I considered wire but I would like something I can use for other applications as well and be reused year after year.

be sure the carabiners will fit through your staples before you order them.

in the spring, everything in the slough will smell like rat musk. if you use a different smell, or most any bait, youll most likely attract coon. you dont want that. if you think you need something for a lure, just toss a handful of smelly slough mud on the float. we lured our floats once, and they were rained on, snowed on, etc, for the next 4 weeks. the catch never slowed down.

the rat isnt attracted to your float by bait or lure. hes attracted because its another spot he can crawl out of the water and deposit his own musk. luring more than once is a waste of time and lure, same with bait.

I think that was the quickest project to leave the back entry. I got it done in about 3-4 days and they're back outside under a roof. All have foam under them, good pole supports to keep them from floating off, and fence staples that will fit the new carabiners. They're all ready for this spring. Here's a picture of most of my designs, I have one more but it was buried under the rest and I only have 2 of them. I have only built a dozen floats and that's the one closest to the right boot.

I finally got some action. I went out for a drive today and went to the lake where I had seen the colony of beavers earlier this year and was driving around the lake when I saw some fresh cut trees. So I stop and hop out of the truck and look around and I find a muddy trail heading up the hill, and about 200 yards to the North and South. About 10 yards from the first tree was a breathing hole, about 18" x 18". I think I have finally found where they are feeding from or have some more bank dens. I know where one of their other ones is but no chance to get at it since I can't find the runs much with the snow on the ice. Going to set it tomorrow after this storm rolls through. The plan is to drop a baited 330 down the hole and then another one about 10-15 yards from that one. I might also try to construct a snare pole too since I have some beaver snares that I got from a guy.

I like finding spots like that, good job!

Yep, first time finding one, best part is I can drive within 10 or so yards of it.

Well, nothing in the trap yesterday but I did switch how I had it set up. I had it on a stick before with the springs spread out to keep it in place but the water was too shallow for that and made the springs freeze. So yesterday, I just took a branch and a good piece of wire and had the springs going up and down and then I put the piece of wire through the ends of the springs and put the stick through the U of the wire. I then dropped it down the hole and wired the chain to another brace going across the hole. I also took a small glob of Dobbin's Backbreaker and put it on a broken off piece of driftwood near the hole.

So I go out there today and pull up to the hole with my dad. It's frozen over again like yesterday so I chip it open and I see that one of the springs is tripped. So I pull and pull and see fur through the water. Well, the hole wasn't big enough when the springs were set off, so I had to use the setters and set one and then chip the hole out some more. The result was a small maybe 10-15 lb beaver, my first ever being caught. I reset the trap the same way today and hopefully, I'll have another soon.

Good job!

Good job Youth Trapper.Looks like winter there somebody dropped a truck in here last week.

Thank you, yeah we still have at least a month or so before it starts looking a little less like winter. Was thawing for a few days and then we got snow on Tuesday. Now there are 3 days of snow in the forecast for next week. I pulled the trap today since it was about 40 degrees and the ice was making some weird noises.

Went out today and checked, and pulled the trap since the ice was being weird. Will wait to set another one until later next week. Nothing in the trap today but it was set off and had fresh chewings near it so I think a beaver might be a little more trap smart than it was.

Why not just leave it set? No extended underice check time?

5 day check on traps under ice in SD.

Well, forgot to post yesterday but better late than never. Went to the fur buyer's and he fleshed and stretched my beaver for me. Just stood around and talked for a while, usually how it goes but I enjoy it. Here's the picture of the beaver on the hoop (he uses wire hoops instead of plywood).





And then today I started working on another project, which was a dogproof storage/set box. I wanted to have a way to keep dogproofs organized but also be able to preset and prebait them. I plan to get a wood plug or some type of plug for the top so the bait doesn't spill. Now all I have to do when I get to the set spot is pound in the anchor, set them, and lure them with a trailing scent or gel type lure. Here's what it looks like, haven't looked at plugs yet but I have a good idea of what I need. I'm running stock chains with cable berkshires attached to them, Most of the Bridger T3s have flat stakes on them though.

if you want the dog proofs preset and baited, a wooden dowel about 1" diameter will work perfectly. cut them 4 or 5 inches long, bait the trap, compress spring, and insert the dowel, then release the spring. youll still have to set the trigger at the set location, but youll save alot of time at the set, and only have to compress the spring a tiny bit to set the trigger. traps cant fire while bouncing over bumps in the back of your truck.

Yep, that's the plan. I couldn't remember the diameter of my shovel handle; it was still in the garage last night.

Well, today was pretty relaxed. Got some 1" dowels for the dogproofs and now that project is done. I will have to keep the lid off the tote when they're baited and the plugs have tension on them since they're already kind of bulging the lids. It's still better than how I had them, in a pile in the back of the truck.

looks good. when resetting after a catch, push down the spring and insert a dowel to hold the spring down. much easier to reset the trap that way.

I have an old trapping shovel I got from a guy who only has remnants of his trapping gear left and the handle of it is perfect for this. I plan to use it since it's harder to lose a big shovel compared to a small wooden plug.

sounds like the perfect tool for the job. when resetting, we use an 18" dowel, painted orange.