beaver floats

Who uses them?
How effective are they?
Best bait
I bought 1 from a guy at convention thinking of trying to use a 220 since we can't use 330s above water.. Just now getting around to trying it. I don't even know how it will float yet.
So what bait should I use?
Lure it too?
just

Aix's beaver snare torpedoes pretty cool
Cfolwers post

I used what I had available in true trapper fashion. Had to buy the spray foam gap-filler, but that was it. I used an old river fishing jug made from 4" PVC about 16" long. I used a piece of all-thread I picked up at a yard sale a couple years ago for a buck. I used 1/8" cable. To attach the anchor end, I used a Hagz body-grip bracket.




I thought the end result floated pretty good. Turns out the bigger diameter pipe actually requires less weight and effort to balance. The problem was our current MO regulations require beaver snares to be sub-merged. While we are working to try and have that changed to half-submerged, I have an unusable tool.


Showed all the above to Aix, and he suggested maybe lowering the snare and getting a dive-stick beside the float. At least that was my understanding. As you can see, I also took Aix's suggestion and got some snares with lighter-weight locks on them. I can easily push the support wire down just a bit, and the entire snare is under water and blended with the dive stick.

Here, you can see that I just bent the support wire around to the side. Because of the larger diameter pvc, I didn't have to balance/rebalance the torpedo. Using a lighter weight snare also helped some I'm sure.

I'll point out that I didn't actually have a large enough loop formed when taking these pics. If the loop is made larger, there is less hanging below the torpedo where the snare swivel is j-hooked to the torpedo. I would also tend to believe that the dive-stick should stick out from the torpedo as far as the outer edge of the snare loop.

I used a piece of copper electrical wire to attach the dive stick. It's easy to bend, adjust, move around, etc. Plus it was laying there when I needed it.

My idea is to place a little castor or castor based lure on the snare end of the torpedo. Ideally, the beaver will dive under the stick as it maneuvers around the torpedo investigating.

I'm open to suggestion or critique. I can't wait to try it or the others I'll have ready by then.

And AIX's post

I am reposting this for anyone that wants to build torps. These instructions are for a standard torp. The snare is anchored separately. This is different from the all in one torpedo, but we aren’t going to worry about it right now.

I learned about floating log snare sets from Newt Sterling while I was at his place in New Jersey. I loved the set, but I didn’t want to have to carry in logs into areas where they weren’t nearby. This got me thinking...a pvc pipe, spray foam, and some weight to make it float upright should do the same thing but be reusable and easier to carry. Beaver Torpedos were born. There’s also an all in one torpedo, but I’d rather not focus on that for right now.

Torp Material List

2” or larger PVC (If you use larger pvc, it will be more forgiving)

PVC caps: 2

1/2” rebar: 18”

Spray Foam

Eye screw for attaching extension or sliding rebar through. Something like minimum 1/4” diameter, 1” length with 3/4” eye. Eye bolt may be substituted for eye screw.

PVC Glue (optional, but recommend)


Directions

Cut PVC to desired length (I prefer 2” pvc cut 18” long. Can be shorter or longer. Can also use larger diameter PVC. 3 or 4” would be an excellent choice. I use 2” schedule 40 just because it’s cheaper and works for me)

Cut rebar to length of PVC.

Put eye screw into one cap. For best results, it should be as low as possible.

Put one cap on PVC pipe. Insert rebar.

Fill with foam.

Place cap (with eye screw) on PVC

Place on ground outside with the eye screw as low as possible. The rebar will also settle at the lowest point.


______________________________________


A day or two later, once foam has cured, float it. Mark the dorsal side. When you add support wire, you’re wanting to keep the wire and snare as close to this as possible. It plays a part in the balancing-upright.

Add extension cable so that you don’t lose it. Remember that weight isn’t all bad. Weight is great, as long as it’s in the right place, and it isn’t too much.

Once completed, Float it with your snare. If it doesn’t remain upright, fa-niggle positioning of the snare and support wire. If that doesn’t keep it upright, let me know, because I can help you correct it.


2” caps cost less than larger sizes, and I didn’t have problems with it. However, i have little doubt that 3” would handle heavier snares better, because it would allow you to add more weight for the ballast.


Add a dab of your favorite castor lure on the end of the torp and, if your regs allow it, set your snare so that it’s 1/2 submerged. If your regs don’t allow 1/2 submerged snares, then try to get the regs changed if you want to use torps as designed...I prefer a little less than 1/2 submerged, but that’s another story.


I’ll add better pictures and edit the post when I get a little more time




Good luck

I like to use a couple pieces of popple coupled with a heavy dose of castor lure. They seem to work better on the bigger waterways where the beaver are not so attuned to their surroundings which can change quite often. Make sure you have sides on the float. They Work great for fluctuating water conditions and uneducated beaver.

WOW ain't seen anything like that Thanks.
Something to try next year
just

I went into the archives to look for pics but most of them you can't see.would be nice if we could get some of the veteran beaver trappers to post pics of there floats again for us guys that have never used them,but want to.

I usually will wire a small bundle of partly peeled Popple sticks together and wire them close behind the trap jusst above the surface. i also will staple a piece of cloth to them soaked in either a food based lure or a castor based lure to them.



And here is a pic of one about to get caught. I took the pic from my window


I no longer use the tall upright Popple stck in the back since they paid too much attention to it.

Here you go....

Never needed sides and caught enough beaver in them to keep using them.
I put a mud pie where the PVC is screwed down sheepwool in the tube with castor lure on top of it. And sometimes a poplar stick

I've used them mostly at the end of culverts where rain water makes fluctuating water.

Where I put them water in constantly flowing. This is why I don't have them crawling over the sides IMO
These waterways are usually 4 to 8 feet across. Ive only used them in still water where it's rocky and I can't anchor or tie off a trap easily. Then I find a steep spot and wedge them up against the bank. Usually with grass or cattail backing.

So you think they want to swim upstream against current to the opening where the trap is located,then trying to crawl over the sides or upper end of it?

Heres a pic

Sorry, can't transfer the pictures

Just wondering
Most of my 40 years trapping I have concentrated on coon . So beaver trapping is kinda new to me.
I'm assuming maple is a beaver favorite since rivers around here have lots of maple trees bordering them. So I'm wondering if maple flavoring would make a good lure.
Back in the old days lol i used to use a maple flavoring named 'MAPLENE to make maple syrup. Haven't seen it in years. IIRC you used a tea spoon in a cup of sugar water. Pretty potent stuff
Just wondering
just

anyone tried the 1.5 liter pop bottles in the springs for the up-and-down float system ?
as a float for rising river levels

Is it possible to get some rough dimensions of your float? Thanks!

MnMan
The dimensions of your float too please.
just

Float with catch.

Great Photos guys!! Learned a lot from this thread.

MN Man has it right with adding sides. Plenty of beaver will crawl over the sides.

Another float catch.

Yes

mine are just like turtle, Styrofoam in-between 2-4 , I pull it up into brush in the stream.so brush works as a guide.

That particular float is my biggest with the sides each being 36 inches long with a 15 inch gap at the opening for the 330. It is very heavy and larger than it needs to be. I have made 6 of them of varying sizes with the smallest having 30 inch sides with the same 15 inch opening. They all seem to work about the same. They are heavy and awkward and take up a lot of space in the boat but are pretty handy when I place them in front of my place in the spring for traveling beaver. Last spring they accounted for 15 right by my house and a few years ago when we had an early ice out, I caught 32 bever within 50 feet of my place on just 3 floats..
They have their place as another tool, but my preferred method is a foothold on a drowning rod where possible.

I use pretty much the exact same idea with styrofoam sandwiched in there.