Morning, I appreciate you boys up north sending us a little cool weather for this weekend! Finally getting in the mood to set some traps! Supposed to be 24* by Monday morning! I may have to look for my coat and thermal long-johns ! For some of you "hay field trappers", let me run something by you. I have been held up waiting on some deer hunters to get done before I can set some coyote traps on the track of land I normally trap. So I talked to a farmer that has a 40 acre hay field and a 40 acre cotton field next to the hunting lease and I got permission to trap his 2 fields. I walked around the hay field and cotton field yesterday afternoon and I saw some sign where the coyotes are running around the edge of the fields along fence rows. Fence rows are old and really thick, grown up w/ underbrush. There is even part of an old deer carcass drug up deep in the briars and hedges along the fence. I normally use an old rib bone or leg bone for backing on dirt hole sets but sometimes they slip thru the traps and steal my backing! Would I be better off to steak down a leg bone or skull down or is that a "no-no"? Will try to spread out about 2 dozen 550's around both fields or as far as I can go with them. The hunters can give me all the scrapes of deer meat and hide for the dirt holes. But was thinking that something for "eye appeal" would help in the open fields? As usual, I'm always open to suggestions, anything to save me some time and heartache! Thx, Bayou

I normally like to use a long bone (leg) and drive it to where there is only 5-6 inches left sticking up. It makes it a little harder to just grab and go. I also try to get it close to a secondary backing like a weed edge to make him more likely to come in front on. I will sometimes take a drill and make a lure hole in the bone on the trap side. I have on occasion used a cable anchor to hold a bone set down. I normally don't use a bone in conjunction with a bait hole...I typically use it as more of a flat set for a change up. Your spot sounds ideal for a few snares.

In my opinion, 24 traps over 2 40 acre fields is oversaturated. Even if using multiple traps per set I'd pick 1 or 2 locations per field.

I got off work about 2pm today and got 10 traps in the ground. After looking it over again I might have room to set 2 or 3 more. I staked down 4 fresh deer legs around the fence rows, and made a few dirt holes w/ some fresh deer meat scraps. Supposed to be 70% rain this weekend, so maybe I'll have a couple nights of decent weather.

I use deer legs. Cut front leg off at knee. Make a hole like starting a dirt hole and pound it down to hooves sticking up. Lure between deer hooves. More like a flat set. Very attractive to cats and coyotes. Caughtt first cat this year on that exact set just today. Have not had one disappear yet.

Morning report / update; Got up b4 day light ran traps before work, had one gray fox. The fox was caught on a dirt hole w/ fresh deer meat chunks "no lure or commercial bait", MB550 held him ok, but quite a bit of leg damage. No fresh coyote tracks in roads or around sets. Talked to two other guys that had just gotten back from checking their sets, "no movement last night". I re-made the one I caught the fox in. "boy they can sure stink up a set" ! Maybe they will move tonight. Bayou