A mock pull out with a foothold that's within vicinity of kill trap will take many of those high bank visitors that work the mound from the bank.

I agree with you Beav. I normally set things that way but may make errors in that dept from time to time. ( Not sure how accurately this pic depicts this phenomena). Also when possible I try to dig out in front of the trap a little. I worry that the whole trap scenario looks like something they can get up on their hind legs and crawl over.

I can't legally set my 330's up on the bank in Oregon. Some portion of the trap has to be touching water when I leave it. The first pic shows that after my two day check the water had dropped by almost 2 feet.

I also do use some 750's with weights or drowner rebar. (Sometimes they're sprung too).

Mac, I completely agree with you. I always try to make the opening of that BG look like the best path through. But I may be limited by how much local material is there to construct barricades. As I cruise along the river looking for spots it is a constant thing that I am analyzing...how much work will this set require and what is around it to make my set. I pass up lots of good fresh sign to set where it is easier on me.

But in the end sometimes beaver railroad over my barricades, knock everything around and I may or may not have a caught beaver at the end of my cable.

My catch rate over the years is around 40-45%. When it dips below 33% I figure I need to move traps around or make improvements, or just move on to the next stretch of river. (Of course sometime the weather messes up the percentages. During freezing weather the %'s always drop). Breeding season has been going on for over a month now (western Oregon) and beaver are very active at castor sets.

Maybe the beaver's sniffing around before the trap fires is just due to smell from the trapper's hand. All of our hands tend to have odor on them, castor, etc..
I've had traps sprung like that before, I think it's due to the beaver crawling on top of them. I don't recall though ever having that happen when the trap was set completely submerged under a natural occurring log that the beaver were routinely diving under.

Yeah, the same experience here waggler. But underwater with ducking sticks I still get sprung traps from time to time.

I have found that there are times when you can over do all this guiding. Trying to force a critter to do something it doesn't want to do doesn't always work In the trappers benefit. And I think with all the guiding your just bringing more attention to your set.
I've caught a ton of beaver In fully exposed 330s just sitting In front of a castor mound.

^^^ I don't subscribe to that theory when it comes to beaver. Every time I don't go heavy enough I find where they went around the trap and re-made my castor mud pie with one of their own.

Makes me sad to see Mr. peeler with a truck load of beaver because I'm pretty sure it took him no more than 45 minutes to clean skin them all. I caught three beavers yesterday and promptly pulled all the beaver traps I had out being afraid of catching more before I got those put up.

Ha!.....I wish!