trapping beaver dams

[greenhead_killer]

any tricks, tips, insight on trapping beaver dams with cage traps? same question concerning culverts. any info is greatly appreciated.

 footholds would make life a lot easier but we work with what we got.

thanks ahead of time for responses.

[redi]

Do a search on here. A while back Humptulips did a write up about this with good pictures. I have better luck trapping below the dam in a narrow slot but I have caught some above the dam right at the spillway. i usually find a series of dams and catch them in between in narrow spots. sometimes slides are good or heavy trails in the cat tails or swamp grass can produce. Good luck.

[Humptulips]

I would suggest to use swimthroughs in channels. Often there is a channel below the dam which would be my fav but anywhere a good channel is should be looked at.
Sometimes though you can't find a channel. In these cases I have set a swim through on the dam side of a crossover. Mostly submerged but with just one end breaking the water. Build a fence from the trap sides to the dam so anything coming over the crossover is funneled to the trap. A good dive stick will force them to dive through the trap. It's a one way set. You won't catch anything going down stream but if they went downstream they will head back up eventually and there is your chance to catch them.
I am not a fan of dam break sets. In my experience the beaver tend to fill them with junk.
You can set right in a culvert if they are using it. Often they go over the road so I try and find a channel above or below.
I use the term channel loosely. Just a narrow place you can submerge the trap and narrow it off to force stuff through. Creek too big? Maybe look for a bottom edge set.
Last resort for me would be a scent set on dry land but look for a narrow well used trail if you can find it and set with the front of the trap in the water. Good places for scent sets are prominent points the beaver will be going by. Not in a backwater.

[greenhead_killer]

thanks for the replies. i remember reading bruces write up, now that you mention it. still getting it figured out. thanks guys!

[redi]

Here is a dam catch

[redi]

Played the low water levels to catch this beaver in a narrow spot in the stream

[greenhead_killer]

i unfortunately cant check traps daily. i have to keep them submerged and a few of the lower channels are just not deep enough to cover. maybe down the line when i have more time i can trap more efficiently around dams, but for now its not a great option for me.