Auger, chainsaw, Ice Saw???

[TMT]

What do you beaver trappers use to cut the ice and how big of a hole do you need to remove an average sized Beaver? I'm going to try snaring them thru the ice after Christmas - thanx!!

[clint]

A word of advice dont use a chainsaw in michigan the DNR frown on that big time. They say it causes pollution and can give you a heafty fine if caught using one. Beside a chainsaw would be alot of extra weight to carry I use an axe on my line.

clint

[clint]

Edge Ive never used a chainsaw myself, but a trapper buddy of mine was warned not to use his again and I did hear that a trapper over to the west of me got fined for using one. I do know a guy that got ticketed by a CO on our local lake for using one. And have heard rumor of others getting ticketed. (more icefishermen than anything else)

I dont really see a problem with using one myself like you said them old boat motors are as bad or worse. If a person set out to fight the ticket with an out of town lawyer he might just get it throwen out of court. The DNR down here love to write tickets hell in the summer they fly around all day in a airplane just looking for an O.R.V out of the riding boundry area. Then guide a truck into where the O.R.V is to write a ticket.

That $50-$100 dollar ticket just dont seem to be worth the cost of using a high payed pilot & fuel & maintence for that plane. Our DNR piss away money never. lmao

I cant afford to fight the system so im going to stick to my axe. But if I ever hit the LOTTO for the big one you can bet I would put it to the them every chance I could. I dont have alot of respect for law enforcment or the system and Im not a criminal either in my 33 years the only ticket or trouble ive ever had was a seatbelt ticket. But have been hassled by them enough for a few people. Well that that was more than you wanted to hear. Im done rambling now lol

clint

[TMT]

"I dont have alot of respect for law enforcment or the system and Im not a criminal either in my 33 years the only ticket or trouble ive ever had was a seatbelt ticket. But have been hassled by them enough for a few people."

I obey all the laws I agree with

[clint]

RdFX I couldnt tell you if this is actualy wrote in the books as a law or not. It very well might not be But that dont mean diddly if you dont have Money to fight it. If you dont think that there are tickets wrote eveyday by Officers that arent on the books as law you got another thing coming.

A few years ago my dad went out on a perch charter boat along with many other people and a fella brought his buddy with him that was from florida. The guy from Florida was just there to watch NOT FISH and never touched a fishing pole or fish and along comes the DNR checks everybody out and writes this guy a ticket for fishing without a license. Many people on this boat told the CO that he wasnt fishing and the CO said he didnt care They could fight that out in court. At the end of the day my dad told the guy he would be more than willing to go to court with him and like the guy said it wouldnt be worth trying to fight because it would end up costing way more than the ticket to make the trip back to michigan to fight it. Theres no dout they could have got this tossed out of court but I would say that this Officer new he would just pay the fine and that would be that he's happy he got to push the little guy around and the court system made there Money.

The average working man cannot afford to fight the system its by far cheaper to pay the ticket and be on your way.

clint

[clint]

snareguy the check is in the mail ok. Oh and I was thinking with todays prices $100 bucks wont buy much so I just wrote it for $200 Merry CHRISTmas. :twisted:

clint

[trappermike63]

hey TMT
I use anice chopper.Its a 5 ft lone piece of 3/4in rod with a pice of flat half inc by four inch steel welded to it .I can chop a 40 lbs beaver out in no time .It's quite a work out when you make a set but it beats the heck out of useing an axe.

[Rick Hatton]

TMT,
I think it really depends on how much ice you are dealing with here. I no longer trap beaver thru the ice but still put out 3 pike spearing shanties each year. Normally I'm dealing with about a foot of ice and cut my holes 2' by 4' and the chain saw is the only way for an old geeser like me to do the job. Hehe. I've been using chain saws here in MI for over 25 years and have never had a problem with the law. I even looked it up in the book and there's no law prohibiting the use of one. A good spud will do the job just fine for thinner ice, but I do several alterations to the chisel point to get more depth on each chop. I've heard a good ice saw is great because the rakers are made for ice but have never used or found one. I do have an oil problem that seems to float one top of the hole for several days and like your one response stated, run it oil-less as the water will stop any binding. If you do decide to use this method, don't run the saw dry for long and by the way, ice really dullens the teeth fast. Oh, and we only use the saws when cutting the first holes or moving the shanties to new areas. The rest is all spud work. Hope this helps as I really live in these shanties most of late December thru Febuary. Good luck!