[trapper233]

How much blending in of the cable do you guys who use cables do at the set? I struggle with whether I use enough or go overboard and cause avoidance. Because of the entanglement issues, a lot of my sets are on trails that are fairly open. Can you cause these sets to look to unnatural by blending too much? I have caught a few reds, but I would like to know what others do with regards to this.

 

[mauser06]

Ive only cabled 2 yotes...but both were pretty much un-blended...and the trails were really blocked down heavy....

Still experimenting and testing...

 

[Furdog]

Keep it simple, you don't need much guidence. I will only put 2 or 3 goldenrod stems on each side of a cable on a trail. One angled over above if I'm going for fox or coyote on the same trail with a 9" loop 9 to the bottom. For fox I like a 7" loop at 7.5 to 8" up. If the loop is bigger sometimes you will hip catch them and can ruin fur. I've caught them on an open tire track with just 2 weeds on each side. I have had alot less avoidance since I switched to micro locks. They blend in so much better. My cables are hung out to dull a little them dusted with dark brown camo paint just blend better. I only had one avoidance that I know of this season it was hung openly on a tire track and I cabled 5 off that farm, so I'm pretty sure it probably seen one of his relatives in a cable. I'll take some pics tomorrow of some of mine to post for you. I've got to adjust since the snow is gone.

 

[trapper233]

Thanks for the tips guys. Would like to see your pics Furdog.

 

[Banjoman]

I bring this pic out once a year it seems. But this is a pic of what to avoid. My first year with cables, several years ago. I put one on a logging road next to a deadfall. You can see two sets of coyote tracks come up to it, put the brakes on and skirt to the outside of the trail to avoid the setup. There wasn't snow at the time I installed it. Not sure if it stood out too much or what. For what it's worth. I consider it a mistake I made for everyone. <span style="text-decoration: underline">AND</span>....a classic example of a NON-loaded (or UN-loaded) restraint.

I usually add a disclaimer too, but I'm getting tired of doing that. Suffice it say: This set was perfectly legal

 

[Furdog]

I'll try to get pics tomorrow if it's not snowing to bad. Had a red in the one cable I wanted to get a picture of and a mangey coyote in another cable sorry no pics.

 

[Lackawanna Fox]

banjoman why r they avoiding that cable?

 

[cspot]

Banjoman can you give us a classic example of a loaded restraint and explain the difference? Thanks.

 

[Fairchild #17]

Banjo, that's painful to even look at! Talk about broken hearted.

Did you place the brush or was it there already? If that was an aged location I think it's a perfect example of Where To Set.
Did you continue walking through the set when you made it, or did you set the cable, turn, and walk away in the opposite direction?
I've seen tracks stop short when I stop short. If I have to walk up to a set, even in the snow, I continue to blaze a trail beyond the cable so that my scent doesn't suddenly stop at the kill location.
Could that be the case with the 2 coyote turn around?

Some guys like an unloaded cable, but I highly prefer the look and action of my homemade loaded snares.
John Graham, a legendary snareman out west prefers an unloaded loop.

 

[Banjoman]

banjoman why r they avoiding that cable?

I didn't get a chance to ask them!

Just joshin'. I think I crowded them with altered landscaping as Fairchild#17 suggested. This logging road is traveled more frequently then I'm used to down low on the farms. I'd say every couple days (whereas on the orchard flats below, it could be a week or more). I think they were used to traveling past that spot unobstructed and the couple branches I added along with the cable crowded them thus making them paranoid. Maybe they smelled my daily presence there as well?!?

Banjoman can you give us a classic example of a loaded restraint and explain the difference? Thanks.

Deitsch had a pic of one up...I'll see if I can find the link.

Did you place the brush or was it there already? If that was an aged location I think it's a perfect example of Where To Set.

The main portion on the left was there already. I added the branches to the right. I didn't know anything about a coyotes paranoid behavior then. But it wasn't but two "twigs." I can't remember how long it sat there....maybe 3 days but regardless....it was their first time through with those branches added. What I do now is add my obstacle-guide pre-season (if I can)to get them used to it. If not...I put it right on the trail with no guide if there is no snow. I'm still learning with coyotes.

Did you continue walking through the set when you made it, or did you set the cable, turn, and walk away in the opposite direction?

I continued through the set. I had a set further down the trail. Newt said to walk over it to avoid refusals. If I don't have another set to check, I avoid it. But if required to tend to the set, I walk about 20 yards past it.

You know...I really liked that spot. Tons of sign there but it's about a mile back in the State Forest. I was doing it on a mountain bike but got lazy and parked my rear in a truck now. Missed 2 coyotes there on separate occasions. Maybe I ought to start hoofin' it again next year?!? My dogs enjoyed it too and contributed to helping me find their sign, scentposts, and travelways.

I prefer the loaded cables too!

 

[Banjoman]

My green advice?

Don't over-blend on open trails. Just enough they won't nose around or under it. Someone on here caught one right on an atv trail sometime back, basically unblended. Made sense too.... It's an open trail. They're used to encountering the small stuff in the dark on open trails.

I feel cables stand out too much on open trails once the snow hits. Unless you run white cables? I never tried that. I retreat a few feet into edge cover then. Like where they peel off a logging road into the brush. Blends nicely then. I take my dogs, before the snow hits, to help me find those locations. It's amazing to watch 2 dogs hit a coyote trail and react the same. I credit them for my cabled coyote. Lugnut even takes his along for fox and we all see what his line is like!!

 

[dietsch]

here is what a loaded cable looks like . big difference in shape from an unloaded

 

[Furdog]

Howie to me the sticks are to much. I like the #9 wire for a hanger. Blends in better. Got some pics from todays check. First is for coyote, it's 20' farther up the trail from where I caught the first one. Second is for fox, I got a grey this morning 15' to the right on another trail.

 

[Fairchild #17]

I've caught a bunch of them with #9 wire, but I've gone to using weathered lathe boards ripped down to 1"x1.5" with a short stub of wire sticking off the side. Much like what Dietsch has going on there. You can easily blend in the "stick" if you want to by attaching some goldenrod/briars/whatever to the stick from the immediate surrounding.
I usually just make 3 pilot holes with my driver. One for the lathe board and two on each side to jam some camouflage in the ground to blend in the board.
The advantage to this is a much stiffer support anchor....resulting in a loop that closes more quickly.
It also gives them something in the catch circle to focus chewing on rather than chewing on your cable

 

[Fairchild #17]

Furdog, what locks are you using there?
I made up a bunch with micro locks this year and really like how smooth they work on a loaded snare with a hard gooseneck bend.

 

[cspot]

Thanks for the pics and advice everyone!!!

 

[trapper233]

Also, a big thanks from me too. Lots of good pics and info. I think I may be overthinking the blending in part and doing more harm than good.