Yes. Dig out your trap bed location up into the bank IF its not frozen ground

Hurry up and decide Dave. Up to 2 inches of rain Wed and Thurs.

The beavers will be on the move big time if you got open water-better have your traps in working order.Pelts go down hill fast after ice out.

When using footholds and castor I have the best luck setting my traps deep.....10" deep or more. The person who taught me explained that when Beaver are coming in to castor it is a territorial aggressive response. Often times they will try to cover up the castor mound we make with mud they carry in themselves. If a beaver swims in with an armfull of mud then you're not going to catch it by it's front feet. If you set deep then you catch that beaver every time by a back foot and you don't have to worry about it bumping the trap with it's belly and firing it. A beaver will swim in with an armfull of mud until the water is shallow enough (10" or so) for it to put it's back feet down. It also helps to dig that trap bed and recess the trap so that the pan is level with the bottom. There are very few fired traps without beaver when doing it this way. Staying legal with fluctuating water levels is easier too. It's spring and the water is up and down constantly.

It might been try cover up with mud in 1 place, not sure what happen, I have breast sticks. U think when it sticks at angle , they climb over an into trap, caught 10 in fall, 9 in footholds. Not sure why such problem now, I did set pa tension. Way up.maybe 4-5 lbs an on hslf notch set, bad luck , sprung traps an spook beaver , 2 inches rain don't sound good

I don't think pan tension is all that important in the water. Breast sticks can get a swimming beaver to plant it's front feet, but it sounds to me like they're just plowing through them. It's spring and the beaver are moving. Don't worry if you educated one. More will pass through. Try setting deeper.

Here picture trap water not deep. Make like this beaver catch I bet. Thank Trapper Les picture

If you set for a back foot catch make sure you have enough water and weight to get the job done. You know this already if you've caught a bunch of beaver.

Edit: I reread the original post. #3 isn't ideal for back- footing a beaver. Stick to trying for a front foot in shallower water like Nessmuck showed or you'll just lose more beaver. Get some bigger traps and you'll miss fewer beaver.

Need bigger traps for hind foot catching. I rember years back now. Setting resl shallow like 1 inch deep, so that what I really wonder. If small notch in bank with lure up on bank an beyond with some bait sticks. Trap maybe even with bank. Guide blocking so kinda v sometimes or about 14 inches wide. Breast sticks in front trap with trap pretty close bank, what does beaver do when hit breast sticks. Can he walk with front legs in 3 -4 inches water, if only less than foot from land or bank ? Or over breast sticks an kinda float if water 4 inches deep by bank ? Not figgure out why sprung traps at least 5 timez

Make believe you are swimming up to that piece of poplar in the bank. You swim up to it and smell the poplar stick with your nose...and now you want to put your arm down ......your not going to put your arm down in front of your nose ..right ! Your going to put your arm down to the right or left of center......so that’s where you put the trap... 4-5 inches to the right or left of center.....NOT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE POPLAR STICK...OR CASTOR MOUND

If your targeting a front foot you need to have the beaver WALKING.
Here's the way you bed a trap In unstable ground. Take a pant leg and cut section about 10" long. sew up one end. Fill the section about half full of sand then tie the end shut. Know you can place the bag at your location and work the trap down Into the bag. This will give you a very stable platform.

That is idea. I am pulling traps tommorow before heavy rain come , might try few snares sets over wkend. Wonder if they go up fake trail with caster lure , after possibly be spook by lure an sprung traps

Every 330 will have a beaver in it during a spring rain especially if you use castor lured sets.It will pay to check every day since your traps will be full of fur anyway if set on the right watershed.

U have more beaver there. Or ur main animal to trap in Canada, some states they much thicker were I go trapping beaver , that help lot

Somebody is setting off your traps. Put up a couple cameras and see. I've always had great results with breast sticks, rocks, sod - anything to get the beaver walking into the trap. 1 inch of water over the trap is fine... Silty/sand can be a problem but mainly by silting in so trap can[t fire, especially if boat wakes wash over the sets but also if melting ice from the bank above the set causes silt to run into the trap bed.

What are these trays ?

In silty muck I stabilize by pushing short wrist size sticks into the muck. Bedding in sand, my only issue has been sand settling under the pan. In those instances I use an under all.

A brown paper grocery bag works. Tear off a section large enough to put under the trap. Soak it up with water and crumple up. Straighten out and place under trap. Another section can be used as a trap cover also. Blends in with the sand too.

Pull traps yesterday. Bfore rain, hi water, 1 big beaver at end slider by Gunny sack sand, by hind foot, I set traps at 3/4 half notch with a good 4-5 lbs tension on pan , should u set more closer hair trigger ? I thinking that front foot beaver should be in like inch maybe 2 water. Not good for that for while with rain , I had more success in fall, I thinking maybe 2-3 lbs tension better to much. To much could also be problem ? Just guessing , no non targets, was careful way set an lure placement, spook beaver yes

Set 3 footholds today, used paper sack, crumble up an soak an lay under trap, exellent keep sand out. Got 3 bed in sand. With paper sack under. Some sand grass sod an grass. With sticks under spring levers an jaw to make fairly sturdy, 1 is more iffy, what if beaver hits spring lever or jaw an tips some. ? Not az bad as coon ? I had set 1 place where beaver caught, 17 days ago. Pull trap because lot rain, not much left set but old bait stuck an lure stick mud sand on it, beaver tracks all over it, no idea if smell it from that long ago, impossible