Good Starter Info?

[trippledigitss]

Well I went out to Sultan tonight after work for a few hours and no luck. I went out off Sultan Basin Rd and didnt see or hear hide nor hair of anything except birds.

I am so freaking lost I dont know what the hell to do. I dont know what I'm doing, where to find them, how to call, what to look for, how to setup - I just feel lost and in the dark and already slightly discouraged.... I tell ya, I was not prepared for or appreciated how challenging this would be! Kind of reality check these 1st few times! I guess its no different from steelhead fishing in a way. My son got a 24# nate our 1st trip ever and I expected to be catching them the same but it took me 3yrs to get my 1st one - now talk about discouraging! But I've never hunted for anything before in my life - except squirrels & birds as a kid - so I had no idea what to expect.

But alas...I'll just keep trying to soak up the info, look for areas to go and hopefully I'll get lucky and stumble over a coyote dumber than me! I am planning to head over to the Tri-Cities at the end of the month so I think I'll hit up "Biginner" for a nudge in the right direction. PLus my dad knows a guy over there who hunts for them alot and he's gonna line me up with him, hopefully between those two I'll get a clue!

And great comments Bofire and Machias, no insult taken at all. I appreciate you being blunt & straight forward with me, I needed that reality check since I was not prepared for the challenge and didnt have realistic expectations. Thanks to everyone for all the info and help - I need everything I can get!

[Bofire]

 :)here is my drill.1. do not hunt areas that look like coyotes live there, scout, make sure they are in the area, tracks, scat, hear howls, etc.
2. I do not think it makes much difference what your call sounds like, but for a go to, I like puppy whimpers. 3.take your time, sneak all the way from your rig to the site, sneak into or cross wind. Sit for a few minutes before you call, study the area, use binos, lots of time you will see a spot, that turns out to be a coyote. If you study the area you will spot the difference.
4. If nothing comes SNEAK OUT!
5. set up in a position you can shoot from, learn to shoot!!! try to stop the coyote with a bark or whistle, you will have 1 second to get off your shot before he splits. 6. Do not move unless you must to call, they spot movement at a LOOOOOOOON G ways.
In the morning as things warm up scent moves up hill, evening as it cools it goes down hill.
7,8,9... LEARN TO SHOOT, in field conditions.
Carl

[rasbo]

wait till winter

[MikeWalking]

I gotta laugh at a lot of this. No insults or disrespect meant or anything like that...it's just that I see 3-8 coyotes a month driving around at night, Main Street in Bothell, Downtown Redmond, Totem Lake, Woodinville, parts of Everett.  Of course touching off a round or two might not be  good idea...

[trippledigitss]

Thanks Carl, lot of good info in that post. I just need to take more time to learn and LOOK! I need to learn to look for tracks and scat and be able to recognize it and basically scout more altogether. So far I just picked areas I THOUGHT they would be at and that I knew were open to shoot in. I'm sure I am moving too much, not sneaky enough, and getting scented - if there is even anything around to smell me! I'll do more homework and keep at it. Thanks again for all the pointers, I really do appreciate it.

[trippledigitss]

I gotta laugh at a lot of this. No insults or disrespect meant or anything like that...it's just that I see 3-8 coyotes a month driving around at night, Main Street in Bothell, Downtown Redmond, Totem Lake, Woodinville, parts of Everett.  Of course touching off a round or two might not be  good idea...

Oh I know, and no insult taken at all. I see them in town around Bothell just off the road driving around during the middle of the day! I've even seen a bobcat around the detention pond behind Fred Meyer at Thrasher's Corner. And I've seen the damn coyotes up on my deck and roaming around in my yard and street in front of my house here in the Maltby area. So instead I drive 25-30mi out to the woods where I THINK they are at when I KNOW the damn things are right here in the neighborhood! Maybe I'll just sit out in the backyard in my kids' treehouse and try to call them in from there! I guess its good practice - but the neighbors will no doubt think I've cracked!

[billythekidrock]

Maybe I'll just sit out in the backyard in my kids' treehouse and try to call them in from there! I guess its good practice - but the neighbors will no doubt think I've cracked!

I think that is a great idea for learning what sounds work and how long to wait. Take a camera and see how much movement you can get away with.

[trippledigitss]

Maybe I'll just sit out in the backyard in my kids' treehouse and try to call them in from there! I guess its good practice - but the neighbors will no doubt think I've cracked!

I think that is a great idea for learning what sounds work and how long to wait. Take a camera and see how much movement you can get away with.

What do you mean about using a camera to see what I can get away with? Like a video camera or still and put in a another area or what?

Maybe I will head outside later tonight or some night soon and try the pups yips/whimpers or a bark/howl or two or maybe some other distress calls. Who cares what the neighbors think!?! Plus one of my neighbors is a BIGTIME hunter and he knows I'm getting in to this so he'll understand. We had a few cats disappear around here and I have a kitten sound on my caller so that may be a good idea too. Do you think the 'yotes in these neighborhoods and more populated areas would be more used to people/pets/movement and maybe not as skittish or cautious as some out in the woods?? I mean there really is nothing for them to worry about here around town like out there is there?

[trippledigitss]

Oh - and we do have ALOT of wild rabbits and squirrels running around the neighborhood too.

[billythekidrock]

Maybe I'll just sit out in the backyard in my kids' treehouse and try to call them in from there! I guess its good practice - but the neighbors will no doubt think I've cracked!

I think that is a great idea for learning what sounds work and how long to wait. Take a camera and see how much movement you can get away with.

What do you mean about using a camera to see what I can get away with? Like a video camera or still and put in a another area or what?

Still or video.
Call a little, sit back and wait and if a yote comes in then try to take pics or video. Try to mimic actual hunting scenarios. If you call in a hunting area you will need to see the dog and then try to get into position. This can be replicated in non-hunting areas by trying to photograph or film.

The gist is to learn yote behavior. Though they are all different, you can learn a lot by watching them and how they act/react.

[trippledigitss]

Maybe I'll just sit out in the backyard in my kids' treehouse and try to call them in from there! I guess its good practice - but the neighbors will no doubt think I've cracked!

I think that is a great idea for learning what sounds work and how long to wait. Take a camera and see how much movement you can get away with.

What do you mean about using a camera to see what I can get away with? Like a video camera or still and put in a another area or what?

Still or video.
Call a little, sit back and wait and if a yote comes in then try to take pics or video. Try to mimic actual hunting scenarios. If you call in a hunting area you will need to see the dog and then try to get into position. This can be replicated in non-hunting areas by trying to photograph or film.

The gist is to learn yote behavior. Though they are all different, you can learn a lot by watching them and how they act/react.

Ahhh, I get it. Great info, thanks for the help man!