This time of year they don’t necessarily have to come out of the water but they generally will.

I would steer clear of the dam and loving quarters for now. I’d set every entry and exit with a foothold on a drowner.

Are there old castor mounds from recently?

Same here.

I rarely set a dam. Not legal in Pa. Even with doing nuisance beaver work I find areas that they are feeding on the bank, castor mounds, and crawl out areas etc. If you have had others that spooked the area and the beaver you can be in for a challenge and a wait at times.

appreciate all the replies.

for the record, this was two seasons ago, but it still irks me, and I want to know what I did wrong.