Swamp Wolf I have your post on the trays. I understand the use of them also. We have a lot of poor bottom areas here so I am glad you brought the tray discussion up I forgot all about it thanks. Can at least try one or two.

I use them entirely as a trap platform in deep muck. They speed up and increase efficiency of foothold beaver sets, especially at dam break sets...or castor mound sets on mucky edges. No more fiddling around trying to stabilize the 750s, B5s, NoBS', or CDRs....yeah, I got a few of each...lol.

I prefer front foot catches.

The trays work as well as magnebeds for soft muck as far as just getting the trap stabilized, as long as you have room for them, and different shapes can help with that too. Matter of fact if soft mud were the only challenge I face I might have never come up with it. My original was not even intended for soft mud, it was for placing the trap at the edge of a vertical concrete abutment to deal with an educated beaver, and it worked so I kept messing with it. But it turns out they work so well in soft mud that I now use them for that alot. They have a “footprint” that sits completely under the trap, so they can be set tight to clumps or other vertical structures, and are generally vastly more versatile than a tray when it comes to other situations besides deep mud.
Like swamp wolf with his trays, I dont even mess around with old fashioned bedding unless I have “perfect” bedding bottom mud or sand. Even then, if there is flow I often use the vertical control of the magnebed to hold the pan up just a bit in the current to keep the underside of the pan washed clean and not packed with sand or silt.
Which makes me think, I have never tried the trays in flowing water - swamp have you had any problem with the whole tray silting in or anything like that?

Me too, but I end up with too many problems involving raccoons and geese when I set shallow.

Why not just snare them? It don't matter what the bottom is like then.

Well in Maine, we have laws that prohibit setting snares unless they are under ice. I suspect the IFG is we might snag a Lynx out for a swim. Actually not allowed to use them underwater for beaver in open water. Now doesn't that indicate a progressive fish and game department.

Mac

A snare at a dam break set?

I use snares, but typically only a 100% blind set location where I don't have to use any artificial blocking.

I think we're talking about 2 different approaches to beaver trapping. I dont do much fur trapping for beaver....so I tend to keep it sneaky...

loosanarrow,

I have used the trays many times in a current, usually at dam breaks.

I have had beavers push mud/leaves/small sticks from bottom into trays, but with the wire bottoms it hasn't hindered the trap(s). I can count on 1 hand the times I've had to remove traps and dump the debris out of the tray. I did that just to be sure of the trap's function....but they were still able to fire.

Set as a live holding device,a snare is Ok on daily check for nuisance beaver in some cases.
On extended checks like is common when fur trapping and some nuisance trapping, I wont use a live holding snare.
Not humane and limits the market to hatters due to the damage.On the other hand a snare for beaver set to drown is a great tool.

I much prefer snares to 330s on dam breaks.

While a foothold guarding the break itself reigns, but if the dam has trees or obstacles in or around it you have a good bunch of pinch points on the approach to the break. I'll gang set these and include one or two each side of the break running 90° to the dam to snag the one swimming the face of the dam.

330s get mud and sticks shoved into them. I'd rather them knock down a snare than fire a 330 in their face.

I guess I set in current at dam breaks but I was referring more to those stream situations I sometimes encounter where the stream is carrying fine sand or silt and will pack under a pan unless the pan is above the bottom grade a bit. In most dam breaks the water upstream of the dam is barely moving and does not carry much silt/sand load as it flows through the dam break. No worries just something I was curious about with the trays since I have never used one in a situation like that. Around here that is not even a condition I deal with very much, but what I have found is that holding the trap so the pan is just SLIGHTLY above bottom grade seems to keep the underside of the pan washed out and not packed. I admit going into it I would be concerned that the whole tray could silt in, but the only way to know would be to try it.

loosanarrow,
I'd say the trays (the way I use them) would likely silt in if used along muddy stream edges where the water rises quickly and falls like after a heavy rain. Would depend on where your set was.....if at a location on the stream where mud/silt collects = bad.

On the opposite of that...if the set location is where the mud/silt washes away it would be just as detrimental.

I want thank everyone that replied to my question. I turned my traps so the step between the jaws instead of over them. Haven't missed yet!! Thanks!!

That’s great!!!!