Beaver snaring under the ice
By Buckshot, author of "Buckshot's Modern Trapper's Guide"- www.buckshotscamp.com

The big secret is to use 1/16” snare wire under the ice. Boil the snares in baking soda for 10 minutes, rinse off and leave outside until they become dull. Now, take a dead branch 3-4 inches in diameter and nail on four pieces of poplar branches - partially peel so the white shows. You have to set this between the feed pile and the den. Chop a hole in the ice; put the stick in and measure the depth; you want the top of the snares about 4 inches below the surface with a 6” loop. Four inches below the snares (one on each side), place two more. Nail the bait sticks on either side of the snare, so as the beaver swim around the branch to get the bait, they swim into the snares. Wire the snare tight to the pole and use a small piece of 14 gauge wire bent and squeezed shut to hold each snare at the correct height. Now, wire the snares to the pole and run more wire up to a top stick; just in case it is some monster 65-pound beaver. After you set them, leave alone for 3 days. The beaver are sound shy so just hearing you walk around will sometimes cause them to stay in the den for days.

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