I’m certain this is in a “secrets of beaver trapping” book somewhere but I’m gonna share my personal experience here.

I forgot the castor one day and pondered what I could use to entice the beaver to where I needed it to be. I noticed it had clipped off a small stick near the dam. I cut a small branch off a near by tree. It was probably 6 foot in length with smaller branches on it and stuck it in the mud next to the one it had already cut. I don’t have a before picture but here is the after pics. The branch I placed is on the left.

i'll sometimes make it look like another beaver cut a small tree and left it.sharpen a small branch to the stump already there.

I've got so many bottles of beaver lure scattered around my house, truck and fur dhrd this won't ever be an issue lol.

Why did you mudd it?

cut off any green limb and shove it down into the mud in about 2-3 feet of water the beaver will cut it off right at the top of the water.

I didn’t, that’s where I just pulled it up trying to show it wasn’t rooted. lol

Peel that stick in a few spots with your knife....eye appeal and stank

Looks like he took the bait. Did you catch him?

I have made a variation of this set with a small bunch of 1" willow shoots at the waters edge, it worked in a pinch.

Oh ok

You can break off a branch and "plant" something NEW ...meaning stick a stick in and they say...where'd that tree come from.

Just their own white flating peel sticks laid together in a new spot on the bank will get them over to investigate.

A pile of mud ( although better with lure) is still a method for attracting

Green Willow or Cottonwood branches work well here after ice out and b4 the green grass shows up. I peel some bark like Nessmuck says. Then make a small "V" in bank at waters edge, stab bait stick in the back of the "V", bed 750 in 6"-10" of water in front of it. I almost always set in pairs on the river. Many times I use one castor mound set and one bait stick set. Just ordered some "Woodchipper" from Paul to try with the bait stick set this spring. I have found many times the bait stick will snag the last Beav or two that for whatever reason are not responding to castor mound. After the tender grass starts showing up on the river banks the bait stick is not near as effective here. I see Beaver out in middle of the day grazing on new grass in spring.

I do that here with small green poplar sticks quite often.

While we often employ some combination of castor, bait and/or commercial lure when making a beaver set, they are probably the easiest furbearer to catch in blind sets by just setting where they are already going. When you set an obvious existing run or crawl out and add a bait stick or lure, did the bait get them, or would you have caught them anyway without it?

Actually, every catch I have made I have drank a Monster Peach Tea. That is why they were caught. lol

Called a bait set, Hobbie. Caught many a beav off of bait sets!

But did you pee on the stick or mud pie After the Monster ran through You?

Now thats A SET!!!

The best beaver sets require no bait or lure.

I always make a few sets with popple and no castor, especially along dam if I am trying to take them out. If your bait is gone every time you make a catch, you still have beaver. Might as well gang set with no castor, so every body doesn't get to smell it and become disinterested .

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Charlie Dobbins shows a similar set on one of his vids.

I make a deep water set using a bundle of bait wired together with a few blazes on the bait. I use this set a lot at the points of sand bars out away from bank . It works best in about 2' of water. Shove the bait bundle into the bottom, and set a trap, or 2 in front of the bait.