I set out 3 drownder sets yesterday for beaver 2 of them were tripped with nothing in them I dont know whether I didnt get a good enough catch on there foot or it caught there belly fur.what is the proper depth the trap should be at for a front foot catch?? Also how many beaver can be in a colony?? So far I've only caught 2 2 year olds in 280s

Try some bump sticks just in front of the trap jaws maybe 3-4 sticking up just a little higher then the jaw so they drop their feet before they hit the trap.

Thanks for the tip Law Dog.

Also increasing your pan tension to 3-4 pounds will help, as well as bedding the trap, ie get is set below the surrounding ground level.

What size trap? Small jaw spread = more fired beaver traps.

Beaver swim with their front feet held close to their chest. Unless you do the bump stick thing you will get lots of sprung traps or hind foot catches (if the trap is big enough). When they transition from swimming to climbing out of the water the front feet are often in a grabbing or clawing mode to help pull themselves out of the water. Not conducive to nice front foot catches.