coon holding up

[judd]

Extreme weather changes play an inportant role to.

[Cam]

Interesting.

[sneakysnake]

There are some good observations listed here. Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts

[white316]

no coons in the baited sets around the grain field
but 1 in a snare on a trail 20 feet from a bait set.

[sneakysnake]

It is interesting that your coon are not hitting the baited sets. I have not seen fresh sign around the feeders in three days, but I am seeing lots of fresh sign on the creek banks. I may end up sitting both tomorrow.

[white316]

I took a walk on 1 of our big rivers,where i always catch a bunch
of coon,and can't find a coon track,i don't know where they are.
All the apple trees are bare,just don't understand it.

[maxwell]

That is strange,

[catmando1]

hmmmm. That sucks not finding any track white. I think that would drive me NUTS! Speaking of nuts, do you have any heavy mast, acorns and such? Alot of times they will be using timber trails to get to certain groves of oaks or mast type trees and the leaves make seeing sign very tough. Seems that when they are on the rich, fat building acorns, they don't want any other kind of food much, and will pass up food and baits that they normally wouldn't because of the rich fat content of the nuts and acorns.

To ALL;
I have all to often witnessed them dang bandits via track, going mere inches by my bait sets with little interest. Several years ago I decided to not depend on bait, as it can be tough to keep up with their quick changing food patterns. Instead, I studied to learn better and better of their movements from den, towards food, where ever and what ever that may be. That way I can set blind sets, and use many means to force them to step in the trap on their way, or block their path off good and only leave a hole open right where my body gripper will be waiting. That way once I understand their movement, I don't have to worry about what they are hungry for. If they are moving for any reason.... using this approach, they can be consistently caught.

Added: The last 2 yrs. I have not opted to use bait sets. Although this year, I have chosen to scatter a few bait sets in areas that are too much work to block the coons off for a blind set. I figure I may get lucky.... who knows?

[white316]

catman we do not have any nuts in this country so thats out of the question,,we have apples all the trees have been bare for
some time and grain fields any other food sources i am not aware
of,

[catmando1]

Yeah..... many miles between us white, lots of difference in each of our eco systems.

[nightrider]

Good knowledge,very interesting.

[white316]

Just to add to this,
when our coons were running they were not prime,the last few
small ones i got were still not prime .now for the last 4 days
every thing is froze up solid.and i still didn't get many traps out
so now i will have to wait for the mild spells and try to be ready.

[bigmac5]

That stinks a.

[catmando1]

Nov 22, 2010 23:33:02 GMT -5 white316 said:

Just to add to this,
when our coons were running they were not prime,the last few
small ones i got were still not prime .now for the last 4 days
every thing is froze up solid.and i still didn't get many traps out
so now i will have to wait for the mild spells and try to be ready.

Unfortunaltly white, this is all to true that far up north. Coons coming into prime,requires more than just temps. other factors include length of daylight, position and phase of the moon, etc. You all that far north have had MUCH colder temps then we have , and your fall is worse than our dead of winter. yet the coons prime virtually the same time..... food for thought! I think that is why at NAFA auctions, one of the smallest number of animals(coons) of any section, is the Canadian coons. They are just much tougher to get high numbers of, early on, as they are not prime yet, then just like you said, the weather comes and they start laying up and then it's hit and miss during short warm ups, which sucks, but is a fact none the less. Coons in Texas prime, and their coldest temps are like our fall temps here, and so on, so timing is needed as well as cooler weather.

[maxwell]

So very true catman.