Some time ago, I was contacted by an ADC trapper, (who shall remain nameless and) who although was a pretty accomplished trapper, had a beaver job lined up where several trappers had been after the same ol' sow beaver for years without any success.
This was an educated beaver no doubt, that had castor mounds and other such tricks thrown at her and with 330's set year round, she knew just where to go and what to avoid!

So, in the spirit of having to be the trapper who has to go in to do cleanup or has to get the last one, regardless...I hope you will share some of your techniques you've used to to the job right!

Buzzard from N.C, had some great pictures awhile back on snaring beaver under water.

Anyone have any great beaver stories or tips from ADC work?
LATrapper?
Vinke?

Foot holds and check with bino's.
bait stick no lure.
channel set w/pole NO trap done after a storm has moved thru.
cut tree( ASH) with Muskrat lure.
bob

No secrets I am sure. I use footholds and snares only in my adc work for beaver. Check from a distance if they are "spooky" and keep the noise while there down to a minimum. Winter and spring castor mostly, or blind sets. Late spring through summer, blind sets and food base lures/baits. Over all for trap shy or heavily pressured beavers I have the best luck with blind sets.

I looked for, but couldn't find Buzz's pics of under water snares. Anyone have a link to them by chance?

LT, I would use a snare first. That would be the one tool that they would be least likely to be afraid of. I'm kind of a novice when compared to some beaver trappers but so far I've always done the job. Even when a beaver knocks a snare over, they aren't scared because it didn't do anything.

Here in Ca. we can't use foot hold traps But as a lic. A.D.C. trapper I can use snares and bodygrips. The worst beaver I ever had to catch absolutly knew what a bodygrip was and wouldn't go near one. This trapwise critter also recognized, belive it or not, what a snare was! I would set up a snare where he was coming out of the stream and he would "chest" it and knock it down and walk on into the orchard and cut some more young prune trees down and basicly make me look inept. I honestly thought I may not be able to catch this thing. After giving it a lot of thought this is what I came up with. I took a snare and found about 5-6 very small(about the diameter of a tooth pick) short forked sticks and using the small sticks to keep the snare round and about an inch off the bottom of the stream. I placed them deep enough so his front feet and chest would pass over it but when he put his back feet down to walk out of the water he would put his foot down in the snare and because beaver kind of "shuffel" when they walk I hoped he would pick up the snare and get caught before he realised what had happened. Basicly a leghold set but using a snare instead. I also went ahead and set a snare in the crawl out as always just to give him something to focus his attention on. Next day, one very unhappy beaver caught by one hind leg!! Thank God they don't come like that very often or I'd have to find another line of work!

Bob

Snares would sure be a heck of a lot lighter then 660's and ts 85's...................

Dave..... Slightly off-topic, but check out the beaver pics on my Twitter site:

twitter.com/thebatguy

FUN!!!!!!

You got beaver pic's on a twitter site?

Apparently, there aren't any real ADC beaver men on here or either they're not posting!
Easy to trap the dumb ones...not so when they've had a few traps snapped off in their faces...

Hate to say it, but I sure miss Buzzard!
Now there's a ADC beaver trapper.

Sorry LT. The only beaver that I ever took a foot off ( she got hung up before the deep water) I caught not twenty feet away, two days later.
DUMB TRAPPERS PREFER DUMB BEAVER!

I love going behind our state trappers ... we get to charge double when this happens because of all the "educated" beaver left behind.

Here are a few from the past ...

!!!!

Interesting set-up with the stop shock !

Ha!.....

Thank you Buzzard.
I'm going to use that one later tonight!

Better pics at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015149&id=1213268781&l=ada9a5a167

Note: This is only the 2nd beaver I have ever relocated in over 20 years of this work. Usually too costly, and really tough to find a property owner who will give permission to do so!!! Besides.... they usually don't go far when I "release them" from a 330.

Ok traps???? you must be the only one using long stabilizers if you can catch pursued beaver with raw steel sticking out of the water on a regular basis...lol good job!
I do use stabilizers.....But I attach grass and sticks with wire (in follow up trapping situations)to camo them in.

Lt!!!!!! Quit Sukking up to Wuzzard..... Ha!
And call me....the number I have does not work anymore....

Pay attention!!!.......Being able to "Age" sign at and below the water line......
The Beaver will always shows you were to put the trap......
A boat can be an amazing tool////
Often a "Comfort" Food can do the trick.....

Vinke, I'm not suckin' up to Buzzard...but I do give credit, where credit is do!
Buzzard does ADC beaver work...and you don't do that very long, if you aren't good at it.

Now take you for example, you're doing more and more ADC beaver work...I don't see too many "how I caught a sharp ol' beaver that someone else had chased around before" photos on here.

Buzzard showed one version of a snare set...that quite frankly, his way keep raccoons out of the snares that might have caught if it were set on the bank. That image will help me take beaver under conditions that otherwise might cost me time and money to produce a certain animal.
...and that is the whole purpose of this post!

I know how to catch beaver. However there are some that during warmer weather, that do not respond to traditional methods/sets and lures.
Sharing that info, of how you caught beaver in those situations is also what this post is about.
If we're not sharing information of how we trap animals in the ADC field, then why are we even on here?
We should just go over to Trap Talk and talk about the current events of the world!

This is something I have found is a problem for summer beaver work. I had one that broke one of the trigger wires, still managed to catch another snapper in the same trap a day later. The traps in this picture were removed the same time I took the turtle out.

I haven't been here in awhile, but found this post as one I can relate to.

Over the past 17 years of trapping beavers full time, I've encountered the occasional "experienced" beaver. They can be a formidable challenge.

Here are a few things I've learned....

A beaver doesn't have to experience the smack of a body grip trap to know it poses a danger. I've encountered pairs of beavers that have never known a trapper's tools. In this situation I've sometimes caught a single beaver in a body grip when I had multiple sets in that colony area. The other beaver would not come near a body grip trap. This second beaver had never been subjected to the whack of a body grip, yet it knew the danger it posed. I'm sure the second beaver was in the immediate vicinity when the first beaver was caught in the body grip. It saw its mate in distress and also was aware of the body grip that had its mate in a death grip.

As was mentioned earlier, beavers will sometimes also ignore snares. I don't believe these beavers know anything about a snare, but rather, are fearfull of anything new added to its environment, such as a pole driven in as a snare support. These beavers will go around anything new added to their environment, whether it was introduced by man or nature. After a time of seeing it there, it will become accustomed to it, but it may be months. I've heard of people who left a body grip in the same place for months, and eventually the educated beaver will go through it. I think that it eventually saw the trap as a natural part of its environment and was no longer fearful of it.

One of the tricks I use on a lone smart beaver is to first drain its pond. Then I will drag a log over the main channel, if there's not one there already. With the pond drained, I'd set up a snare so that it will eventually hang in the choked down channel, however the snare isn't set. The beaver will go about repairing the dam and when the pond level is right where the beaver is still going under the log, I'll merely postion the snare that was there all along, but not set. I've caught many a smart beaver with this technique.

I can vouch for that.........the old fart walked me thru it a few years back.........lol

.......If you won't sukk up to Wuzzard...I will...lol.....

Thank you Paul Dobbins.
I greatly appreciate you taking time to answer this post, as I know you are extremely busy.

Like many, I learned much of my beaver trapping techniques, from Paul's dad, Charlie Dobbins in the many years I knew him.
Over the years, conversations with Charlie helped improve my methods in both fur trapping and ADC work for beaver.

I also own many of Charlie's books and tapes, including his Summertime Contol beaver tape, featuring Paul.
Hal Sullivan has a nuisance beaver tape out. Clint Locklear has out two, as do several others.
There is something to be learned by each of these, if you watch it with an open mind!

I get calls on beaver that have had trappers either, catch and lose it, miss with a fired trap, misuse lure and/or wrong type of set at the wrong time of year or D) All of the above.

The one thing I do, is not try to "fur trapper catch" a spooky beaver. I always have the mindset, that I only have one trap and/or snare that I can only place in ONE LOCATION!

I sic myself into picking the only perfect 8" on the entire creek, pond or lake.

Although I may set several more sets, that's the one, I always set first!

I have found that spooky beaver can at times be quite challenging, unlike some of the others, that are easy to catch as a muskrat.

Vinke, your camara must be broken....I hear you're slammin; some nuisance flat tails up in the Northwest...

Vinke? Vinkeee? Vi....
Ah, nuttin'!

LT Grey, charles dobbins taught me to use sac oil to get the last ones or the hard ones . use sac oil from beaver that aren't from the same area .

1 drop is all it takes .

I dont have to clean up after others often, usually my own messes which, thankfully, are few. And the beaver pic above is my latest mess-up. Had this guy snared at a castor smear set with a snare, not sure really what to call it as it came off Paul's nuiscance beaver trapping video. Ground was softer than I thought it was and pulled my stake.

Soent the next half hour after I checked that set having to blindly poke around the lodge for anything that felt like a run and with a the pond raised and me being limited to land...was a pain. Awkwardly placed a 330 and job complete.

Satisfaction at it's finest!

The Last One?
Any one have a Muskrat lure (cherry) made by KEN PERKINS of NY?
If you have any or know the formula Please Contact me?
Best lure I've used for BEAVER get's that shy one.
Bob Evans cwcp

Bob, I have a cherry paste with real red cherries and cherry extract...might be similar, not sure. I've seen several other cherry muskrat lures around.

Because I love ya LT!!!!!! i took my camera .....

This is the remake of the set.....The creek is "tide affected" so the trap is set to the left in the hole...that is "blocked by a slight mound of mud...
The mound IMHO help prevent a miss fired traps in fluctuating water conditions....I have a front foot, back foot and a dry set...
I also found that i have to replace my rubber often using long chains and now wrap it with friction tape...



The result using apples.....In the spring I find that Apples will take the female when nothing else will...
Is she lacking vitamins?/// lol.......



milken emmmmmm......



My version of Charles and Halls stump set........
Ruff up the area...
****set should be made were you think a beaver would "Naturally " look....sharp bend in creek, intersections,high area of straight stretch



The edge is lined with cut branches to simulate small saplings that have been eaten....
The tops of the branches are use to simulate sapling waiting to be devoured.....
Works best on banks that do not have Lots of trees...
Add wood chipper and you will pick up every passer by...



No lure..........

Dave, did I ever give you any of my "rottin' red apple" lure to try...It wasn't made for beavers. but I have guys catch beaver on it all the time!

Anyone else on here. doing summer beaver control?

I have been trying. One place the beaver has been holed up for 2 months. I have had a pair hole up for 5 weeks, prior to this one. I am glad that the owner is able to help with trap checks.

I feel that where most adc beaver trappers, that come with the fur taking mindset of the job, mess up is that they actually don't know that their is that last one. 2 weeks after they have gotten paid more trouble arises, the customer loses all confidence in their trapper and hopefully calls me. With me saying that I was wondering what kind if any guarantees you all offer. I deem my jobs complete after 2 weeks with no fresh sign but i may have already been there a while because i want to be sure i'm done.

Summer beaver do not move as much as they do in fall and spring.
Something to consider when doing this type of work.

Black berry vines and Woodchipper is a pretty good combo.....

You drinkin' again Dave?

Strung out on Starbucks.........LOL.....

Well the more things change, the more they stay the same!

LT
Beaver I was after ain't been back. heard today some trees were peeled 1/4 mile or more down river on someone elses property. me and the boy might have buggered him up messing around.
when could I call you?

JOHN

Always set the "escape routes" as pressured beaver will return to earlier inhabited area.......

Beavers often have a winter and a summer home here.....

John, sorry I have missed your calls. Been a whirlwind around here lately...just try back, sometime during the day, I guess.

Thanks VINKE
I know very little about beaver even less about summer beaver

LT

no problem on the calls things been busy here to. may try you one afternoon from work.
THANKS JOHN

Keep trying, you'll eventually get me.

Ok guys,
Just landed a "bev job". I told the guy I'd do it for the trapping rights this year. I never did summer beaver before.He told me the beaver on his property keep plugging up his culverts. The property is swamp land with a road going through. I'm bringing ALL my beaver stuff, don't know what I'll run into. Any quick advice? I'm going up next weekend. I'll post pics when I get home!
Tom

An anti-aircraft gun for the mosquitos is the first thing that came to mind.

thermacell works great to repel the mosquitos

I have to say that I fully agree with the line of reasoning in the first post. I am certain that beavers have learnd to avoid my trap becuase they were they either when thier mate got gagged or because they accidentally tripped the trap while trying to repair the break I made in the dam. I know this becuase I have made sets where I caught a beaver on the first night and my guide sticks were knocked down where another beaver made a route around the trap. The follwing night, they would be knocked down in the exact same spot and manner. I've even had them move the dive stick up and over the trap where I had it hanging with wire. Either way, they are intelligent enough to figure out that the trap represented some sort of danger when it went off.

A couple of things I did to prevent these things from happening:

1.) Now, instead of wiring the divestick to the tops of the last 2 guide sticks and letting it hang, I make sure those last 2 guide sticks have a knot or small broken-off limb. I push them down to the point where I want my dive stick in the water and then wire the dive stick at each end around the 2 guide sticks, right at those 2 knots so it can't slip down or be lifted up and flung over.

2.) Instead of 1 trap at an opening, I use 2. I used to make a small break in the dam to get the water moving, then do my set parallel to the dam-not anymore, and especiall if I've already had one burn me. Now, I make the break and place 2 traps at 90deg. to the dam. In other words, I make out a 3-sided box, the dam being the 4th side, and place 1 trap on each side of the "box" perpendicular (90 deg.) to the dam. When I get a beaver that does not want to go through the trap and just tries to repair the break by letting debris go into it with the flow of water, the debris cannot collect in the trap. Eventually, he bites the bullet and has to go through on one side or the other to see why his crud just ain't stopping the water from moving. That's when he gets gagged. Also, this leaves the other side open to catch a follow-up beaver should one of his buddies come over to help. Also, because the first beaver is trapped on the other side of the "box", the second beaver doesn't feel like there is any danger in the route he's taking. This set up works very well. It's more work, but I've come to use it in places where there are large colonies and/or the other beavers figures out after the first night or two of seeing thier relatives getting snagged that there was something dangerous going on. This also prevents the occaisional burried beaver becuase thier buddies cannot stop the flow of water by just letting the debris go.

3.) Move the trap to the other side. If I'm in a place where I don't have room to set 2 traps at the same break and I get a beaver and can't seem to get his buddies, I just move the trap to the other side of the set-up. Sometimes after catching 1 or 2 the rest know what's going on. In this situation, I jsut move the trap to the other side of the setup and "kawham" I'm back in business.

I think I got a pick of the perpendicular set-up somewhere on my computer....

O.K., here it is. I don't know if this is new to anyone or not, but I hope someone will benefit from it. The green line is where the trap is. In this situation, I only had a trap on one side because the water was too shallow at the bank. I could have moved the setup further down the dam, but then it would have been too deep as this pond was about 5 feet deep. The red arrow is pointing at the dive stick. This is the first beaver I ever trapped. I had this set up parallel to the dam the night before and the beaver clogged my trap by just letting go debris in front of the break and letting the flow of the water carry it into the trap. The next day, I turned it 90 deg. to the dam as shown in the pic. This way it won't clog and he can't clog it without going through it to try to figure out why. Later, when I started catching one and missing one is when I started using this set-up and added the second trap. Again, if it were in this picture, it would be set up 90deg. to the dam just like the one in the picture, but on the other side of the "box".



Here is the result-63lbs. of beaver meat. That's my size 10.5 shoe beside him. Who's hungry????

Very nice...love the 'art work !'

il cooner, you might some info on here worth reading!

great set up never thought of the 90 degree idea learn something new every day... thanx everyone

When you got one cloggin traps, this will get them nearly every time.

Not sure I understood what he meant by that!

what beavernator meant was, if there is a beaver clogging a set by a d a m, place another set at 90 degrees alongside the d a m youll catch MR. Beaver... thats how i interpreted it... just another tool for the tool box.

A red head.........watch out for that one!....

Ah, but don't ya love em!



Caught these beaver (and more) on lure made by Dave Vinke, by the way!

That was some good lure........I made some more..but it not the same without a years worth of "aging".....

One thing I carry on my beaver trailer is a 2x to use a a bridge...This allows me to get out and over the ditch and place the double 660'sw in the channel of our deep peat bottom drainage's....

Finding strategics areas to place your assault will increase your productivity.
I will bring in drive material if needed...eye appeal.....aswell
When working yearly contract jobs....I find I usually take the new beaver in the same spot as last time....
The "set area" is constructed in a location that requires minimal effect( once established) to set up and check

These are are left "stocked" meaning the dive poles or Blocks needed to construct are left from year to year...

hey vinke could you post a pic of the 2x2 660 site?

Vinke, where's our picture of the 660 in action?

You've been trapping a lot longer than I have (since Jan.) and have taken waaaaay more than I have (51) but I can say from first-hand experience that you are 100% correct in your assumption. I have actually witnessed this with my own eyes.

I was trapping a spot for a farmer where there was a huge dam all the way across this creek bottom. This dam in total was about 80 yards long and close to 6' tall. The only place I really had accessible to make aset at the dam was in each corner. On the far corner there was a gum tree that the beaver themselves had fallen. They had chewed it nearly in-two, then let it fall over. It was about 10" in diameter where they made the bite. As it turned out the tree was fallen, but still attached at the bite, which was nearly level with the water. I made a pretty good break in the dam and drained about 10" of water in 30 min so that the bottomof this log was right on top of the water. I sticked off an opening behind this log and hung the 330 in the opening. The next morning as I approached the dam from the far corner, I heard and saw lots of splashing at the setup at the other end of the dam. I could see water splashing around in front of this log, so I figured that a beaver had just hit the trap and was struggling. After observing for a few minutes, I actually saw a beaver start to swim back & forwarth up & down the edge of the water. I thought it had slipped my trap, or knew what it was and would not go through. This went on for about 10 minutes. Patiently, I sat and watched this beaver spalshing and making noise all around in the water in front of the trap. Then, the noise stopped. 10 seconds later a beaver popped up in the water about 10 yards in front of me. As I was already in the "ready" position with the Beavernator 2000 (12ga. with 6 shots of 00 buck) one big bark from the beaver cannon and she was finished. I thought I had one beaver. As it turned out. There was actually another beaver caugt and already drowned inthe trap. The trapped beaver was alreay stiff, so I know it had been there for a few hours. However, it is at this point that I realized that the beaver I had just "beavernated" was the one making all the comotion for the past 10 minutes. Her mate was caught in the trap and she must have been there for the previous couple of hours trying to get him to come on home. She didn't want to leave the trapped beaver and was not about to go around or over the log to repair the dam. This beaver relaized something was wrong and I am sure that there was some sort of traumatization taking place. No doubt in my mind that this beaver would not have fallen for this setup had I not already shot her, reset the trap and left it there for her the following night. This beaver was no doubt affected by seeing her mate gagged. Good thing I always take the Beavernator 2000 for oppurtinistic shots. i know some guys on here don't like shooting beaver in water, but the guys paing taxes on the property like dead beaver and don't give a flip how it's accomplished as long as it's legal.

What you say isn't just a theory-it's the truth about beavers. I've seen it with my own eyes.

Nice add on to this post.
Thanks Paul and beavernator!

good tips on here. Sac oil and footholds have saved me more than once.
good tip about hot weather beavers not traveling too. I have heard Kirk De. say it as well. Very true.

Summer Beaver trapping ended today........,,,,, BUR

we're just getting "warmed" up around here-not the weather I mean the beavernating...

HA!........... I was just telling LT G and Kirk D.....That this little guy was giving me some grief! ~
(***notice the Iron in the water***)

Got em in a natural blind set 3/4 mile up stream from the "problem area".... at the end of the drainage......(you can run but you can not hide)....

And yes Kirk,,,,I did the Highlander Thing,,,,,,,,, There can only be One.....

Nice work Vinke! Love the beaver buggie!
Who's 660 kill traps are those?

Sure beets walking...lol.... Started a New job today...
Step one was to cut trails to the swamps...Making access for myself and the developers that own the property...
Managed to get a 4 good sets in before dark...
Tomorrow is BTTW.......

These Marsh rats boats are AWESOME....Stable, Durable and Light

Here I an using it a a trailer........

What is the weight limitations of that marsh boat , Dave?


Would it hold 600 lbs?

Not that I weight that....but with gear, and some trapped beaver, I could!

How is your "swamp' trapping going?

Nice haul Dave!

All in kill traps?

yes all in body grips.......Set 36 trap.

My best one day haul from a single location.
I think I got them all

Nice pile of beavers Mr. Vinke.

After my annual two month break (aug and sept), I started back beaverin last month for Weyerhaueser here in NC. Most of the ditches and creeks are about dried out. I did manage to find six colonies of beavers, but it took me about 4,000 miles of road to find them.

Fortunately, we've had some heavy rains the past couple of days and I'm hopeful that the beavers will again be on the move. I've contracted with this company for the past 18 years and have felt fairly secure in my job until I came back from my two month break and found very few beavers.

As for the educated beavers, I saw where apples were used to lure the beavers to a location. I've also used sweet potatoes with the orange flesh revealed. That seems to get some to come investigate also.

Something I learned from my pa long ago. If ya pay attention to the animal, it will teach you how to catch it.

4000 miles is a long trek....and that is the downfall that comes with being a good beaver trapper..... No beaver

I will add that many of the beaver in the picture were "lured" into the blind set using Beaver Plus....
One of the mistakes that I have made using it, would be putting it {the lure) too close to the dive (say on a tree next to it), if there is enough water for the beaver to circle the trap...."looking" with his nose, to find the scent.
It would be differnt if snares were legal under special permit

Duh...........


had a stabilized trap that I make inside a lONG CULVERT.......
In a hurry and did not replace the wire...


These little guys sure can put a hurt to the beaver trapping



My first nose catch.......

ANYONE HAVE ANY GOOD TIPS ON CATCHING TRAP SHY BEAVER IN A POND IN CITY LIMITS ?

William,a restraining cable. (snare)

Vinke, looks like you put a world of hurt on the little guy.

This is a short video using the Marsh rat boat for Ron S.....

Good video! Doesn't look much different than some of the swamps around here. Yours seem to have more solid bottoms though. I enjoy seeing how things are done in various parts of the country. Keep posting them. Maybe, someday I will learn how to post a video.

cool video vinke. thanks for sharing.

That is a cool little boat thanks for posting that it was a pain I bet. I use a otter 1200 stealth that works about the same but is a bit larger and weighs more so its not as easy to get around as the marshrat I may need to get a rat if I can find one one. I found my stealth at (local) otter outdoors it was a way cheap new factory second with a few scratches got it for half off because of the scratches very good deal. Here is a link to one like it. It will hold 2 guys and a good sized buck!

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/icat/Cat60/full.asp?page=354

Very good video..... I can see that boat would work extremely well in many beaver trapping situations. Even with limited "room" for traps, a typical beaver job (ADC-style) in my area usually doesn't require more than 5 or 6 traps. Thanks for posting!!!!

Vinke, you are just short of amazing....I'm suprised you even find time to talk with me....

I having way too much Fun!!!!

Neat video.... I finally finished my bat guano removal jobs (church attics, etc), and squeezed in 3 days of recreational trapping over the Thanksgiving weekend. Took a nice bunch of fur from my favorite local marsh.... 64-pound beaver on Saturday....

Question to ponder: After working 6 and 7 days a week all year long doing wildlife control, why would a person go "trap some animals" for rest and relaxation???? Crap.... You guys know the answer.......... that feeling we all get when the leaves start turning in the fall.

I know I get it Ron lol : )

Great Job Ron......... Nice picture, and nice to put face on a Name..

Even though i have to use cages for "fur" trapping, I still get excited.
I believe My favorite trap line calling would be the "Scream of the MinK"
I am trying to plan EDITED "coastal Cat Slam 010"....lol.... More work then you can imagine

'09 is almost up Vinke.

Make it next season and I will be at your door step, come 'cat season!!

see ya in the Fall!!!

great vidoe vinke. Love watching the stuff. thanks for taking the time to do video and upload them.

I applaud Ron for making fur trapping a family affair. My own personal opinion is the only way to bring fur prices up to at least a halfway decent standard, is to withhold fur from the market. I'm well paid for the mink, muskrat, raccoon, and fox that I catch. I don't feel I should sell the hides for peanuts and make a bad market even worse.

I know what you mean Ron!

2nd that!

any tips on how to catch a trap shy beaver that is now missing a front foot?

live trap him

Sometime they will be dead...

If It is the last beaver you need to catch and you are sure it is alive......I would

1.Mark or note all sign in the area.

2.Leave for a short period of time

3.Return to the site and sneak in without any disturbance

4.Let the beaver show me were to catch him without using lure

2nd That. The method I use on trap shy beaver and it is the last one is just break the dam and shoot him after dark. Use a shotgun with #4. Stay on the down wind side get as close as possibel and let him have it.

I have had really good luck with coniber shy beaver using the coniber for bait. I had a beaver that would knock down and bury the coniber and snare. I set the snare back and stick a large #5 infront of it. When they came in there to knock over the trap they would get caught in the foothold. It has worked for me several time's. Hope this was some help.

Sometimes Braking the dam sends an alert to the Beaver...That said it can also make it easy to locate..../set channels
I would always recommend a kill trap placed up steam and down in a natural location....If you are breaking a dam
Many times.... i have caught the sow returning to an old lodge...in a area that the beavers have "burned out" ...when she Feels the Pressure,,,,,,,

Very well put, Dave!

Setting up One day before the Landowner had a backhoe brought in (against my wishes) I took 9 Beaver the first night.
The Adults took 11 days to nail after the dam was torn out and they were spooked ... I finally pulled all the 330's and 660's and put in 3 MB750's on chain drowners.

I used only a white peeled twig at each set ... one with popple bud oil, one with birch oil and the last with sac oil

Morning came and I had the last Two adults. 58#male and 64#female...
Everything at the sets were made underwater ... and they were made between Sign (pullout areas) with only the dipped twig showing on the bank.

330 Trapper....post some pic's , will ya?

I don't have any Pictures of the sets, but instead of any Mud mound... a peeled stick was used (found floating... the Stakes were Cross staked below the Water surface and anything foriegn was kept underwater... The MB's were on a Conduit Lock I make and run down on #2 chain to the bottom...

Is that what you wanted a picture of? or of the Beaver?

Yesterday SUCKed.................

Went to set up a site that should have had 10 tears of beaver....
I is a mitigation site that the file was never closed on,,,,and now the Corp. would like it completed and managed for the "appropriate" period.....

Well I do my inspection.....tag a couple of goods spots....Thinking to myself that there sure is not much activity for an active colony.....
No fresh mud on the house....ect....

So I get to a location that is the perfect natural dive and i notice Two sticks pointing straight up.....

LOL....I know what that is for,,,pull it up an BING,,,,An abandoned trap..... found 6 in all....

LOL.....All was not lost...There is still at least one beaver..PLUS..Got six new used 330's...a HPA permit Job..../mitigation site restoration....And a good Laugh....

How in the world, does a guy who lives where you do on top of the world complain that something sucks?


You want a suck life?

Trade me places.....It was 1 degree the other day...I almost flipped my truck over an embankment, chasing $10.00 coyotes...gas is $2.75. The 'coons are rubbed...and muskrats and beaver are under ice.

Wh-what's that?

Oh, the ADC forum?

Sorry, I thought this was Trap Talk...

Never mind!

Lt.your stacken up.Looks like something I saw in a dream the other night.{but the next morning there was only tracks and yellow snow.

Yep, that happens sometime!

Boy LT, I wish I could drive like that. I finally got one laying in the middle of the road and I swerved. Thought it was a dog.

"Boy LT, I wish I could drive like that."

Now that is Funny!...........
Way to smoke em Big T!!......

Freakin' AWESOME!!!

Get the video "Anihilation of Trap shy Beavers." It is kinda slow and the whole idea could be explained in about 10 minutes. But the idea is really good. And he catches ALOT of Beaver. I have the video but it's his secret to sell. I highly recommend it.

agreed... awesome concept of trappin beaver.

Yep, I got that video too. Awesome concept is right on.

Interested in selling it, the county is courting me to get rid of some beaver and although Ive caught a few, I never want to go in under gunned.

Aint seen it....Is this the guy who came up with,,,OR is know for the Set,,,?????,"The Beaver Land mine"/????????

Yep, that's it!

O.K. I got one I pinched at castor set two years ago..took a toe nail off. Then, I repeated the mistake a week later. It has to be the same one and it must be a "hoss" as both times it brought 3 big railroad tie plates up to shore. Second time I screwed up I used the sac oil set. Waterway is unusual as there are only a few spots to set up, rocky bottom in some spots peat in others. It is fairly open and bank sides are steep. Property lines limit my access so it is a hit or miss situation..ie if the beaver decides to work the side of the creek that I have permission on I'm good if not I'm out of luck. Any ideas?

Ever try a baited set? I have been able to "draw" beaver across a creek with one. What time of year are you trapping? Now?

Yes, I have used baited sets before. The problem is the creek banks are high like 7-8 ft from creek to top of ground...where I have permission and lower on the ground where I can't trap. The beav travel where it wants when it wants...no dam just hit or miss tree and crop damage. Might just be better off leaving this old timer for seed.

Unless you knew that I was 6'4 and 275 lbs you wouldn't realise this was a big old sow!

One trouble maker that wouldn't take the bait but a 12 ga put an end to...

Great pic.! LOL Help me someone! I'm stuck!

Tony can you describe the set you made using the peeled stick ABOVE the 330?

###reposted from earlier### #1345103 - 15/05/09 10:01 PM

.....The creek is "tide affected" so the trap is set to the left in the hole...that is "blocked by a slight mound of mud...
The mound IMHO help prevent a miss fired traps in fluctuating water conditions....I have a front foot, back foot and a dry set...





Fro9m the NewT&P...........



Hummmmmmmmmmm?

Vinke, sorta reminds me of the baited U-shape cut bank set used by the late Pud Long of, (I believe), Oregon.

Apples for bait for beaver?

Never considered it but then, I have trappers use my "Orchard call" on beaver and it's primary scent is fermenting red apples.
Apparently they do well with it.

You mean?????.......Not a Set "Developed by the author"....lol............

LOL!

a few poke sticks in front of the outside Jaw does the same thing as a mud ridge...

Stick are a beaver trappers best friend...lol.....

Were I started using "The Hole" was in tide affected drainage.
I have Two foot of more fluctuation every day...

Vinke, I assume that with your tides that you have something similar to our "ten foot" rule that allows us to set traps and snares within ten foot of water.
For us it's a statewide law that us guys that don't have tides get to enjoy as well.

David...........under adc permits....
there are some limitation in certain geographic area....
Body grips need to be in water........

I love our ten foot rule. In the right places 330s make good trail sets.

Biggest one I cauht was 63lbs.

I had a beaver job last november, I trapped a big female beaver 2 weeks before on this ranch. I was heading to our 4th season elk camp when I got the call from the same ranch I had just trapped 2 weeks before then. They were saying they had another beaver, I told them I was going to be out of town for a couple weeks. They said "no worries lets just take care of it when you get back" I had trapped a big female beaver there before, an was a little confused. So I went back an set a Hancock trap An one 330 conibear. As I was walking down the stream just kinda looking at it I found where this beaver was attempting to build a [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] In late november. So I set another 330, But I got cleaver instead of setting the trigger in the middle of the trap, I wired some little feed sticks to the trigger wires and set the trigger wires To the lowest point on the trap. When I came back the next day I got really nervous the first 330 I set was tripped, so of course I reset it. As I moved down the creek to the Hancock trap An It was tripped, confused on all this I reset the the hancock. I had one last chance to catch this beaver in one night like I did prior to this new job on the same creek in the same spots. So I moved down to the last 330, An would'nt you know it there was a 55 pound female beaver in that 330 that I wired some bait sticks to. That old female knew about about the other 2 sets but just a slight change An a add on I cought her.

Joe, the beaver was attempting to build a darn. If you can't spell dam right then you have to go with darn.

Well paul I didnt know this was a speeling bee. Thank you for that my bad. lol

In NC we can bait deer with corn. I actually had a beaver raiding my corn pile this year. He had a slide made right up to it. Left his hind-foot prints, tail drags, etc. I don't know if he was eating the con or the cobs or both, but he was eating there for sure. Never heard of that before. Have you?

They eat a Lot of corn here......cod included would be my "Best Guess Judgment" ....based on the lack of discarded cob,,,,,
First the beaver will build traveling dams out of the stalk before it is ripe.....(most prevalent in drainage ditches close to the river and larger streams)
One the area has been secured, mister beaver will sample areas looking for ripe corn,,,(ripe corn ready for harvest is only slightly dented here...aka silage) often times the chopper will beet the beaver to it......

330 trigger with an ear of corn........once you have gotten rid of the rats.......

I'm exhausted after reading that....

By special request of LT GREY:



I had become pretty depressed about my beaver line in early March. I found plenty of places with lots of fresh beaver sign, but no response what so ever to good lures like Backbreaker.

1 of 3 things must have happened:

a) the beaver were educated and just avoided my 330 sets because they knew what a conibear was and may have even smelled Backbreaker before (it's a popular lure)

b) another trapper got there before and cleaned those accessible places out (I heard rumors about an ol'timer trapper in the area)

c) the beaver moved out of the area by the time I arrived, and perhaps would have returned if I kept the traps out longer

I returned to a tried-and-true place where I caught my first beaver last year. The "ol'timer" trapper was said to be on this part of land. It was said he had taken them all out.

I walked up and down the banks, getting more depressed by the moment. I found a few chewed sticks in the water, but nothing that looked incredibly fresh. I could see virtually no new cuttings from the vegetation on the banks. I stood on a grassy bank and looked down into one of the few flat muddy places on this pebbled creek.

There it was. Tracks. Only 2 tracks, but definitely beaver tracks. He was coming out of the water onto a flat grassy part of the bank.

I'm not a "beaver whisperer" I don't know how they think. So I switched to deductive reasoning. If he comes out of the water here, it's for some reason. I must find that reason to trap the beaver. Either he has a castor mound here, or he's eating or harvesting wood for a new dam.

There was no sign of stripped twigs but for a few that were old. There was no sign of any new dam activity. There was no castor mound. I walked up the bank and looked carefully at the vegetation. Small twigs of new growth was clipped off, little branches, so they were probably fed into his mouth like a Woodchipper (thus no stripped branches for me to find.)

He was here all right, and eating like a pig. (Eating in stealth mode!)

I wanted to make a castor mound set where he came out of the water, so I got out my shovel and worked for 20 minutes digging out a slide that looked suave and perfect.

When I tried to put in my pogo stake is when it hit me: I'm just a beginner with good book-learning but not much experience. I ate a bit of humble pie once I realized the earth was too soft for an earth anchor and I was going to have to abandon that set for that reason.

I found a different slide that had no tracks, which didn't really look like a slide at all. Just a perfect beaver-sized "area" of compacted pebbles and barkdust for him to crawl out of the water underneath a fallen limb that lay across it like an arch. I set my snare at that spot, anchored the pogo firmly behind a root, and set another snare at an adjacent slide 20 or so feet upstream.

The video shows me checking the upstream slide first.

It never connected because he was sitting in my first set.

I felt satisfaction that the line of beavers I was harvesting was continuing on. This little 2 year old looked remarkably like my first and 2nd beavers that I took from this same spot last year. This one had that same blond sheen as my 1st beaver.



As for the other locations with the "educated" beaver:

My plan next year is to go with all blind sets, all snares. Brown flat-finish camo paint will complete my stealth approach. Who knows, maybe it will work?

good post

That's m' girl!

Actually, she is becoming quite a good trapper.......

Can't let this one Die!!!!!!!!!!!!

Started the first phase of a Large live trapping project .

camera man tagging along tomorrow ..........

It was Defiantly Shaky productions today!!!! BUR!~!!!!....... Squalls of rain and hail........

I have never seen as many castor mound in a area... as were in this area...... I was impressed....

Me either!

same here

Jimbo,,,,might have to take you up on it......(I do love to Laugh at myself with others).. Didn't get sqat done,,,,,,, Nasty weather and Nasty THICK,,,,,,,,,,,,,, This job will be one of my Toughest....


Tsarevna!!!!! just read the Story.......GO Girl Go!!! Seeing the sign~!............AWESOME!!!!