A dock owner reached out to me about a problem with otters on their dock as well (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) beavers the otters i know how to handle but what about the beavers I was thinking about a float but ill take any suggestions

Is there ice? You mentioned a float, so I’m guessing it’s open water. Why not a castor mound set on the bank?

Is there a lodge with feed pile?

Is the den or lodge under the dock and can you see runs where they are coming out?

All rock shoreline like football sized rock or bigger so cant really bed a trap feed bed in the floats 30ft of water and again all rock so runs are out of the question trapping is fun in the Ozarks

This is a crude drawing of a set a high numbers otter trapper showed me. He was trapping mostly boat houses and private docks where otter were a problem. I used it on a couple of occasions for both beaver and otter. It’s an L shaped shelf the trap rests upon. For beaver just a dab of castor or a food/curiosity lure on the top edge. The beaver or otter gets close and sets a foot down. When it pulls away the weight comes off the nail and because the chain won’t reach the bottom they are suspended under water. I did use more weight than the 5-10 pounds shown in the drawing. 15-20 pounds for beaver.

Sweet little set up for docks Marty.

The trapper who showed me that set was taking scores of otter every year from mostly boat houses and private docks. I don’t know if he ever used it for beaver but I tried it a few times and it worked. In my case the dock was a private dock on the Columbia River. The rip rap along that stretch was gigantic boulders and no place close to the docks to get in any sets. Beaver were clipping the few willow shoots that cropped up just above the rip rap and were making feed piles under the docks. I took five beaver out with that set and used a rake and a pitch fork to clean out the feed piles. That was a big job.

I also used it a few times at fish hatcheries in conjunction with other sets to take a few otter. It’s another tool in the arsenal.

this looks like a great set and is almost dog proof as well maybe not 100% dog proof a lot better than a 330 or a leghold on a drowner at shore

I always warned the yacht club manager to make sure people knew to keep their dogs under control while I was doing the control work. Never had an issue with dogs getting into any of these sets.

Nice setup, I bet it would work under the dock too and would be even more dog proof.

How long is the vertical board 3-4ft?

No just 12”. You can make them a little longer if needed. You want the trap around 8” under water.

marty weatherup
Good share.
thanks

Mac

Thanks Marty!

2 years ago I had beavers putting castor mounds on a log in the middle of the river. I made essentially this same set up. I put a hole in the bottom of the platform so the trap would lay flat and not rock. However I did not use a weight. I used a drowning rod. Screwed the platform to the log and ran the HAGS rod down the side. I tied the rod to the log w/ paracord. It worked perfectly. I got 2 off of that log.

Not a bad idea but the docks here are floating both of them are in 50 ft of water

Your situation is a little different. Have you thought about suspending a drowning wire about 6-8' underwater w/ a bag of sand or rocks hanging from it? I've never done it but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Wire will always be tight and the lock should slide right down.

Ive had some tinker time. Pretty simple with a #3 jump

i think you would want the dog toward the vertical piece of wood

I was curious about the setup. I really just wanted to see how the jump worked stuck in the slot. Im also leery as these jumps have no pan tension but that might not matter

Thats what im doing now #4 on a 8ft drowning cable

you could probably use a drowning rod vertically too

It wouldn’t matter. Give them enough weight to keep them down and not enough chain or cable to reach the bottom. This set would work in 5 feet or 500 feet.

That would work fine I’m sure.

I like that. It would work just well as the L shelf. It similar in principle to an under ice set up an old beaver trapper showed me 40+ years ago. I did a mock up of in my shop.

This is interesting. What's going to make him put his feet down?

Made some of the ones marty had in his diagram setting them Thursday so time will tell

Good luck.

On my mock up of the under ice set the pvc is there to represent a peeled stick. They come to that and put a foot down, hopefully. The old guy who showed me this caught a lot of beaver under the ice with this. I haven’t had the opportunity to try it.

If you do try, please keep us posted. I'm curious to see how it works out. I have No BS Beaver Extremes so I don't think your log configuration work w/ them. They did work on the L Platform twice though. Either way it's cool to see different approaches to skin the same cat.

I’d have to go somewhere there was stable ice and beaver. This part of Idaho has neither.

The mock up I made only works with the jump traps. It uses the end of the spring for support. The old trapper that showed it to me said it cut down on stuff he had to carry. I had used the L shelves nailed on an upright pole for my limited foot trap under ice experience. I used more 330s in trails and channels I had scouted prior to freeze up. Then I moved away from the area and didn’t have under ice opportunities.

I regret that my 20 years in Alaska I never got to try under ice trapping but my work demands and family health issues made getting out to trap difficult.

Stone,
You mentioned a float but I don't see where you tried it. Did you ever try one?

No I haven't yet talked with aome other guys and they have suggested thats they aren't as effective down here since theres and abundance of food all the time

Sometimes they work and sometimes not. I have had limited success w/ mine. However They do have their place in certain situations. Especially in deep water. Use lure AND a feed stick.