Someone stole one of my 330's (Update: found)

Rather steamed about it. Weird thing is I have several others set up in the area and those are all untouched, except for the one with a beaver in it that was touched by a beaver, obviously.

I talk to the local cops pretty regularly so I'll mention it to them but I don't think there's any chance I'll get it back. Definitely was a human that took it though cause I staked the chain ring using a wooden pole and you'd have to lift it about 2 feet straight up to get it off without moving the pole, which is exactly what happened. Nothing else in the area was disturbed either, including my stabilizers and guiding sticks.

Update: After checking several times hoping that a critter had indeed just had a bad catch and managed to somehow slip the ring off my stake and would eventually float to the surface somewhere, I changed up my approach and approached the dam from the underside in my kayak with a big flashlight on a dark night. There, just below the dam break stuck between two branches I saw the glisten of the trigger wires. A few minutes of fishing around the area with a crook managed to dislodge it and I pulled it back up to the surface, 40lb beaver in tow.

I double checked my stake afterwords and realized it didn't move unless you pushed it hard in the exact direction that I found the 330, and that if you let up the pressure the weight of branches would immediately snap it back into place giving the illusion it hadn't moved. Long story short I will reconsider how I attach dam break sets if I do more in the future.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in with concern and advice. I'm sure I'll need more in the future.

Sad Deal

Best to report it so if the thief resets it in an illegal set, you don't get nailed because they didn't remove your name tag. I hate thieves!!

He’ll float in a couple of days. You forgot to stake it down.

No tags required here in Alaska so I didn't have one on it.

Could a large 4-legged critter have grabbed and pulled straight up? My gut feeling is it wasn’t someone but something that got your beaver.

Its a good idea to wire or cable off the trap rather than use a stake through the ring unless you are using a tbar stake. Sometimes it doesnt take much effort to pull hard enough to bend a stake and the ring can slip off.

May take more than a couple of days. In our ice cold water they take a week or longer to float.

I'm thinking a bear took your beaver, trap and all.

Given location I would agree with bear

BUT

You said the guide sticks and stabilizer looked untouched so hard to rule out 2 legged vermin

Poor staking is my first thought ! Bear is my second.

I’m with you fellers

We learn from these experiences

Did you feel around in the water with the hook stick? If it was a good catch, could be in there somewhere.

I tend to agree with others, you have a dead beaver in the water nearby. Do you have access to a magnet you can slush around in the water?

Bear

Not a lot of bears running around in the biggening of April in most of Alaska. Still mostly winter.

I swore up and down..that someone stole my 330 too

So I staahted looking around ...then the sun shined on the water...and there was my 330

With a beaver in it...FORGOT TO TIE IT OFF

I also swore someone stole my 330 , almost gave up looking .
Then I noticed air bubbles under the thin ice , all in one area .
Upon closer inspection, I noticed my first ever caught otter laying on the bottom with my 330 attached!
That otter twisted the wire off , while he was hip caught and could fight to escape .
When he finally got to deeper water , where he drowned, and I found him .

Sounds like you didn’t have it secured well enough. A thief would have taken more than one, especially if you had catches for them to find. You’d be surprised how well a trap ring slides up a stake when a beaver or otter is thrashing around

Id fish around with a long potato rake

Education is rarely free.

12 ft of 1/8” cable, a swivel at the trap and one mid-length, and a snap on the end will eliminate anything other than a thief walking off with a 330.

I have a loop on each end of the cable.I then put the cable around a tree and put one loop thru the loop on the other end of the cable. I then hook that loop to the trap with a s-link.

This is about as easy as it gets…

But don’t tie off to a tree that a beaver would chew

I dont think 1 in 1000 beavers will chew the tie of tree off with a 330 hanging on him.And if he does how far would he pull the downed tree?

But the beaver, or another, could chew it off before being caught. Or another comes along after and drags it all away.

Cable loop
6 foot cable extension with snaps on both ends Very handy

Had that happen twice.

2 feet straight up isn’t anyways impossible, and if you a identically bagged an otter all bets are off, especially if hip caught

Always fasten down tight saves a lot of anger and regret and false incriminations

Or some flying predator lifted it up and flew away.

I always used wire,,,,you guys are too special….
The wire is wrapped around the traps when not set, to make them easier to transport….

That's what I do with cable and a quick snap.

I liked the wire because it made the trap roll up tight.
This was all adc, 3/4 the time in a backpack.
And at 300 per I could afford to put new wiire on as needed .

Same here...only with cable.

Any updates? Did the thief return? Did you find another reason it was missing?

me too

Same, I use 1/8” cable on #220 and up, 1/16” cable on small conibears

Sometime when you improve you boating skills,,,,, I would love a ride along…

Where did you get those clips from? Thannks

It makes no difference how you tie it off if you forget to do it.

Exactly this.

No updates. Saw a moose when I went by the area today but there wasn't a 330 stuck to it.

Realized I had a photo with the set in question.


Will go back again at night and check downstream with my flashlight. You can easily see the bottom with a flashlight.

Mac Trap, Quebec. You know how hard it was to find these on their website?….lol. I’m not sure why they don’t have an English convers button up top yet.
https://mactrap.ca/accessoires/537-snap.html

Thank you Shakeyjake!

F&T has tear drop fasteners for $5 a dozen. You need a J hook for them.

I have the tear drops on my coni springs and they work well. I contacted Beslie, they said “It's a lot too complicated to ship in the States so we only ship dealer orders”. Also said contact Sterling Furs or Minnesota Trapline and have them place an order. I contacted both and they said they will look into it. Thanks.

I run 10 feet of 1/8" stainless cable. One end is a simple loop and the other just a standard inkine swivel. 30 inch rebay stake.
Really handy when the water rises.

Ack I use 30 inch rebar stakes with about half of my sets too. Some I cable off to trees that are too big to chew off in one night

Good news, you guys were right about it being stuck to an animal at the bottom of the stream. Took me a couple tries to find it but determination and luck got it back in the end. I was about ready to give up as well so I'm glad people told me to really search the area well.

Right on! It’s a good feeling when you found your trap and you feel weight coming up eh? Anyone that’s never been in the same situation as you, probably just “traps” on the chesterfield watching YouTube and has never been in the bush……lol

Good for you for continuing to search. You are now wiser for the experience.

Perseverance pays off.

What was in it?

Glad you found it. So what did you catch?

40lb beaver he has a update at the bottom of his original post.

Some lessons are hard ones. You never forget the hard ones. I hope it had not started slipping yet?

What did I win ??????

Nice! Bet you feel a lot better now!

The snare shop also sells them.

Too bad. I was hoping it was the trap thief.

Nice that you found it.