Set a fake castor mound with a foot trap. Trap untouched, but mound flattened out. Piled it back up, added a twig of more Backbreaker. How many times do you think the beaver will return before ignoring it? Obviously hoping for only one more time with good foot placement. And if it ignores that set, will it work the same set down the bank?

Try it again with same lure....same set....add another trap.

If it don't work....make a new set nearby with sac oil only.

I rarely set a big fake mound. It’s overrated. I kick in a pocket nearby and confine their foot placement to the “ inside “ rather than the huge outside of a target area.

I see guys wasting time making a giant sexy,showy,gaudy,eye appeal mound…wasting time and energy…..

I don't make a lot of fake castor mound sets, a lot of times if I am making a 'castor set' I simply find an indentation, usually where the beaver are already using to get out of the water, take a dab of castor on a stick, and poke it in the ground a foot or two from the water, set a trap where the beaver will exit the water, and splash some water on it, If I do make an actual castor mound, I take a double handful of mud and/or leaves, scooped off the bottom. Slap that on the ground, put some castor on it, and splash water on it. In either case I will often rub my foot back and forth three or four times, where I want the beaver to exit, before I splash the water, to slick it up like beaver have been climbing out there. The mound takes maybe thirty seconds longer if there is soft mud and leaves at the site. And if there isn't, I don't even consider bothering with a mound.

For ADC, I use a lot of sets with no lure or anything to attract. I try and set where they’re already goung. Now I find myself rarely using lure any time of the year. If they’re already going there, why add a lure?
The lure and other tricks come out if I run into trouble. Then the game gets personal and money is no barrier to success……lol

I have done both what bearcat2 and Shakey have described but have also set a fake castor mound the first time around along with the scented castor mounds I make. I usually don't like to use lure on my first go around but If I see freshly made castor mounds I'll set traps at the existing ones IF the terrain allows me. Spring trapping problem beaver is when I'll make a fake mound no lure along with my scented castor mounds and they work pretty well, I have also transplanted an already existing beaver made castor mound to where I could create a set. It all works you just gotta kind of know the beaver's habits. Oil sac like Swamp mentioned is a killer on the fake mounds, the existing mounds and the sets like Les has described.
A very under used attractor in most trappers books.

He'll keep coming back.

I would suggest however picking spots where you can have more control over the beaver so his approach/exit is more forced.

Brian he could be going around from back side??
Do you have a camera set up?

A flattened castor mound isn't always a beaver...

No, I should just because it's a state park. Public places make me nervous, especially with dog walkers.


That thought had crossed my mind, it was flattened again this morning. I repositioned the 750 a bit. And added a stick alongside to try and guide him over the trap.


He has to come between a couple trees, or climb over stuff. As long as he doesn't give up before I do. I added a 330 in a tight spot today a good distance away.

I picked up a two year old today at another job, I'll take some sac oil from it and use it tomorrow if needed. I've never used straight sac oil before, how much is too much? Dip a twig type thing?
I already educated him at a dam break and took his toenail a week ago. IF it's the only one working my castor set, I don't want to mess up again, but the dam break isn't being repaired, so I'm thinking there isn't a second one there.

Thanks for the replies.

Old bank den with lure, works for me.
Beaver did the work you

Doesn’t take much lure for beaver, you can body slam the beaver you caught and make a set there

Yes....just a very light dab or two of sac oil at the water's edge. Drop a drop into the water between the trap and bank.

Well, you NEVER give up. Not until the beaver is caught anyway.

Okay, well here's my question (s) . . .

1) Why are you missing the beaver and where is the trap ?

* Because that should tell you how to trap the beaver.

Beaver do NOT always go straight into a castor mound the way many trappers think they will.
It has been my experience that beaver often climb out down stream and travel over to the mound on land , re-scent it, and THEN leave straight away.
Perhaps that is why you're missing the beaver. . . You're setting the trap as if the beaver is approaching the set straight on . . .and it is NOT.
The trap then should be where the beaver is 'hauling out', not necessarily straight in front of the the castor mound.

Ever consider setting a trap on land by the castor mound ?
Beaver can be trapped using footholds on land, where legal.

Your thoughts ?

Good insight, thanks.
Can't set a foothold on state land out of the water. This was a 10-15 acre pond.
Being a state park (hikers and dogs), I tried to be discreet with placement. Got a toenail the first night at a small dam break. Two nights in a row he flattened out the mounds as described above, 15' from the dam. IF it was approaching as expected, he may have just lucked out with his foot placement. I usually offset the 750 a couple inches to the right of center, maybe a forearm length out, which still was only 4-5" deep . If it wasn't for visibility at the small dam (spillway), I'd have used my Hancock.
It brought just a couple little branches back to the dam break, then never came back to it. Which surprised me that it came back at all, since he lost his toenail. There's always a chance I was dealing with two. But I think it was a single two year old.
I figured if he was getting spooky, I'd give it a couple weeks to calm down and try a different approach.

I just finished up another beaver job today (6 beaver, one stolen trap) for the same park supervisor, I'll check with him to see if that beaver came back.

Over the past 4 years my beaver calls have skyrocketed. It seems every single job teaches me something new. I try to put all this info into my bag of tricks. It's never routine with beavers. And if the beavers follow the script, it's the scumbag people interfering with the process.