The animals just come out of the bush waving a white flag when the beav shows up.

That's not true.
This last beaver trapping job ended up In failure and put me In a bad light with the parks department. I don't like to fail
but I guess It happens to all of us.
Things are froze up where you can't get on the ice and It's put all my snares and Body grips and foot holds out of commission.
If I would have known there was some nimrod In there In Oct I would have dry land snared those beaver where they were coming up In the corn field. But They were defently square shy. But I did take 2 In some 750s so all was not lost. But I didn't get them all.

But getting back to the boxes.

Tom Krause use to make a very short body grip frame. It was just long enough to hold the trap In place. He used hardware cloth (screen) for a pan.
He could have a board over the end with a hole In It Or he just left It open. He could shove It under an under cut bank or just kick a hole In a snow bank and place It In the hole. With or with out the board with the hole.

He also used a lot of boards to create a tunnel where they was a under cut bank. He just stuck the board In place and used a couple of sticks to keep It I place.

Those diggers hotline utility flags have enough memory to spring back- staple one to the outside of the box and have a trip finger on the pan or one that gets kicked out of the way when the trap fires

Yesterday I rebaited all my boxes with a slice of frozen burbot . The freeze dried venison scraps aren't cutting it, lol.

Not much snow here either. High water that froze. Weird terrain in the Marsh this year. In my garage attic are a dozen or so mink boxes that haven't seen daylight in about 5 years. Got some 160s with mesh pans so I'll give them a try with muskrat chunks. With the mild weather coming I should probably break out the possum stretchers too.

I've got 3 more set out, all at open water at the spillway of beaver dams. It has warmed up enough to open the water here or there.

Here in Wisconsin we can't set on/in or near Beaver dams. When I lived in Kansas we could and those trickles on either side was one of the best winter sets after freezup.

These boxes will pick up the occasional otter. I had one break a twin loop chain link on Friday, and recovered the critter and trap today downstream 20 feet when the creek opened up. I will change out the chain to a length of cable and a barrel swivel for these traps. That's a 110 with a spring add on, old square jaw, smoked him right behind the ears.

If you got a bunch of mink boxes out you will catch otter and other critters as incidentals quite often.A 120 will put the lights out on an otter quicker than a 330.I got swivels on all my 120's just the same.Once in a while a critter will stick his paw in a box.A belisle or LDL will hold them.

I've witnessed critters caught by the foot In body grips. And In my opinion It's not fair to the animal.

How does a otter get It's head through a 2" hole so the 120 will put out It's lights?

I left the end door up on that box. I have wondered if the door closed or open affects weather a mink will enter. I am not sure that it matters for the mink. I could have excluded an otter, maybe. But if they want something , they will mess with the box.

What 2 inch hole?


Nobody I know sets bodygrips as footholds on purpose.
If you have done any amount of trapping at all you know incidentals happen and swivels will help hold the animal more comfortably.

This 2:" hole.
That's if the door is closed, and it's about 2 3/4" to be truthful.

Maybe not In Canada but there are a few self proclaimed experts around that advocate using body grips as a foot hold.