OUTDOOR HUB
Bernie Barringer | January 28, 2014
Any coyote that tries to circle downwind of the caller here is going to have to cross this cut, and he is in trouble when he does.
Whether your goal is to improve fawn survival rates, get some fresh air, or cash a fur check, coyote calling is an exciting winter activity. Here are the basics on how, where, and when to do it.
There is an axiom spoken of by coyote trappers and hunters, “Find the food and you’ll find the coyotes.” This seems to hold true no matter where one is pursuing coyotes in North America. Duane Fronek from Wisconsin finds the areas the deer are wintering and uses that as a starting point. “I look for areas that hold deer like clear cuts that border swamps or setting up on rivers that are frozen over that go by swamps and tag alders,” he told me. “Deer hang in these areas and coyotes frequently cruise the rivers checking those areas out.”
Habitat is a little different in the farm country of Indiana where Jake Socha calls his coyotes, but food is still the key to finding them. “Coyotes in Indiana do like to hunt along fencerows and we have a lot of them,” he said. “My best and preferred setup is on a fencerow on the upwind side of a woods, marsh, or thicket.”
Socha said that coyotes do not like to reveal themselves by crossing open areas while coming to a call so he likes to set up in such a way that it allows the coyotes to use cover until they are close. “They like to circle downwind and come up through woods, marshes, and thickets,” He explained. “I always have a hunting partner who usually does the shooting setup between 50 to 70 yards upwind on a fence row, connected to a woods, marsh, or thicket. Then I (the caller) set up a short ways beyond him, putting the focus on me, and not the shooters area. This helps minimize the movement they may possibly see or hear.”
Images by Bernie Barringer