How was the rod wired? Was it just wrapped around the top or was there a hole drilled? Depending on your wire size and if it was just wrapped around a beaver heading into water like a bullet could easily just yank your rig out into deep water before you lock started to free slide any. How you explained your set up makes me wonder how much slack was in your cable going along the rod. If you can’t stake the top end of your rod just ditch the rod and use cable staked at the top and like mentioned get some feed sacks for bottom end. The tighter your cable is ran out into deep water the more efficient your slide lock works.

Yes sir the top has to be staked solid. I've caught a few that bent my rebar enough to get the rig out of the bottom of the pond but it was waiting on me when i got there because i had it staked well at the top.

I have wired my top stake back to something solid or even a second stake when the ground is soft or setting on a dam. I would never trust wire alone to hold a beaver consistently.

When just starting out beaver trapping its hard to imagine the power they have. Its not near as hard to trap a beaver as it is to hold a beaver. Its also important to make sure beaver cant wrap trap chain around the top end of your rod before he goes down it.

Bev Buster, Look back at your set when your done and ask yourself if it would hold an adult hog if one stumbled into it. LOL

I don't recall ever losing a beaver on my fiberglass rods. I use a 7.5 CDR trap and make sure the rod is anchored at the top with a 24" stake and the bottom pushed into the bottom. In your case, it would seem either the beaver swam away with your entire set up, or you are the victim of a thief. If the beaver just pulled out of your trap, your rod would still be there.

One of the first times I used a 10’ fiberglass rod with the Hagz set-up. Otter pulled the 24” stake at the bank, then swam downstream and hit a Belisle 330 in front of a bank den. Luckily, I got everything back, including the 24” T-stake that got pulled out.

Well, the exact same thing happened to me this morning! Drowning rod, 24" T bar, and trap gone! It was a pocket set for mink that had a NO-BS 1.5 double jaw guarding it. The pocket was blown up, as was the bank.I checked the rest of the sets I had and noticed it laying in the edge of the woods about 60 yards from where it was it. Nothing in it, except a beaver fingernail. Can't believe he did not go down the rod, but must have struggled for a while on the bank and got up high enough to pull "up" on the T bar. I was dumbfounded.

I lost two traps on opening day this year. The drowning rods were there but the traps and beavers were gone. I thought maybe equipment failure since the stop ring on the bottom was missing on both. But the more I think about it the more I think it was a human that took them. I've caught a couple dz beaver with them before and after the incident.

I really appreciate these posts, thanks! Went back today and prodded around bottoms with a magnet on a rod, nothing. Bottom is gravely, not many branches or obstructions like in a typical woody river. Only depth that is out of sight from the surface is the very bottom. I’m still 50/50 on human versus animal after reading all this. The lack of any struggle marks, any wire still on tree and any visible green rod anywhere on any shore makes me lean towards human. That being said, the setup absolutely would NOT have held a hog, from now on every single trap I tie off I’m going to be imagining a hog trying to get away 🙂. Going to go back to rocks in a bag, I was trying to get away from all that weight with a canoe setup but as you all pointed out I can just fill the bag at the trap site. I had these two nice beavers waiting for me in stacked 330s at the lodge. Counting the other big one at the lodge on Monday , I’d say if it was beavers it would have to have been two other smaller ones I guess? Anyways, very helpful thoughts , I have learned a couple valuable lessons off this one for sure. [img]http://[/img]

I too trap in high population areas beaver buster. I have found that I have to keep all signs of my sets out of sight in these instances. The feed bag is my go to, rods are great in right situation, but with possible thieves about I like to run wire to the bag and use footholds of a cheaper variety. Sounds like you nailed the beavers regardless so good work, best of luck to you in the future.

I don't mark any of my 330s with tape just in case someone gets funny ideas. Already had a 110 taken from me.