I was out scouting some new locations to set beaver snares today and found this spot where a narrow stream enters the creek:



There was several broken pieces sitting on top of the ice:



The lighting in the pictures is pretty bad, and I may be way off base, but it looked to me like something crawled up on the ice here.

This is probably pretty elementary sign reading, but I have not trapped water much at all before.

Beavers will do that. I have never seen them do it it but I would guess a tail slap from below would do that.

Here, that would be a beaver.

Beaver

So that is from a tail slap by a beaver?

Alright! Thanks guys. Those pictures were taken about thirty yards from this spot:



I knew there were beaver in there but didn't know if or how one would break the ice like that.

I'm going to set up this location tomorrow. I've set all of half a dozen beaver snares in my very short water trapping excursion and have never dealt with ice, so it will be something different for sure.

I have seen beavers smash through the ice as it is forming in the fall. They kind of bash upwards with their heads, from what I can tell. Then they sometimes climb up on the ice to feed or preen, or sit there.

Pretty clear beaver or otter are trying to keep an open path thru that small channel into the open creek. With the feed pile close more than likely beaver. Seen them force up thru an 1" of ice many times(they will chew the ice some as well). They can get some good leverage when they can get contact with a hard bottom. 1.5" or more of hard ice locks them under most times.

This.

Nice bubble trail,guess you know where your gonna set your 330's.

Looks like that could be a small feed pile.
Do you normally have Ice In Arkansas?

I once watched a beaver swim 80 yards across this pond. It used It's head to blow up through the Ice about every 20 or so yards. Ice was only about 1/2" thick.

A beavers feed bed

We typically have ice on the edge of creeks around here, and small ponds will usually freeze over, for a few days or a week at the most. The bayou does not freeze over very often. Maybe once every two or three years.

I put out a couple of snares today and the ice around that feed pile was almost two inches thick.

I sat a deer stand and watched an otter push it's head up through the ice that was about a half an inch thick.

As shallow as that spot is they can propel themselves off the bottom with their powerful hind legs and their back and body can smash through that ice easily.

Bryce