I catch a few beavers every year, I'm on track to catch 5-6 this year. Obviously I don't require a lot in the way of beaver gear, I own one 330 and one Bridger #5 coilspring. My #5 is set up right now on aout 8 feet of cable with a paint bucket full of cement for a weight, and, quite frankly, it sucks. More beavers than not end up either not going down the cable, or going down and pulling the weight back up on shore. So my question is...what would be a good drowner setup for a guy that only needs one? Something where I could leave the whole setup, trap and all, together and carry it all together, preferably. Something like a chain drowner, maybe, with a heavier weight attached to the end perhaps?

Ive got 10ft long chains rigged up with a chain drowning lock so I have three options for my footholds. Just run the long chain. Run to a deep stake as a slider or attach a feed sack with sand to the bottom sleep ez hook.

For the weighted drowners, I prefer to have somewhat steep dropoffs to use. If you have a shallow to flat bottom, the beaver do tend to drag the weight up.

Drowning rods of course are best.

I like rods myself.

I have 7 MB750s with either 10 or 13ft of 1/8 cable and a drowning lock. The far end I put on the bottom of a T-post and hammer it down a couple feet. Bank end is secure to a tree or whatever is handy. As long as water is deep enough they are stone dead and rarely ever even move the post.

I've drowned hundreds of beaver with 11ga wire and a long thin dry pole.
Most of where I trap has a clay or mud bottom,so shoving in a deepwater stake(pole) is no problem.
I often cut the pole on site and just carry the trap,pliers brush axe and wire.I often leave the poles wired and stood up under a big evergreen near the beaver ponds for use in subsequent seasons,either as drowning poles or snarepoles in winter.Depends on the circumstances in your area whether this is a good method for you.

Same here boco. I buy a whole roll of baling wire. Weighs about 75 pounds. Got a plywood box I keep it in so it doesn't tangle. There is several miles of wire in a roll. i will reset the same wire several times for coons but it gets changed after every beaver catch. Like what you have its mud bottoms around here. Been told its a bad idea but I have yet to have a failure.

I use a can filled with melted lead and a quarter inch rod loop sticking out of the top of it probably weighs 20 plus lbs and eleven guage wire tied off to rebar stake on the bank end in sand bottom creeks i trap the can seems to settle in solid enough they cant pull it out but yet i can get it pulled out with some effort and not have to wade out into deep water have yet to have a live one i dont trap tons of beaver like some do just problem stuff mostly

i had a beaver drag a heavy concrete block up to the bank. sitting there clicking its teeth at me

^^me too! 1 rod for your 1 trap will last decades.

A gunny sack to put rocks in and 15 feet of 3/32 or 1/8 cable with a slide lock.

I would think that old truck rotors would be harder for a beaver to drag out than the bucket. They work really good if you have a soft bottom.