Coyote/Pig Trapping in North Arkansas with My Pops - Pics

That's a fair point I suppose. But I really enjoyed the pics in previous trapping threads. Some of the best pics on the board,imo.

Yea, I wasn't, just thought the OB could use a change of pace instead of AR threads and Billy Joe talkin bout blastin people while carrying in public

Searcy county

Any thoughts on doing things differently?

Dang...some of those pics look VERY similar to my ground blinds up here in Virginia. I think I better poke around with a stick afore I set my butt down on the ground next time...

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Any thoughts on doing things differently?

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A couple but understand I'm not the all knowing when it comes to trapping. Most of these suggestions are targeted at coyotes, if after gray fox, coons or cats a lot can be ignored. Couple quick questions though, what size trap is that and how far back is it set? What kind of pan tension are you running and do you have any modifications on those traps. Are you on established trails? And are you using any lure, if so what type and placement?


I normally prefer some sort of dirthole for yotes, it just seems to give them a visual point to focus on. A distracted yote is easier to catch. Actually I love blind sets but without seeing your location it is hard to help there. Plus any external bait is going to have a field day with non targets getting into the bait/trap. Mice, possums, skunks and coons will end up in that set. I normally set my trap back about 8 inches to the center of the pan and offset a couple inches to the right.

You have way to may sticks crowding into the trap for most coyotes. With guiding on coyotes less is more, they feel crowded very easily. Cats love a flashy set and you can't over guide them. Normally I won't use any guiding thicker than my thumb on yotes and often use nothing more than a couple of small rocks. They are just like me and don't want to step on anything unlevel if they don't have to. Just a little manipulation on where not to step and still be able to access the bait. If your pan is the lowest point and in the right location you will catch them if they check out the set. This is a perfect example of the size guiding I like, notice however that some debris blew into the depression the trap was setting in, coyote avoided stepping there. After sweeping it out I had a yote 2 days later. Doesn't take much to reroute their steps.

I personally don't like to use backing more than about 6 inches high, more log and less tree. In this pic there is a third trap in the picture. A dirthole punched into that little 3 inch ledge of sand. The little low spot is where the trap is. There was coyote in it the next morning. Nothing there screams anything out of the ordinary to a wary creature.


The blending looks good just be careful not to have any sticks that could get caught in the jaws, lost a lot of critters due to this early on. Also if you have too many big leaves they can act as a sock on the foot of the animal making escape easier.

As a rookie you probably didn't bed the trap solid enough, if you can push down on any part of the trap and get wobble then bed it more solidly. And I mean putting all you weight on it, its one of the hardest things to figure out at first. Everyone has this problem, or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better about my first couple of seasons.

IF a location is good enough for one set its good enough for multiple. Last year I had one spot where I put 5 traps in a 50 yard stretch. Best day I had coyotes in 3 of the 5. In the above pic I was actually in the process of pulling the first one out when I saw a good photo op but I forgot to get that one in frame.

I'm sure I'll think of more later but I'm tired and a bit brain dead.

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A couple but understand I'm not the all knowing when it comes to trapping. Most of these suggestions are targeted at coyotes, if after gray fox, coons or cats a lot can be ignored

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yea, i'm only targeting coyote

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what size trap is that and how far back is it set? What kind of pan tension are you running and do you have any modifications on those traps. Are you on established trails? And are you using any lure, if so what type and placement?

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Duke #2

pan tension? um? no clue. no modifications. The traps are in areas that I've patterned the coyotes to travel from bowhunting/cameras, not necessarily on a trails but close.

no lure used at this point. I plan on getting some this afternoon but really don't have a clue on what to use/get

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The blending looks good just be careful not to have any sticks that could get caught in the jaws, lost a lot of critters due to this early on. Also if you have too many big leaves they can act as a sock on the foot of the animal making escape easier.

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yea, we were careful with this

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As a rookie you probably didn't bed the trap solid enough, if you can push down on any part of the trap and get wobble then bed it more solidly. And I mean putting all you weight on it, its one of the hardest things to figure out at first. Everyone has this problem, or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better about my first couple of seasons.

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i feel that it was bedded well, but I definitely could have done more on this. I'll for sure take care of this now

thanks for all of the tips. definitely helpful

First run complete

Only a possum in the live trap

The bait was gone on the third coyote set up, I had it nailed to the tree and a piece jammed under a log. Could have been coons, don't know. I'm going to go back and trip the foothold and adjust the position

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My favorite is GHII by fox hollow followed by violator 7 by cavens. Biggest hint with lure is use much less than you think you need. Like dip a twig the size of broom straw and and only have 1/4 inch length of it barely coating it. Put it 9 inches or so in front of trap low to the ground. If you use to much they don't have to get close and will often delay a trap producing by up to a week

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thanks for the info. I wont have a chance to use lure this time around but will get one of those two for the next run up here. i'm glad you commented on the amount, I would have definitely over done it



Day 2 complete, another possum in the coon foothold...honeybun got him

Regarding the stolen bait on set up #3, I found the burglar, he got me again last night. I'm going to move the coon foothold to this area and take care of that

and another question SH, when do deer up here typically start dropping antlers? I figured it would be a little earlier than southwest MS that I'm used to, I'm still bowhunting trying for this guy and wondering if he has already dropped them