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 Under Ice Beaver Trapping 2015 
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King of Spring

Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:09 pm
Posts: 1305
Location: Seacoast NH
Post Under Ice Beaver Trapping 2015
01-01-15
Knowing what we have coming for weather this weekend and having absolutely no snow on the seacoast I went and checked out our 2013 under ice beaver line.

Wasn't disappointed. Found four active huts.

#1 The Condo

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#2 Back Country Lodge

The hut used to be on the island. Now it is on the bank on the far end of the pond. It is as big as a castle.

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#3 Two for One

Two huts in this pond. The one way out in the distance is also a castle. I trapped this same lodge 22 years ago. It comes, it goes.

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#4 Last but not Least

When Turkeystalker and I trapped here in 2013 this lodge was not active. Theeerrrreee BACK!

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Now we need some ice!

01-07-15
I got an email yesterday from the company across the street from the beaver pond pictures I posted requesting I trap beaver for them. They had a facilities meeting and the maintenance man asked what they were going to do about the beavers in the fire pond.

I trapped for this company back in 1988. The guy who signed my permit still works there. In reality our companies do business together and we stay in touch.

So this afternoon took a drive over to get the permit signed then took a drive to the pond.

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The lodge is in the rear in the reeds and you can barely see the feed bed sticking above the ice. They said this is only the start of a flowage. :)

Any beaver pond I can drive to is going to get my attention first and foremost.

I saw snowshoe hare and cottontail tracks on the same runs. Deer, fox an coyote also crossed the road. Bet a bobcat lives here. Good place for a camera.

Let me take a few beaver and then I'll ask permission to hunt.

01-14-15
Trap tuning tonight. A very useful tool used for the right job.

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All the tools of the trade. Throw in a pair of rubber gloves and a backpack of extra clothes and Bucky has a problem.

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Sharpened the chisel and the hatchet. Good but cold weather in the forecast. No major snow.

Just like a well oiled gun, traps need to be tuned to ensure they are crisp when the trigger is fired.

A thorough inspection of the trap is first. Some need new triggers. The chains are checked for wear. Safety's that hold the springs locked need to be pinched to take out any slop. A very important job is sanding the trigger lock where it meet the trigger of a set trap. Removal of rust and debris ensures the trap fires cleanly.

In NH we can trap the entrances to the lodge and bank dens. I look for the arch on the hut. Just like in a castle the arch supports an opening below.

I'm a conibear beaver trapper. When I find the run I probe it side to side to find the center and deepest part. Beavers don't really swim in a run they walk on the bottom with their front feet tucked in against their body. From experience you can feel the sandy bottom of the run.

Once found I stick the probe in the bottom right in the center. For blind sets the trap sets tight to the bottom with the trigger up.

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For baited sets I use a small twig of poplar wired directly to the trigger. I stripe the bark in the center exposing the white cambium layer. That is the 10 spot like a target. I don't know how but the beaver and the occasional otter have no problem seeing it. I like to make these sets around the feed beds.

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But I'll take a well made blind set in a rock hard run any day.

This line will have no monitory value. I am doing it for the love of trapping. I'll rough skin and freeze each pelt I am blessed to catch and later in the winter flesh and tack the pelts up for shipment to Canada for the NAFA May sale.

Unfortunately in this down fur market beaver pelt value has fallen. But there is one ace up my sleeve. Any beaver caught in the next couple weeks will be fully winter prime or referred to as a shearing beaver. The guard hairs will be stood up when processed and all cut to the same length accenting the soft thick down underneath. You can only get this quality of beaver under the ice and no matter what the market pays shearing beaver are always in demand.

As always...teach them young....they will remember.

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I am as excited as ever. Just like opening day. :)

_________________
Keeper of the Mountain
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Tenth Legion

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Coalman's Online Blog http://coalmansblog.com


Last edited by Coalman on Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:41 pm
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King of Spring

Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:09 pm
Posts: 1305
Location: Seacoast NH
Post Re: Under Ice Beaver 2015
I've seen all different variations of a polar baited conibears. I like any conibear baited for beaver with the bait attached directly to the trigger. My theory is if the beaver plays with the bait on the trigger the trap will fire. You can handle a gun in any way but it is most dangerous when your finger is on the trigger.

My method is to get a tender top of poplar and fit it in-between the trigger wires. With a couple small pieces of 16 wire I secure the bait to the trigger. The picture of the trap in the tuning post shows how. That was bait left on the trigger from trapping in 2013.

While I have caught beavers with the method below I have also seen teeth marks in the bait and the trap still set or the trap fired with no catch. You know you have it right when the beaver still has the trigger and stick between its jaws.

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I reserve using baited sets only for colonies where the run is too big coming out of the hut or feed bed material in the way makes it difficult to get the trap to the bottom. My go to method is a conibear bedded tight to the bottom of a run, preferably the entrance to the lodge or bank den.

A fellow trapper taught me this set below. He called it a pinch pole set. Unlike the trap being wired directly to the stake and blocking the run after a beaver is caught the trap is pinched to the pole. When it fires the beaver doesn't block the run which in some cases spooks the survivors that may abandon that run.

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It always behooves the trapper to the best possible job when preparing his or her catch for sale especially in this years fur market.

I remember the first year we trapped under ice beaver in 1986. We had no clue on how to properly put them up. Through trial and error we got the beaver below ready.

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At the New Hampshire Trappers sale that spring (they don't have a spring sale anymore) we got a $39 average from the father and son fur buying team from Enfield, NH. When they handed us our check they also handed us their business card. They took time after the sale to give us pointers on proper fur handling and told us if we continued to catch beaver of this quality look no further than their front steps. They had a buyer in NY who only wanted shearers. For many years after that while raising a growing family I'd take the beaver that were dry and ready and make the two hour drive north to their house for some bill paying green.

The Lord provides in many ways to hard working men. My niche turned out to be under ice beavers. :)

_________________
Keeper of the Mountain
Province Division
Tenth Legion

Your eye in the Northeast sky
Coalman's Online Blog http://coalmansblog.com


Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:45 am
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King of Spring

Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:09 pm
Posts: 1305
Location: Seacoast NH
Post Re: Under Ice Beaver 2015
01-17-15
Setting Day

The beaver hut in the fire pond...old. Walked down stream, found two lodges...old. Beginning to think false alarm.
Remembered hunting deer in there years ago and seeing activity upstream.

Wasn't disappointed. Went back to the truck for supplies.

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The active hut is a couple hundred yards into the woods..thick woods. First job of the day, cut a trail to get Jet Sled in.

Mission accomplished.

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Not much water, spring fed pond. Found two runs coming out of the hut. When the chisel hit water it was like a geyser with the trapped air being released from below the ice. Always a good sign. The runs were full of peeled sticks the beaver had taken from the feed bed, eaten and removed from the lodge. Another good sign.

Found this muskrat condo.

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Spent the afternoon making six sets.

West side run. Two traps, Pinch pole blind sets.

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East side run three sets. Two blind. One pinch pole the other staked solid and further a baited set in the run.

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With the sun falling behind the trees it was time for one more set.

A baited set between the feed bed and the dam.

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Bucky is in trouble. :)

_________________
Keeper of the Mountain
Province Division
Tenth Legion

Your eye in the Northeast sky
Coalman's Online Blog http://coalmansblog.com


Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:48 pm
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King of Spring

Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:09 pm
Posts: 1305
Location: Seacoast NH
Post Re: Under Ice Beaver Trapping 2015
01-18-15
Started in very sunny but chilly weather yesterday. The orange is one of those deer hauling straps. On untested ice I don't like to bridle up. I'd sink with the sled.

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Two beautiful winter prime beaver. Just enough snow to roll them in to dry and clean the fur.

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Survivor man selfie.

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Heading out on the trail I made yesterday. Note the beavers in plastic bags. When the temperature is below freezing the wet fur sticks to anything frozen. Need to protect those long brown guard hairs.

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Who would have thought so much work could be this fun?

Damn beavers. Image :)

_________________
Keeper of the Mountain
Province Division
Tenth Legion

Your eye in the Northeast sky
Coalman's Online Blog http://coalmansblog.com


Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:39 pm
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King of Spring

Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:23 am
Posts: 652
Location: Hagerstown, MD
Post Re: Under Ice Beaver Trapping 2015
Making the Mountain Men of old proud! Imagine what they could have done with a dozen 330's!


Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:40 pm
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