Pennsylvania Game News - August 2009 - 19

norm rather than exception, which makes transporting equipment and harvested beavers difficult. Occasionally, I will luck into a pond that is easily accessible, but such opportunities are few and far between. The first time I had a request to take someone beaver trapping, it just so happened that I had a hotspot lined up. A series of three ponds bordered by a small stream had become home to a colony of beavers. For several years these beavers had been trapped by others yet had never been totally eliminated. A close friend’s uncle owned the pond and was more than willing to grant permission to anyone who would trap the nuisance beavers. This pond immediately came to mind when lifelong friend and neighbor Chris Anderson asked me about a beaver trapping endeavor. In two days of trapping Chris and I managed to catch four beavers. While setting on the first day I found a picture perfect stream channel leading from the dam to the stream. After measuring from the dam with my trusty 25-inch carpenter’s rule to make sure the set would be legal, I instructed Chris how to set it up. Armed with two stout beaver cuttings, a stabilizer welded out of steel rod, a BMI 330 Magnum body gripping trap, and a freshly purchased furtaker license, Chris slowly created the set. The suspicious looks that he kept shooting me during the instruction made it evident that he believed there was no way it would work. All that skepticism was washed away on the next check, when Chris saw his first flat-tail floating in the channel. He had the 30-pound beaver’s pelt hooped traditionally on willow, and it now adorns his den wall. This past season I partnered up with possibly the best type of novice trapper I could find. My friend, Michael Neese, came to me with the desire to catch beavers, and he knew where to find them. His excavating business had put him in touch with several individuals who work the gas fields in the wild regions of the northwestern tier AUGUST 2009 of the state. In no time we were off on hour-long drives in search of beavers. The number of old dams that we found was discouraging. The old saying “should have been here last year” was true for the first three dams we found. So many of our leads turned up dead ends or simply got us lost. During the season we did manage to find two active dams and harvested three mature beavers. Mike had never trapped before and was quite eager to learn the trade. I, on the other hand, was trying my hand at using snares for the first time, but was using conibears and footholds as a crutch. At the end of the season we’d harvested two beavers with snares and one with a Blake and Lamb #4 double long spring. Mike is looking forward to the next season. To anyone that is new to beaver trapping I explain to them that there is no great mystery to catching these “furry chainsaws.” The main key is to be in an area that holds beavers. I have found that it is quite similar to trapping muskrats only with bigger traps. Typical beaver sets are made where they are found to be exiting the water and climbing the bank to feed. Another productive set is where the stream or channel that they are traveling narrows to accommodate a Conibear trap placed on the bottom. Beavers are not bashful about creating sign, and it is relatively easy to determine what area they are currently working. Beavers can also be duped into thinking that another beaver has entered their realm and left a calling card. These territorial markings are called castor mounds and consist of softball-sized piles of mud and leaves placed along the water edge. The beaver uses its castor glands to mark the mound for other beavers to inspect. If you are in an area that harbors beavers it is relatively easy to catch them. 19

Pennsylvania Game News - August 2009

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