I gather up as many old beaver chewed sticks I can find and bring them home and cut em in various lengths..they work remarkably well when I’m using drowning situations.
I sometimes drill a hole through the top for my wire to go through. And the chewed ends pound into most creek banks pretty good.
No need to pull em out after season , suckers swell up and are mighty hard to get out.

It’s not my idea originally… I read it somewhere and not sure where.
And best of all,,, they don’t cost anything.

Any of you guys use em like that??

Used wood stakes found or cut on site for many years when i was alot younger, mainly for beaver drowning setups.
Always had an axe and small saw along. Used 14 gauge wire for slide wire and never lost a beaver or otter due to breakage. Cut the tops of upper and lower stakes off just below water level so no sign of anything to arouse suspicion of a trapshy beaver. Always wrapped top of stakes with a pc of wire to prevent splintering and shortening
of stakes while pounding in.
Nowadays their is a law about cutting stakes on DNR land if they are bigger than a certain diameter. Tell that to the beavers!!! Lol
(This is in Wisconsin )

Amish neighbor gives me hardwood stickers that have broke. No longer 48”. I cut to my desired length then touch up both ends with cordless skill saw Use where it works.

Never thought of that. I also gather nice fresh peeled sticks for use as visual attractors on other colonies. And I sometimes use pine shavings in the back of beaver cage traps or mock castor mound sets...








I like using peeled sticks as row markers in my garden, too...

… how many potatoes do you get off each whole one planted like that ?

… always cut a chunk with an eye and planted … but the yield isn’t too impressive

Those fresh peeled sticks absolutely jump out with eye appeal.
If I can’t find any I’ll usually take some pvc pipe that bend a slight elbow using a heat gun and jab it into the bank.
I’ll put my lure inside of the opening.

I started planting whole ones years ago. If you go to the store to get seed potatoes and there isn't no little ones its because I already been there.

I always used stakes that was already cut and weights that was already there, I guess I was just lazy, lol.