I know this topic has gone through the wringer many times...but I'm always ready to hear opinions from some of our resident beaver pros.

I'm a rookie snareman. No doubt about it. I do 90% of my beaver trapping with 330s, on a 48 or 72 hour check.

This past season, I started running an additional snareline on the river...and condensing my 330 checks into one day, every 72 hours versus staggering days.

The snares are working well for me on the river, where I had a very hard time using bodygrips in the tides. I don't have to worry so much about theft either....so I like that very much near the end of the season when folks start fishing.

Here's the setup I have been using.

-60" 3/32 snare with washer lock, whammy and end-swivel....
-18" stake with stabilizer wire
-72" snare cable extension

I set about a 10" loop, with the lock at 12, and just a "tad" of guiding. I control the speed of the snare by bending the tip of the support versus moving the lock around the clock. It seems a little easier for me...and the snare is stabilized better that way. So far, it seems to be working very well, and I have few snares knocked over. Most are set on dry land, above the high tide mark, but with plenty of cable to allow the beaver in the water.

I'm going to rubber tubing versus whammys on all new snares I've been making. It seems to work just as well...and is cheap as dirt.



I like the snare rigged this way because I can have them all premade, and all I need to do is loop them around a sapling, stomp the stake in and go. I can carry 50 or more, all rigged, in a 5 gallon pail. After a catch, I can cut the snare from the beaver, throw he whole mess of cable and parts into the compartment in the bow of my boat and sort it out and rebuild it when I get home.

I do have a little lock damage with the washers...especially when rigged as the one in the photo with the cable having a 90 degree bend in it....but I like that they lock down tight. I've held more than a few by the tail.

I am thinking of trying reverse bend locks....and maybe even smaller cable....ala Newt.

How about some comments from the pros on your setups, and why you use what you use?

Buzzard, Jacko, Don Wolf, Newt?

Oh, and yes.....that's the famous "empty flower bed to driveway crawlout set"

thats a SWEET set man !!

It's dynamite Gary!

I'm still trying to decide if it's worth my time and effort to build them. My time would probably be better spent doing something else if truth be told. I need to try some Reichart locks.

Anything wrong with my setup?

I suppose the same is true on my end with the swivels. I intended to be able to reuse the ext part of the snare, but more often than not it is trashed as well.

im gonna say it before sumbody else does ... your set is all wrong .... LOL .... just messin with ya man

Gary....I wouldn't know it if it were junk. I can catch beaver in it though!

Watch the saplings you anchor to. Beaver will cut an area pretty good when caught. I just use a 36 inch stake and position the support wire on it Like this..




Drive the whole unit into bank or mud bottom leaving just a little sticking up ....



Have a good swivel on the snare to keep it attached to the stake swivels are useless after the wire gets wrapped anyway...



On deep water runs I get everything centered how I like it and then step on it to get it to the desired depth.

Don

Them are set like I set them as well.

Here's a couple from the Ol' Buzzard...





















Again these are Buzzards pictures, posted totally against his will. LOL

~ADC~

My set up is just about like foxcatchers except I use a piece of tubing to hold the snare to the wire and for my stakes mine have a washer welded to the the stake about an inch from the top and I have a small hole drilled in the washer to help hold the wire more solid.

IMO, you are using too much cable for your snare. I know lots of trappers use 60" cable, but I am frugal. I build my own, and use about 42" cable. If the snare site requires more length, I use an extension cable.

The snare is not re-usable either with base length OF 42" or 60". BuY using the shorter cable I can build appx. 3 more snares for every 1 of the longer snares, or I can use the left over cable for building extension cables that are re-usable time after time.

I realize that saving about 2' of cable in snare length is not a lot of money if you are using galnanized cable. However, I use more SS cable than galvanized, and that 2' of cable lost into scrap equals about sixty cents per snare I have to spend somewhere else, or leaves me longer lengths of cable for extension cable or other uses.

There are so many opinions of cable weight, lock types, etc. that I really have little to add to your post, except use shorter snares.

Adios,
45/70,

If you look at the first pick real close it is exactly like your set up with tubing and washer. I just can't drive a 36" stake into my yard due to it being as hard a cement dry.

Don

I'm not there yet but it won't be long........trapping is the only exercise I get all year gotta make it count.

Don

My rebar is only 18" long. Actually using all the old stakes I had before I started using Pogos. So it's not that heavy....but I can't anchor a snare to it.

I tried carrying 9 gauge supports, and tried a roll of 11 gauge, but they just slowed me down. The stakes with pigtails make for FAST setting....and that's why I like them.

Why the stainless cable....if I may ask.

I definitely understand about making them long, but like you say, it's a lot of opinion and preference. I like them long so they work everywhere. If that isn't long enough, then I don't need to set there. That way, I don't have to root around in the boat for different length, or additional cables. It's a trade off....and sometimes that long cable is a pain when a beaver dives and gets hung. I really have to be carefull of that..and choose where I anchor wisely.

If I went to the longer rebar like show above....a shorter cable would be the way to go.

Now I'm thinking again....

My set up is very simalar. I prefer the micro-lock.

I build my own snares 48" long, with home made #9 swivels. I always have plenty of 5 ft extensions with me in case I need them. I try to set my snare where I have the smallest chance of entanglement, to give the beaver the comfort of going from water to bank, and back again. I feel they fight the snare less then, not to mention my swivel keeps working, thus cutting way back on snare damage.

Threads like this really get me amped for the season.

I'd be willing to try that Buzz. 11 Gauge is too much a pain to work with...and 9 gauge is out of the quesion. Despite all the fancy methods of anchoring 330s....I still carry my wire roll and do a double wrap of 14 gauge.

This is a great post! Alot of good info on here.

Why stainless steel, short answer, my pard and I trap live market, most of our snares are buiilt for live market work, ss is superior, and I'd rather spend my time building ss snares than galvanized,

This aside, cutting at a shorter length leaves you with more cable per say a thousand feet to build snares with, unstead of throwing it away.

Adios,
45/70,

Buzz works with 14 ga and sticks or whatever is available. This is how I mostly work beavers.

I would never let the fact that the snare was too short for the site, stop me from setting there.

But then, most time I'm wading, not boating. I get too far back into the swamps for a boat for me too "root around in".

TurTLe is running a set-up similiar to mine, and saving a foot of cable from the scrap pile with every snare he builds. I also run a very small lock.

Adios,
45/70,

I quit building snares! I can't deal with it, too boring and by the time ive made a dozen ive not saved a dime, is just as cheap to order them pre made per my spec's from newt, rally or whoever.

I like the cam locks, with a loaded snare they are super fast, no tail catch's in these YET! Ive also started using a smaller loop in certain area's/sets, around a 8 inch loop, not as many dinky beaver make it through them and adults usually have the loop around the neck. Would cut down on your pelt damage.

Rubber whammy's are fine, ive used them and they work great. I since have just gone back to my twisted .14 ga. wire support as it's what im more familiar with and as said it's easier to work with than stiff .11 gauge wire.

Not sure why your making them 60 inch's long, will work but seems like a waste of cable to me. A 42-48 inch snare is plenty for beaver and like was said just cut the snare off and attach a new one to your extension cable.

How true, how true!!!! I have my own spec's that my snares are made to and it is so much easier to pick the phone up.......

Looks like very good setup.
I just use something nearby for stabilizer but Id say yours works much faster. I also use a lot of guide, it has always seemed to work fine for me. However some of the best beaver trappers say stay a little less obvious. If its working for you, I wouldnt change it.

Heck Jackie...I don't know. LOL. I said I was a newbie at this snaring business. I think the first few snares I picked up several years ago were 60".....and I stuck with it. That long extension is all my doing though. I started with 4', then settled on 5'. I went to 6' when I started making the very large loop on the end.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the thread, and for all the info that was shared via PMs as well.

I know I can some catch beaver...but I sure like to see how other folks do stuff...especially you wise ones that have been doing it a while.

I've got a bunch of ideas now to play with....and more are still welcome!

THANKS!

Foxcatcher
What kind of locks are those in the 2nd picture?

PDK relaxing locks. They work alright but if you use them on coon you better be on a 6-7 hour check. Coon will chew like crazy in them.

They leave a faint snare mark on beaver if body caught.

Don

I'd never seen them but wondered if that was it. Buzzard--they advertised those in the Trapper as a "No Line Lock" I believe.

I think That is what they are calling them now since Kyle has the relaxalock name but when I bought them, back in 2005 I believe, they were calling them that before. Like I said they are really nice on beaver but coon chew out if you are not carefull