So whats the best way to stake with a long chain? Tried disposable anchors but wasn't very good. So didn't go with it

Last year I started using 18” of chain on a 24” wolf fang staked just below the water line. Worked fine as long as you don’t mind dealing with a beaver on the dam the next morning . I thought it worked well .

I think this method is mentioned in Locklears book. Laminated 1.75’s on land

Locklear uses a 1.75 for beaver ?

in his book "beaver blitzkrieg" (good book btw),he explains it better than i can. basically a laminated 1.75, bedded, staked on land. mostly under bridges if i recall. i'll try and get the info tonight if i remember

I remember he mentioned going though a time of using them just to learn how to. Apparently he had took some instruction from Jhonny Thorpe and he'd went over how to ( apparently he was the kinda guy who really really liked to streamline his traps to a #2 size for a time and trapped everything with them). Something about leaving how to do it with smaller traps made working with big traps much easier which makes sense.

Now days however I know he tell most folks to just go buy something like the beaver extreme

Smooth rod -T-Bar , lap link . Do it all the time.
As far as that Locklear 1.75 comment : ( and I didn't read it all ) I have (accidentally ) taken many a beaver by the front foot in a Duke 1.5 CS in pocket sets that were placed there for mink

With smaller jaw spread traps ya gotta be spot on with trap placement is what Mr. Locklear was trying to get across, perhaps. Thorpe used #2 4 coils for everything beaver included.