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Jim- I just got from your part of MT and can say I'm jealous of the ease of access you have for your kids to stuff like this. However, don't discount the fidget spinners yet. I saw one where the "wings" are bottle openers!! 🤔

If you are going to kill a bunch of prairie dogs, you can make a bait pile. Once it stinks a bit coyotes will come to get a free meal. If you have a "dead pile" around the ranch, that is even better. You don't trap at the pile--you figure out a travel route coming in like along the fenceline, then set the trap there.

If you've got but a couple prairie dogs (or skunks work better), you can find a wide open area in a field that you know coyotes run the edges of. Bury the dead skunk headdown with half its tail sticking out in the air, with a trap about 8" off the base with some kind of blocking on the back side. Coyotes love to eat dead skunks and prairie dogs.

If you're just going to trap the dog town itself, don't bother with dirt hole sets. Find the travel lanes that they come on, probably along a fence line, and set a flat set, step down, urine post, or something similar.

Also, coyotes travel in family groups a lot--always gang set. If it's worth one trap in that area, then it's worth a couple more.

Thats a hell of a tree Charlie! That hole is gonna hold water in a few more years!

Pointer...yeah, we are pretty lucky out here. Its a pretty good area for a kid. Lots of things have changed in society, but in rural north eastern Montana a kid can still do things we remembered doing as a kid. I had a Honda Trail 90, a 22 and a tackle box. When I was not picking rock, I was out on the prairie by myself. Couldn't have asked for more!



DakotaDeer.....thanks for the continued info. I am learning a lot.

But when you say "gang set" does that mean multiple traps around the same set or does that mean multiple sets in a smaller area?


Thanks again everyone.

In La., its legal to use any bait you want for trapping. I freeze the heads/hides of deer and hogs and when deer season is over, I start trapping. Stake the hide where it cant be pulled away and place 2-3 traps around it. Be sure to use drags, not stakes on the traps. Sometimes it takes a few days for the coyotes to come to the bait. Bobcats will usually come to the deer bait right away. In fact, after about 3 days, the cats wont fool with the bait. 2 years ago, I had 2 traps on a fresh deer hide set and had a bobcat in each trap the next morning.

Be sure to use drags. I have used stakes, but the set will get torn up. Then it will be several days before another coyote will come in.

I use lures also, but this is the best coyote set I've found.

Gang setting is the latter generally, or even a combo of both descriptions. But what I meant was, if you have a hot area with good sign make sure that you place multiple sets around to catch multiple critters. Especially on coyotes from now until mid-January as they travel in "family packs" quite often.

Okay, thanks.


Next question....and thanks again everyone for taking the time.

I bought some Berkshire "disposable" stakes. I put that in quotations because I will damn well be trying to pull them out and reusing them when I am done........


Should I boil the stakes, or is that not a big deal?

No boil needed. Good luck getting them out. You have to dig them. Not worth your time.

No boil, needed. I dig mine out, but I don't have rocky ground either. I can bang my trowel in along side the stake, twist a few times and pull it up. I does take some effort and I loose about 25% of them along the way.

Notice the nice "pad" catch on the yote, coon, and cat.! Perfect.!

Trapping near pines is a good way to prevent freeze up, collect the needles and cover your set with them, the melting snow and rain will will drain through the needles.

High hits, like say a coon stepping into a #2 is not a good thing, broken bones lead to loss, no circulation promotes chewing.
Anytime you are near water (coon, 'rat, mink, beaver, otter, etc) try to work a drownding set.
On dry land put a swivel under the center of the frame, put another swivel in the chain, and another at the stake, this prevents wringing outs.
And for yotes, run the same swivel system, but keep the chain short so they can't lunge, if they can lunge they often can get away...or break your trap.


I agree with the others here that suggested Trapperman.com as a resource.

Time afield is the best teacher.



Also, Minnisota Brand, Sleepy Creek, and the old Northwoods (if you can find them) are are good leghold traps with Belisle Body Grips are amazingly strong AND well built.

Jim- You did better than I in getting the kids started in trapping. We did get some traps set, but no catches over 3 nights. Unusual cold spell had things laid up I think. Didn't even see much in the way of tracks in the bit of snow we had one night. However, here's photo proof that we tried...
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Looks like it was time well spent though!

Thanks for the info guys, would love to hunt/trap hogs this year with my kids.

Jim,

The website I linked below is full of good info and very experienced trappers willing to share knowledge.

One of them is a hottie too!

http://trapperman.com/

I like setting under Pines because they keep the snow and rain at bay but I learned the hard way that too many pine needles can clog up the trap and prevent it from closing all the way.
I dig down and get dry pine duff to cover the trap with and then blend it in with a few needles (very few).

Thanks for the link.

I have not gotten any traps out yet.

Talking to some local trappers they have been getting a solid goose egg this winter. I even let a fellow trap on my land. He has gotten no fur off my place.


I have been busy feeding cows and have not figured out a good way to make sets in foot deep crusty snow.


Is that possible? Do you have to switch to snares in deep snow?

Wish there was a tree out here! Pine tree would be even better.

When I got into it, in the 80's, I learned a lot from books and videos from Tom Miranda. I also learned a lot from a subscription to Fur-Fish-Game magazine and a subscription to The Trapper and Predator Caller...... Trapping animals isn't as hard as finding them sometimes.... an area can look great, but if there is nothing there, you will catch nothing. Being able to read sign will be your biggest asset. When animals are there and they are hungry, it gets easier. Muskrats are about the easiest.... seems like a lot of people cut their teeth on trapping muskrats, I did. When I would find a place that had a good population of them, I would actually check my traps every 6-8 hrs for the first day.... they are active little buggers, so why leave an animal in the trap for 18 hrs when you can get that trap working for you again.... Good luck. I hope you do well enough to keep your kids interested.

I'm no expert by any means but I would look for under fence crossings by coyotes and hang a snare there. Watch YouTube videos on how to do it correctly.

I got my shipment from MTP today. Pretty prompt service.


Got some waxed dirt, a hammer, swivels, trap anti freeze, and a 12 pack of Bridger No.3 dogless offsets.


I have some no.2 offset Dukes too.


Now that bird season is over....no one's expensive bird dogs around anymore....and it has slowed down some for me I think I can get started.

Snow backed off some too.

Going to start with some post sets and some hole sets. We saved a big ole bag of sheep dags that might make good stuffing for a hole set.



I already have some coyote piss, cable stakes, a sifter and some lure.

50lb bag of calcium chloride from the tire shop is all I used for anti freeze, don’t know what trap supply shops charge for a little bottle of the same stuff ..

Buckwheat hulls work good as a non freezing trap bed for bobcat and other critters that don’t require a solid bed.. I never could get a trap bedded solid enough to use the hulls on a fox or coyote set.