I have done option 4 many times over the years, some for taxidermy, others for crafts, etc. While you can get a premium in those markets, it's pretty hard to move any volume, (not that I catch a lot of anything).

Even though I wouldn't trap marten @ $25, I wouldn't consider beaver at even twice that price. The time involved in beaver is not worth it at all. If you need beaver for bait, get them in the spring after the ice goes out and save them.

That is my M.O., exactly, on beaver.

Where I am,I find beaver easy and fairly quick to put up and I enjoy putting up beaver. The season is long, over 7 months means you can harvest a lot with a flexible timeline from fall,winter and spring.
With the volume that can easily be accessed,and Include the hide,castor and meat beaver is the most valuable for me right now,even on the raw fur market.There is also a great demand for castor at high price.Sold 130 castors recently for $1100 so that is around $8 per castor avg for every beaver harvested.
The tanned hides also sell well here to fur sewers,They are the top fur in demand for goods,and move at good volume.There is no market for tanned marten at profitable levels.
That said marten on the raw fur market has always been the "bread and butter" for northern trappers here,but not at a $25 avg today.
Just got a big box of fur back from the dressers yesterday.I add value to pelts by repairing any small defects and pre-blocking the tanned skins before selling to the fur sewers.

Can you explain to me the process of blocking tanned fur? My wife has been making hats and we heard about doing it to get more useable fur per pelt but haven't been shown or told how to do it.

It takes the excess stretch out of the leather and makes the marking cutting and sewing more uniform.
To block tanned fur,first go over the skin on the leather side as well as the fur side,to identify any leather and fur defects to be removed.Mark and cut out any defects for repair(there are certain ways to cut different defects for a proper repair with minimal loss of sq inches).Mark any fur defects like clips using straight pins pushed in from the fur side.Any bald spots like armpits or groin area on canines can be cut out also and re sewed at this time.
Once the defects have been cut out sew the skin where the defects were removed.
Now you can sponge the leather side with warm water,and fold leather to leather and let it sweat for a half hour.After that unroll and pull the leather gently in all directions.It may need another wetting with the sponge or spray bottle,then tack or staple the skin out,stretching it enough to remove any wrinkles or irregularities from the repairs.
Let it dry overnight then remove from the board and it is ready for marking,cutting and sewing into a fur article.Any leftover pieces can be sewn together like a patchwork to make what is called a plate.The plate can be blocked again after sewing to take out any irregularities so it will lay flat.
Once your product is made you can take the stiffness out of the blocked leather by tumbling in a dryer for a few minutes with the heat turned off.

Thanks

Thats somme good looking beavers there boco ..nice job

Cheers

Bob

REALLY good looking beavers!

The more damaged ones(with repairs) I block square for my own use.
I sell the good ones mostly to fur sewers from up north.They prefer the beaver to be oval.

GFW (Groenewold Fur and Wool)ALASKA FUR BUYER:
Bill Wivoda
Arctic Raw Fur Co.
(907)-750-1952

I have a ADC friend who can't legally give me the beaver but he let's me know where he puts them in the woods.

Talked to Bill the other day and he said marten is now at about $40 tops and lynx around $100 if skinned out for taxidermy.