Every year I hunt the Allegheny National Forest and wanted to try running a small trap line this year. I plan on going up the day before bear season opener and putting in 12-15 k-9 sets since I typically see coyote scat on most back roads. This past weekend I went up to scout some logging roads for K9 sign, stage some sets to let animals get used to them for a couple months, and pre-dig some trap beds since the ground is typically more rock than dirt. Im not sure if I should be loud or subtle with my luring. In my mind the animals are more scarce so it would help to have a loud call lure (Dunlap's "Hellfire" is one I have) smeared upwind and 3-5 sets w/ subtle lures/baits spread out downwind about 100 yards or so. Any advice would be appreciated. I ended up hitting 4 logging roads of various ages. I staged most sets in varitions of these...
This first one is kind of a walk through on a two track with one side blocked down w/ dead sticks. Wind comes from the top right,
game trail from the left. I put a small log on one side of trap bed, and a rock on the other, Im thinking a q-tip of coyote gland lure on one, and fox gland on the other.
Below, a game trail crosses the logging road and runs into the set looking at it. I moved this log with a hole in the center, and figured I could use a piece of white polyfill for a visual attractant mimicking fur(white dots in picture), and a mouse based bait stuffed in.
The last one I set a foot or two from where I found coyote scat. I drilled a whole where each of the green dots are and figured Id put a different smell in each hole.
Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Thanks