Caster this time of year?

Another tough ADC beaver job here... thrown everything at this beaver nothing seems to work. Thinking about a castor mound or maybe sac oil mound. Bad idea? Any advice? I think this old fella has been fooled with before.

No visible channel, water to deep to find it. No bank den. Been setting a few pullouts, a small dam break and have made some food lure sets. Snares and footholds. Beaver isn’t interested in any of it

Channels may not be the useable due to turtles. The dam break is your best set. If no response, then back out for a couple of weeks. Throwing too much at them can make them spooky. I would hold off on any castor scent. Are snares legal on the pull outs?
Also, welcome to summertime ADC beaver trapping. Fun isn't it. Sarge

Go out in the evening and blow his head off with a high power.
Sometimes gunpowder works better than castor.

yep this time of the year they don't do much of anything in my opinion. All the beaver I have taken this time of the year is like what Boco is doing. Sit and wait with the rifle.

Castor sure works well in the North Country, whenever there is open water, a magnet, but a deterrent if they fire a trap at a castor set and get wised up. Castor then becomes a repellant. Usually get one change with castor. The deceased beaver above reminds me of Butch Cassidy when they blew up the train, "think you used enough dynamite there Butch." Think you used a big enough rifle? maybe a 300 Win Mag.?

Did a fair amount of night shooting in the past with very good results, arriving just before dark, with just a .22 with Bull Barrel, very accurate. Great for smart beaver. I used an 8 foot step ladder at times, but a 10 or 12 would be better yet. Still there are at least two kinds of beaver, splashers with no brains that swim in circles until they get shot, and smart ones that just roll under and disappear, never to return, one chance. You should be positioned before the smart ones come out, stay down wind on a calm night and don't make a sound. If one small stick cracks they will often be gone for the night. At least they have no vision.

Don't feel so much like going out at night after trapping all day, like I did when I was younger. But, was hard pressed for time the other day, only a few hours before going to the Nationals and needed to finish the job before leaving for two weeks. Went to the pond with a high bank at 9 p.m. and shot one in two minutes. Got there and noticed him swimming down the channel right at me. Have always used a .22 but this time a .22 mag. After explaining to the Sheriff what I was doing, the second one swam back up stream. Water was high, so I started pulling mud and sticks from inside the 7 foot box culvert, with a 5 foot dam. It had been about 45 minutes since arriving. From inside the culvert I could see some ripples in pitch black with a small headlight. I crawled up on the dam and started pulling more mud and saw the beaver out 25 feet or so, getting closer, not liking the sound of running water. He went down and came up about 12 feet away, then down again and popped up at little more than arms length. Cool, the mist and fog and my own breath made it difficult to see, but I was able to dispatch him with one good shot with the potato hook. In 90 minutes, the job was done. The potato hook as come in handy other times for beaver and once for a rabid fox. Good idea to have a firearm or potato hook close at hand as beaver can get aggressive when they smell castor.

I don't like to wound them.(7.62x39).Shells are cheaper than 22mg.

This is just my experience but well placed foot traps in dam breaks, small ones though, not big gushers, can be my ace in the hole. sometimes a TINY bit of castor and a few pealed sticks does it. I don’t start w/ castor down here in the spring though. I prefer snares when possible but i have seen times when beaver don’t like those either.

Dam break sets,when made properly are deadly for taking beaver.Multiple beavers can be taken at a dam break on extended checks.
Just be aware they will also take otter and rats.

I wish you could ‘like’ a post like you do on FB and I’d ‘like’ Boco’s post. Maybe you can and I just don’t know about it.

If legal, shooting them is easy but I agree with Boco that dam break sets(where legal) are gold. I have found that summer beaver shy from castor but will go to sac oil sets much better. Just what my personal experience is here.