Under Ice Success

[Anzacron]

First time setting under ice and managed to be successful. We set a 330 set and a pole snare set. Some tips from our mentors, a little you tube and boom pow. Hard work is paying off.




Lessons learned, whole lotta sweat, and BIG SMILES.

[Bigwoodsman]

Sweet! Great pictures too!

BW

[nube]

Good Job congrats

[Camdec]

Lots of work, but as you've said very rewarding. Congrats!

[HunterDave]

Congrats and thanks for posting the pictures! I was wondering if anyone was trapping beaver under ice this year. I cut my teeth with it last year and I really enjoyed learning new techniques. I'll be trapping them again this year but not until the end of coyote season.
Have a great season and keep the pictures coming!

[KegRiver]

Do you know how to dry a beaver off at the set location?

It only takes a couple of minutes and I see you have everything you need at the set.

It makes handling them, (hauling them home or skinning them on site,) a whole lot easier and nicer.

Maybe you already know, if not, I wrote about it on an earlier thread or I could write it up here as well.

[Anzacron]

Thank you all.

We did dry the beaver and managed to the get the 330 off quickly once out of the water. Both traps executed a quick, humane kill, like they are intended to do.

The snare pole was interesting. We used both 1/16 and 3/32 wire, to "test" what would work for us. The first day we got something as the snare went right small, but the beaver managed to get out. We got a chunk of fur outta the "sprung" snare tho, so we knew he would be back. We re-set, and went back the next day.

Both sets were surprising, at first you figure your foiled, but then as you keep pulling, a head pops out. Then the excitement kicks in. Our first beaver caught in the 330 had its back side and a bit of the tail frozen to the ice, so we learned what not to do and the 2nd beaver was not frozen.

We've closed those sets and moved on to the next lodge/pond.

All this is being trapped in Canada's worst natural disaster area, as our Seniors line was decimated by the May Wildfire in the McMurray area.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Anzacron

We've closed those sets and moved on to the next lodge/pond.

Last year I took out 7 to 9 beaver from one big lodge. Funny thing was that I never caught any kits. This year there's another big feed bed there. Unlike coyotes you really have to pay attention to what you're catching with beaver if you want to trap there again next year. One spot I trapped last year my first catch was a big breeding female. I pulled my traps and that was it for that spot. Good luck!

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Last year I took out 7 to 9 beaver from one big lodge. Funny thing was that I never caught any kits. This year there's another big feed bed there. Unlike coyotes you really have to pay attention to what you're catching with beaver if you want to trap there again next year. One spot I trapped last year my first catch was a big breeding female. I pulled my traps and that was it for that spot. Good luck!

An older colony can have upwards of 20 beaver in it.
So long as there is at least one breeding age pair left they will repopulate in short order.

Without the dominant couple all the females in the colony will breed.

In fact if you catch the old lady and not the old man you could have a population explosion as the old guy will breed all of his daughters.
He won't do that as long as moma is alive, and she will keep her kids from breeding but she will take an new mate as soon as the ice is gone and she'll have kits within a few weeks. Maybe a bit late, but she'll have them.

[waterninja]

Congrats on your catch. Thanks for nice pics. Hope you get more soon.


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