First Time Beaver Under Ice

[HunterDave]

I'm getting ready to do some under ice beaver snaring for the first time and I figured that I'd share something that I found in preparation to starting. 5911ryan recently posted an awesome video and this is the method that I'm going to use. One of my locations is very similar to the location in the video so that is where I'll start. Here's a link to the video:

http://youtu.be/3No16a_-cOI

Anyone else trapping beaver at this time of year?

[rbsask]

I've been watching Ryans videos too. Today it is fairly warm here so I'm going to give it a try.

[mark-edmonton]

I have been catching them with a suspended 330 with some plastic green leaves on the trigger! Got a 60lber that way

[parfleche]

A couple of labor saving tricks here :
1 ; With lack of bait ; Use a small piece of styrofoam (Yes Yes I know !)garbage
2; Use 175 lb plastic quick ties , They are used as handcuffs , are quick and hold s 75 lbs beaver.
3; Bottom of the run is always harder than the sides.
4; One run will be used almost exclusively as toilet run where they dump sticks , dont use this one , This is where they carry sticks
5; Run indications are an indent in the side of the lodge where the side slightly caves in
6; When thick ice and hard freezing , caver hole with a lot of snow , like a mound and prevents freezing when you come back for a check .
7; Use a branch pruning shear on a long handle to clear feed bed under ice, hook and cut or saw a log .
I know the fur value is lacking but the castorium is still very good priced.
8; Just in case you are not aware LURE has NO value in under ice trapping! Don,t laugh some fellows think it works ! Your better off sticking it where the sun don,t shine for all the good that does LOL
9; When snaring close to the house , Beaver sometimes get to air pockets in the area where the ice freezes to the lodge , stay far enough away to allow suffocation .
10; last but not least , and this is the one I,ll get arguments about , Beaver do not drown they suffocate .
Check any beaver in a submersion set and it has NO water in the lungs , BUT it has petechiae under the skin small broken blood vessels , Indicates suffocation.

[waterninja]

Have to say that this has really got me itching to get out to the new location that I recently got permission on. I'm just a little concerned on whether my 2 wheel drive Ranger will handle the 1/2 mile private drive. I do have 2 questions for you guys that know....
... I noticed that Ryan did not have a cam lock on his beaver snare sets. Are you using them on yours?
... I took a quick look at the regs and haven't found what the "check time" is for underwater snares. Anyone know what it is?

[mark-edmonton]

No check time on kill traps as far as I remember

[HunterDave]

I think that Ryan mentions using cam locks on his snares. I bought a dozen 3' pre-made ones at Halfords with Adams locks to get me going. I'm going to buy the goodies to make 5' ones with camlocks. I'm going to do 3 day checks, they shouldn't take long in this mild weather. Right now I have 3 locations: a slough, a drainage ditch and a dugout.

This is my first location that is very similar to the one in Ryan's video except the lodge is about 50' back in the reeds. There are two clearly identified runs coming from the lodge to the feedpile. The landowner wants the "two beavers" out......I'm thinking that there's more than just two!





I have a good idea where the runs are.



My second location is in a drainage ditch with the lodge immediately to the left of the feepile in the bank. I guess that a feed pole either side of the feedpile would be best, not sure.

[Tfng]

I plan to do a little under ice beaver trapping. Last year I used baited conibears and had some success. This year I plan to try some snares. I've copied an idea from Rally Hess, a big numbers beaver trapper in the states.



5/64 7x7 "beaver spikes" it's a snare and support all in one. Drive the spike in your bait pole and run a safety cable through it and you're done.

That's a good video by Ryan as usual. My only concern would be he will get snared beavers up on the ice if the hole doesn't freeze quickly in warm weather.

I'm as green as they come snaring beaver but using such a large hole is contrary to the research I've done in preparation. Thoughts on that?

[waterninja]

I'm as green as you are, but since I don't have a chainsaw to cut through the ice I'll be making smaller cut outs also. I plan on using an ice auger for initial holes then spud or axe to open up completly.

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by waterninja

I'm as green as you are, but since I don't have a chainsaw to cut through the ice I'll be making smaller cut outs also. I plan on using an ice auger for initial holes then spud or axe to open up completly.

You're in for a workout! Have you got good spuds? Luckily it's been warm this year, I noticed some runs in front of lodges were open a couple weeks ago. I bought a 28 inch bar for my saw this year but it doesn't look like I will need it.

I had issues last year with a 20 inch bar even in the runs, I could cut some places but not a lot of bar to spare. (In March)

It's a great day today, I think I will go make a few beaver sets this afternoon.

[HunterDave]

I figured that I'd provide an update about this one location. I'm not sure who commented that I ought to be able to catch about 12 beaver out of this spot but I think that he was darned close. I caught my seventh today and they have all been large or bigger.....no kits yet!

Originally Posted by HunterDave

This is my first location that is very similar to the one in Ryan's video except the lodge is about 50' back in the reeds. There are two clearly identified runs coming from the lodge to the feedpile. The landowner wants the "two beavers" out......I'm thinking that there's more than just two!

[URL=http://s743.photobucket.com/user/lifetimepassion/media/008_zpsadtzugws.jpg.html]

[parfleche]

depending on the depth of the water that appears like it could hold 6 to ten beaver , likely third year in there . male and female, two year olds and a new set of pups from last year. The shallower the pond the wider the feed bed.
But there is always the hidden factor!

[Tfng]

Bump. Too bad Parfleche is gone, he had some good advice.

[Saskfly16]

12+ inches of ice everywhere else but around one side of the feed bed and the entrance. It was truly scary how thin the ice was there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ssteward]

Did my fourth check today on 6 beaver houses I have traps and snares set at. Been very successful with the 330’s in the runs but not so with my snare poles. I watched 5911 Ryan’s video on beaver snaring and am following his setup but just can’t seem to produce. I’ve got 2 beavers in snares out of 5 sets in 4 checks. Is it to early for snares? Are snares more effective later in the season when the feed bed gets eaten and starts to go bad? Just wondering if I should just focus on setting more 330’s, thanks in advance!

[HunterDave]

Although snares work I’ve Found that setting 330’s on H frames in the runs are much more productive. The beaver have to come out of the lodge but they don’t necessarily have to choose the green poplar at the snares. Unless i’m Showing someone the snare setup I trap exclusively with 330’s in the runs. Snaring is a good skill to learn and fun to do but if you are trying to put up numbers i’d Stick with 330’s in the runs.

How big are the castors on the ones that you’re catching?

[Ssteward]

In the 40-50lb beavers I’m catching the castors are about the size of a plum.

[HunterDave]

.