At least you're getting some Hank. I had empty sets this morning again.

I put out two more sets today and tried something different. A guy caught some bass on the Alabama river yesterday and I took the left over heads, skins, etc., and put it out in the new sets. Also put some by my otter sets, so I will see if it works or not.

Heck yeah! PM me soon and I'll see if I can work it out one day! Sounds fun!

Dr. B

Good jobs u all. I always enjoy this thread every year.

I was wondering when you'd be around. We're just getting warmed up this year, with more people trapping this thread should only get bigger and better.

ok, i'll play along...











so now i know there are two running this particular plot on a regular basis. i figure a mating pair. time to take 'em out!

a few years ago i asked a friend's son if he would like to attend the youth trapping class. he said yes and off we went. i learned a lot in the class but never put my hands to setting a trap (it was after all a youth class ).

i was excited and set about to ordering me some trapping supplies. bought a dozen mb550's, a dozen berkshire stakes, some lure, some bait, a bottle of red fox urine, a couple dozen crunch proof swivels and j hooks, extree chain, t bar shock springs, a trowel, a metal sifter, s hooks and pliers, name tags, dye and wax.

all those supplies sure resemble Hank's shopping list for new trapper's don't it? didn't know him at the time. i just listened real well to trappers with decades of experience. made mental notes and bought what they said worked.

fast forward a couple years and me and the boy (Austin) had finished some yard work and didn't have anything on the to-do list. we gathered up the equipment and commenced to preparing the traps. i had previously cleaned them in the dishwasher...never do that again...and hung them to lightly rust on the fence. all we had to do was dye and wax. got them all finished and allowed to dry. placed them with gloved hands into a tote lined with leaves and pine straw. into the shed they went...

...until i decided i wanted to trap the coyotes we had been seeing on the game cameras. called a local trapper and arranged a deal for him to set the traps - so it would be perfeshional and done up right . i would run the line so it wouldn't cost like it would if the trapper had to come over every day and run it (time is money. fuel is money).

it rained this past weekend so he scheduled us for monday morning. we made 5 sets. i only wanted the traps in a central location as it would be easier for me to check. this is why i think most folks don't want to trap - the daily checking. i could see it being bothersome if you had a huge parcel of land and not a lot of spare time. with that said...once you get the traps set...it is like Christmas. never knowing what you may see when you round the bend, crest the hill or turn a corner and see your trap, whether empty or with something caught between your run.

this set is a urine (pee) set:

breaking up the dirt (we have sand, sandy loam and clay on the property. oh, and we have ironstone!)


dirt broken up and ready to be removed to sifter pan


using sharpened end of 3/8" rebar to drive berkshire stake. only drive til swivel is to soil level


bedding the trap. make sure it is solid and does not move


adding some pre-sifted peat moss


dirt from trap bedding area sifted over peat moss. make sure pan area is ever-so-slightly indented from remaining area


getting ready to apply gland


applying the urine (after all, it is a urine set )


the idea behind this set is that the male canine will hike his leg to mark his territory. he will be attracted to this set by the smell of something else in his area. does it work...

Lot's of trappers use scent post but I personally have not had good luck with them. Do they work? Sure they do! Just not my favorite set.

And thank you for the compliment Ms. Brenda. We need to get together again soon.

checked trap line tuesday morning - nope, nothing in them.

checked again on wednesday morning with our 4 year old daughter (no school today) - we have...

male canis latrans


purdy ain't he?


daughter wanted to see him so i drove the cubby within 30 feet so she could be up close and personal. explained what i had to do and why and told her to cover her ears. .22 to the head and we were off to run the remaining 4 traps on the line...

told you it was like Christmas! makes you excited to see what you might have the next run.

Congrats on the coyote!

thank you.

turned the corner into a food plot and girl friday was waiting on us. we already knew she was there as this plot is on a ridge and we could see her from a distance. she sure tore up this stump area with all her running around




i believe this was a regular dirt hole set with the stump and roots for a natural backing


this trap was bedded and then covered with the pre-sifted peat moss and the dirt removed from the hole. amazing the difference in the soil from the other set and here. they are only about 40 yards apart




i missed taking a series of pictures here but he is putting lure or bait in the hole


so that is two different sets with the same results. you can't catch them if you don't try. yesterday was nonproductive but it was still fun. daily checking of the traps - has it bothered the deer, not from the tracks i'm seeing. i would imagine the deer would begin to feel a little more settled/comfortable once we trap more of the coyote.

my only problem has been removing the coyote from the trap. i'm not strong enough to open the trap. not even standing on them . i'm going to have to purchase a set of setters to give me leverage. Pete had to remove the yotes for me.

we have 3 traps set professionally and we are going to reset the other two. see what else is curious.

now ya'll go set some traps!

I'm rough on the possums. Lol!


I haven't seen sign of any larger predators here this week so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

I did take a couple set pics and I'll try my best to explain them. The first set is where I caught the fox at Tuesday morning. It's just a dirthole set built at the end of a rotten log.


Another dirt hole using a small bank as the backing.


This one is a little different. My version of a trench set. There's a hole at the bottom of the trench with bait and lure in it just like the other holes but the trap is bedded in the dirt pattern at the start of the trench.

Good pictures brenda. Is that guy helping named tim? I think I recognize him.

I zeroed out again this morning.

Glad someone is catching some.

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We went 1 for 6 this morning.

Season total: 2 opossum (males)

Congratulations on all of yalls catch. I gotta get some more set out. We've had over 10" of rain the last two weekends and everywhere I set is soaked.

Yes, it is. he helps with the youth trapping class and works for the state.

Caught this small female this mornin. I thought she had some neat colors on her. Her belly was mostly white an had a bunch of red behind her ears. Caught her in a dirthole set in a intersection between two uncut bean fields. I didn't get a pic of the remake but I added another set about 15 yards behind this one I put in 1 dirthole an 1 flat set at this location.



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Love reading this thread and seeing what you guys and gals are catching. How often do you guys catch a non target, like a domestic dog? I have a bunch of yotes on our family place but we also have a lot of neighborhood dogs roaming. Been you tubing trying to figure out how I let a pissed off dog out of the trap with a catch pole if I were to set some traps. Lol.

They're usually real friendly if you just give them a good ear scratch before you let them go. No catch pole necessary

I've never had a dog in my traps yet! LOL! But my butt hurt neighbors said I was going to juvi because I stirred some dust up an it was supposedly gettin in there swimming pool. I rather stir up dust then see a hippopotamus try to sqeeze into a swimsuit.