Quest for a beaver part 2

[dakids]

Last week we started our quest again.  My oldest daughter was sick so her younger sister was my helper.  She isn't to outdoorsy but she loves her beaver skin earmuffs.  She also wakes up much earlier than her sister.  She woke me up at 530 am and said we needed to get out there because the beavers were already awake and we needed to get em.  The snow had drifted into the trail and was deeper. This time we switched to snares below the ice.  And we also used the chainsaw to cut the holes.  Much easier. 

[Boar]

good luck, I hope you guys get one.

[wildlifeminnesota]

That pert cool, 

[dakids]

3 days later we return and go and check the snares.  Again I have the EARLY waking daughter with and we head to the beaver lodge as the sun is rising.  It was a beautiful, crisp morning.  All 3 sticks that had the safety cables attached to had been unrolled and the article sticks were leaning or missing.  We were excited to see our catch.  Autumn pulls the first cable and all she pulls up is a small chunk of stick out of the hole. No beaver in either snare.  I pulled the next one and it looked just like the first.  We were down to our last try.  Autumn starts pulling and she says its stuck and cant get it out.

[lentz]

so did you get a beaver you killing me with this suspense

[wildlifeminnesota]

Come on let see it!!!! 

[wildlifeminnesota]

 

[dakids]

After I take the picture she yells at me to put the stupid camera down and chop the icehole bigger. So after the hole is big enough I pull out a (wait for it) gal dang stick. Yep, the beaver has out smarted us again.  We don't know what we are doing wrong.  Only thing that we could come up with was that the snares might be to close to the ice and the beavers are knocking the snares down with the tops of their heads.  So we now have to trudge through 3 feet of snow to the nearest poplar tree to cut down.  By the time I push through the 50 yards of deep snow I'm really tired and the saw doesn't want to start.  After saying a few prayers and other mumbled choice words to the saw it decides it better start or it would be at the bottom of the beaver pond.   I was really disappointed that we struck out again, because I knew that I would have to check them in 3 days alone.  The kids had school.

STAY TUNED

[wildlifeminnesota]

It sound like she wearing you out!!!!  Yes trapping a beaver with all this snow can do that,,,, 

But you know you would real not want that beaver to have that saw as you may come back to no tree let,,,,,,,,

[beeker]

very cool.. nice to have daughters that love the outside.. ( i have 2)

when we were kids grandpa had us cover the tops of the holes for the pocket gophers.. we were catching sticks also.. grandpa said they would see the light change and "hold a stick in their mouths and set off the traps.. true or not true you didnt' argue with grandpa and once we covered the holes we cut into tunnels we started catching em... I know it's  not the same critter.. but if you have that hole cut in the ice the light may change for em under the ice giving them a warning maybe.. maybe cut a chunk of carpet or insulation so the light under the ice doesn't change for em. ??? worth a shot maybe..

[dakids]

On our first attempt with conibears we covered the holes with snow and they didn't freeze over, and it was about -10.  The guy that I bought the snares from told us to not cover the holes as the extra light would help attract the beavers to the snares.  He catches over 200 beavers per year so I took his advise.

[beeker]

can't argue with 200 beavers.  well I suppose you could but I don't know what good it would do..

[dakids]

Well I arrived at 3 pm and wasn't looking forward to the mile walk to the beaver lodge.  It had snowed again and the trail had drifted completely in AGAIN.  It took me about 45 min to get to the lodge.  If I stepped off of the trail I would sink up to my waste in snow.  I really need to buy snow shoes.  2 of the bait poles were leaning over at a 45 degree angle and the 3rd was missing.  I dug the 1st cross member out and pulled up a 3 inch piece of poplar and 2 empty snares.  UGH I thought to myself,  What am I doing wrong?  I went over and pulled on the second pole and just pulled up the 2 empty snares.  The baitpole was chewed off right at the snares nail.  I had one left.  I grabbed the pole and it came up easily unil the end of the snare hit the bottom of the ice and I saw this. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

[dakids]

I will never forget our first beaver.  He is a small beaver but he is ours. I wish the kids could have been there when I pulled it up but they had school.  I didn't reset the snares.  The snow is killing me and I am going back to work next week.  Here are a few more pics.

[ray634]

Nice catch. Too bad the snow is so deep to keep you away. Hope you get a lot more when the snow melts.

[wildlifeminnesota]

Nice  Now you need a hat made out of that Beaver  I know just the guy for that job 

[dakids]

The girls are planning on tanning it themselves and bending a willow branch and hanging it on the wall.

[wildlifeminnesota]

The girls are planning on tanning it themselves and bending a willow branch and hanging it on the wall.

I all so  doing that with 12 beaver There call beaver hoops 

[deadeye]

Congrats on the beaver.  Each one will get easier.  When the ice starts to go our and the beavers work the trails, you will be able to set your conibear's on their runs.

[dakids]

Season ends at the end of april.  Might still be ice.

[Fawkinnae]

Bravo!