lure vs. lures

[oso lento]

It seems to me that the more i trap the more important the use of many different lures and urine are compared to just one or two real good ones. I trap a small area and work it real hard for a long time. I have coyotes that just keep moving in. The yotes that come in later in the year won't work the sets with the lure or urine that i used earlier in the year. I've gone to buying urine and lures from many different makers. It seems to be working for me. Is this the right thing to do or am i missing something?

[Bogmaster]

Oso, if it is working for you,thats all that counts.Don't worry about what the next guy thinks.Paul wait editor of TPC magazine accompanied me on one of my spring beaver lines.As he watched me make some sets.he said"you do a lot of things ,they say not to do".My reply was --wait till we check these traps and then tell me that LOL .If something works for me ,thats all I care about.
Even when trapping Beaver I always give them a choice-Moundmaster #1 or Moundmaster #2.
So giving your canines a choice in urines and lures gives you a variety and lets your yotes tell you what they want,or don't.
As the old saying goes"if it ain't broke,don't fix it.   Tom

[trappnman]

I agree that it is a good idea to give coyotes, or as Tom says even beaver, a choice. I like many coyote trappers use 3 lures or so as my daily lures and a few more as changeups. I don't worry about yotes remembering my lures, because I will be trapping a "new" population next year.

In other words, for fur trapping, don't worry about coyotes getting use to your lures. A good lure or lures wil work year after year. Why? Simple- mortality rates are high for  farmland yotes. Each year, you will be trapping mostly young of the year- a minimum of 80%,  and my guess over 90% . These young have no experience with your lures or style of trapping.

Now within the same season,  while you certainly can "spook" yotes from a particular lure, if you are using 2-3 lures you already have providing him a choice. A true spooked canine, I believe, vacates the area and avoids the sets,. He doesn't mess with them. (I believe strongly a true "digger" is extremely rare, but thats a different topic) A coyote is more apt to avoid your type of set. So if you want to try a change up late in the season- try a set you usually don't make. Lure this with something odd- mink gland, fish oil, etc- a truly new catagory of scent.

[Asa Lenon]

Personally, I have never found a need for a large variety of lures for all the reasons listed by trappnman.  What is important to me is that the lure is appropriate for the type of set.  For example, a food based lure would be natural when placed down a dirt hole and a gland lure would not be a complete lure at the same set without the addition of bait.  A urine based gland lure would be appropriate at a scent post set and a food element in a lure would seem out of place at a scent post.  Gland and musk lures at a flat or any form of blind set along with a visual attractor would be the most effective lure.  So, generally speaking I use only three lures year after year after year.  Like trappnman says, occasionally we come upon a true set avoider that may have had a trap snapped in his face, seen its partner trapped, etc.  Then I might break out a completely different lure like a mink gland lure or weasel lure and make a completely different looking set to go along with it.  There is nothing wrong with a variety of lures, I just don't believe from many years experience it is necessary.  I think a novice trapper will eventually start narrowing down their lure arsenal once they continue to see favorites emerge.  Ace

[RdFx]

All i have to say is YEP!    :grin: