I have a landowner who wants some beaver gone, I scouted it today and found lots of active sign.
There is no dam or lodge and no clear underwater runs to use 330's in but some good trails on land I plan to snare with 3/32 cable snares.

It has been a while (like 20 years) since I trapped beaver.

Are the prime yet, or should I wait to get them in January or later?

Should I also use some castor mound sets or bait the chewed trees with castor or stick with the land snares on the main runs?

snare the slides and if you find a fresh dropped tree set snares along the side of it. 10" loop nearly touching the ground.

I always "spring trapped" beaver, unless somebody NEEDED them out quick. Primarily, because all the other seasons were over, and I had the time, and had free'd up traps. As far as primeness of the hides. They are better the later in the season it gets. How much difference in $$ it makes, I don't know.

Castor mound sets in close to there, with a big trap on a slide, or snares like TD said if you can't find a den or feeder creek to get a 330 under water.

We found this odd for a beaver to be in this location. This is a tile ditch, that other than right where the beaver is at, is only 3" to 4" deep! You can step across it anywhere. This spot has a 30" tile coming out, and the beav. has dug a den RIGHT under the tile! In addition, it has chewed about 2' off the bottom of the tile. Its about 5' deep right there and a BEAR to get a 330 in the den. So, with both of us working at it in knee boots, and trying not to fall in, we got the 330 set. We also put in a steel trap at his attempt at a new dam. Farmer dug out the old dam last week. Tracks says its a large beav.
As you can see, the ditch is very small. It is also about a 1/2 mile off a road in the middle of corn fields, and not even close to a major tributary.


Here is Dad, who is almost 70 setting a 330 by hand! He wanted me to climb back up the bank, and walk back to the truck to get his setters. I told him "by the time I did that....just to let me have it, and I'll show you how NOT to be a sissy, and I'll set it by hand". I knew he still had it in him. Might have been a little grunting, groaning, and few choice words, but I didn't have to climb out of there to fetch the setters!!!


Creeks are still froze, so we didn't much set in the way of water sets. Hopefully, it will thaw out with the warmer temps next week. I'm basically working DP's, a couple bucket sets, and a couple coyote sets for now.

thanks. Setting a 330 by hand? Nice.

Great to see your dad out there Yaz. I have a close friend who just turned 70. He hunts and fishes just as much if not harder than I do. I tell him, when I'm your age I better be doing the same thing.........I hope we all continue with that drive and ambition.

Thanks buckwheat. He still goes at it pretty hard! He STILL hasn't caught that beaver!!! I HAD to give him a little grief over it! :p

Wanna borrow a leg trap for em just to throw something different at em I got 4 of em collecting dust at the moment. i finding no sign where i usually trap em. How close are ya to greenwood??

Thanks Trad!! He's got a steel trap in there too! I told him its pretty bad when he cant catch a beaver in a bathtub!!! .

Nope, nope, not going there, biteing my tongue.

Update. The "GreatWhite Beaver trapper" still has not caught the nuisance beaver!!! Fresh sign every day, and the 330 not touched under the tile. I asked him if it was a possibility that the beav was living IN the tile. Told him to stuff a bunch of sticks and stuff way up in there. Sure enough, all the sticks and crap were pushed out of the tile, and a lot of them added to the dam! Bet he gets him NOW!!! I'd never thought it........

I have trapped transient river beaver with castor mounds successfully. MB 750 offset to one side with poke sticks.

thanks. They aren't the MB 750 but I think my duke #4's will do the job.

Plan to get after old Mr. Chisletooth around the first of the year. =)

He finally got him last night!!!! He WAS living in the tile. He made a "V" shaped float out of 2x4's, and wired it to the tile, and as he slid out the end into the water, had to duck down and though the trap.

tell your pops way to go yaz. all that hard work and time paid off.

Very cool Congrats

Haha nice job. Hard earned beaver.

Nice one for sure! h.h.

Nice beaver

A big congrats to your dad Yaz. That's awesome. My dad has been running my snares for me since work has been so busy. I told him the other day I would be down but it was going to be late. He told me that he has really been enjoying running the snares. Even with no action, said it brings back some good memories of when he was my age.

Really nice Yaz. Its great that you get to share those times with your father.