Follow GC's suggestions and hunt where there are some cats and you will connect.
No hills, rock piles, etc. where I hunt; some very thick mesquite motts, high grass and pretty flat country. As Gary said, thick brush near water is a very good place to start.
This cat is one of many that just appeared out of nowhere @ a couple hundred yards:
Originally Posted By: GCThey are extremely hard to see when they stalk into a stand. They use all the available cover to get close. I have been diligently watching as I called and suddenly realized, “Oh, there is a “when some little something catches my eye from a tuft of tall grass, or from behind an old stump, log, or rocky outcropping. I never know how long they’ve been there before I actually saw them.
I spotted this one chasing a 10 point buck one afternoon. It ran across a sendero and disappeared into some fairly heavy brush that ran down a gentle slope, connecting to a super heavy thornbush thicket. The thicket is adjacent to a windmill fed ground stock tank.
Went back the next morning and set up near the pond and closed the deal. Set the Foxpro up w/Nutty Nuthatch and before long spotted the cat moving through the thicket.
That thicket surrounded stock tank has been a high percentage producer of both bobcats and coyotes over the years.
Same location, slightly different setup, called this cat in late one evening about 15 minutes into the stand.
He ran into a sendero, crossing @ about a 45* angle about 100 yards out. The call was about 40 yards out. He paused briefly in the grass between the two tracks and looked back over his shoulder in my direction. I dropped him and was happily enjoying the moment when the coyote burst out of the heavy brush on the same trail from whence the cat came. He, too, was looking back over his shoulder at the decoy (which was between us), when he tripped over the cat at a fast trot, head over heels. He landed on his feet and stood looking at what had tripped him long enough for me to get on him.
My first and only coyote/cat double, but have shot a number of both, individually, at this same location over the years.
Cats are creatures of habit, IMO, and as Gary stated not the brightest bulb in the box. Chances are if you see one, he will be back and apt to come to the call again, sooner or later.
Called this cat in on 29 April 2015 in his early spring coat.
Called him again in late summer, same year in his summer coat in front of the same tree, almost same setup.
Follow GC's outline and, above all, have fun!
Regards,
hm