Beaver trapping 2021-22

[TwentyFive-Yard]

Got a mature male otter crossing my line last night. 26.6 pound otter.

 

[dlee56]

Stoked to see everyone's success, trapping beavers in CO has been almost impossible being limited to box traps /live traps. Anyone have any experience live trapping beavers in the winter?

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

Stoked to see everyone's success, trapping beavers in CO has been almost impossible being limited to box traps /live traps. Anyone have any experience live trapping beavers in the winter?

I would think, having not live trapped before, that if you could find some narrow travel ways/choke points, you might be able to get one to blow right into a box trap. I am spoiled where I am trapping; I have multiple lodges to manage that are constructed in different terrains. One has been on a spring creek and those beavers have been tunneling in the banks for eons, they have labyrinths under ground and then flood it with damming. Catacombs. Can you dispatch the beaver once you have it live trapped, what are you supposed to do with it?

 

[dlee56]

I would think, having not live trapped before, that if you could find some narrow travel ways/choke points, you might be able to get one to blow right into a box trap. I am spoiled where I am trapping; I have multiple lodges to manage that are constructed in different terrains. One has been on a spring creek and those beavers have been tunneling in the banks for eons, they have labyrinths under ground and then flood it with damming. Catacombs. Can you dispatch the beaver once you have it live trapped, what are you supposed to do with it?

I think you're right, just need a particular terrain to put that set in, not many of the ponds near me have tunnels or channels like that that aren't underwater. Yes you can dispatch it once you catch it, .22 is the standard. You can also just outright hunt beavers around here which seems more productive than live trapping most of the time.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

I think you're right, just need a particular terrain to put that set in, not many of the ponds near me have tunnels or channels like that that aren't underwater. Yes you can dispatch it once you catch it, .22 is the standard. You can also just outright hunt beavers around here which seems more productive than live trapping most of the time.

It’s strange to me that you have to live trap the beaver only to turn around and dispatch it with the trusty .22; I got into trapping last winter because I wanted a more complete understanding of it, instead of preconceived ideas of what it might be. I get not wanting a pet canine found in a lethal trap, I don’t want it to happen either, however with water trapping the odds of that occurring are severely diminished when you’re setting steel in the winter under thick ice. I lived in Colorado once, it lasted about 5 months for me. Beautiful state but they’ve got their heads screwed on sideways. Never have we had species introduction at the ballot box, but Colorado has now paved the way down that slippery slope.

 

[dlee56]

I lived in Colorado once, it lasted about 5 months for me. Beautiful state but they’ve got their heads screwed on sideways. Never have we had species introduction at the ballot box, but Colorado has now paved the way down that slippery slope.

I grew up here in CO and it's sad to see how things have changed. I wish I could trap with a conibear under the ice and learn all those skills proper. No one wants to catch/ injur anything they aren't targeting, it's the same ignorance around the anti-predator hunting sentiment. No one is even willing to have a open minded conversation about it.

Needless to say, moving out of state is in my 5 year plan.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

Nice to have a property manager at the ranch who will keep an eye on your traps. This beaver snapped my trap 2 nights ago, but he didn’t succeed last night.

 

[msalm]

One of my most enjoyable outdoor pursuits was trapping. Started with dry land fox, coon, and coyote then trapped water the following fall into winter under ice beaver. Local ditches and streams. Caught many in the 50’s, two mid 60’s and one 73lb’r that was on the outskirts of a local town. Friend asked me to trap out some problem animals that were cutting his trees on the edge of his yard. Neighboring farmer was his friend and let me trap the stream through his property where I found the den. Got them trapped out in about a week with #4 DLS and 330’s. Was worth the 20 min drive when the hides we’re bringing good $. I pulled that 73, two 50’s, and 4 20’s. Had one get away as I had a toe twisted off in a #4 and never caught one missing a toe. My friend didn’t have beaver problems for many years after that.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

One of my most enjoyable outdoor pursuits was trapping. Started with dry land fox, coon, and coyote then trapped water the following fall into winter under ice beaver. Local ditches and streams. Caught many in the 50’s, two mid 60’s and one 73lb’r that was on the outskirts of a local town. Friend asked me to trap out some problem animals that were cutting his trees on the edge of his yard. Neighboring farmer was his friend and let me trap the stream through his property where I found the den. Got them trapped out in about a week with #4 DLS and 330’s. Was worth the 20 min drive when the hides we’re bringing good $. I pulled that 73, two 50’s, and 4 20’s. Had one get away as I had a toe twisted off in a #4 and never caught one missing a toe. My friend didn’t have beaver problems for many years after that.

58# is my weight to beat so far. I want that 70 pounder, it’s out there. Some of the WMA’s in Montana allow for trapping but you have to put your name in a lottery. That’s where that 70 pounder is.

I am trapping on the Yellowstone river and some small side tributaries of it. These are waters that Russell Osbourne and Mountain men of those days trapped. The Crow People also called this very specific area their first Agency. I’ve found some truly massive beaver lodges that are defunct but impressive none the less. One was perhaps bigger than an original VW Beetle.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

51# beaver today, my 4th 50+ lb beaver on the 21st beaver overall. Not a bad first year of trapping and January isn’t over yet. I made my first sets in the first week of February 2021.

 

[wyojdubya]

Can anyone here recommend best reading materials for a novice beaver trapper? They wreak havoc on our duck club. I've had pretty good luck with 330s and castor. But every now and then we get one whose wisdom exceeds my abilities, leading to endless hours spent unplugging culverts, demolishing dams, and chainsawing downed trees blocking roads. I'd thus like to up my skills a notch or two.

 

[Mike Burch]

Very nice

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

First double on the season. Profitable day.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

Can anyone here recommend best reading materials for a novice beaver trapper? They wreak havoc on our duck club. I've had pretty good luck with 330s and castor. But every now and then we get one whose wisdom exceeds my abilities, leading to endless hours spent unplugging culverts, demolishing dams, and chainsawing downed trees blocking roads. I'd thus like to up my skills a notch or two.

I’ve had to take things outside the box, so to speak. I was trapping a spring creek on this current ranch and they were smart already from another trapper. I got the first big adult and 4 small ones quick, but the other adult kept jumping my traps. Gave me the run around for a month and then the season was over. Came back in on the same beaver first thing this season and had to run a dam break set. I pulled a small amount of its current build site out and set 3 #2 foothold traps in a gang side by side on the upstream side of the break. The water was too shallow to run a drowning set so it was get there early at daybreak with a rifle and shoot it. Worked out as planned, the .17hmr is highly frangible and has no exit hole.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

More beavers:

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

51.8 pounder and a 17 pounder. New sets last night.

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

Working the pelts:

 

[jmez]

Can anyone here recommend best reading materials for a novice beaver trapper? They wreak havoc on our duck club. I've had pretty good luck with 330s and castor. But every now and then we get one whose wisdom exceeds my abilities, leading to endless hours spent unplugging culverts, demolishing dams, and chainsawing downed trees blocking roads. I'd thus like to up my skills a notch or two.

Books by Charles Dobbins

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

 

[TwentyFive-Yard]

This is either the 21st or 22nd beaver this winter/spring. This one required a castor mound bait set. I had the pond cleaned out but then this inbound migrating beaver showed up this week. He had to go.

 

[minengr]

Wow… rabid beavers? Zombie beavers need fast lead

FYI, there is a movie called Zombie Beaver. I happen to know that because my favorite comedian, Bill Burr, had a cameo.