I just dont pull it tight.
For example,if it is on the line when I put the first 8 nails or so without it being tight,I continue to board on that size line.
If it is between lines I will drop it back to the smaller line.This is for early beaver that are just coming on to prime.
If I have badly damaged beaver or fully prime Feb/March beaver that fall between sizelines I will pull those up to the bigger line.
You cannot overstretch fully prime beaver with 3/4 to 1 inch underfur.
As a sidenote,I mark all my marten boards with sizes and stretch them between the size lines so as not to overstretch and to account for shrinkage.Basically similar to beaver,except the beaver oval lines are already oversized by a couple of inches to account for shrinkage,so no reason at all to board beaver between the lines.
Pulling marten skins to meet a size line marked on your board results in overstretching(thinning the flanks where the grader weighs the fur) and it will not stay in that size after shrinkage.
It wont make much difference if you are only shipping a few pelts but it adds up over time.A lot of money can be made or lost on a hundred marten by improper boarding.

That's not a Savage over and under is it?

Looks like you're getting it done! Great pictures.

Chiappa double badger-22mag over 410.
Great trapline gun.Just fold it in half and toss it in the bait bucket on the bike.

Good stuff Boco!

Good deal! Looks like your going to be set for bait this winter!

Good stuff. With that many grouse you are going to run out of 410 shells.
Washed a spruce grouse and got a new species of louse off it along with 6,999 of it's cousins. Been a incredible grouse season but there is lots of Hippobosciadae flies on them this year

Whats a hippoboscidae fly?
Nevermind,I googled it
A louse fly.

Ruffed grouse can spread parasites within their populations by using communal dust baths in summer.

Once I run out of 410's I will switch to the 20 ga,and when I run out of 20 ga I will start on the 12ga.When I run out of 12 ga I will start shooting them with the 22.When I run out of 22's I'll be sick of eating partridge.

Yea HFT,Its good to have 40 or 50 beaver carcasses to last the winter for jackpots and marten bait.
There are also a few people I know who like to eat some beaver meat,so I clean butcher some for them

Nice, Thanks for sharing.

Skinning day today.
Skinned 11 this afternoon,5 left for tomorrow.

Checked the line today after finishing skinning.
Seen well over 50 grouse today,90% ruffed,a couple flocks of a dozen or more,several flocks of 6-8 and a bunch singles.
Its insane the amount of grouse on the north line this year.

Looks like might get cold and maybe snow into Canada. Whats the weather suppose to be in your area up there.

Rain right now with some wet snow in the forecast.
I hate the wet snow in November-the coldest time of the year on the line by far-get wet and cant stay warm.I will take 30 below sunny and dry any day over that.No getting away from it though,its a productive time to trap.The animals seem to know hard times are coming and they really seek our a meat meal to keep warm.

Would a beaver try to go over the trap or are the other sticks that are sideways low enough?

I missed one today. Came around from the land side of the trap. Big willow must’ve been sticking out in front as it was carrying it along in the channel.

Bottom is hard-they are travelling on the bottom

Nice pictures boco….. I’m guessing u also have spruce grouse up there ? How’s the taste compare with the ruffed ? Ruffed grouse is my favorite wild game to eat ….

Normally the spruce grouse outnumber the ruffed and the sharptails,but not this year- ruffed grouse everywhere up there.
I dont find much difference in taste of young spruce grouse and ruffed grouse.The young of year spruce grouse are a lot smaller though with less meat on the breast.The meat on the young spruce grouse is pink.The older spruce grouse have dark meat.Same deal with the sharptails,but they are a much bigger bird than the ruffed.Some people prefer the spruce grouse for its more gamey flavour.My wife prefers the spruce grouse,as does my son.Myself and my daughter both prefer the milder tasting ruffed.

Checked the beaver line today,picked up a few more,and another limit of ruffed grouse.
Rained off and on while I was out there this afternoon,was a bit wet when I got home,should have wore the hip waders.