Who does it before season opens to cut down on the work load?

Never. The freshness is part of the intrigue.

Pinky...I don't know how far out from the beginning of season your were thinking about digging them? Although I tend to agree with Mark, many times I haven't caught a coyote out of a dirt hole until the 3rd, 4th, or 5th night...sometimes longer, and they're obviously no longer fresh at that point. Like most things trapping, it comes down to personal preference and what works best for you.

I use intrigue in all the lures I make so it's always there lol

I always tried to beat the hard freeze here. I never did it for a living but I’ll disagree. I expect first night catches and often on pre-dug beds. I always liked to drive around after the first snow here to sets I’d made sometimes a month or two before. Those dirtholes would often be blown back out, under snow, and no “freshness” to speak of. Guess they liked the bait down the hole regardless.

When I knew I’d only have 10 days to trap and I wanted to get 100-150 sets out in a day. I didn’t have time to make all the trap beds. I wanted the majority trying to catch the first night not waiting in my truck. I’d usually set most of my line a day before Matt would come from Indiana. Less stuff in the back of the truck with all of his stuff too. I’m pretty sure coyotes rode home with us most every first day as he was setting his line out. They still were intrigued enough to die.

Disclaimer I am not a pro. I do enjoy killing coyotes. Best way to find out is to try yourself.

just how many coyotes you want to deal with every night? 35-40 sets keeps me busy all day.

Well when we took vacation that’s all we did from before light to whenever it was done! So as many as were willing. Now I don’t want to deal with any beyond making sure they don’t breathe anymore. Will be doing that with the rifle this season for the most part rather than the traps.

I'm with Mark on this one, but have dug a few before Xtreme cold then plugged them and the trap bed till I moved into trap mostly places that have lots of trash or have to wait the deer hunters out. I freshen them up and start catching coyotes.