Coyotes are putting on the feed bag
April is a time of transition for the coyote and the coyote hunter. Coyotes are changing from responding to coyote vocals for purposes of breeding to putting on the feed bags for the denning period. The areas they frequent have slightly changed and so should your approach.
The next few months is the period of abundance in the coyote fields. New to the year, insects, birds, rodents and rabbits are plentiful in the coyote’s feeding areas. Coyotes will gorge themselves on insects early in the fields as you will catch the telltale jumping of coyotes in the high grass as they chase the freshly hatched grasshoppers and crickets. Newborn birds, rabbits and fawns will follow next as mother nature overloads nature with newborn populations. The coyote takes advantage of this population explosion and so should the hunter.
Calling gives way to spotting in the coyote fields. With the abundance of prey, coyotes easily get distracted on their way to your call so hunters should call using howls and pup sounds to get coyotes to show themselves in the fields. The coyote is likely to get distracted with prey as it makes its way toward you, but the hunter must position himself in a high area with a long view to catch a distant coyote feeding. Coyote howls will still get a response, but the hunter should move towards the howl as the coyote will not move far without running into some young prey. Coyotes also will respond to pup sounds at this time as they are prepping to have their own young ones soon. This time of year, you will most likely run into lone coyotes stocking up for denning season so move quickly to your next feeding area to repeat the process. Coyotes have claimed their den territory at this time of year and do not move far distances like in other seasons.
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