How to attract coyotes fast?

It’s a technique that’s been used since the first hunter outsmarted his prey, but the quick-learning coyote needs a new presentation every season.

By Andrew Lewand

Feed them, and they will come. This is the mantra for any hunter who relies on baiting to lure coyote into gun range. However, anyone who has sat waiting and watching for three hours in single-digit temperatures knows that even baiting isn't the silver bullet for killing coyote. The art of effective baiting must go beyond finding a road-kill deer and watching over it. The Eastern coyote—in its supernatural ability to survive—has duped hunters at even the most tempting bait stations. To be consistently successful, hunters must improve their baiting methods to stay ahead of the game.

In this article, we take an in-depth look at cutting-edge baiting techniques and concepts from one of the Northeast's most knowledgeable and successful hunters, Brian Downs. As a resident predator caller from Cape Cod, Mass., Downs saw his success rate climbed when he started baiting for coyote. To sustain his success rate, he had to modify and develop new baiting techniques. It was then that he saw his success rate soar!

I first introduced PX readers to the coyote baitsicle—a concoction of scrap meat and frozen water—in my Bait & Pitch article. (See PX August 2008.) Downs created the coyote baitsicle out of a necessity to keep bait at his hunting spot while balancing a busy lifestyle. According to Downs, inconsistency in baiting makes for poor success rates. This is where the baitsicle proves so efficient. Frozen scrap meat the size of a 5-gallon bucket is a hard-to-devour bait. The baitsicle can last for several days or even weeks, depending on coyote activity. The premise is simple: just hunt when you can. That being said, there is an art to preparing the perfect baitsicle.

Using venison scraps from his butcher—any meat scraps will work—Downs fills the bucket a couple inches from the top and adds warm water. Downs advises to use warm water because it lets the blood seep into the water, thus creating flavor for the coyote even if no meat is present in the bite of ice. It is important to freeze the bucket fully before setting it afield. If the hunter sets out baits prior to being completely frozen, they will be soft in the middle and melt prematurely. That defeats the purpose of using a baitsicle.

Removing the frozen bait from the bucket can be tricky. Many hunters get frustrated and actually break their plastic buckets as they try to dislodge the frozen bait. Hunters can avoid this mishap with the following method. While home, fill a separate five gallon bucket 1/8 full of warm water. Place the frozen ice bait bucket in the bucket with the warm water. The warm water will surround the frozen bucket and allow the ice bait to break free from inside of its bucket. After about five minutes, remove the frozen ice bait from its bucket and put a spacer (Downs recommends a hockey puck or a piece of wooden 2x4) in the bottom of the bucket. Put the frozen bait back in the bucket with the spacer on the bottom. Now you can easily transport the bait in the bucket, and the spacer will allow the bait to easily slip free at the bait site.

Utilizing long lasting, stationary bait such as the coyote baitsicle, or even a dead deer, is a great way to bait for coyote. However, to be truly consistent, hunters should apply Downs' advanced techniques for increased baiting success.

Often coyote will act extra wary around bait sites. They will not commit to a bait site long enough to effectively hunt it. To allow coyote to feel more comfortable at bait sites, Downs established the use of small pieces of bait to be used in conjunction with the main bait. Downs states that "confidence bait" is by far one of the most important aspects of baiting. "It's not the type of bait, but how it is used," he said. He believes that no matter where you put your bait, a coyote will not be comfortable eating it there. For example, a coyote may carry off baits that a hunter places in dense cover to eat in an open field and visa versa. This is where confidence bait comes into play. Take small pieces of butcher scrap meat and scatter them around main bait. Downs scatters his confidence strips anywhere from 50 to 100 yards from the main bait. It is important to place the confidence strips in cover. This builds confidence in the safety of the bait site. Furthermore, putting confidence bait in and around their travel routes will increase your success. When coyote have confidence in baiting setups, they will arrive sooner and stay longer. Once the coyote have consumed the confidence strips, they will move to the main bait where they now feel more secure to feed.

When coyote fail to visit bait sites "right away," this may discourage hunters new to baiting. Inspections of the bait site are a letdown when the bait remains untouched. Downs admits that sometimes getting them to find the bait can be a problem. His solution is a drag bag. The secret is to get a mesh or burlap bag and fill it with bait – greasy, wet meat works best. Attach six feet of rope and begin to drag it from your bait outward to used trails, always looping back to the bait. The further you drag, the better your chances that a passing coyote will hit that scent and follow it right to your bait. Coyote live by their nose—especially Eastern coyote—so dragging is an integral part of baiting. Don't skip this step.

Remember, proper baiting should make coyote feel confident at the bait site. It should also involve natural occurrences in nature, such as other mammals and birds visiting the site. Whatever nuisance birds you have, embrace them. In the northeast, the common crow is prevalent. If you don't already have these birds on your bait, invite them with some corn. Their raucous squawking and cawing will let the coyote know where to find dinner. Also use them as an early warning system for spotting approaching coyote, as they will most likely see them before you do.

Many portions of the northeast consist of dense cover where coyote live out their entire lives. These coyote may grow old and die without a hunter ever seeing one in an open field. Satellite baiting has been the key to Downs' success when it comes to bagging big, wary coyote. This baiting technique—which hunters should not confuse with confidence strips—is the most difficult setup to make. It also requires constant attention and patience.

For starters, place large bait in a shooting lane or opening. Then place three to five smaller baits in the thick cover. Position the baits out so they go from your right to left and in front of your stand, not behind you. Make sure to use the same trail leading from bait to bait. The use of a drag bag is perfect for this set up. The drag bag will allow you to lay down scent from bait to bait and back out to the main bait again. It may take a few weeks to get the dominant coyote in the main bait, but he will come.

Check the bait every few days. If the satellite baits are gone and the main bait is still intact, repeat the above steps, but put out much smaller satellite baits. It's only a matter of time before he hits the main bait. In order to visualize this baiting setup, imagine a baseball field. Place the main bait at home plate. You can place the satellite baits in dense cover you visualize the locations of first, second and third base. The hunter can set up with home plate in view for a shot opportunity.

Even with Downs' marked success at baiting coyote, he never rests on his laurels, and he constantly strives to develop more efficient baiting techniques. His latest strategy is proof of his desire to become even more proficient at his craft. Pressure baiting started with the notion of shortening time on the stand and increasing success. The idea is to condition coyote to feed at a certain time—the time when you will be hunting. To date, this is Downs' number one method for success.

The key is to start with large bait, perhaps a deer ribcage, a large box of scrap or a baitsicle. Then, allow the coyote to eat this bait. Refrain from hunting them. Once the coyote are hitting the bait, begin to wean them off of it. This means you should put out a little less bait every day. This pressures the coyote to visit the bait site earlier because of competition for food. After a successful harvest, revert back to the large bait and start the process over again. Eastern coyote will come and take over a vacated territory. Be consistent with your baiting times. Downs likes to restock the bait in the afternoons, which is the time he will watch the bait. This is a sure-fire way to achieve success on the bait, because this will condition the coyote to visit the bait site while food is available and before other coyote or meat eaters eat the bait.

Downs tells the story of a recent hunt while using this method. One afternoon, two coyote walked out from a field edge at the same time. It took a minute as they seemed to size each other up. The big male broke first, running as fast as he could to the bait. There he stood—hackles up—showing his dominance on the bait. Downs harvested that coyote on the spot, and he knew then that pressure baiting could bring exciting results.

The common question among bait hunters is "How far do I sit from the bait?" According to Downs, the magic distance to sit from the bait site depends on the terrain. In the thick cover of the Northeast, hunters may find themselves sitting as close as 20 yards from the bait. When the terrain is more open, it is beneficial to sit farther away from the bait site. Brian reports that his "magic" distance for successful shots is 75 yards.

Regarding the wind, Downs notices that the coyote will use cover over wind direction once the proper bait sites is established. Nonetheless, it's best to watch the bait sites with the wind in your face whenever possible.

According to Downs, one of the most common mistakes hunters make while hunting over bait is shooting too soon. When a coyote comes into bait, they will typically stop prior to arriving at bait and assess the situation. They move their heads up, down, left and right, all while looking in the direction of the bait. This is when inexperienced hunters take their shots. However, hunters should not shoot yet. If the coyote doesn't detect any danger, it will close the distance and provide a closer shot.

Proper baiting requires preparation and effort, but the rewards can outweigh the effort—especially if you weigh your success in the fur shed. Any hunter who wishes to try an alternative to calling for coyote can use the advanced methods used by Brian Downs. (Check your state's game laws first, of course.) Hunters who wish to learn more about Brian Downs' baiting techniques can check out his live predator hunting talkcast and read his blog. You can find it on the main page of www.predatorxtreme.com.

Utilizing long lasting, stationary bait such as the coyote baitsicle, or even a dead deer, is a great way to bait for coyote.

Your success baiting coyotes will depend on using the right bait in the right location and patiently waiting for the magic to happen.

Want to know when coyotes are the most active and most likely to show up at your bait pile or respond to your calls? Check out my article.

Looking for a great book on how to call in a coyote? Check out Andrew Lewand’s book below. This book answers the most frequently asked question on the internet… What sounds are working right now? No matter which brand of call you use, the sequences in each chapter with boost your success rate!

Honestly, nothing beats a deer carcass. It’s what coyotes expect to find dead of natural causes (or gunshot wounds) in the woods and fields. Indeed, it’s often discovered split open and mangled alongside the roadway. They consume it regularly and are naturally drawn to the familiar odor of its decay.

There may be other baits, and they may work, but deer meat is the superior choice.

Simply put, a coyote bait pile tucked just inside a woodline that provides the coyote with a sense of cover but is actually a shooting lane with you on the other end is the perfect location.

We’ll discuss how to set up this location later, but you can get a basic idea from this image.

That’s far enough away to help you beat a coyote’s amazing senses.

The last piece of your perfect coyote bait pile is time. Time for the pile to ripen. Time for the pile to be found.

During the days and weeks after you have placed your bait, you will be sorely tested. Doubt will creep in and disturb your resolve. “Did I use enough meat?” “Is the pile too well hidden?”

Make a solemn vow as you walk away from your perfectly baited and placed pile. A vow to never, for any reason, disturb it. It’s a test of faith in yourself and the quality of the work you have done.

Avoid the temptation to commit the only unforgivable sin of baiting coyotes: Spilling fresh human scent on it.

There are three ways to get deer for your coyote bait pile. Here they are arranged in order of easiest to hardest.

If you hunt deer, you know a lot of flesh doesn’t get packed into freezer bags. So this season, let your deer hunting friends know you’d love to take home their scraps.

You can make a suitable sized coyote bait pile from a single butchered deer using the Baitsicle Method discussed later.

Deer cutters, especially those who butcher your deer, are often more than willing to let you take as much of their waste as you can carry.

Brings some buckets and heavy duty contractor bags with you.

I hesitate even to mention this method of collecting bait. However, because it is legal in some states, I’ll take the time to layout the easiest way to secure enough carrion from roadkill, but check your local laws and be very damn careful. A bad night could end with you being roadkill.

First of all, you only need one deer to make a coyote bait pile. You do not need 300 pounds, no matter what someone tells you. 50-75 pounds is perfect and will last the whole season.

Secondly, a doe in the back of your truck brings a lot less attention than a buck with a big rack in the back of your vehicle—police attention, that is. The law may be on your side, but you still could get arrested by a suspicious officer and have to spend money defending yourself. A dead doe is a tragedy. A dead eight-pointer is a trophy. Consider yourself warned.

Collecting roadkill is a significant job. You have to drive around sparsely traveled back roads (never attempt recovery on major routes), racking up quite a few miles before you’ll come across anything of value. Once you spot a possible candidate, I suggest you consider a few points before proceeding.

Is it in a safe location for collection after dark? At night, you’ll be able to collect when the traffic flow is at its lowest point. You will also be able to hear vehicles approaching and see their oncoming headlights. Night-time recoveries draw less attention from the general public, too. Think fewer 911 calls. After dark, you’ll have fewer flies to deal with, and you won’t have to drive off a murder of crows. However, a flashlight is required so you can be assured Mr. Bear isn’t already seated at the Roadside Cafe himself.

Is the carcass relatively intact? If the stomach is burst, the deer severely mangled or already badly rotted, take a hard pass on it. Lifting a dead deer into the back of a truck by yourself is a nightmare, to begin with. Don’t add to your impending misery by trying to handle anything dead for too long.

Bring rain gear. Never, ever recover roadkill in anything you’ll want to wear again. There’s just no way to do it without getting bloody and stinky. So bring a rain suit and gloves with you.

A bit of rope will ease (some) of your pain. Without a rope, your best bet is to grab the head, sit on your tailgate, and use your legs to push yourself backward as you lift the deer over the back of the truck. You’ll find another way to get deer for your bait pile next year.

If you have rope, you can tie up the head, stand on your tailgate, and lift and pull the head up and over the end of the truck. When you can grab the legs, you should be able to walk backward and pull the rest of the deer into the truck.

The baitsicle is my favorite coyote bait pile for four reasons; easy to transport, requires the least amount of baiting material, draws repeated visits, and can be placed in nearly every type of location.

You’ll need one five-gallon pail, 10 feet of rope, enough bloody deer scraps to fill 75% of the bucket, a hammer (to break the bucket if the bait sticks to it), and access to water.

Start by placing a few inches of meat on the bottom of the pail. Now, coil at least a foot-long section of rope on top of the flesh and cover the coil with more scraps. Next, slowly add water, making sure the meat holds the rope down. Once your bucket is about half full, you can add the rest of your bait, top off the water, and allow it to freeze.

Pro tip: Bloody is best. The pinker your water, the better. For an example of how bloody; check out these photos of how coyote trappers make their baitsicles.

Correctly done, you should have about 6 feet of leftover rope. You will use this to drag your baitsicle and anchor it in the field.

The baitsicle will weigh over 50 lbs, but frozen, it should be easy to pull over snow and rugged enough to survive being dragged over open terrain.

During each thaw and refreeze, more bait will be exposed for the coyotes to lick and gnaw on, providing each coyote with just enough to encourage repeated visits.

Pro tip: Drag your baitsicle around. You’ll leave a scent trail everywhere you go that leads predators directly to your bait.

Wait, do you live where the eastern coyote roams? Then you need to check out my article on Killing Giants.

A compost pile in an open area is an insect and rodent luxury apartment. Over time, it will attract more and more predators like foxes and coyotes.

You can use a hay bale to create a min-compost pile for less than $20. So, don’t worry if you don’t own a farm or have access to large amounts of compost.

To begin, I’ll assume you are both reading this before the summer has ended, and you want to make a one-of-a-kind coyote bait pile with live rodents that even squeaks for you.

Your first step is picking up one or more 50 lbs compressed blocks of hay from a local supply store. Make sure you get hay, not straw. Mice and voles (your real coyote bait) love to nest in and eat hay.

Once you have selected a place to set your hay coyote bait pile, chop a hole about half the size of the bale and 6-10 inches deep.

Note: The smell of freshly disturbed earth often draws the attention of foxes and predators, so be prepared to hunt this spot shortly.

Fill the hole with corn and flip the bale over on top of it. Over time, the corn will be found by rodents, who will consume it and use the hay bale for nesting in and also feast on. Their movements, scent, and occasional squeaks will act as a living coyote bait pile that also draws in plenty of foxes.

A compost pile that features pine shavings or other bedding materials taken from chicken coops and duck houses will often contain an ungathered egg and uneaten food pellets. This waste material will quickly draw insects and other scavengers. Fox and coyote are never far behind. This type of compost pile is a predator magnet, and therefore, a hazard if kept too close to livestock. I’ve seen predators visit my compost pile several times a week all year long.

Dead chickens, squirrels, and other small mammals placed in cages and secured to the site create mini coyote bait piles. Leave them uncovered, and you’ll be surprised how many critters stop by to check out the bait.

Pro tip: Hay bale, compost, and cage coyote bait piles work best in open, mowed fields that make good habitat for rodents.

Want to know what calls coyotes and foxes respond to the most? Is there a magic sequence other hunters use to bag coyotes? Read my article on calls here to find out the best calls.

The absolute best place for a coyote bait pile is just inside a woodline.

Set the pile 5-10 yards inside the woods and about 100 yards from your shooting location. You want your bait far enough in to calm the coyotes and give them a sense of cover. However, don’t go too far, as you’ll double or triple the amount of site preparation you’ll need to create a clear shooting lane.

Looking at the bait pile from your shooting stand, you should have just wide enough of a window to see any coyotes when they are within 25 feet from either side of the pile—this is also the perfect range for night shooting using the best thermal scope for new predator hunters.

Set the bait inside the middle of your shooting window and secure it to prevent movement by the coyotes. You can use a sapling but avoid wide tree trunks that could obstruct your view of the target or interfere with the path of your shot.

And don’t worry about ropes, tie-down stakes, or other exposed equipment used to secure the bait—it will lose any scent and be ignored by curious coyotes.

If you can’t secure your bait to an object, consider using an earth anchor.

Pro tip: Deerskins serve multiple purposes, so save them and wrap your pile in them. The skins help convince the coyotes, and the frozen flesh helps protect the bait pile.

A cellular game camera will let you know when your pile is being visited and, more importantly, by whom. While it can be used as a real-time burglar alarm or help you pattern the visits being made, it does have a few easily fixable drawbacks.

Where is the absolute best place to shoot a coyote? Don’t know? Then read this article on where to place your round to put a coyote down.

No matter which coyote bait pile method you use, scattering some morsels around the pile will help make the coyote feel more confident when reaching the actual pile.

Deer scraps are fine, but confidence strips that include “fishy” treats, like shrimp, add a tempting scent that has often set my bait piles on fire, luring predators in much faster than deer-only sets. If you are afraid that coyotes won’t come to your bait pile because they’ve been shot at them before, read my, The Truth About Educated Coyotes article.

If your coyote bait will sitting in an area with heavy snow, I recommend using a coyote lure you can smear on tree limbs and other items that won’t get buried under the snow and ice.

Dunlap’s Hellfire Long Call Smear is skunk in a bottle. It works every season for me, even though I’ve never even seen a skunk where I hunt. Great stuff!

Once your bait and camera are set, don’t go near it again, except to recover a downed animal. Let it quietly sit for as long as it takes to start attracting coyotes. Look, it may be two weeks before you see activity, but worrying you haven’t set the pile upright and trying to rework it or add bait to it will only splash new doses of your scent all over the place. Just be patient. If there are coyotes around, they will find your pile.

There is only one other reason to get anywhere near your coyote bait pile, heavy snow. While the stench always finds a way to work itself up and out of even the heaviest snowfalls, you can reduce the time it takes for coyotes to find it.

It’s time for a short snowmobile ride! From the road closest to your pile, start near one end of the field and use your snowmobile to create a nice curvy path. Then, hug the edge of the woodline and cut back to the road at the opposite end of the field. Plowed roads get heavy predator travel in rural areas. But, if they find an easy way to scout inside a field quickly, they will take it.

If you don’t have a sled, snowshoes will work just as well, especially after the deer have helped break the trail even more for you.

Interested in a quick course on how to track a wounded coyote? Read this article on how to track a wounded predator.

There are two types of coyotes you’ll catch visiting your bait pile; residents and transients.

Residents consider the location your placed your bait pile in to be their territory. They’ll visit it more than once. They will make their approach less cautiously. Their visits will last longer, they’ll eat more, and they will stay closer to the pile while resting.

Transients are coyotes in search of their territory. Transients get treated and act like trespassers. They will be very cautious during each approach. Their heads will be on swivels, and they will be quick to grab a bite and retreat a pace before consuming what they caught. The single click of a game camera can drive them away, perhaps for good.

If you set the pile up to remove unwanted local coyotes, there’s no need to worry you will attract coyotes from other more distant areas.

https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/deer/deer-carcass-disposal-how-why-and-why-not

Calling near your coyote bait pile is a great idea. Even if your stand is empty, there’s a good chance you’ll catch a late-arriving coyote. Coyotes that finally show up to investigate the source of your calls will poke around and possibly discover your bait pile.

If you are targeting hungry coyotes, check out https://thepredatorhunter.com/how-to-master-the-best-closed-reed-coyote-call/.

You can also call near bait that has already been found and partially consumed. A simple coyote vocalization may bring a resident coyote back to defend its food source in these situations.

Venison

Wild Turkey

Upland Game Birds

Duck & Goose

Elk

Squirrel

Wild Fruits

If you think about it, predator hunting is a strange thing to want to do. The hours are terrible. The hunting is tough. Not tough like Chuck Norris or a $3 steak, but tough like trying to understand quantum mechanics or locate the Holy Grail.

After hours of fruitless wailing on a wounded rabbit call, years of bumbling around the winter woods after midnight and coming up empty, it’s only natural to believe there’s some magic formula–some missing bit of super-secret insight–that can transform an average hunter into a predator-calling master. But as the following experts will tell you, consistent success in hunting any predator species comes less from what kind of call or cover scent you use than from a few simple rules and a handful of basic setups that will skew the odds in your favor.

There is no guarantee of success when hunting coyotes – even when you know how to bait coyotes better than anyone else. Most coyote hunting is done after deer season, when every creature in the woods is on edge. Coyotes already live life on a hair trigger. After a typical firearms season, they hit DEFCON One and can become so skittish in some parts of America–especially the East–that you need more luck than skill to dupe one with a predator call. Brian Downs of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, says that now is the time to break out the “baitcicle.”

An Offer They Can’t Refuse Be sure to check the regulations in your state, but for the most part, anywhere biologists value the deer herd, baiting for coyotes is perfectly legal.

“It’s like that movie: If you build it, they will come,” says Downs, who’s been successfully baiting coyotes for more than a decade. He’s written about it, offers seminars on how to do it and often talks about baiting coyotes on his online talkcast (predatortalkcast.com).

In Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner builds a baseball field to draw old ball players to his Iowa farm. Downs makes frozen deer-meat bait piles–baitcicles–and practices what he calls “pressure baiting.”

Most hunters who hunt coyotes over bait do so under a full moon. They wait for a good blanket of snow and suffer through bitter midnight temperatures. By pressure baiting, however, Downs shoots 90 percent of his coyotes in the two hours before dark, just before the temperature plummets.

“For bait, I pack venison scraps into five-gallon buckets, top them off with water and freeze them,” Downs says. Deer processors around his Massachusetts home provide Downs with hundreds of pounds of free meat scraps and bones otherwise bound for the landfill.

According to Downs, who maintains up to 16 bait sites from December through March, successful baiting for coyotes is much like baiting for bears.

It takes a lot of bait and daily visits to a site to not only build the coyotes’ confidence, but also spark a sort of Pavlovian response in them to your comings and goings.

“I don’t care about my scent when I’m putting out bait. I wear the same boots and gloves and run my baits at the same time every day,” explains Downs.

“I want them to associate the smell of my boots with dinner. But each time I visit a site, I put out a little less and a little less, until I’m putting out a softball-size piece of bait. That’s pressure baiting. In the dead of winter, when food is scarce, it makes the coyotes who want to eat come earlier and earlier to the bait site.”   The Setups In a basic setup, you place the bait as close to the coyotes’ bedding area as possible–in the open, but just five steps from cover (A). Downs likes to position himself in an elevated tree stand or a ground blind no less than 75 yards downwind from the bait (B). This keeps him a safe distance away should a cautious coyote choose to circle downwind before committing to the bait.

“They can’t resist bait,” says Downs. “Once they’re conditioned to taking bait, I’ve even found that sometimes they’ll totally give up the wind to come in to it (C). But I’ve found they actually prefer sticking to cover rather than using the wind (D).”