Out here in GMU 17 beaver trapping season opens Oct 10.
Last summer when the city asked me to eliminate some beavers that were blocking a culvert I found a new beaver dam near our neighborhood. I eliminated 3 beaver that were damming the culvert but, this group mostly stayed out of the culvert. I decided to wait for the Oct 10 trapping opener to get these as I'm sure they'd eventually start plugging culverts. So I set up as soon I had the opportunity after the season opened. While the hides might not be fully prime, I thought it would be a good time before there was enough snow and ice for kids to run around with snogos and mess with any set or follow my tracks to the sets.
I made 3 sets on Tuesday. Wednesday evening I took the boys to check it.
Bingo, 2 less culvert cloggers! The smaller one weighed 34.5 lbs and was caught in a 330 Conibear. That trap really mashed the animal - you can see how the one on the right seems to have a crease across it. The hide itself has a dark mark on the inside.
The bigger one (Emmett is clowning with) weighed 48.4 pounds. I caught it with a #3 Duke coil spring - front foot catch. The animals had been digging their "pond" deeper and piling the mud on their new little house. I'm pleased that I could have success overnight, especially with the foot hold trap. I'm not a very experienced trapper.
Ben dragged the big beaver about 1/4 mile (through the woods on snow) to where we could put it on a sled and drag it home. Sure glad he's big enough to be a real help. Winter has come early and the snow has stayed on the ground.
Lots of fleshing to do. Might do a beaver roast this weekend. This is turning into a real fun fall for us. I'll get the hides tanned and have a local lady make mittens for the boys.
