Does anyone know how these smart Beaver unset 330s without getting caught,? Most the time you can't tell they've even been there. Just curious what you all think.

how do you know its beaver?

Because it happens when I'm after a very intelligent beaver or beavers that are really tough to catch, never happens when I'ma catching your run of the mill beavers maybe every once in awhile not often, hen I go for the old loners every trap will be f it red off, or none will be touched

Probably muskrats. But you should be connecting with some of them if it is

Turtles

Switch over to 280's and you will connect to a number of rats if they are the cause.

Nate I had one do this to me at an underwater run/narrow spot I was trying to catch it at. 330 kept being fired. Then I caught it by the tail one check and an old timer explained to me all those previous misfires were probably from prop wash effect. Beaver swimming up to the spot then refusing to enter the 330 and when it turned and swam off the water coming into the trap from the beaver’s “prop wash” much like wake of a boat was enough force to fire the trigger wires especially if there was a little debris on the wires like leaves or grass.
Catching that beaver by the tail helped me understand it better. No way it would have swam all the way through the 330 but a turn and go would leave the tail facing the trap. Was only one I ever caught by the tail in a 330 too.
I switched to snares at some locations and made bigger loops and that seemed to help with the refusals. Foot traps on drowners too would more “invisible” to a beaver rather than forcing it into a square opening.
Jim

I've watched beavers swim towards a 330 and just as it gets to it, it does a fast forward summersault firing the trap either with it's tail or water pressure. I saw this happen two different times.

Have caught 3 by the tail. I agree with the turning around fast in front of a 330.

A buddy of mine has a cell cam on a 330 set and got a video of a big splash, and expected to have a beaver in the trap when he got there- turns out the beaver did the okie-doke and flipped around, firing the trap with its tail as it spun

330 use time is coming to an end down here for the year..... with temps warming more active turtles caught everyday or 330s fired.

I had one this year that kept turning the foothold trap over without setting it off. The last time it did it it chewed down a tree that I scraped with my knife and drug it off. That's when I put out a snare and got him the next day. That my friends is why trapping is so much fun. You just never know what an animal is going to do.

That and when they do stuff like this, it's a learning experience and you have to pull some tricks out of the toolbox to throw at them! I always ask myself, what is the animal trying to teach me this time.

I get a lot of sprung 330's. I think sometimes it's the turn around splash effect and other time it's them grabbing the frame or trigger of the trap with a front foot to help pull themselves up the bank. A beaver uses those front feet to grab things...don't forget. I've caught many many beaver by one or two front feet and a smaller number by the tail.

I'm telling you they will definitely humble a guy.

For the heck of it drop a snare in the run and see what happens. If its the same 330, is the water feet enough for a dive stick? Try the snare if not.

Got one today missing a front foot all healed over in a BG by the hind foot. Been trying to catch it for a month. Missed it twice. It didn't leave much sign , didn't move often, and definitely knew what traps were.

That always relieves a guy.

Several people have shared their first hand observations already, but the real question is what is the plan to correct it?

In my humble experience and opinion, this is a good example of when catching the last one, there’s great value making the best blind sets that you can. When I’ve been after problematic beaver, I chose to make fewer, better sets. If I wanted to use 330s, I’d use dog down, T triggers which leave half of the jaw space clear so that an approaching beaver seemed to have a clear passage. Secondly, I’d look for the tight spaces that they were already frequently using. “Submerge your traps” is a common phrase, but I believe if legal, blending is more important than submerging. If the trail went through aquatic vegetation, I’d set the either half submerged (and appearing completely open) or submerged trap in place then use the same type of vegetation or woody cover from that location to make the trap disappear. If you can submerge AND blend in a tight space that they travel, that’s a wrap.

No exposed trigger wires, or at a bare minimum, vertical trigger wires pushed to the side to give the illusion of a clear space to pass then make it look like nothing is there. To do this means taking advantage of the best locations—-not building a fencing fortress where it doesn’t belong. It’s their world, and major (sometimes even minor) changes can complicate the situation.

Snares are a fantastic tool for catching beavers, and so are well placed footholds. If someone is trying to catch “some” beavers, they can get away with a lot more as catching “a” beaver is easy. I do believe a person is better off making the highest quality sets they can when they’re trying to catch the “last” one on a regular basis. Sometimes even the last one is easy, but when it isn’t, it pays to do it right from the start.

Very good post Aix.