A Trapper’s Journey West…and everything in between
Up up and away we go…. Good golly miss Molly there are 13 coyotes at one set location. Some will say “unbelievable”, some will say “been there done that” but I said Holy sheep shit!!!
Hey dude/sir/mam, my name is Colton Morris and I am a hobbyist trapper. To say I take trapping as a hobby would be putting it lightly, better yet, it is like an ever growing passion I yearn to pursue. I love trapping and everything about it, and I think about it damn near 365 days a year. That is why I decided to split up my vacation time with 2 week’s dedicated to trapping in Ohio and 2 weeks trapping in the western-ish states for coyotes and bobcats.
How did the journey west begin? Maybe you are wondering about this, and simply it begin with a vision. To establish myself out west for the present/future pursuit of coyotes and bobcats.
To segue back, I had been planning to go west to chase numbers for many years prior. I was catching solid numbers of coyotes consecutively year after year in Ohio, and decided I wanted to test my metal out west. I picked out several states I thought would be high density yet still have a good quality, and of those several choices… I picked a state that I could easily transition from, whether that be for bobcats or coyotes. They say the grass is always greener… To whoever is reading this, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
After I decided on where I wanted to go, I started making a plan… One night talking to my old partner the topic of out of state trapping was brought up. He had been going south of Ohio to trap the year prior for beaver with another individual, and asked me if I had plans of ever going out of state. The simple answer was yes, and I told him where and what my plan was. He called me back the next day and asked “if I thought about going with anyone, and if so, then he would love to tag along” but I assured him this wasn’t going to be a vacation trip, and agreed to partner up with him. I picked out the general area on my HuntStand app. We worked as a team getting permissions, cold calling folks out there, and the crazy thing was… The vast majority said yes, but we did have some landowners who were hesitant to give the go ahead.
We decided to get a plane ticket for a weekend in August, and we flew out there… Those previous landowners who were hesitant; were no longer having cold feet, and not only did they let us trap on their land… They helped us gain access to other landowners.
Being out there at first glance the terrain is different but similar in regards to features, draws, focal points, etc… On the other hand. The ground is as hard as concrete in some places, the wind blows and drifts, the vegetation is sparse, and if it does rain… ENJOY. All I can say is have a couple plans, 4x4, extra/spare equipment, leather gloves, and the list goes on and on.
The humidity and dryness is totally different compared to Ohio, the sand burrs are an explicit nightmare, it’s crazy not seeing many people (but refreshing) when out running the line, and the hospitality was unmatched. The list could continue, but let’s get back to the juicy goodness.
Now, after the plane flight home. We returned on a Sunday night at 11:30pm and I finally got home at 2:30am and left for work Monday morning at 5:30am. I was still on an adrenaline high thinking of what might come to be if this trapping trip is 80% successful. A Side note that I am compelled to express. People will judge and criticize you regardless if you do well or not. A quote a friend of mine said was “Go after high numbers out of state and catch 18 total and folks will say you basically suck, or you go catch 200 and they’ll say “do you think you are the first to do that” oye vee”!!!
Listen friendo,
I’m going to do what I love and document it because it’s what I enjoy doing. If you are still reading this… I hope you find something you love doing, and I hope if you are skimming this article then your love/passion is trapping and being outdoors. Let’s support each other, hype each other, and continue this heritage with pride and dignity. Is that fair?
Now, fast foward to the trapping season, I finished up my Ohio line chasing coyotes and had a couple weeks lay over until the out of state western-ish line started. This year during my vacation home line was the most efficiently I have ever caught 100 coyotes in Ohio, but now I wanted to prove I could do numbers cold rolling into a different state with the same two weeks. So that’s what I tried to do.
I was pleased with how the weather was looking for the first week, but their was a chance of rain mid second week, spoiler… we missed the rain and went home due to family issues/concerns, but we didn’t miss the snow!!
Truck and trailer is loaded up and ready to roll out for this trip and let me say this… If you like to drive this trip was for you. My old partner and I drove for almost a full day non stop. I was up for roughly 30 hours with a few cat naps spread throughout that time. We would alternate turns driving, and by the time we arrived at our residence for the next 2 weeks, it was already 2:30pm on a Saturday. I decided to unload and regroup… psych!!! What are you kidding me, I said let’s get our asses out there and we started planting steel!
We were able to get out 40-45 traps that first half day of setting. We were using head lamps to set late into the evening, and while setting we were seeing coyotes actively working an area… That experience was crazy! But what was about to come might shock you. It did me!
Coming into this trip I was hopeful, and wearing the rabbits foot, throwing the salt, had a laminated 4 leaf clover with me, and that first check day we had 13 coyotes out of 40-45 traps. Hell, now I’m hoping that we are just getting warmed up!
The days to follow were nothing short of an incredible experience, and we busted our humps each day. Leaving the house before daylight and getting back to the house after daylight. We would complete all of our chores from the days trapline before coming inside, and then it was rinse and repeat. Being extremely focused and expanding the line as efficiently as possible each day. Some days we were able to set another 2 dozen traps, and some days we could only set 6-12 traps.
I planned out all the logistics and mapping out the routes. I felt like rain man picking out the set locations as well as how many traps should be placed at each set location. My partner had so much to learn, and with him going to certain trapping schools there was some barriers that needed broken. Set locations were discussed with him as well as playing the wind.
Before the trip I told him to be prepared to set at a higher level then he was probably used to. After the first (half) day of setting he looked at me as said “dude it took everything I had to keep up with you setting”, well the fun is just getting started… If you plan on running a long line, be prepared.
And I can speak for myself when I say, “I’m glad I was prepared for this trip” and by prepared I mean physically, mentally, and emotionally for what the trip might throw at me… Being prepared paid off, but I definitely was not as prepared as I will be for future trips to come.
There were a lot of features that I tried to pinpoint when mapping out the route and planning the logistics. A few examples of these features are pivots, water, livestock, and haha… Okay you asshole I’ll describe it better. Center pivots with farm lane intersections, feed lots with compost piles, stock tanks that hold water (or any water location ie. Pivots), and that’s about it. Although, I need to be reserved with a few descriptions.
The sets I used were very basic. A flat set and a dirt hole set. Nothing fancy or special. Apex Predator Bait and coyote piss down the hole. Rinse and repeat… And like I said 13 coyotes after a half day of setting was amazing, but the numbers continued to climb as the trapline expanded. As they should… But nothing like I was ever use to back home in Ohio. Days catching in the teens were amazing, but then days in the 20s, and then the 30s. Wow!
In one of our best days we rolled around this large structure on one of the properties and I swear it was like a movie scene. I’m looking and looking and all I can see are birds, and then they took flight and it was like a curtain was being lifted. Behind the unveiling of this curtain was 1, 2, 3…. 13 coyotes standing there in the same frame with bracelets attached to them. “How did you know to set that many traps”? Honestly… I was prepared mentally going in to that situation because I did my research thoroughly for the trip. That day’s total was 33 coyotes. Holy sheep shit! I say that because I was dumbfounded. I COULD believe what was happening, but at the same time… I COULDN’T. It had me wondering what was the possibility for a days catch.
The day we caught the 33 coyotes it had snowed the night before and that front moving in helped with that “holy moly” moment. Those high number days continued until the day we got the phone call saying we needed to come home due to a family emergency. My old partner was pondering the decision and asked me what I thought. I said, “if it were me… I’d already be pulling traps and leaving”. Needless to say, we left.
My goal was to catch 225-250 in 14 days as a team. After 9 days we were at 180. It was one hell of an experience, and hopefully I can continue these out of state trips in the future.
The whole experience was an absolute blast, and not only because it worked out, but because it was my first ever trapping trip experience. The trip was an incredible experience to have, and it really showed me a lot about myself as a “hobby trapper”. The downfall to the trip was when our goals and expectations didn’t align, and for whatever reason we had two separate visions. That’s life and those daily hurdles are always showing up. I was told by several not to partner trap, “that it rarely ever works out”. We gave it one hell of a good run, but our paths were heading in two different directions. We trapped great together. The split up all came from differences that occurred behind the scenes. I have no ill will and want everyone to be successful.
To LIVE is to suffer, but to SURVIVE is to find meaning in that suffering
Colt Morris
Founder, Coyote Academy