favorite coon set?

Jesse lackey

New member
What is your favorite set for coon? This is my first year targeting coon for fur so I don't have a favorite, I'm making a bunch of different sets trying to find what works best.

I am setting my live traps just because I have them already and there is no use letting them set. I am drying them around grain silos, baited with peanut butter.

I am running 4 bucket sets, two with 220's and two with #1 longsprings. I have baited with two different baits, so I get a good comparison. Peanut butter in one bucket with a 220, and one with fish and a 220. Same deal for the foot holds.

I am also running some pocket sets, all in river banks, with fish bate. Some have #1 coil springs, some #1 long springs with non loss springs, and I have even set a few #0 long springs because I have herd they get a better across the pad catch and won't cause the coon to fight as hard, and less space between the pan and jaws to minimize chew out.
 
Peanut Butter in the live trap should be pretty effective. Just wondering Jesse are you staking the live traps, this prevents a smart coon from flipping the trapping and either taking the bait or getting out after caught?

But my favorite liked setting a cubbie set with a 220 with about half a fish or can or sardines wired to the back. It should pretty similiar to your bucket sets I am guessing, mine were always made a plyboard and square.

I personally liked a little bigger trap such as 1 1/2 logsprings for coons, just because those big ones can be mean. I one that wanted to get me bad, literally charging me from one side of the circle to when the chain took hold. I have caught them on 1s and I think it was 1/2s before so it should be a problem.

Also, In my experience coons like fresh bait better, seems like possums like old rotten really stinky bait.

Best of luck to you and talk pictures, and let us know how you are doing!!
 
I don't stake the livetraps. But I place them in ways that they can't really be overturned.

I have been trapping coons for about 18 years, but it was always just one here or there for training dogs.
 
Yeah when I did it, it was part of property management. We were trying to remove predators to help the Turkey and Quail population and just sold the coon meat, the pelts weren't bringing much when I did it. But I always seem to put every legal trap possible out. Good Luck to you, how have you done so far this season?
 
Used to use just a basic pocket set with fish and fish oil but about the simplest is to find a steep bank, stomp a shelf in the water for your trap to set on and then shove a corn cob (with corn) into the bank. Pour on some fish oil and call it done. Great for rats and coon. Throw in the occasional beaver.

But anymore I'd just as soon skip bait completely and just use trail sets. Both on land and on the waters edge. Once you learn to "see" you'll never go back.

CB
 
Ill have to try that one out Chris. Sounds like a good set.

Next question for you boys, I have heard that a cought coon that can get to a dry bank will not fight a trap as hard, but I also heard that if he can't get his feet out of the water he won't stick his head under water to chew out. So which do you prefer?
 
+1 on coons liking fresh bait. I use quite a few live traps, never stake them, and haven't had one tip it over yet over the last 15 years. I have started using the dogproof griz gettrz and like them a lot. The price is high but I have to admit they work pretty well. So easy to set and I don't have to worry about some bird dog messing with them. Just my 2 cents. Pretty slow on coon this year so far. I wish it would get real cold.
 
I use box traps, cat food(fish base) or sardines. I always pin the traps with rebar to prevent coons from tipping them over; either from the inside or out. Believe me, they WILL tip them over, and, more often from the outside. With the wire type(havahart) traps? if they can't push it over? they will dig under the back of the trap and get as much of the bait they can. I always put the bait in a tuna or cat food can to prevent this. I have had box trap, leg hold trap wise coons that fell to a snare. I've also had coons wise to all three. Perpetuation of the species guaranteed!!!
 
Jesse, when I was a kid we had good luck with a little shallow flowing water, a little moonlight and a #2 double spring with the pan wrapped in aluminum foil.

Good luck!
 
Hands down the best live trap bait I've found is marshmellows with a half a capfull of pre-sweetened cherry Kool-Aid sprinkled over them. Don't believe me? Go and open up a fresh jar of the Kool-Aid mix and you'll smell why it works so good.

The best luck I've had with holding coon is to use a #10 drowning wire with 2 stakes and a slide lock (washer type snare lock is fine). It doesn't even have to lead to deep water, just water away from anything they can pull on. Truth be told as long as a coon doesn't have a log, rock or tree roots to pull on they are pretty easy to hold. My favorite trap for em is old Victor #1 longsprings with a beefer spring added.

CB
 
Originally Posted By: huntwithBT17Hey doubleck, I never thought of that before!!
do you think it has to be underwater, or would on land work too?


Good question. Never tried it that way. I have heard of guys putting a foil set in a shallow feed pan when trying to catch a problem bandit up near improvments.

I know the water adds some animation to the deal.
 
The foil set works fine on land, it's still shining under the moonlit...put closer to trees when on land or large brush.
Another way to do that...flatset under a tree, I use 1.5, take a piece of foil, (I make squares but whatever works), use fishin line make two small holes run the line through the foil, hang it from a low branch above the 1.5. The moonlit bounces through the tree & makes illusions on the foil.
 
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