trap shy are hard to catch, they avoid the traps, and like Nathan stated they will leave the trap site as long as the trap is there. a trap smart coon can be caught. I try to take the coons attention off the trap and on to the inside of the cage. I do this with the way I bait the trap. if they still will not go and trip the trap I will do a few other tricks depending on what the coon is doing. I bait ever trap the same way from the get go. I don't want to wait 3 days to find out if I have a shy or smart coon.
this is the way I bait traps this pic shows one trap with egg shells and one trap marshmallows for sight and taste. both have bait on them. it also shows me how they react to the trap.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr114/redneckspride/100_6170.jpgBy baiting the trap tis way you can tell what you are dealing with.
This trap has a trap smart coon, notice how much it worked the outside of the trap and inside the trap right up to the pan. the coons tracks completely covered my boot tracks in the sand.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr114/redneckspride/050_zps8cd5a076.jpghttp://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr114/redneckspride/051_zpsb19850e9.jpgyou can tell how the coon is working the trap, on how much it is going to be a pain. the coon above is a real pain. notice how much it worked the outside of the trap yet did not spring it off.
if a coon is going in and stopping at the pan a few nights in a row. then I will many times turn the trap around 180 degrees. the door is now at the back and the back is at the front. I also do this on coon where they are firing the trap off. If the coon does the same thing after I do that, I will load the trap up with bait and shut it down and wait till the trap is moved or flipped then I will set it up again. most time the coon will get caught at that point. I am not putting that much effort in a fur coon for 20 bucks LOL.