When to Remake Canine Sets

[HunterHawk]

Hey Dave and the rest of you guys that have been trapping a lot longer than us beginners... is there anyway we can get a sticky on when to re make sets and when sets cant be re made... like to much contamination and stuff like that... because i have always heard of people re making sets after they catch stuff but how much contamination is too much... the reason i ask is because i set out some leg hold and now i dont have one fresh set out they are all remakes and im wondering if they will produce for K9's again or if all i will be catching is grinners:lol:.... like i did today

any information on this would be very helpful to the new guys like me... i would hate for these spots to be one time deals just because i dont know how to re make it so its efficient again... i was on a role there for a while

and yes you can obvioulsy move this to the trapping techniques but i look here more than i do there most of the time so i figured other people probably did too.. so i was hoping to have it left here until or if it did get made as a sticky.

Thanks,
Craig

[wild bill]

well i cant say what i do is right but it has worked for me so far. first off whenever i get a grinner in a canine set i pull the trap and put a new one in on the outside of the catch circle with a new dirthole or flat set. this is probably just anal on my part but my first year trapping i caught a grinner and remade the set and had it dug up 3 days in a row. believe it had something to do with the green giz from the grinner. i also move my trap out to the edge of the catch circle when i get a yote and if i dont allready have a set close by i will put in another. after a fox catch i just remake it right where it was. with a coon it depends on how much damage they have done to the area. i havent caught a lot of canines but i will say i do pretty good trapping on just my own 30 acres. im sure others do it differently and you will find your own way the more you trap.

[griffondog]

I just remake the sets and don't worry about it. I start out with 2 sets at a location and add clean sets as I make a catch. In hot locations I may end up with 4 or 5 traps there. Fox seem to hit the remakes more than coyotes do. I've had sets that have caught 10 fox and 6 coyotes in a year.


Griff

[HunterHawk]

so you keep the same EXACT spot griff and use a different trap? or do you use the same LOCATION and add in fresh sets... just wanted some clarification on that... and do you ever use the same EXACT trap that caught the critter or do you always use a new one until that one gets boiled and dyed if need be and waxed?

thanks by the way guys... any more takes on this is very helpful

[rickr]

i have caught 2 grinners ,2 skunks, and 1 gray in the same set same trap this season so far. i pull the trap when it quit working, but i do check the earth anchors after every catch and i will put in another trap just outside of the catch circle(for yotes).
i hope this helps

[griffondog]

HunterHawk

I reset the same trap in the same location. I may turn the set into a mound set or a walk through set or a big messy dirthole. I also keep one clean, no catch set at a location. When I pull traps the ones that all the wax is off or caught a skunk are rewaxed and dyed. The rest get put back in the ground.

The guys you see who catch big numbers of fur don't spend their time making the perfect set. They get lots of traps in the ground at good locations and bed the trap right and move on to the next spot.

They out work us and are trapping lots of ground. Location is the most important thing in catching fur.


Griff

[Northcountry]

After a catch, I just put the trap right back into its bed and sift the catch-circle dirt over it. There is no need to use a fresh trap or import clean dirt, since the whole circle is already saturated with animal scent.

I think it was Charles Dobbins that wrote that all sets are improved after the catch of an animal, any animal. In my experience and humble opinion, this is true...so long as a "hard" (well defined) catch circle hasnt been created. I have noticed that if there is no catch circle, just bruised grass, that set will be red hot for the next couple of nights. But, if you have an obvious circle like a UFO landed there, the set will go dead...except for coons and possums. I use a rake to soften the edges of a hard catch circle, sometimes.

I'm a hobby trapper and have to run my land line before work each morning. Unfortunately I dont have time to make new sets during my one-week stay on a property. I'm sure my catch numbers would go up if I could make a fresh set outside of a hard catch circle. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll have time for that.

[David G Duncan]

HunterHawk,

You have gotten all excellent responses to your question regarding "When to pull or remake a canine set?"

Wild Bill, Griff, rickr and NC, you guys are all great mentors for our up and coming new trappers. It sure is nice to have some many helpful trappers on our forum.

About the only time I would pull a specific canine set, at a location that still has potential, is if it the trap had gotting sprayed by a skunk. Otherwise, I normally remake the set with the same trap, but moved it to the edge of the catch circle. Still within the disturbed soil.

I rub the trap with some dirt to clean it before resetting it, to remove any obvious contanmination.

As Griff indicated fox do seem to work remade sets a little better than coyotes. But I don't think this is necessarily true, if the first catch was a coyote.

A couple of winters ago I catch three coyotes in five days in the same trap, reset at the exact same spot. I think the fact that the first coyote was a female in heat and two that followed were both males, may have had a lot to do with my success in that particular case ;).

[fbuckner]

I do the same remake with the same trap maybe scuff it up a bit with some dirt. This non sence about having to put a clean trap at the outside of the catch circle is just that non sence. Happy trapping