Question for the coyote guys

[Worm]

Do you guys put your bait piles in the open or the bush? How.much does it matter.

I have mine in some relatively thick bush thinking coyotes would like the cover, but seeing their behavior around the bait I'm thinking that was a false assumption. They seem very cautious to enter the bush and circle in the open areas.

I am having some moderate success at least.

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[H380]

Guess it depends on your area ,here in the wide open prairies ,these coyotes tend to be a little clostrophobic when it comes to tight spaces . I bait in a semi open place where there is just enough brush to establish trails to set on ..keep snares back from bait ,30 yds or so to avoid bird problems and keep it fresh to keep them happy ..


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[204ruger]

Move your snares out from the bait, they are getting wise to what’s going on. Or take down all your snares and move to a new bait for a week or so let them get comfortable again and then come back slowly.

[st99]

all my sites are in very thick black spruce muskeg, I cleared the baiting area to access with my sled along with allowing birds to get in and call all day long, it's been working great for 5 yrs now, my snares are 100 to 200 yds away from the bait in thick spruce, there's tons of rabbit in the area, so it's definitely an area they use year round

[Worm]

Thanks for the help guys! I'll keep tweaking my approach and change the bait site and snare locations a bit. At least the learning curve is fun.

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[204ruger]

When you check your snares try to walk direct one path to your bait and fan out to your snares from there and don’t walk right to your snare if you can see it from a ways away. Don’t walk around the outside of the bush looking at your snares as the coyotes will be more weary having to cross your path to go into the bush to the bait. Your not really feeding coyotes anyway at this point your making them curious by feeding birds. If you keep your human traffic to a minimum things will get better. Even with your truck or quad or snowmobile however your getting to the bush. Use the same path to the main entrance of where you will walk a path to your bait don’t drive around the bush in a circle or along side the bush edge to. Check your snares unless you know your gonna get enough snow to cover your tracks. After you’ve taken a few coyotes from there and spent enough time milling around the others that Havnt died will become smart and you gotta do what u can to outsmart them. Especially if there’s a dominant one that knows your shenanigans they’ll walk right around or skirt by and the rest will follow.

[tomcat]

When setting and checking snares leave things as natural as possible. The more time you spend at the set the more sign you leave especially when there is snow on the ground. Set up snares from the side of trail. Do not walk around or make set and turn around and go back. Either follow thru on the trail or cross over and depart the area in a different location than your entry point. When checking snares walk thru the same route each check, checking snares from a distance.

Smoothing out your tracks is just another activity that peaks their attention.

[Worm]

Thanks for the tips guys. Reading this I've been a little careless with walking all over the place. Great info.

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[H380]

Originally Posted by Worm

Thanks for the tips guys. Reading this I've been a little careless with walking all over the place. Great info.

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You've got some great tips here from some of the best ...diehards for sure . I also check my snares from a distance if at all possible and walk the same route evey check .I pulled 2/3 of my snares sites today on the longer drive,just can't justify it especially when I catch 3 dogs and the takes one of them .He was on the dog when I got there and to add insult to injury I watched him fly upriver 2 mile away and immediately set down on the carcasses I have been feeding them since I started ....good luck

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[kingrat]

Well keep feeding him. If I'm coming for a late season fully guided archery eagle hunt I want him fat... in all seriousness that sucks. We have plenty of ravens but no eagles to deal with here.

[H380]

Originally Posted by kingrat

Well keep feeding him. If I'm coming for a late season fully guided archery eagle hunt I want him fat... in all seriousness that sucks. We have plenty of ravens but no eagles to deal with here.

Lol... no I'm afraid him and his friends are on their own from here on in .. I used to catch close to 100 coyotes a year before the supposed migration took place and they started to do damage..now we have a resident population that takes care of business early .

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[Worm]

Thanks to all the wisdom here I changed things up a bit at my bait and sets. Just got back from a chilly -35 degree check with 4 dogs. Appreciate all the help, paid off. Obviously not too many compared to what some guys here catch but I'm happy with it.

Had 2 chew outs though. Not sure what else I could have done on the set to get a better catch. Frustrating.

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[204ruger]

Originally Posted by Worm

Thanks to all the wisdom here I changed things up a bit at my bait and sets. Just got back from a chilly -35 degree check with 4 dogs. Appreciate all the help, paid off. Obviously not too many compared to what some guys here catch but I'm happy with it.

Had 2 chew outs though. Not sure what else I could have done on the set to get a better catch. Frustrating.

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Awesome things are working out for ya. Sometimes chew outs are because their head is low and that puts the snare around the top of the nose and in the mouth allowing them to chew out. Put a “chin up stick” a short skinny stick almost grass like in size stick under your snare loop stuck in the snow right up to bottom part of the snare wire. Forces them to bring their head up and into your snare. Could also be the other way snare loop to low. If the set is closer to the bait then their head is naturally lower the closer they are to the bait getting more cautious and curious sniffing the ground and such.

Are you using power rams?

[H380]

Congrats on your success !! I attribute my chew outs to one of 2 things ..too large a loop resulting in deep throated ctaches way down the neck where the lock plugs with hair and can't tighten properly and / or smart dogs that once they feel the loop start ti close they stop and chew it off .. had 2 of those this year ,from tracks they never struggled or fought the cable ...just came ti the end of it sat down and cut it off...a person would have had to be there when it happened to get them .

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[Worm]

Are you using power rams?[/QUOTE]

Not using power rams, regular snares with the large LOS kill spring. Although I might add power rams to the arsenal next season. Do you find them better?

Loops on these 2 snares were max 10 inch diameter, can guarantee that since they were pre-made and that is as large as they would go. Tried to get them 12 inches off the ground. Both about 300 to 400m from the bait on trails they were using to get to and from. Might have to try the chin up stick next as I'm not really sure what else I might have changed?

Certainly learn a lot from refusals where there is fresh snow. Had one go right up to the snare stop and go around it. Clearly saw it, and looking back ya I didn't hide it well enough.

[204ruger]

Originally Posted by Worm

Are you using power rams?

Not using power rams, regular snares with the large LOS kill spring. Although I might add power rams to the arsenal next season. Do you find them better?

Loops on these 2 snares were max 10 inch diameter, can guarantee that since they were pre-made and that is as large as they would go. Tried to get them 12 inches off the ground. Both about 300 to 400m from the bait on trails they were using to get to and from. Might have to try the chin up stick next as I'm not really sure what else I might have changed?

Certainly learn a lot from refusals where there is fresh snow. Had one go right up to the snare stop and go around it. Clearly saw it, and looking back ya I didn't hide it well enough.[/QUOTE]

I use power rams and can’t say what’s better as we aren’t aloud where I am to use free hangers. I only asked because chew outs can also happen with power rams dependent on where you put your anchor cable.

[st99]

I prefer the power ram for coyotes. I find they die faster and leave less of a mess around the site. It's also easier to set up where ever and move them around when the coyotes abandon certain trails and start new one. I have a 10 feet cable on them for anchoring, so far it's never been too short.

As for wolves, I prefer the free hanging snares. I can get a bigger loop and less steel for them to smell.

[antlercarver]

I find occasional chew offs on a short snare. On a 9-10 ft snare anchored high even 20+ in. loop wolf set, no coyote chew offs. They seem to fight a short snare different than a long snare. Same size wire on coyote or wolf snares.

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by antlercarver

I find occasional chew offs on a short snare. On a 9-10 ft snare anchored high even 20+ in. loop wolf set, no coyote chew offs.

That's because when tied high the snare forms 45 degree or greater angle from the neck and the coyote cannot twist around and get a hold on the cable to chew it.

[The Spruce]

A good rule of thumb when snaring (This applies when using spring system):

-Anchor low whenever possible, unless tangling will likely occur. Springs are designed to fire with some force applied, let them apply the force.
-Anchor high if there will likely be entanglement after catch.

This applies for wolves or coyotes.

I like both snares and rams for coyotes, depending on the set.
Never use rams for wolves, have low success on connecting, and have never held one before in a ram or wolfmaster.

Spruce