alright i got the permit and everything Tuesday and set that night. i put out two dam breaks with footholds and two castor mounds with footholds. yesterday morning i had a beaver in on castor mound and the dam break in each pond was not touched. anyone see castor mounds getting hit before dam breaks. any tips?

Sounds like you got it going in the right direction , I guess I would ask why you would mess with the dam ,

yep, they are animals. Some more curious than others, more eduacted, and so on.

And I guess my question would be, Why wouldn't you mess with the dam?

it is a damage job. i need to remove the dams so i but about a 1 foot be 8 inch break in it then set a foothold there.

Yeah zt. Me too.

because an "educated" beaver Knows?????,,,,,,,,,,,

these beaver have never been trapped. i have had soul rights to this property for 5 years. and only trapped the main pond last year. these new pond came up over the summer and fall. they are now flooding fields and cutting down groups of apples

It's most likely not legal to set a large foot hold on a beaver dam , but any way if you must just set it on the cross over , your trap will just get coverd in sticks the way you have it , if he fills the dam back and the water goes up 1 foot your other traps will be set to deep most likely, just stick to the castor sets there very deadly this time of he year , remember a beaver must be down wind to smell it . Sack oil sets work better than castor sets some times for me , you'll need sack oil from a differnt colony , use just a drop that stuff stinks smells like beaver BO , also some of the best brook trout fishing I have ever seen was after I took down the dam , the beaver dig a big hole In front of the dam

i have a permit that alows me to set traps on the dam for beaver. i can also use snares with the permit that was issued. i have #5 dukes set 1 foot back from the break in about 8 inches of water

Vinke, I told you before; our beavers come from Illinois so they certainly ain't educated!

the beaver is trapped in the foothold as he repairs the dam, the trap is not right in the middle of the break. I use it a lot and usually it is plugged with a beaver at the end of a pole lol. Just another set to add to your arsenal that is very productive.

Only if you are certified with a cable restraint class and a licensed nuisance trapper.

i dont have any cable restraints anyways.

Hopefully we will all be able to use them this coming season.

you are LUCKY!!!! ours have a Masters for the US government,,,,,,,,,,,

Vinke, you got me! My master sergeant had a Master's from Uncle Sam. ( Of course, he was dumber than an Illinois beaver )

I have removed many nuisance beaver in NYS. breaking down the dam I thought would be the key to nail them beavers coming to fix it. Not so. On jobs where I had to lower the water right away I would set heavy to runs. In the fall setting dam breaks do seen to work better but the beaver habit is at that time of the year is to have dam ready for winter.

To each his own.... but IMO a dam break using a foot hold and drowner is a last resort. Never, I repeat NEEEEVVVER ! make one with a body grip set in the hole you tore in the dam. I don't care if you know someone that has had 'good luck' catching them this way.( its the #1 way to make beaver trap shy when they trip the trap trying to repair the dam ) If there is a cross over on the dam , set the DOWN STREAM SIDE ( always !) of the dam . The trap can be 1/2 out of the water or completely submerged with a dive stick over the top.
Now, you young guys and novice trappers ,copy , paste and print this out in bold print and put it on your refrigerator with a magnet ...... your welcome.......... LOL ... ( I'm serious )

Good point. A lot of educated beaver come at the price of a misfired kill trap !