Non swim-through beaver

[Carp Commander]

Couple questions on non swim-through beaver.

When making a castor mound in the back of the cage do you still bait the cage?

Do beaver fight the cage and tear it up a lot?

I trimmed all the willows in the back yard today. Can I cut pieces to length and freeze them for bait through out the winter?

I am not much on beaver but its the price I pay for access to some new ground. If I take a few beaver this winter I also gain mink, muskrat and coon rights.

Thanks

Doug

[pnwmtnmn]

you do not need to bait the cage with a castor mound in the back, the beaver will come in todestroy the castor mound and leave his own scent.
If you leave them in the cage to long they will start to fight it.
Check out fatslinger post she has some pics of a beaver in a cage on the bank. Easier and you don't have to get wet.

[gramps]

I have caught several on land, some with castor mud from another location and some with just partially pealed sticks in the cage.  The small ones did not do anything to the cage, one 55 pounder tried to chew thru' the wire, but only bent it pretty good.

[UrbanTrapper]

I've had them bust out of a Havahart 1080. The beaver bent the weak metal trigger hook and blew out every one of the cheap J-clips Havahart uses on that otherwise stout cage.  Fatslinger warned me that that would happen but I didn't listen. Kirk D. reckons if your cage is less than 16" tall a beaver can hunch up and bust out.  Beaver don't bust out of Koro traps but they are expensive and I worry about clueless urbanites finding mine and getting an arm, leg, or jaw broken when they set it off.  Other than the potential for busting out, cage traps work well on land.  I add castor to the bait sticks with some peeled for eye appeal.  Beaver love cottonwood branches and I think apple slices would work also.