog especially a interloper trespassing where he doesnt belong

All great advice. I use fox urine on my sets. A new area I use Hiawatha bait. But if it’s an area I’ve trapped before, sometimes I have to think outside the box. Also canned dog food is a great go to. A dead cut up squirrel with the fur on. Dog turds around the backing. Be anal about scent. Bed the trap extra well.

If you don’t see where the traps have been visited in 2-3 weeks, reset in a different location and change what you are doing scent wise. But don’t worry until it’s been awhile. They will eventually come.

Don't let the rain this weekend bother you. You will not have to reset or rebait your trap unless your trap gets washed out. Also urine will draw in deer to investigate your set and you will get traps tripped by deer. If you have washbars in your road make sure you set the traps on the top side. This is also where you will find most of the coyote scat to use around other sets.

All very good comments so I thank you everyone !!
If I can try to paint you a picture of where I'm at: ...The area Im trapping is a hunting club that has appx 2200 acres. The main dirt road that goes thru it is what Im concentrating on since thats where I see the most tracks. Both sides of this road was clearcut last year and the big pines taken off so its mainly some dead sage grass now with a few dead pine tops and stumps scattered about and open area for about 200 yards wide each side of the road, then the clearcut stops and some hardwoods begin. Where the loader/dozer fixed the road after logging, they made a kinda curb/bank thats maybe 8 to 10 inches high in places,so I used the higher banking to drill some bait holes into it and placed my trap on the edge to the road . The bait holes were 5 to 8 inches or so higher than the trap. I did about 3 sets this way. A lot of the soil except for the hardwoods is quite sandy.
Deadeye, I had some coyote pee that I originally got from Fleming but it was appx 2 years old and smelled like ammonia now so I didnt use it. I need to get some fresh I guess and toss the old.

One of my problems is that this place is in Forkland and I live in Birmingham. I can go down pretty much anytime but then have to return to the real world a few days later to come back to work. Before I return home I pull the traps up.

Tdog93 and kbush , yes the traps are bedded solid with no movement. I am setting them right on the side of the dirt road, just off enough so a vehicle wont run over a trap. I did hit a couple of intersections and points where another road cuts off this main road thinking those would be good choke points. After I bed the trap, I take some toilet paper and cover the trap so no dirt gets under the pan. After covering the trap with my sifter, I use the edge of the sifter to really blend the surrounding dirt around the trap for about a foot or so diameter to see if anything had approached it or made any tracks.
Pwyse, no I'm the only one trapping on property ( or doing a bad impersonation of a trapper anyway, lol).

So how deep are you putting your bait in your bait hole? Im not using any backing like wool or cotton but just taking a wooden paint stirrer like they give you when you buy paint and dobbing about a teaspoon to tablespoons worth in each of the 2 holes hole a few inches deep. Do I need to start using some wool or cotton in the bait hole?
Thank you everyone for helping me , I do appreciate all of you !!

I always use wool. I might would get out of the road bed some. Not far but just a few feet if possible. If you are only letting the traps stay in the ground for 2-3 days, that’s the problem. You got to let them stay awhile. Get some help running the trap line. Pay a local to do it or something.

PM to you as well

Forgot to mention wool like Peyse said - i always hav a backing too so he can onlt approach from one side of trap - thats big - u dont want him to be able to come to it from any direction. I use a bank or a tuft of high grass or log and set against - your hole needs to be a min of 8-10 inch deep - maybe deeper

Google how to set a dirt hole set for a coyote - watch and learn. Also google casey shooman coyote trapping or dirt hole sets. Hav not watched him in long time. I Use to turkey hunt w him some in Illinois - he got some good how to yote trap videos

Its shoopman - miss spell his name

Also - dont use same set of gloves to set trap as u do to bait. Over time - yotes started digging up my traps - and i asked why- think it was deadeye on here - he said do u bait w same gloves as u set - said yes - use separate. I keep my bait and gloves for baiting n same bucket - my bait gloves smell to high heaven. I keep my dirt hole stuff n seperate bucket (gloves, sifter brush for smoothing dirt etc). They stopped digging up my traps once i did this

I stopped using sheep’s wool, too often mice were stealing it out of the hole. I use an auger in a cordless drill and get it as deep as possible. Sometimes I’ll shove a wad of grass down the hole. I usually put my dirt holes in front of some small backing, a clump of grass or a log, etc. I don’t like to crowd them, and look places that have space so they can approach at a 45 degree angle. Coyotes tend to not walk straight into something.

2 sets of gloves, mostly to keep my hands clean. I do use a drop cloth when setting. The allows me to carry off any excess dirt and may catch some of my scent. However, there’s nothing you can do to hide your scent, he knows you were there. Your goal is to leave him something more interesting than your scent.

^^^
I need to get the auger - i do it the hard way hammering stake n ground. Auger do deeper and wider

In areas where a backing isnt available then a compass set or trench set is perfect for those places

Yeah you need the auger. It’s a game changer especially in clay.

I also don’t link my hands stinking, so I go through a lot of bait gloves. I get the rubber dipped kind. I have only gotten a few new pairs of trap gloves but my bail gloves I have gotten at least 7-8 new pair.

I think his main problem is not the set. It’s the amount of time they are soaking. The coyotes probably still smell his scent there. It may take 4-5 days for that scent to leave and them get comfortable enough to investigate. I have caught on a short soak like that before but it’s not common. Unless I reset after a catch. I have caught 3 nights in a row doing that.

I especially like a compass set, it’s probably my most used set. I modify it slightly, using 3 holes and leaving the approach open. When I do this I try to put at least one of the holes at the base of a tuft of grass. Sometimes I’ll use a traditional compass set in the center of a 4 way intersection.

I also like using a large rock or piece of slag with a flat set. A little lure under the rock and your good

That’s pretty smart leaving the door open on a compass set…never occurred to me to do that but then we develop a style that creates tunnel vision and the inability to see better or newer ways to accomplish the same goal