Under ice beaver trapping. Diary of a trapper.

[Coalman]

Per ADC's request

Under ice beaver trapping
01/12/08
Each species of furbearers have many different methods of harvest. One of my favorite is under ice beaver trapping. Our NH trapping seasons are long. We are allowed to set the bank and lodge entrance holes. Ice gives a trapper the advantage of walking directly to the lodge from their access to the pond or river.
The plan is to set a couple traps next weekend. With the anticipated snow for tomorrow which may hide a lot of sign I went out to scout a few set locations. The pond I have in mind feeds the Lamprey River. The beaver come off the river each year and winter here. There are multiple old lodges around the pond that bring back tons of memories of full traps past.
Each year the beavers recondition a different lodge. All the domes of the other huts are snow covered. This year the lodge is one I have never trapped. It is the hardest lodge to get to. The tops of the winter food supply buried under water in front of the hut are barely visible. The melted snow and fresh peeled sticks on the dome pin point the active lodge.


The black ice leading out away from the lodge is a good sign of an active run.


The ice was paper thin and fresh peeled sticks are calling for a couple 330 conibear traps in the runs. I stuck sticks upright in the snow to mark the location. I found two entrances.


Lets see what Mother Nature throws us for weather this week. Looking forward to going back

01/19/08
Took a trip down to the pond and set 3 330's today.
First set in that hot run from last week. Wasn't to hard to find.


The second run was snow covered. The beaver come out of the lodge from the left. The stick in the water marks the center of the run. The trap wants to be on the bottom and right in the middle of the run.


Not much water to bury the trap at the second set. Here's the set up.


There is a now a set on each side of the lodge. The feed bed is barely showing.


I also set this run at the dam. I'll check tomorrow.


I met the caretaker of the property kids yesterday on their snowmobiles while setting traps. They watched me make the set at the dam. They asked every trapping question in the book. I was happy to teach them the what and why.

We made plans to meet today and check traps together. It was a pleasure to have the company.

We had nothing in our set at the dam. We crossed the pond next out to the sets at the lodge. I could tell we had some action here. This was a set yesterday.


My helpers were very happy when we pulled this beaver onto the ice.


This is the first beaver I have caught in a few years. The caretaker asked my why I was trapping. I told him I was having fun.


It was nice to share the moment with our future.


The youngest boy here just got his own" tree stand" for Christmas. His dad told me he is a future sportsman. You can add trapper to that now.


I told the boys I would be back. We'll trap the Lamprey River together.
We aren't done yet.

When I met the kids at the beaver dam Saturday I could feel a little tension. I was in their play land. When we got to the lodge Sunday they still didn't know what to expect. When we pulled that beaver out of the ice you can see from their smiles they were hooked. After we pulled the traps and walked off the ice all they wanted to know was when was I coming back.

The beaver we caught yesterday was fully prime. Beautiful long guard hairs. Excellent color. I am going to have it tanned and give it to the kids.

[Coalman]

02/02/08
While bird hunting with Jay and Piper this fall we found a brand new beaver pond. Permission to trap was granted to me this week. The landowner wants them gone.
This pond's challenge is to get to it. The old class 6 road is not plowed.
It is a twenty minute walk in. The exercise is good for the ticker.
The pond is spring fed, not deep and crystal clear. The food cache is buried in the deepest part of the pond right at the dam. But the hut is 100 feet back in the woods.

I am standing at the feed bed. The lodge is just out of sight in the foreground. This is the run leading back to the hut. It is now guarded by 3 330 conibear traps in the narrowest spots.



A tree fell across the pond and the beaver chewed it in half to open the run. It is just the right size and depth for a set.


Bucky's got a mine field to get through tonight to get some food.
I'll sleep tonight like a kid waiting to open presents on Christmas morning.

[Coalman]

02/03/08
The journey begins. It is good "trappercise".


This is the set where the beaver cut the log in half.
The conibear trap is on the right.


An extra large beaver. Very dark color. Life is good.


Mountain man blood flows through my veins. And technology is sweet.
It is a labor of love.

[Deleted]

Running the line this evening was not a labor of love. It was a battle with nature. The mist was coming in sideways. The warm weather and rain have made the snow soft and it will not support my weight. Those last couple hundred yards off the snowmobile trail were tough.

But the rewards are sweet.


My job is done at this pond. I pulled the sets. Time to plan a new adventure.
Bucky went 40 lbs and will stretch close to a blanket beaver.

[Deleted]

02/16/08
What ever avenue we pursue in our quest as sportsmen there is value in learning the woods and water. If we listen to our elements and train our eyes and ears we reap the rewards.

To be a successful trapper we must learn our critters. Valuable time is spent in the woods searching and pursuing our quarry. Scouting can save time and weight. Winter beaver trapping in Northern New England is a time of solace in the woods.
I grabbed the snowshoes and a chisel and went for a walk


Today was spent looking along the shores of the Lamprey River. This is a very large flood plain flooded due to our recent rain.


Between here and the far shore,


There are beaver. This place is on my list as #1 for ice out.


02/17/08
I really love this property. Last weeks beaver came from the upper right of this field. There is another flowage that originates from the left. There has been beaver activity in a few past turkey seasons.


The plan was to follow the flowage looking for beaver sign. There were fresh beaver chewing along the brook. This told me the beaver were close. It also told me at least a couple beaver are large. Not many beaver attack mature red oak for this reason. The red oak usually wins but...... then dies.


Down over the hill was this small pond. Can you find the lodge and feed bed on the left?


This is the lodge up tight to the steep bank. I suspect more bank dens along the shore.


On the bank above the lodge the beaver had been enjoying any opening in the ice.


This week we had warm weather and rain followed by two single digit cold nights. The beaver were not active in the severe freeze. But they were when it was warm. Spillway #1. There were beaver, muskrat and otter using this slide.


Down 100 yards from here the brook flows into the marsh. There was twice the critter sign at Spillway# 2


A mental image of each set and each location is now stored in my head.
Now it is up to my tools and techniques. I will be prepared.

[Deleted]

03/08/08
It has been three weeks since I've been back to Spillway #1 and Spillway #2. Temperatures have been above freezing. It rained last night and they are calling for more rain today. Perfect conditions to take a traveling flattail.

I'll bring you along for the set up and you can feel my anticipaction for checking tomorrow. Full traps are a bonus. Time spent in the woods, priceless.


Spillway #1
Should have brought the hip boots and snowshoes for both were needed.
There is still some serious snow left around the pond. The snow on the dam was 3' deep.


The set will go on this slide.


Spillway #2
Is where all the action is.


First set will go in below the slide.


Natures camo. The trap is in the middle. The beaver will select the opening and duck.


There was also activity on this side.


This is what spring beaver trapping is all about.


I’ll have the snowshoes and hip boots tomorrow.

[Deleted]

03/09/08
The "Natural Camo" set had the action last night. Bucky ducked.


Beaver are my target. I also saw sign of otter, muskrat, deer, fox, partridge and turkey. The call to the line is strong.


It was time to pack the sled on my diary.


I enjoyed the walks in. I will return to duel a spring monarch at daybreak.


The light at the end of the tunnel is the start of a new adventure.


Thank you for coming along.

[Deleted]

12/13/08
A good friend offered me some of his secret potion. I met him on his trapline line this morning.

Mother Nature can be hard. The ice storm here was bad. over 400,000 people without power at the height of the storm. We lost power at home for 20 hours. The investment in a generator years ago was a wise choice.

Anton's trapline.


With the help of Anton and his 200 proof pink lure I set four fisher traps today. They are all leaning poles set with 220 conibears. It has been a few years since I have chased the black cat. The scent of the skunk is on the prowl.

The fisher trapping give me a reason to get into this permit and explore. The land has numerous man made ponds. They are all spring fed. I went out today to take inventory.

My love is trapping beaver under ice. Historically the season is almost here. Around Christmas we can usually get on the hard water.

This year if conditions are right I'll have a chisel in hand and few 330's in the pack. Here is what I have to look forward to.

Coming down the first hill I saw this new hut. It wasn't there last spring. This is #1


This pond has never had a beaver hut in it. Till this year. I call this the "Hidden Hut". This is #2.


I call this the "Condo". #3


Premier engineering.


This is the end of the piece. Furthest from the truck. Beaver lodge #4. The prettiest pond.


This is just the south side of the property. In total it is over 300 acres. Tomorrow I explore the two ponds on the north side.

12/14/08
After checking four empty fisher traps I finished my beaver inventory.

The beaver flow-age has two active lodges. #5 and #6.


The last man made pond had lodge #7.


There is only one lodge I can get to without a canoe or ice. Beaver hate to be kept down.


There are two runs going out of lodge #1. This one.


And this one. The bubbles don't lie.


I know where I'll be next weekend.

[Deleted]

12/27/08
I did go back to the pond #1 today. The ice will not support me. Set one trap in a beaver bank den.
Don't have much hope.
But I did jump a cottontail in there today. Looks like the piece has a hunt-able population. Need to check F&G regs on the cottontail hunting border. The New England Cottontail is a threatened species in NH. The bunnies on my trapline are Eastern Cottontails.

12/28/08
I was right. Nothing in my set. Pulled the trap. Maybe the ice will set up for next weekend?

01/03/09
Went on the line with the goal of setting two beaver lodges this morning. Get to pond #1, spud my chisel on the ice, and in two whacks it goes through. So on to pond #2 the hidden hut. Same results. The ice in the beaver runs only required one whack of the chisel.
I do not have a death wish. I did not set any traps.

I sure did see a lot of cottontail sign. Also saw snowshoe hare tracks. You don't find many places with both species of bunnies living in the same cover.

A cottontail form.


With beaver trapping postponed until the ice gets better I went for a snowshoe hike. I saw sign of deer, fox, coyote, squirrels, snowshoe hare and my favorite critter.....

Fisher tracks.


The tracks led to where the fisher dug through the snow for the morsel in the middle of the picture. Looked like a piece of fat.


Please be careful if you venture out on the ice.

[Deleted]

01/31/09
I had the pleasure of sharing a trapline yesterday with a couple of my friends from NEHN

Oddfish and Big Blue helping Coalman "Paint the Fence".


This is hut #1. It took a little chopping but we did find the hut entrance.


We went to hut #2 but beaver activity was minimal. So we headed another 1/4 mile in to the "Condo".

There is no sign of the feed bed above the snow line. It took us a couple holes to find the edge of the feed bed. We put in three baited sets. One with the the bait wired to the pole. One with the bait wired to the trigger and the last with the bait wired to the bottom jaw of the 330.

A picture of our efforts.


I can't thank OD or BB enough for coming with me and helping. Winter beaver trapping is a physical effort. I only wish they could be here today when I go check the traps.

I owe you both a turkey hunt.

[Deleted]

02/01/09
I put a strap around my belt and became my own sled dog. The packed down trail made the walk in instinct.

The Jet Sled followed with ease.


Arriving at the Condo Pond.


View of the pond from the lodge.


Bubbles are good.


The pole was heavy.


The prize


Text book


Rebuilding the set.


Thanks OD and BB. Life is good.

[Deleted]

02/07/09
We got the sled dog hooked up and it was off to check traps.


We encountered a slight obstacle in our path. There were otter tracks here in the fresh snow.


When we arrived at the Condo it was about 2 degrees. Each of us tried to capture the scene in a picture. The top of the lodge was a chimney within a rising sun. You had to be there.


We checked last weeks sets first.


We had a bite..........literally. My bad for allowing the bait to move on the 330.


We reset the trap and relocated a set. DWS did the chopping while I made amends. While resetting the trap DWS walked over to let me know he thinks he found the run. He just watched a beaver swim by on the way back to the hut.

With better feelings about both sets at the Condo we broke new trail to Hut #4 December 2008


February 2009. The lodge is on an island in the pond. Be it by boat or by ice


We are set in the gap between the feed bed and the lodge. DWS took a cord of chew sticks out of every hole we chopped. Check out the ice. DWS put us on the spot.


We had no bumps or bites on our daybreak check Sunday. The pond needs some quiet. Anticipation grows for the next check.

Trapping is good for the soul. :trapper:

[Deleted]

I have a feeling Bay is going to keep me active now that she has gotten a good taste of the outdoors. I feel like I have a new partner.

Even though I haven't set a trap this year the call of the mountain man is strong. The conditions couldn't be better for getting around. The swamps are frozen solid. With that in mind Bay and I went beaver hunting.


Our walk was lengthy. Along the way we found seven active beaver huts. Out numbering the beaver lodges was just the eye boggling amount of muskrat huts. One cove had five giant muskrat domes along the small creek that fed the main pond. I would have dumped every one of my colony traps in that run.

I'm posting these pictures for mmskunk. I know he would appreciate the ease of seeing a lodge like this in the dead of winter.

This lodge had "set a trap on me" written all over it. It is a least six feet high. I'm thinking at least six beaver live here.



You could walk anywhere around this lodge except out front.



The amount of activity in this beaver run calls for a few conibears.



This lodge is a hike in the woods. But along with my new partner if weather conditions are favorable we may be back.