Using coyote bait is a technique that can be utilized to attract coyotes. It is not necessarily a technique that I use often, but it can be effective. Personally, I prefer to use calls to bring them in, but everyone has their own preference and goals. Coyote baiting is simply putting out some type of food to attract the coyotes into your hunting area. I have used anything from a dead carcass to spoiled meat.
I wanted to address this topic because there are some who like to do this method. However, there is not a lot to say about it. It’s pretty simple really, just put out something that is attractive to a coyote and wait. I think coyote baiting is a more of a technique that is utilized by people trying to rid their property of coyotes and are not necessarily hunters. I have seen farmers use bait to kill coyotes because it was easier for them than buying coyote calls and learning how to use them. However, for a true coyote hunter, this method seems a little unpractical compared to calling.
When it comes to using coyote bait, you want to place the bait upwind of where you think the coyotes are. If you have some animal carcasses or spoiled meat, it can work quite well. The idea is to have something with a lot of scent that is going to catch the attention of their noses. A freshly killed carcass can work very well also. I killed a deer one afternoon several years ago, and I had to field dress it in the dark. The spot where I dressed it was about 30 yards from a patch of woods, and I had the coyotes in those woods howling about 10 minutes after I opened up that deer. I left the guts lying and I’m sure they were devoured minutes after I left.
As I said in the story above, it was at night when the coyotes were howling at me, which should tell you that baiting is going to work best at night. Coyotes do most of their hunting and scavenging at night, and this is when you are going to have the most success. One thing to keep in mind is that coyote baiting and night hunting is illegal in a lot of areas, so be aware of the laws and always do the right thing.