Posted By: PAlltheway
First yote of the season - 12/29/23 03:16 AM
Got the first coyote of the season today. Unintentional catch. The sets are made for less discriminating customers like bobcats and fishers. Because we have so many bears in central Pennsylvania, and because I have had trouble with them raiding my trapline in the past, I now only start setting steel in mid December. Most of the hunters are out of the woods, our bobcat and fisher seasons start then, bears are hibernating, predators are getting hungry and ready to make mistakes etc. So far this week the count is one possum, one coon, one lucky fox, and this coyote. Has mange, so it was dispatched and left lay. The set is a small dirt hole backed by a rock and a tiny jack pine, baited with a small piece of smoked salmon skin, with bobcat gland lure, skunk essence, and strong fox pee as lures. It has two MB550s attached to an 8’ chain with a strong grapple. One trap guards the dirt hole, the other is offset away so if an animal is trying to look into the hole but not commit, it’s still snapped. It was the second trap that got him.