Grey fox ?s

I need some schooling on Grey's. I'll be trapping in mixed woodlands and bottom lands . No experience with foxes. Plenty with yotes and cats.

I understand you can guide Grey's harder than yotes ?

Will hard guiding and a flashier set tend keep yotes out of fox sets ?

Thoughts, advice much appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

Harder tighter tends to spook coyotes.

Greys are pick pockets big backing helps keep them from robbing you blind.

Was thinking of augering a deep 2" hole to help mitigate the thievery.

That'll definitely help. Set construction that they have to work at without getting the reward.

When I had greys on my properties, you couldn’t keep them out of a Miranda-style walk-thru set. If the family was still together, I caught’em all quick with a good call lure and a good bait.

I’m convinced you can catch most greys by putting the trap on the back of the hole. I’ve seen them come through some pretty blocked down areas to work it from the back

This!!
A grey will approach it from every angle except the front where your trap is unless it has serious backing.

Don't give greys anything they can climb on and still be able to get to the bait. You could probably do a sucker trap on a grey with a log back in ng with a trap bedded on the log. If you get Lazarus's Modern Grey Fox DVD it shows them up on everything that they can get on.

I caught lots of greys in NY way back when I grew up there. Most from standard dirt holes or post sets.

Be aware, greys have smaller feet and seem to have weaker leg bones. And they roll a lot when caught. I think a 1-1/2 size trap (maybe #2DLS, or 450MB) with extra swivels and good chain (in case coyote catch) would be a good idea.

Deep hole helps in set construction.



Pic below, you can see Grey's small feet.
belly crawler, elbow caught-

One of the reasons I keep 1.5s in my box of canine gear and am not afraid to use them on a coyote job.

IMO, the prettiest of our furbearers and a ball to catch as they are scrappy little things.

Agreed , they are absolutely beautiful !

Loads of great information, keep it coming !

I have always had good luck catching them with a standard flat set. Lure/Bait in a bush or clump of grass with a trap out front. Less on edge if there is no visual. I always seem to be adding traps to the dirt hole sets to catch an grey after he has stole the whole set. Lol

They are masters at abusing backing, and as somebody else said, they will approach from every direction but the front. Up in New Hampshire we have found that using blackberry bramble’s with the thorns or wild rose if available and local will work to avoid thievery. We cut long pieces of it and we use that as backing because they really don’t like those thorns.

Awesome tip !

In my experience if we have a lot of coyote we don't have much for fox.

We have a bunch of yotes here in northeast Oklahoma and enough cover to have some greys along with fewer reds .

I haven't seen a grey fox here in NE TN in years. Red foxes are very few and far in-between to. My guess is that too much pressure from our exploded yote population.

Same hear in southern east Tennessee.

I have noticed on a property that I trapped and removed several coyotes a couple foxes have shown up on camera. Hadn't seem a fox there in 15 years.

Another reason I really enjoy " removing " coyotes from the landscape !

2X

I saw the bacon bait that Lazarus uses in another thread , has anyone used it farther east ? We have a ton of skunks and grinners and I would think they would really plug up your sets ?

Yes, I started using it as a fall change-up in 2012, with a few extra additions. Within 2-3 years it had pushed June's Widowmaker out of my lure box because it had a better catch-to-use ratio. It could not compete against Coyote Creek and Horse Whisperer Plus II in winter-time conditions though.

We are over run with coyotes and still have plenty of reds and greys but my trapping grounds are urban and suburban. Plenty of food for them to share. City folks just keep stocking cats and rats for them, lol.

One thing yet mentioned is where to find greys. Brushy areas is the key for greys. Down here kudzu and privet are where you start looking for greys. Open fields for reds.

Link to that thread, please.

(This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) if I can figure out how to link it !

Go to lure bait and urine archive page 2
6th post down
Bait.. making bait
By Lazarus

A good bobcat gland lure is very attractive to greys.

I think a good bobcat gland lure is attractive to all canines and felines.

1. Blocking, blocking, blocking. As others have said, don't leave a spot a grey can get to your bait. I only use one set -- a dirt hole. Deep, and I like sort of a step down, more narrow in the width and taller up and down -- like when your dog digs a hole. Don't use stuff for blocking that's large enough for the fox to stand on, or it will.

2. Gang set. Greys often travel in pairs, or their home range is so small that if one gets caught, its mate can track it down pretty fast. Unless your scouting shows you otherwise, a location is probably done after you catch the second fox.

3. Good cat gland lure is good, you can improve it with castor and fish.

4. Pre-baiting right before season -- drill some 2" holes and load them with grease, cooking oil, rendered lard and/or fish oil and a dab of castor -- is the key to big catches. If you pre-bait a week before you set, just set the holes that show some activity. The rest you can forget.

5. Greys have small home territories so forget about the mentality of setting canine sets miles apart. In some areas, I've set 40-50 sets in a two mile stretch, and even then I thought I was spread pretty thin.

6. Other than a prime western pale bobcat, they are the prettiest western furbearer.

Outstanding information !

Thanks to all !