Boy has an otter tag, and I've never water trapped, so my brother gave us some traps and gave us a few pointers. I wait for the kid to get off the bus so he can come along, then we do our check, They ve been out since last Friday, we caught our first rat, and last night was a memorable one, our first beaver. A enormous 72lb female i assume. I had to drag it up a 12' vertical bank covered with prickly bushes about 12 inches at time. We sure had some good laughs. We stopped and showed the farmer and he was amazed how large they get, and very appreciative. Well i guess tonight i'll give it a go on the skinning, watched a few videos, got any pointers? Whats thoughts on hook knife for opening cut? I'll just go super slow and take my time.

Congratulations, that is a monster.

Holy what a pig for a first beaver! Congrats to you and your son.

I am not one to give advice on skinning. I am slow but get the job done. I just skinned my 72 pounder last night. The bigger they are the harder they are to handle when turning and flipping. Don't forget to take the Castor out. That is going to good money right now. Congrats.

AWESOME! I bet he'll have something to talk about in school today!

The only tip I have for you is to watch out for a blood vessel that runs on each side of the jaw, near the corner of the mouth. If you accidentally cut through that vein, the suckers will gush blood all over the place.

I've caught lots of beaver but every time I catch one, I never stop being amazed at how big they are. And 72 pounds is a WHOPPER! Part of the fun of beaver trapping is how physically difficult it is - big heavy traps, heavy animals, muddy ditch banks, etc. I don't know exactly why it's so much fun, but it is.

I'll bet your son was pretty impressed. He'll have some stories to tell on the school bus tomorrow!

hats off to all ya's.

way to go your son will never forget this day with dad

Wow congrats, And enter the tail in the Beaver tail contest on here for him, hope boss man makes it a sticky soon

Here it is https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthr...al-t-man-beaver-tail-contest#Post6695488

definately, thanks.

Nice congrats!

That's a whopper!! Congrats to you and your boy

That is a brute for sure! Congrats to both of ya.

i`ve always skinned case, it takes a few to work the back feet out but once done, hang and peel with a little knife work or better yet a machine would be nice.... also, like someone else posted a few days ago wait a couple of days to pelt. after finishing up with scraping make your belly cut and board. nice catch and what a memory for the young`in.

Great work with the beaver and your boy. That a big one. My biggest was 67# and I thought it was big.
I like a hook knife for opening cut. And I cut the feet of with lopping shears before I start skinning. Just take your time and you should be fine.

Wow! It’s a biggun. Great job Dad, great memories

Thats Great! Your Son must be pumped

Exactly ^ Beavers come and go but time with dad is forever! Congratulations

Huge beast! Had to be exciting for both of you. Congratulations and good luck on the skinning....the first ones are tough.