I have a situation dealing with educated beaver, so I've turned to footholds. A particular place I have set is an open water feed bed with a submerged log as their resting area. I first attempted to catch by the back foot by placing trap at such a spot where I believed the back foot would land when his chest bumped the log. No success. I then placed trap on top of log, supported by sticks in such a way as to make solid/stable. Two catches , front foot. What worries me is this is in about 16" of water, not an optimal drowning depth. The trap is an offset 750, long chained. I'm worried about a wring out. Any suggestions for a back foot catch?

I have no such experience. Just a suggestion. Attach a heavy weight on chain next to trap then drive a nail in side of log to support the weight until a catch. Might not drown the beaver but probably would prevent wring out. Another possibility would be a slide cable.

I guess it's a unique situation. Flooded timber and a log for a dinner table. Lol. I might try the weight Furvor, it would keep him down.

Bed trap like you would do for coyotes, make em fall into the trap and bury the shoulder. No wringoff that way.

Really you have a better chance of drowning them with a front foot catch in shallow water. It has worked for me with short chain on a drowning slide. You could try to kick the bottom out to make it a little deeper where the slide ends.

I caught a small beaver (this summer's young) in a 750 this winter while trying to catch the older individuals in the area. From foot catch held just fine with the off set jaw in a shallow water drowned set up.

J, you try snares on a drowner?

Spot these beaver are snare shy. Following behind a Trapper. Square shy and castor shy too. Have caught four total. Both the big adults and a couple of twenty pounders. Two off this log without ring out but it still makes me nervous.

If you don’t have much for entanglement why not put him on ten feet of chain and let him wander till he gets worn out . He will likely be curled waiting on the bank for you next morning .
Good luck,
Don

Golf ball it would take about a hundred foot of chain to get him to the bank. Lol. The feed bed or log is surrounded by 16" water.

snare shy surprises me. Maybe shiny, open snares but well-blended are pretty difficult for anything to spot. Just my opinion. Snares generally require more depth to drown than front foot catches. I would also not be using offset jaws in a situation where catching an educated beaver was important.

Truly educated beaver, to me, mean that your presence wading out like that would ruin the chances at the set. Educated to me means they monitor your presence in their area, and it directly impacts their movements. They can't be that educated if pulling multiples off the same set. That's just my opinion and nobody knows but the trapper who is there.

I'm not some master. Usually when I have caught the last of a colony it is either on a dam break or a subtle set that is well away from all the commotion caused by catching the others. Like a very subtle crossover trail or a spot that looks like a possible crawl out.

Those beaver have to be coming from somewhere else, I would try looking for other spots to set.

3 swivels in the first 12 inches. Anchor deep, but leave so it can get well out of the water. Check every morning. front or back you should have it.

Shiny is possible. Snares not as weathered as I like.
As far as wading out to the set it's more like wading by the set. The only time I touch ground is at the dam and levy which are past this particular set, and the pasture where I enter the flooded timber 100 yards away. It's definitely a unusual situation for me.

This is a picture of a beaver laying on the log he was caught on. I'll try to remember to take more pictures of the area tomorrow if light permits...

Water is up so I didn't get to remake set. This is a picture of the area. I'm standing on the feed pile side of the log.