I am relatively new to water trapping so I am unaware of all the tips and tricks when I get stumped. I was asked to remove some beavers from a small lake. I got one the first night trapping but I have been coming up short on the other or others. I've been at it 4 days now. Below is a pic for reference.



The Orange is their lodge and green is where they have been chewing. Around the lodge and in the channel is 5' of water or more. So I can't walk around much. I have 2 #5 Bridgers on downers in the green area . Both are on "slides" with one being a castor mound set and the other a food style set. I've had 2 snapped traps even with around 4 pound pan tension. I'm mad that I've educated them!

How else can I tackle this? Can or how do I set a 330 in that deeper water. A baited one? Or should I get a boat out there and try to trap the lodge?

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

How wide is the channel to the left of the lodge, and the one you are trapping by the road? Looks like an ideal spot for a dive set and a 330, or a castor mound guarded by a 330.(If legal).

Spruce

The channel is about 4' wide. My question is, if I set a 330 in the channel and block it off, what depth do I put the 330 at?

the bottom and make them dive. snares are very effective both top water and below. Me personaly I leave there lodge or dens till last

Beavers are water animals. Look for any channels, narrow spots, bank dens and use 330's. In a lake like that, they will swim around quite a distance, find good sets and let them come to you.

Thanks for the tips! I've caught 11 river beavers this season with no issues. I've just been stumped on this location and why I've had snapped traps...

I haven't noticed any fresh chewings. Is it possible that the other or others have been scared off or that they are just avoiding that area? The lake is still 90% frozen too.

I will look into trying snares next season. I don't have any currently and our season is coming to a close soon.

Thanks again

Dive set for sure. Block the channel with a good size tree and put your conibear right on the bottom.

LAKE beavers can and do hole up for up to a week at times! The only good thing about lake beavers is they don't up and move! Very often! I found a old den they had stuffed full of corn they had cut during the summer months! lol my 4 wheeler collapsed the roof! scarred the crap out of me! luckily I was just putting along. But I ended up cleaning out that colony in the entrance of it. On hot locations I will check twice a day to help keep them from going in to panic mode!

Pond/Lake beavers can be tough. Have you looked for a stream that feeds the pond ? There are usually places for good blind sets there.

maybe when you get more open water try a food call lure instead of a castor as to not alert them to changes. i found on the really super shy its only a blind set that will do. find a crossover, path or spot you may have to really look for and blind set it.

I agree blinds are your best bet. Every water impoundment has that one spot were every beaver goes. Finding it is tough but its there

Are your snapped traps because you had them set too shallow, and the chest set them off?

I set almost elbow deep, and set for a hind leg. Offset to one side or the other.

The downfall is I'm limited to basically that channel and lodge. I'm not able to trap anywhere else. I'm not normally a quitter.. but I may have to on this one..especially because it's 40 min away.

I tried the family members oil/castor. Nothing yet on that set.

Now I had a pull out on another... trap all the way down the drowning cable with nothin. Very frustrating. Never had such a hard time on an animal!

I have a 330 in the channel coming in. Blocked off, dive stick & on the bottom. And 3 #5s on the channels edge toward the road. One is a castor mound, one is food based and one is just a bunch of piled chew sticks.

I've listened and taken all the tips and really appreciate it everyone!

I'm still trying to figure out how to trap the lodge in that 5'+ water depth. Just can't wrap my head around where to place the trap..

I would leave it alone for a few days or even a week. They will hole up if they become spooked. Took me 2 weeks to catch the mate to one once after I took the one the first night. Waited well over 2 weeks once when i cleaned up after another trapper had got the easy ones.As said above,blind sets are the way to go now. Snares instead of a 330 and better trap placement with the footholds after a cooling off period.

have you saw any fresh sign after you caught that one? evidence that there are more? I had a location that only produced one! Once I kept after that location for two weeks! lol And there wasn't any more to be caught. Im on a clean out job now that's the same way! if theres one left it wont come on bank! so im about to drag up! but I have caught 7 from this particular lake the last one was a 63 lb male. The odd part was not a yoy one! My smallest was a 29 lb female And all but that one was females as well

I don't see how that ditch under the road connects to the waterway. Is there a culvert in there?

It's really hard to tell if there is any fresh chewings because there is so much and a lot looks fresh...

There is a levee at the end of the green line that flows into a culvert. It then goes under the road.

The levee is grated..

Do they have a reason to go to the other side? Maybe they’re visiting the other side. If they’re not crossing the road, catch em going through that culvert.

I don't foresee them having a reason to cross the road. Plus, that water is moving like whitewater rapids.