On the beavers find a narrow spot in the river or a creek that branches off the river. When you find that spot fence it. You Make a actual fence out of some beaches pound them down in the mud and force the beaver to swim through that one pinch point opening. Not sure what your trapping laws are but with this set you could get by checking set every 3 or 4 days because of water / drowning type of set. You tube beaver fence set. Will give you good info. MD

Get yourself to a trappers convention this coming summer. You'll learn a lot.

-All

Thank you for the advice so far! I will spend some time in the archives! I am planning on heading out to set my line sometime this weekend. I will take pictures of the area as well as some of my sets to better describe the circumstances. I am glad that I found this online community. I think with everyone's help I just might be able to get the upper hand on these beavers.

Contact your state trappers association and see if you can get a mentor to help you out. You'll be light years ahead of the game as well as make some new friends!

I would think that fresh mud would get the attention of any passing beaver. Especially so at this time of year. A notch cut in the bank with fresh mud and a peeled stick or two guarded with a 330 should do the trick.

Update...

I made it out yesterday to the property and I ended up helping the owner build a fence for a majority of the day so I was only able to make two sets before I had to take off. I have some good news and then better news. The owner told me he had seen the beavs twice roughly around the same area so I investigated and I think I found the lodge. When I was kicking around the water along the bank to find their entrance I was sinking up to my knees in quicksand like mud on the river bottom. Anybody have any tips for fighting mud? Anyway the good news is I did find two underwater entrances and I set up a fenced 330 on each. The better news is I came into contact with a gentlemen who had grown up trapping beavers on this creek his whole life. He says he's too old to trap now but he is willing to take me out and show me the ropes here soon. Trappers are some really good people.
I took a picture of the lodge but my phone died shortly after so this is all I was able to get.

Looks good.You should have beaver tomorrow.I stay away from the lodge and use snares myself.You spook them alot less if you stay away from their lodge.You will shorten your learning curve a lot with the other guys help.

@forestman3

I agree, im very excited to spend some time with the expert! Im getting some snares here soon and I think I will start nailing them when I do. When you say you stay away from their lodge how far do you mean? There are some fresh slides on the bank I took the photo on, would that be too close?

Any variation of a cubby you can come up with, sticks, mud, under cut bank, etc. guarded with a 330 and some castor or castor based lure in the back in both directions away from the house

Snares and or 330 with a beaver float

The slides would be fine.I think when you start messing around the lodge(they know your their) and when their buddy doesn`t come home they put two and two together and can stay in the lodge making them harder to catch.

Beavers!!

nice

Can I officially call myself a trapper now?

Careful Boone, those beavers can become addictive, good job!!!

If you're willing to put in the effort, IMO you can be called a trapper before you catch a single animal. Now, a seasoned trapper, is another thing altogether...I'll probably never even make it there myself!

Pull the castors and oil sacs out of those and you can make your own lure.

I have a very similar river on my trapline. I use a set that works good if the wind is blowing out over the water. Drive a 3-4" diameter dry post down into the river bottom about 24" inches from the bank. Saw the top off so that it sticks out of the water about a foot. Now smear castor lure on the top of the post and set a #330 between the post and the bank. If the water is deep, submerge the #330 and use a few dive sticks to anticipate any water level fluctuating.
The idea here is that the beaver will smell the castor but will not be able to locate it because it is too high. So, he will swim back and forth trying to locate the source of the smell and hopefully into the trap. I have used this with good results in the past.

Good job! There's some good eating right there!

Congrats!

Moosetrot

Becoming proficient with snares will be a very useful tool for you, if interested in that. High quality, premium snares aren’t difficult to build yourself if you’re willing to practice and work on it. Once you know what you’re doing, you can save the locks, support collars, swivels, and extensions. All you’ll lose after each catch is a short piece of cable. Pennies.


Snares will allow you to make sets that you really can’t make with other trap types, such as hanging them off of a tree, blind or with lure. These are great for places where beavers are swimming by but there’s not really other options for other trap types. It’ll also allow you to make trail sets as well as typical lured, channel, and crossover beaver sets.


You’ll find that snares are a very effective and cost friendly option for beaver trapping. Other animals too, but especially beaver trapping.