If any of you in the following states could help with questions on beaver trapping reg's in your states i'd appreciate it.

Ky.
W.va.
Pa.
Mich.
Ind.
Ill.
Tenn.
Virginia.
Maryland

When is your season , start to finnish .

Does your state allow #330 size bodygrippers to only be half submerged or do they have to be completely submerged ?

Does your state only allow #330 sized bodygripping traps to be used during beaver season ?

Ohio needs a beaver season that runs thru March , doesn't need to come in before 12/26 but could maybe a few weeks earlier .
If we could use over 7" bodygripper & only be half submerged & use that only during beaver season, we could use float sets with #330's .

Maryland:

https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/hunt_trap/furbearer_license.aspx

12/1 (All counties except Garrett and Allegany) or 12/15 ( Garrett and Allegany counties) through 3/15.

Yes, has to be partially submerged.




You can use them for otters too, but really the refs don’t limit to what you trap. As long as it is partially submerged.

Our season starts the middle of November and runs through the month of March. 330’s are to be completely submerged but in this area ( farm country with heavy drainage) we have been granted somewhat of an exemption. We have been told we are legal as long as the springs and rivets are submerged that we won’t be ticketed. It is a simple matter that out drainage ditches fluctuate quickly.
Our beaver season is longer than all other seasons accept otter, so yes 330’s are used all season long .

I can find nothing in the Hunt trap Digest about 330s having to be completely submerged. It doesnt expressly say that I have found. All I have seen is this from the digest.

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Video produced and taken from the IDNR youtube page. This is one of the videos used in Illinois online trapper education course. His 330 is not completely submerged. I believe you have a case of a Game Warden who doesnt know the regulations that he/she is supposed to enforce. One of my local wardens has told us they just have to be in water.

Ttt

I’ve got a call in to the DNR for clarification, I can’t find it in the digest either. Since we had been told that a couple of years ago ,perhaps they changed that law . It would sure make life a lot easier, after all most of the beaver trapping around here anyway is done in drainage ditches and this is where we have the fluctuations in water levels.

Indiana they proposed to be 1/2 submerged , will get voted on in march 2022. . It is still currently completely submerged. season runs Nov 15 to March 15.

You sure about that? I thought that going from fully submerged to 1/2 was still in discussion.

To save you some time, there is a big PDF that asks these types of questions to all states about everything trapping. Kind of nice to see it all in one package, I'll see if I can find it. It's by FWS.

Here it is, there are several great links with awesome information.

https://www.fishwildlife.org/afwa-inspires/furbearer-management

I stand corrected, it gets voted on in march.

I too stand corrected. A 330 only has to be IN water except on DNR sites where they must be fully submerged. It is recommended that a 330 be half in the water to account for falling water levels.

On a side note , 110’s and 120’s must be completely submerged.

I'll never understand yankee's! lol

No nothing here, kill them year round however and whenever you can, lol.

Who you calling a yankee ? I just live here for now .

I don't see where it shows all the states regulations on that link.

MS isn't on your list but we can use 330s here anywhere any time, on land or in water. On public land, 280s and 330s have to be partially submerged.
Beaver season is 365 days a year.

I'm from Ohio myself, and am both a fur and nuisance trapper. I totally agree that we need much more liberal beaver trapping regulations. I'm sure many more beaver are caught as nuisance animals rather than as fur during the open season. Of course, that's great for nuisance trappers. I make way more $ without so much as lifting a knife that way (other than pulling the castors=perfectly legal). Unfortunately, to me that's a wasted resource in both landowner/manager cost and lost recreational opportunity For others reading this thread not residents of our state, it's not legal to sell hides of beaver taken outside of the open trapping season while nuisance trapping.

Ohio's season runs December 26 to February 28. Ice, flooding, and snow can create severe challenges some years, making it very difficult to operate during this time period. Honestly, I suspect it hinders the removal of beaver that will end up becoming "nuisance animals" when they start to disperse, instead of being trapped as fur critters for free and providing recreational opportunity.

I'm a fan of having the season from December 1 to April 1 at a minimum, and would be glad to see it open on November 10 with everything else. This will at least give us a week or 2 of open water trapping on the tail end of the season most years, and that should have a huge impact on removing those travelers before they make a new home and become nuisance animals. As to fur quality/primeness - leave it up to the individual trapper to decide. If a guy wants to chisel through 8" of ice in January to get #1 prime skins, so be it. If a guy wants to catch early "hatter" beaver with his coons and muskrats, good for him! As for myself, maybe I'd trap at the tail end, enjoy those beautiful early spring days, and risk having some "slippers" just because it'd be fun.

Great thread, I'm glad you are bringing it up. I think we can get a longer beaver season, with sensible 330 regs. (1/2 submerged) long before they let us harvest those precious kitties!

I have done both, fur and ADC, there is no comparison. ADC use what catches the most the fastest. Foot holds catch beaver and if you know what you are doing only beaver.

Thanks for the info .