Spike Buck

Hi all,
I' ve been trapping for a few years, and have mainly been catching just a few animals here and there. In the last couple weeks, however, my success has really picked up. Some of my better catches were a couple fox and a coyote (that pumped the stake and got away[:' (]). Anyway, I' m wondering how I can catch larger numbers of fox in a time-efficient way. I don' t have a lot of time to spend trapping; just a couple hours a day. I have pretty much unlimited land to trap, because I' m surrounded by National Forest. However, I don' t want to have to drive a long way. I' m not talking about huge catches of fox; I just want to catch more than I have been. I' ve got about 2 dz.+ #1 1/2 coils (plus a bunch of misc. traps). How can I tack up my numbers with what I have? Thanks for any and all help!

-Spike Buck

opposumboy

Spike buck, I don' t know where you are at or your trapping rules and regulations but here in MI. we' re are allowed to use snares now. Three words, easy, fast, deadly!!! they take but 1-2 minutes to make a set and they are so lite you can carry a pile of the darn things. I still like the foot traps, they definately have there place. But, if you can find or know where there trails or paths are, the snares are great.

Spike Buck

Hey, I live in Cadillac, MI; sort of in your neck of the woods.[:-] I tried some snaring last year, but no luck. I found a couple trails with coyote and fox prints on them, set snares, but got nothing. 3 feet of snow didn' t help either, though. It' s only legal to use them on privat land, right? I was thinking of putting a pile of all my carcasses out there this winter, to see if they make some trails to it. What works for you?

-Spike Buck

bobcat 10

I USE STEEL TRAPS AND BOX TRAPS ,I HAVE HAD GOOD LUCK WITH THESE TRAPS USING FOX IN HEAT OR FOX PEE,IT WILL ATTRACT THEM AND MAKE SURE YOU USE SOMETHING LIKE A RABBIT OR A QUAIL FOR YOUR BAIT FOXES LIKE RABBITS.


GO DEEP HUNT HARD.

opposumboy

I found a couple dead deer in the woods and drug them onto deer trails where there was thick brush or grass around it. Then I would put a jump stick and snare about six feet on either side of the deer right on the trail. I found that using a call lure really helped alot. I put it right on the deer. I caught a 60 lb. male coyote that way!
I found that if I put the snares in dried up grassy ditches and infront of the culverts I could catch the fox, especially in the grass and cattails. I never used lures on those sets because they used the ditches as highways and the culverts to sleep in and to find food.
Have you tried calling up there? I' ve only called in one coyote and one bobcat down here in two years of trying[:' (] But I got into running the fox and coyotes with dogs. That' s awsome!! If you never tried it you should.

E-mail me if you have any questions. I used to run a 13 mile trap line for fox.
At that time I only used foot traps. Maybe we could get together this winter and get a few critters[

Spike Buck

Right now I' ve got a dead deer carcass out in a clearing where a couple logging roads come together, 50 feet off a main dirt road. I' ve got a dirthole and a flat set each abotu 6-10 feet on either side of the carcass. The stinkin' coyotes keep digging up my sets![:@] My goals for this winter are to get a deer with a bow, and catch a coyote. I' ve managed to catch a couple coyotes, but they either pumped the stakes or pulled out. I just got some bigger traps (#1 3/4s w/ o/s jaws; I would' ve gone with bigger, but I' m catching a few foxes) and earth anchors. I' m going to dye them and keep them as scent free as possible. I' m hoping this will help.
By the way, what do you do about trapping the coyotes during rifle season? Do the hunters steal them ever, or shoot them? I bought some drags, so I' m going to put these on my traps that are in spots where there' s lots of hunting pressure. Today I had one guy park his camper right on top of my set. Then his dog got into the set. Needless to say, I pulled it. Also, I put all my trapping carcasses in a pile. The coyotes visited, but it was interesting, because they ate ALL the skunks and ONLY the skunks. Weird. I put a flat set out there, but only got a possum. Anyway, I' m definetly going to try for the snaring more starting in Jan. I think my best bet is trail sets to a pile of skunk carcasses.

-Spike Buck

blazingbarrels270

Sounds to me like you' re doing everything right. I don' t know what to tell you other than to keep trying and remember, the more sets you have, and more distance you cover, the more likely you are to catch a fox or coyote. That' s because they tend to wonder around and the fox you had yesterday probably won' t be back for a while because he has a lot of land to roam in.

opposumboy

Spike Buck, I once had a large,old red fox that loved to dig up all of my sets in the area or dump on them.[:@] I fixed his wagon though. Where you have this problem you need to do three things. One- move back from your bait 10-20 yards. Two-use a bait hole set with food lure or even a piece of the bait. Three- dig two bait holes instead of one and set the trap off to the side of one of the holes. By using two holes in keeps the critter there longer and jumping between the two. He looses all thoughts of the trap being there. To solve the problem of the stake pumping I weld some old combine teeth to the end of my stakes to make somewhat of an arrow out of the stake. I have yet to see one get pulled out. I sometimes have a hard time!
Usually they dig a trap up because they can smell it in the ground or they have been educated to that same type of set somewhere before.
Good luck and keep us posted[

Spike Buck

Yesterday, I got a fox in a woodland dirthole (perfect pad catch on a #1 1/2) and a big boar raccoon in a pocket at a marsh. That brings my year tally thus far up to 3 foxes, 2 raccoons, a whole lot of skunks, a possum, a cat...and my coyote misses.[&:] Can' t wait to check traps tomorrow...
Today I got my dozen #1 3/4s. I' m modifying them so that they have about 8 inches of chain, 4 swivel points plus a center swivel, and an S-hook on the end to attach to my earth anchor or drag. This should hold a coyote....if this doesn' t do it, I' m getting the MB650s. What traps do you usually use for canine trapping? Do you change when the big snows come? What' s your deer season strategy (if any)? Thanks a lot for all the help!

-Spike Buck

Spike Buck

Good day today: I caught the digger When I got to the deer carcass sets, there was a beautiful red fox waiting for me. I re-made the set as a sorta stepdown dirthole. I also caught another big boar coon at the same set in the same marsh as two days ago.

Possum boy, do you trap private or public more? I trap public, and I' m getting worried about how hard deer season is going to hit me. I had a little taste of it today: Most of my good fox sets are where out-in-the-boondocks logging roads come together. Well, today was like grand central station out there, and two of my sets got RUN OVER!! It was crazy. Plus, most my sets are in clear view of the roads. Do the deer hunters steal your catches ever? I' m curious whether or not I should pull altogether and wait until the end of deer season, or just stick it out. Thanks for all the help!

-Spike Buck