Baiting


Sardines and dirt hole sets were my go-to method for fox trapping back in the day. Buzzards and fox are my main problem with baiting coyotes. I generally scatter small portions of bait around the site and it doesn’t take long for the fox to get it by night and buzzards by day. A carcass would be devoured in short order by buzzards. We don’t have a big population of coyotes here like in some places, so sometimes there is a good period of time in between coyote visits. I strive to keep the site baited so that when one does show up he will have some food and an incentive to return. It’s a challenge to keep the site baited.
 
A dirthole I filled last February was just hit. I drive by and check it everyday day on my way to town as it's in a cut road bank visible from the main road.

Sardines definitely have staying power!

My new strategy will also include liquid bait and oils spread on the ground and sagebrush. Edible bait is so hard to keep supplied daily.
 
An idea I've had, but haven't actually tried yet, is to put the bait in some sort of container that has holes in it. The holes will allow the scent to spread, but will prevent critters from eating it all.

I was thinking of using a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, and drilling a bunch of 1/4" to 1/2" holes in it. then tie the bucket to a tree. A military surplus ammo can drilled full of holes would work too, and would be more secure.
 

Softpoint, unless you have a secret formula of liquid bait, would you care to share what you use and how you use it?

No doubt the smell from liquid bait will draw them in, but seems to me they need to eat something to keep them returning. If you have good results with liquid bait only, then I am interested in learning more.
 
Thumper, I've tried the container with bait before and had no luck. Scared coyotes off. I built a wire box out of wire mesh and one coyote approached it after almost a half a year. He was a young dumb one.

06, I dump some of my liquid on the ground so they smell and dig but some on plants so they lick on it and get some actual taste. I'd share but I've spent hundreds of dollars and hours developing the products I use. Getting a liquid bait that doesn't seperate and works is tougher than one thinks! They may have commercial value so I'm keeping it secret for now.


One thing that does work fairly well is used cooking oil and pulverized cheap dry dog food mixed together. I do it in quart jars and shake well before dumping it out on the ground or in a hole. Any dry pet food works.

Restaurants are an endless supply and in hunting baits quantity is King.
 
Spotstalkshoot is spot on. Most professional lures/baits have muskrat glands as an ingredient.

Having a good supply is the problem for most.
 

Softpoint, I fully understand about keeping it a secret after all the work and experimentation you have done. I am glad your effort is paying off - with coyotes that is, and maybe at some future time it might pay off monetarily too.
 
I have trapped a lot of winter raccoon here in Mn, Jan. Boars are running looking for sows. I use protein bait, cheap canned mackerel mixed into a paste with honey and a 1/3-1/2 oz of muskrat gland per gallon. They are running trails mostly so a good protein just upwind will catch most. I use a box I designed for conibears(220). Get the occasional red fox.
 
My wife asked me to "bait" some hummingbirds, said her flowers were not attracting any. I told her she would have to watch all the time. This morning I cooked up some sugar water put out a feeder. She went grocery shopping, I watched 4 work the feeder. I set a deer camera 10' away, set to video. Hope I have some video to show her. Have the binos out for her.
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996Has anyone tried sardines? Ackleyman swore by them and they would sure give off an odor.

Regards,
hm

I've used them off an on over the years and yes they do work pretty well. Back when you could find them for about a $1/can, I loaded up but my stash has been gone for a few years. Every now and then if I find them on sale I'll snag a few cans
 
I just noticed this forum/thread? Any way I put some blood meal in a gallon jug and added water until I had the texture right (thick) and made a blood trail around a big timber finger and stopped where I could get a good shot from 200 yards up the hill by a graveyard. I poured out two cans of dog food and went up to my picnic table rest.Sitting in the shade, rifle on a bipod I was interrupted in less than 20 minutes with 3 coyotes speed trailing down my "blood" trail and they stopped immediately at the dog food and started chowing down. One shot coyote dead and the other two got away by improving their 100 yard dash numbers. Had to go down there and pick up the coyote, hang a motion sensored green light and pour out two more cans of dog food. I went home just before dark but my grandson stayed till 11pm. he got 4 raccoons! I have done the blood meal blood trail before, works pretty good. This happened back in May so no pictures.
 
rickt300:

Welcome to the baiting forum. Thanks for sharing your baiting experience. Sounds like it worked pretty good for you.

Things have been slow for me lately. I haven't seen or heard coyotes on or near my property in over a month. I have several does and fawns around, and black bears have been passing through about every 2 weeks. I'm getting weary of checking motion alarms in the middle of the night just to see a neighbor cat or deer.

I'll put some bait out soon and see if I can draw in any coyotes.
 
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I haven't tried making blood trails, but I have made bait trails that lead from where I expect them to pass through, to my bait pile. I've made bait trails with crumbled old smoked salmon, crumbled bits of rotisserie chicken, thanksgiving turkey scraps and slop, cat food, etc. I've gotten a few this way over the years. Now I usually just put all the bait on the bait pile, but depending on time and place I may still make a trail to the bait pile.
 
Originally Posted By: rickt300I just noticed this forum/thread?
Welcome to the baiting thread. This has been going strong for several years, a lot of good guys here with solid tactics. Hope you continue to join in, and thank you for the info about blood meal.
 
Been about 6 months since I've killed a coyote. That changed last night. I think the new crop of critters are out stretching their legs, or could be the ump-teen coons are so fat now from eating 6 months worth of dog food and table scraps they are slow moving and easy targets.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/dQ_znR1PKjk[/video]

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I believe the "season" has started down here in Gawjaa
 
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During firearms deer season, we have had coyote blood trail wounded/dying deer middle of the day. See the tracks in the snow where they came from downwind of a blood trail and tracked to the dead deer. They will open the deer and start feeding in daylight. We can no longer wait 3 or 4 hrs on deer that run out of sight.
 
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