help!! beaver snaring

[mbhawkins123]

trying to snare some beavers for this lady in her creek. relatively small creek, until it rains, and then it gets deep and fairly fast flowing, she only has 100-150 yards of creek on her property so not much to work with. i could only find 2 trails/slides , one of em looks as if used more than the other.
the problem is her property is basically just a nice yard with a couple of walnut and willow trees, well now the water is up and will prob be up for a week or so because of hurricanes, so does anyone know what i shuld do? with the water up or down which would be better, i thought about waiting until water goes back down , and making some slides, and then putting guide sticks around the snare and slide,problem with that is the only stick i would be able to get is small twigs, there are no large logs around to use.. i also just got in some beaver blaster lure, which ive never used lure on my sets beucause i can usually find better and more used trails!! if i just made a slide and put a snare on that slide and put up some lure a few feet past the snare , with no guide stick , what are the chances he'll stay right on the slide? well i just need some suggestions and help

[ADC]

I don't have large population of beaver here BUT when I can find a slide I'll set the snare with an 11" loop 2" off the ground right on the steepest part his slide this often produces good neck catches due to the steep angle. However the steep angle can present a bit of trouble in getting your snare to hang at a 90 degree angle to the steep bank. I solve this by using 3/32 cable so the loop is more rigid and using a metal wammy on the snare that is sized to fit #9 wire. I then stake the snare near the slide using a 24" rebar stake fitted with a 9ga. wire "pigtail" support. Form the loop and push the wammy on the #9 then twist the wammy til the snare hangs perfectly prependicular to the angle of the slide and in the dead center of the slide. I use little to no guiding with this set. I hope this helps you out some. I'm sure there are others here that snare many more beavers than me that will have more Ideas for you.

[coyotetrapper36]

Make your own "boot slides" were you see activity and play the wind with lure selection, just use your boot and make a slide, one that appears fresh and slick, your snare will fit that width really well and further up put your lure and I like some fresh white sticks i peel the bark off of, little guiding is needed pencil sized is plenty, I like 5/64 7x7 with a cam lock and 9 ga support wire.
I use a 6" loop and neck snare a big % of my beaver, any entanglement and there hanging there waiting for you. Wood chipper is an excellent summer time beaver lure.

[45/70]

Hang 45º to the bank? Personally, that's not what I like. I have misses on this set-up. Beaver climbing up the slide will engage
the bottom of the snare loop first, and when the snare fires, the top of the loop can drop down in front of his nose.
What I like is to set my loop at 90º to the slope. In this set-up, the top of the loop will fall behind his ears, and I find that I have
a higher percentage of catches. Oh Well, each to his own I reckon.
If you are making false castor mounds high enough on the bank so that they stay above water, then your
trail to the mound ought to, at some point, be above water also. When working with rising water, I find that a little
sac oil, That's A LITTLE, works well for me. Dip a match sized stick into your sac oil, and touch it to the ground at usually
three different points leading up to the castor mound. Don't over do this! Sac oil is a beaver's scent left behind from his
grooming as he goes along his way. A heavy dose of this scent is not natural. Often times sac oil will work when castor
or a castor based lure has lost its appeal.
A strange beaver's scent will often provoke an investigation by the resident beavers. If you know that you will be returning
to an area at a later date, or if you have one last beaver that won't fall, you might try this. First, remember that castor
from a beaver strange in the area is more effective (usually, see below) than castor from a resident beaver. OK? Unlike
castor, sac oil from a resident beaver can work for you. Set aside some sac oil from the first adult beaver you catch in an
area you are likely to return to, and label it so you know where it came from. After you have done about as much damage as
you think you can do to that resident population, then come back with the resident sac oil. A local beaver will recognize this
scent as being one of his own "that hasn't been around for a while", and not (I think this is why -- don't Know, but think)
associate this local beaver's scent with danger -- or what the heck, maybe he simply wants to say, "Hello", to an
old acquaintence. For whatever reason, this will sometimes produce results when other methods have failed. You can also
save one castor from a resident beaver and tincture it in four ounces or so of propylene glycol I usually "sun render" the
ones I save, and again label them as to the area they came from. Again, when most all else has failed, go back to this
local castor. Remember, that for an educated beaver, you are using the local sac oil at different levels along the trail to
bring the beaver out onto the bank, and then using a local castor on the mound. This is a different tactic with castor that
what is generally used. As for freshly peeled sticks as an eye appeal, this is alright. My personal opinion is that such things
work better the further North one is trapping. Food in our Southern swamps is so abundant, that food baiting can be difficult.
A notable exception to this is a partially shucked, or full shucked with the shucks left attached to the end of a fresh roasting
ear if your beaver are working on a corn crop. Adios, 45/70, RKBA !!!

[ADC]

4570 said:

Hang 45º to the bank? Personally, that's not what I like. Adios, 45/70, RKBA !!!

What kind of an idiot would hang them at 45 degrees to the bank? ;D

I changed it, thanks 45/70! I ment to say 90 I guess I just picked a bad day to stop sniffin' glue. ;D

[mbhawkins123]

does anyone know how far the castor will bring beaver in? cuz there are no dens or dams on her property she only owns about 150 yards of creek, she says the majority of the time they come in when the creek floods, but there is evidence of them using her property when water levels are low!! so just wondering with my fresh castor mound set out, if they dont come thru thre too often will the castor lure them in from a good distance??

[45/70]

ADC Seasoned, we all have those kind of days. Mine are usually a result of Black Jack instead of "glue".
How far? Your are asking a question the answer to whic is relative to a number of factors, and then it is more of an educated
guess, than knowing. Some of the things effecting the answer, are the wind speed and direction, the strength of the lure,
are the beavers educate to this particular lure. In a limited situation you sort of have to go with what you got, and hope for
the best. Castor mounds, both natural and made, seem to better attract beaver if the mound is visable from the beavers eye
view, down on the surface of the water. With the high water problems you have, try and locate your mound above the high water
mark, but visable to the beaver. If you get out of a line of sight with the beaver, you will have to depend on sac oil and a slicked
out trail to help make him commit to the bank. You can also slip down to the problem area about dark:30, and again in the very early
morning, and attempt to squirrel hunt him with a .22 mag. If you have no activity for a few days, try squirting 2 or three drops of
sac oil into the flow of the current, and see if that will attract a beaver from down stream. Again, when you use sac oil, more IS NOT
better! Adios, 45/70,
RKBA !!!

[MChewk]

Occasionally I run into a problem with the snare wanting to fall on the steeper angles of some slides....its amazing on how vertical some beaver slides are!!! I like to use stiff pencil sized sticks to "hold" my snare at its base. So I just position my snare on the slide and the push these pencil size sticks on both sides of the snares base a few each side usually stabilizes it well. I just hate misses...lol

[RallySnares]

Bill,
Good post on the sac oil.
I too keep sac oil from the pups in a colony and the female if I get lucky and get her early. I have had good luck catching pups and adult males with the female's oil and females with her pups oil. I believe it is just like the smell association we have with say your wifes perfume. I find the oil to be much better in the summer months particularly in river systems where there are many traveling beaver or multiple colonies within short distance. Also very good when beaver have ample supply of food like you posted above. I believe castor is of little use in the summer months and may cause fear in females that have pups in lodge. I believe that castor does this to females because it represents the odor of a strange beaver who may fight her and cause her harm. Her priority in life is to raise her pups and not be fighting with traveling beaver. The male on the other hand is very likely to respond to castor and see's it as some beaver moving into his turf. If like me. you most often don't have trouble catching the males, it's usually the female and or a last pup that are the hardest to catch, try the oil.