Beaver Bug Bites!!

A neighbor of mine needed some Beaver work done a week or so ago so I half heartedly threw some traps in the truck and headed down to his place. Was not at all excited about this deal but what are neighbors for?? By the end of the week the "Beaver bug" had bit me pretty hard. The 10 I got at his place didn't cure the bug so when I got home I unloaded the traps right from the truck streight into the boat and hit the river. Going to pull later today and hit one small damage control gig before the season ends the 31st. I have a feeling I'll be fully cured by then!


Most of the time my partner has been my 8yr old male Chessy named Sue (Boy named Sue JC)


This weekend I took a kid from town along on a check.


Got him home in time for prom pics! LOL(Why do kids moms always think they'll be late when they hit the river with me??)


Sue looking foreword to skinning scraps.

gosh those beavers have wide tails! even the smaller ones

No kidding, too bad the contest is over.LOL!

Nice job. That contest is over when I start, in about 2 or 3 weeks too. We are still locked up tight with ice here.

I got a battered looking boat kind of like yours, that I need to put a motor on.

That big one in the first picture sure has a chunk out of his tail. Looks like a good time to me. Thanks for the photos.



B

Former Omaha here. What part of Ne. are you in? Is that a mud buddy on your boat? How do you like that?
Thanks for pics. Reminds me of times I've done Spring beaver.
mt

- nice haul right there. Look at the tails on those guys... and by the way, love your dog's name. I take my shorthair with me as well on most checks. Along with the Johnny Cash theme I always said if I ever get a black, male shorthair I'm gonna name him Cash. (The Man in Black).

Good work!!

Sure wish the ice would go out here - I have spring beaver fever bad!

In the 1st pic Sue doesn't look all that happy to be out there!!

Brad

Nice haul.Its good to be out after breakup.I think I will go out on the line and take a few when the creeks open up,if season is still open.Looks like we will have a late spring.

Nice. The beaver bug is nasty drives a fella insane. Thanks for sharing.

THANKS ALL!



I live on the Elkhorn River between Arlington and Fremont. Its an SPS long tail motor. I have had several Go-Devils and a Beaver Tail as well as several SPS Long tails large and small. I have to say I like the SPS the best. Easy to work on and maintain with regular shop tools, and definitely gets around in shallower water than the other two brands I've had. That said I should probably comment on Go Devils service. I feel its second to none. If whoever answers the phone cant help ya pretty soon the owner, Warren Coco, will pick up the phone himself and help ya out. When I asked to many questions one time he told me "look, we aint trying to put your boat on the moon, we just wanna get it back on the water, keep it simple." LOL





Good eye! He actually loves it out there though, but was PO'd in the pic cuz I threw a couple Beavs on his seat and made him scooch to the middle.LOL

Ended up hauling these out to the Eagles but didn't gain much ground cuz..........


I ended up hauling these back!


Decided to leave the traps out in the river and I'll set the ADC job up separately. Got rid of a lot of the big bruisers on the river and "easy skinners" moved in so I'll whack and stack a couple more days. .

Battered looking!! Why I oughtta, she's the queen of the fleet, or at least a close second. Your lucky Im all wore out from the Beav Bug!!.............LMAO!

Great haul. The bear hunters here would drool over those carcasses

Trapset, what size motor on your SPS ?

Mtt, I hear ya. The Eagles used to spook from half mile away when I’d come around a corner. Now they sit and wait for me like “it’s about time ya got here with the grub” lol

Trapperles, it’s the medium SPS kit kind of modified to accept a 16 hp Briggs Vanguard. Gets along pretty good with a load. The boat is a Lowe 1848.

Looks like your a clean skinner,trapset.

Thanks Trapset. I have the small kit with the 6.5 predator on it. And I am thinking about a medium kit for my boat that's like yours.

Good eye my friend. Good eye! LOL

Yes sir I am, far from the fastest clean skinner though. I just got done with 2 and did 7 before I hit the river to check so 9 for the day, not exactly breakneck speed. LOL I used to be a rough skin and flesher, I’ll never go back.

Trapper les, I’ve had the small kit with the 6.5 predator and loved it. I may have to get another since I have a 6.5 predator on my ice motor. I also have a med SPS with a predator 420cc (14 hp?) on a 15’ Arkansas Traveler and its an awesome combo. I like the 1848 for winter wood hauling and trapping especially when alone. Very stable and can handle the weight without drawing much more water.

Trapset be careful of that bar stool for a boat seat, we had a local try a bar stool in a canoe with adult beverages he upset the canoe hit his head and drowned while fishing. Just a thought to ponder.

Mr. trapset, would you clean out your PM. I want to send you a PM.

Trapset, I think you've shown your ice motor before, but I would enjoy seeing that again if you would like to share. Cant have enough boats .

Will do WWC, thanks. I need to be up high to see logs and other hazards just under the surface. The stool is bolted to the hat chanles so it won’t tip but it does take some getting used to.
Bar stool in a canoe? I’d say I have more than an average amount of practice at staying in a bar stool in various conditions but I can’t say I’d ever try that! LOL

nice pic thanks for sharing

Done! Thanks Don, I didn’t know it was full.

Had enough ice to run the river again this year, I think I took some new pics of her. I’ll look when I get back on computer, on my phone now.

Thanks T D !

Trapset nice catch. Now that you've gone plumb insane with beaver fever, you should know there is no known cure. But there is a treatment that will help to alleviate some of the symptoms - buy more traps and make more sets. The pain of all the work will slow you down over time.

Ha ha ha, no way Bottomlot! I’ll just have to suffer through. I think that treatment is worse than the disease!!! As is the case a lot of the time these days. LOL

We call that beaver bug "fleas".
A fella once told me the wide tails are the females..no idea if he knew what he was talking about.

What mod did you make to put that 16 hp twin on the medium kit ?

Those bugs on Beaver that look like fleas are actually called Beaver Beetles. They look much like a flea but only live on Beaver. Ive never been bit by one, but now that I said that I'll probably get mauled while skinning tonight. LOL

I haven't noticed the wide tails differing any from male to female but I do know this stretch of the river has quite a bit of current and most of the Beavs I catch on it have wider than what I call normal tails for their size. I always kinda thought the current may have something to do with it.????

A mounting plate on the back for the coupler to bolt to and moved the oil filter on the motor.

Also made an extra long handle with the controls on it by the throttle. Top silver disc is pull choke, Black button is start and red button is Kill and off switch.

If you get a chance, I'd like a pic of that mounting plate on the back. We had a thread about v-twins a while back on the SPS forum, and I understood then that some modificating needed done to put the 16 hp on the medium kit .

I can take a pic later today but it won’t show much because the plate is just a round flat plate that bolts to the motor then has another set of holes for the motor collar to bolt to. Once the motor collar is installed most of the plate is hidden behind it. Without it the bolt patterns don’t match.

I can’t remember if it came from SPS or my buddy whose a dealer (fungi on tman) had it. I can find out if you end up getting a V Twin.

It's alright Trapset. I understand. Not all the v-twins will fit the medium kit. Some have all the bolt patterns, some, the bolt pattern on the bottom needs tweaking, and the oil filter needs moved.

Trapset, in the pic with the "eagle food", what is that shovel handle with all the "attachments"?
Thanks

Its a handle for hanging on to when driving. It has a hook to hang my push pole on, that I use for reverse, push off when stuck, paddle, club and probably a couple other things. Also has a knife in a sheath and a maglight clip for a flashlight but recently found out the clip holds my .22 Cricket dispatch gun pretty well when there's not a light in it.




Something Ive been using the last couple years for boarding that I really like. Its the bottom half of an old swivel chair that I sit on a metal trash can. I can stand in one spot and staple or pull staples and have the can handy for trimmings and staple. I really like it.


Oh, and my Daughter came out tonight and took some pics of my drying rack. Their all doubled up and Im outta boards so I'm going to pull a few off and do some tacking after supper.

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