Set up tonight over fresh bait or wait a day?

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

I spent my lunch today going to pick up a fresh roadkill doe my dad grabbed out by him, taking it to the farm, and chaining it to a tree about 100 yards from the raised blind.

Should I get right on it tonight, or wait until tomorrow?  Won't be able to head out until the kids are in bed I think either way.  So figure I won't be on sight until 9pm.

If I went tonight, should I howl, or just wait for them to find it naturally?  She stunk a bit, got hit so hard her guts were all over the road he said.  

[chrisw 5480]

In my experience it's better to wait until they find it and feed a night or two in confidence. The first time approaching it they are going to be super cautious, swing wide and check the wind etc. They may even not touch it if there's too much human scent around or they see the chains. Once they hit it one or two nights comfortably they come in again on a bit less edge I've found. Timing is crucial though, wait too long and it'll be gone, too soon and they wind you and they won't touch it. They're smart critters and will gladly pass up a free meal if they don't feel safe.

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[Fat Dan 45]

 I have noticed that it usually takes a few days for the coyotes to find the gut piles after I field dress a deer.  I know little about actually hunting coyotes though. I did shoot one a couple years ago while deer hunting. That sounds like an entertaining hunt.  Good luck. 

[Gencountyzeek 4868]

Ive had yotes hit a gut pile a couple hours later and other times days or weeks later. 

[mlammerhirt 3195]

Its a gamble....if you got time tonight go for it. Bait isn't a slam dunk as Chris said.......hunt tonight if the opportunity is there.

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[E J 1003]

I have a friend that hunts bait a lot. He always waits until they start hitting it to hunt it. Last year I put a cell cam over one of his spots and could tell him when they were hitting it. It was fun to text with him about it while he was actually sitting there watching it. Sometimes he didn't even know there was a critter there when I would tell him there was something there.

[Shoots100 387]

I set up a trail camera on the bait and a pop up blind (with a heater in the winter) not to far away.

The first bait pile is the enticement and I don't hunt off it for the first few nights, as you want them to keep coming around.

Check the trail cam after a few days and if your lucky, you can get some sort of time frame they visit.

Then add more bait and sit there around those times.

You scare them off to soon and they might never come back, no matter how hungry they are.

Try to be as scent free as possible when adding bait.

 

 

 

 

 

[airedale 4234]

Good varmint bait stations especially a Deer carcass is very effective in bringing in a variety of varmints. The first thing I do before setting any bait station up is to wrap the bait I am using  in a piece large square welded wire fencing and tie the whole works down, this will prevent it from being dismembered into smaller pieces that can be dragged away giving many more days of use and opportunity. In cold weather another good method is the so called bait popsicle, get a large plastic tub, cut up the bait into small enough pieces to pack in to tub and fill with water and let it freeze solid. The varmints have to work hard at getting at the meat and it too can last for many days if the cold weather cooperates. 

I like placing the bait in a spot that provides several different shooting positions to play the wind and so I can check how it is holding up with binoculars at a good distance keeping scent contamination to a minimum.

I would wait for the bait to start being hit before I hunted it, once it does it is like sitting in any other stand, a waiting game and can be utilized both day and night.

Al

[LET EM GROW 2969]

Nothing says you have to wait. IT just depends how frequent they are in that specific area. You can hunt it, or wait until they find it. You never know unless your there or have surveillance over it. 

Im in a fairly dense coyote population at my house, I put out 2 deer scraps form ML season, It took them 3 weeks to find it. Or at least hit it anyways. While the fox, skunk and raccoons took pc at a time. Once the coyotes found it.. Gone overnight.. 

If your time is limited, hunt when you can, if you can hunt anytime, might be best to wait til they hit it(you checking up on it everyday midday) and once they do find it, go setup on it where the wind is in your favor and so your access won't screw up your hunt.  Pressure is the last thing you want to put on coyotes.. 

Ive also noticed cameras over bait dont "always" help either unless you can hide it well, even the IR flash.. 

[crappyice 13454]

And so...did we hunt last night?


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[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

Nope not last night.  Probably tonight.  Scent control at the pile went out the window when my dad knocked his pipe out a foot away from it.  But I've out corpses in the same general area for a couple of years running now and not hunted them, so maybe we get the benefit of the doubt.  Next time I think I'm going to keep it in the field below about 100 yards further away, and use a stake.

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

Went out at 4am, nothing doing.  Bait hadn't been touched yet, I moved it someplace more obvious that I've dropped carcasses before.  

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

Last Thursday weny out with a buddy and did a few sets from 8 to midnight, not a single answer, and the bait deer hadn't been touched.  Thinking the dogs are hunting down low off the hill, or out on the south face.  Pretty damb inhospitable up there right now.  Foot of snow, cold, windy, drifty.

[Belo 7200]

2 hours ago, UpStateRedNeck said:

Last Thursday weny out with a buddy and did a few sets from 8 to midnight, not a single answer, and the bait deer hadn't been touched.  Thinking the dogs are hunting down low off the hill, or out on the south face.  Pretty damb inhospitable up there right now.  Foot of snow, cold, windy, drifty.

i'm wondering how this mild winter has affected their population. Harder or easier to find food making them more suspicious of a random dead doe.

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

On 1/25/2021 at 7:14 AM, UpStateRedNeck said:

Last Thursday weny out with a buddy and did a few sets from 8 to midnight, not a single answer, and the bait deer hadn't been touched.  Thinking the dogs are hunting down low off the hill, or out on the south face.  Pretty damb inhospitable up there right now.  Foot of snow, cold, windy, drifty.

Went out on the snowshoes from 2 to 7 today, pretty brutal.  Not a single deer track on the top of the hill, some browse down where the loggers had cut.  Overall the animals have gotten the hell off the mountain.  Snow is up past the cabin door, had to dig to get in and start a fire.  Called after dark, no answers.  Only dog tracks I saw were definitely fox.  They're cruising over top of the snow.  I do feel like a person under 200 pounds with snow shoes would be able to cruise around pretty quick, in spots I was only sinking in 5 inches, but most spots at least a foot.  

[Shoots100 387]

I figured there might be some activity before yesterdays crappy weather was supposed to roll in, so I also did some snow shoe recon.

There was no coyote activity at all here too.

Some old deer sign and only saw red squirrels moving in the pines.

The snow wasn't that friendly, as it melted and then froze, so there's a thin crust of ice on top, not like the snow upstate.

I think the yotes have found more friendly areas to hole up in and won't be out until they get real hungry.

It's going to be mayhem when/if this weather breaks.

 

 

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

On 2/14/2021 at 7:52 AM, Shoots100 said:

I figured there might be some activity before yesterdays crappy weather was supposed to roll in, so I also did some snow shoe recon.

There was no coyote activity at all here too.

Some old deer sign and only saw red squirrels moving in the pines.

The snow wasn't that friendly, as it melted and then froze, so there's a thin crust of ice on top, not like the snow upstate.

I think the yotes have found more friendly areas to hole up in and won't be out until they get real hungry.

It's going to be mayhem when/if this weather breaks.

 

 

I see 40s in the forecast next week.  So up at 2000 feet it might even crack freezing.  If that snow melts down a foot and they can run over it, will be game on!

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

Did a couple sets tonight on the top of the hill, no answers.  Still snowshoes up here.  Went out about a mile from the truck, long walk back.  Gonna head home, refuel and do some sets with my buddy down in Feura Bush area.  No pack boots or snowshoes sounds nice.

[UpStateRedNeck 1885]

No dogs but about 40 deer, so that was entertaining.