This thread has "water archive" written all over it...

Now, what would be great, is if the Boss could chime in...

I haven't noticed any difference down here in pond beavers vs river beaver's response to lures.... except seasonal differences. Down here, both types of beavers respond well to castor based, curiosity and food lures in Fall, Winter and Spring. During the summer months, these beavers in my area don't care for much except for the food lure.

However, when working small ponds containing a pair of beavers, I've noticed that the first beaver is lured easily to a set, but after that one is caught, the second beaver may seem to develope an allergy to lure and won't respond. I think its because both are swimming in the small pond and when one gets whacked, the other notes the smell of the lure and associates it with danger.

I especially hate to trap a pair in small man-made ponds. Those are the worse for me.

Or could it be Paul that after the one get's wacked, that the other beaver checks the lure out once and just doesn't respond to it again? Say the first beaver is dead underwater.

Paul, when a beaver in a pond like you state would it be posible then to use a bit of caster from the first beaver to attract the remaining beaver?

That's possible Goldy, and a good reason to change up lures after the first catch when dealing with only a pair in a small pond.

R Howard, yes, that has worked for me.... but usually after a week or so has passed so the remaing beaver has been missing its mate.

Thanks, I will remember that.

Rally said, and I have done this too, that a remaining dominant beaver will often react to the castor or sac oil from another beaver in the colony as well.

Paul, when you are using your Woodchipper, are you using some kind of eye appeal?

Paul,
Do your beaver have active scent mounds all year. Some beaver guys down south tell me they keep them working all year some say not.
I also believe the pond beaver here may be protecting their feed piles. They are locked under ice for 5 months and know they have to have it.The ones that don't don't pass on their genes.

I have not seen that here Rally. Scent mounds here in July have weeds growing out of them.

We have two kinds of beavers here. We have WI beavers and AL beavers. You can tell right away which you're working with. The WI beavers will have feed piles outside their dens/lodges and the AL beavers will have none.

Goldy, I love eye appeal at all sets at the bank. I don't have popple here, but instead use soft maple. I use it because when you shave off the bark, the white stays white a long time. If you try sweet gum, oak, ash or other hardwood, it turns brown in hours.

I didn't know if you had a certain bait beaver really liked, like we do with popple.

I don't care what the beavers are eating, I want something that looks appealing. A brown stick on the bank holds no appeal, but a nice white fresh looking one does. Even the pine eating beavers respond to the peeled maple stick, because it looks good.

Beavers in my area prefer sweet gum, for the most part, but some will eat pine, maple, cypress knees, ash, etc. However, that sweet gum that they prefer turns brown awfully quickly when the bark is peeled off it.

Our popple stays pretty white for a day or two, but browns eventually as well. It has an odor though, stronger than a lot of other trees they eat.

The only beaver food tree here that has a noticable odor is pine to me.

Paul,
I've got a study paper done in Ohio, that discusses beaver reaction to castor and scent mounds. Sherm Bloom sent it to me a few years ago. They found the beaver there also didn't keep the scent mounds active after about mid june.
Yea, we train those northern beaver to be ready for the worse conditions. LOL

If beaver eat pine here, it's because they have nothing left. I'd bet I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen pine chewed on by beaver.

Goldy, ours eat pine sometimes when sweet gum is readily available. I think its those retarded Alabama beavers that do it though - lol.

I figured you were gonna tell us the Wi beaver were packing snow shoes on there back!!!

Rally, do you think they weave those snow shoe webbings from Honeysuckle vines down here?