Beaver Vacation!!!

Good luck to you guys. More snow there than here.
My sets were iced in the last two nights. 😠

Those are big beaver. They filled up the Jet Sled!

Those are big beaver …..averaging 49.4 pounds per beaver. Must have not been trapped in recent years.

Longbeard12 said:

BigB, I miss spoke. We caughta total of 423 lbs today. Ryans catch of 120.5 lbs yesterday made a gand total of 543.5 Sorry about that, but after fleshing my 5th beaver tonight it dawned on me what you said didn't make sense to me. So I had to look at the paper. Not sure what the average would be but a lot lower for sure.

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That’s still a good average for weight. Normally around here, 30% of the beavers are gonna be this years beaver….30% are gonna be two year olds, and the other 40% will be “ adults “ ( 35 pounds and up ) . There should be a lot of this years beaver left there,….usually they are the first to fall.

How many lodges did you guys locate? Or are they using bank holes?

Longbeard12 said:

3rd stop, Ryans
2 smokers. Both around 50#s
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Dink in a belisle, tail caught.

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That’s a good second day catch. Was the tail caught beaver dead?
Always makes you wonder how they get caught that way. Either hitting the trap at warp speed, or they’re outside the trap and flap their tail into it. I had one in a 330 this year…with only its front leg in the jaws. ???? Somehow it drowned in a foot of water.

What‘s the story on the missing 330? Any sign of folks in the area? Could a beaver made off with it? Was it tied down good?

Back before I added 6 foot cables to my 330s, I wasn’t tying them down…I was just setting them like giant muskrat trap. After having to go looking for the trap and beaver, I got more serious about my fastening. I’m lucky I never lost any.

But I’m guessing this trap was anchored down, and like LB12 said…it took a walk with someone.

When I was trapping the State Park, I was concerned about theft. I was only setting 330s, and they all had a length of 3/32 cable attached. At the end of the cable, there was a swaged loop ( my tag was also in the loop ). I would only set where I could wrap the cable around a tree, or a good sized log. I would fasten the cable with a C link, that I would firmly tighten with my leather man’s tool. If a passerby wanted to take the trap, they were going to need a tool to loosen the link. Not foolproof, but it has saved a trap or two in the past.

Good haul today. Are you getting most of your catches in the 330s? You guys try any snares? I’m gonna have to use some cables when I jump into the gamelands here in 2D.

I went back and looked at the pic of the tail caught beaver. I‘d be leery of using wire. I had a 330 this year that was tied off with 3/32 cable….a beaver caught good in the trap flipped and twisted so much it broke some of the strands in the cable. It was a twisted up mess, and I had to replace it. Wire would have broke for sure. I know of guys putting swivels in their cables a foot out from the trap. I never have, but I might retrofit them in the off season.

But you’re probably right about the theft….that missing stick doesn’t make any sense.

That was a nice haul. Did you guys get iced in the last two nights?
It’s amazing that with two weeks left in the season, there was still big beaver numbers to be had.

Countrycletus said:

Hey all!!! Finally joined this site. Can’t wait for Beaverpalooza 2024!!!

BigBrownie- how far from Brookville are you?

NorthernPotterCo- how far from Shinglehouse are you? I grew up there…. A lot of family in Coudy…

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Exactly one hour to get to the I 80 exit.

Hern said:

It sorta doesn't surprise me Bigbrownie. I sorta agree with you, but sorta think there is alot of Beaver in some areas.
Pa. is big state with not a lot of interest in Beaver. Plus, most folks don't want to work that hard. You know that. It's hard work trapping and harder work trapping Beaver.
I'll add that LB12 & Ryan were running alot of traps. An effort most guys don't want to do. Not to mention the hours and hours skun', flesh'n & boarding after all day walking through weeds and brush and wading in water.

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Around here, beaver are trapped extremely hard. A friend of mine that sells trapping supplies in the area always sells out of beaver gear. He tells me he gets a ton of calls and sales for beaver traps and lure. I never saw anyone trapping canines or coons, but bumped into three other guys trapping beaver. And I saw sign of other guys trapping also. Butler County has a high population of people and a low population of beaver. And much of the county is 2D, that limits you to 2 Conibears and 8 leg grip traps. Better get good at snaring, or you’re only getting 10 sets out. That’s why I’ve been trapping in 1A…to get away from the 20 beaver limit and trap restrictions.