I wanted to know what a good lenghth of chain would be for beaver. Wanted to have some sets that are not on drowning rods for a live catch. And what kind of chain would be preferred. I've always used drowning rods in the past. And still will. Just wanted more options. Use ts-85s. Thanks.

I've seen guys that have used it with success cite anywhere from 10-20 feet with a single rebar stake. It's peaked my interest too. I'm not much for drowners and haven't been much of a beaver trapper (I usually just snare them). I've noticed increasingly they are the majority of problem animals around my area lately and I might give it a run.

I have some experience with long chains about 12' to 15' long. What ever is sticking up a beaver will wrap around and twist off on. There cannot be ANYTHING sticking up out or the ground or in the water.

I use 10 ft because if longer they can get out of the other side. Anchor in the water but leave so they can get out comfortably. Snare or set for rear foot. I use several swivels and avoid grassy banks that will clog them. Beware of logs that will hold them under, not only does it drown them but can make retrieving a major operation.

Videos that show it are Locklears Night Beaver and Dale Billingsly's.

My beaver chains are 10’ #3 machine chain. Set up to either be a long chain rig or a chain drowner. Some discretion is good on where to keep them alive but I usually screw up and end up digging a few out of bank holes I never saw.

O 'Gorman goes into detail about long chains in his beaver video.

I've been using 10' of #2 chain and a couple swivels for some back foot live catches. Has been working so far.

Why do you want live beaver In your traps?

Water not deep enough to drown..

Attracts other beaver in the colony to investigate and get in your other conibears and snares.

If your on location you shouldn't need a live beaver to draw the others In. I may be wrong but I've seen where a live beaver or even a dead beaver would cause the other beaver to hole up or even move on.

BGs solve shallow water situations In most cases.

In my opinion It's not fair to the beaver not to put It down as quick and as humanly as possible.

The Beav. Good going . Drowning sets or BG. A live beaver trashing around to attract other beaver?
That would be an extremely rare occurrence.

That is why. Want to go to one property gang set in a location and be done as fast as possible. This was a topic in a locklears video using game cams on trapped live beaver. On the footage at least, it drawed curiosity.

Also, in my state any body grips 330 on up must be submerged in water. So swallow water with a 330 is out of question. Would need a foothold.

Don't you get chewed up beaver? I've had beaver killed by other beaver in snares.

I watched locklears flick and he even placed he lure In front of the trap LOL And he set the 330 In the vertical position In that pull out and by doing that your pretty much are closing off the opening and making the beaver crawl over the trap. And In the flick that's what the beaver did.
If you wanted to learn how to trap beaver hat would be the last thing I would be watching.

If I was limited to a foot hold I would run a drowning cable out to the deepest water I could find. I would target a front foot and I would add some type of weight to the trap or very close to It. A tie plate or a sash weight will work. I would also place a stop on the downer so the beaver couldn't get to the deep end stake.
You keep a beaver out In the water for any length of time It's going to tire out and drown. The weight Is the X factor In this system.

Before BGs we used 10' of chain staked 10' from the bank. Added a sash weight so It wouldn't effect the swiveling action of the trap. That added weight would tire out that beaver In no time. That weight Is what kills the beaver.

I would never set a foothold trap for beaver unless it was on a positive drowning system.
No reason for that.
If its too shallow to drown or at least submerge a bodygrip,walk a ways and move your set to where you can.

6 foot of additional chain, staked so the beaver can reach the bank and wait for me. I try to set it up so I can place a 330 submerged in a tight spot close to the paw hold. Many doubles this way. Ya just gotta be careful so the chain doesn't get tangled to far from the bank. Sash waits help wear em down but most are sitting on the bank waiting my arrival. The great thing is you can make sets with Knee boots.

I agree with Gus and others on long chaining them except I use two traps per set and find that extra trap acts as a weight and helps tire them out. Originally tried 10 ft of chain and deep water anchor....too much chain too many issues....then went to 6 -8 ft of heavy chain and like it better. And catching doubles is awesome!

I respect Boco and The Beav and their beaver knowledge, but you are being closed minded on this issue. I have taken 5 of 6 beaver in a colony in one night keeping one alive on a chain. In another case I caught all 4 in the colony in one night. This is huge when running ADC. I also have used it running a fur line, most often on a dead end line or spur on my line. Less often I have done it in a large area of shallow water with a snare, usually freshly flooded.

Locklear's video turned me on to this and Billingsly's showed how to keep the beaver acting naturally, and a good set for this. If they are thrashing after the first bit you are not going about this correctly. I also use offset traps for this. Just like foot trapping canines it can be done humanly without undue stress on the animal. Nobody is using BGs and drowning footholds regularly on coyote.

There is a learning curve with this and I typically back it up with all blind sets within 50 feet or so, all of them kill sets except the one. None of them lured except the one. You need to be committed to the 24 hour or less check as well.