Under Ice Beaver sets

[ecgreen]

So, what r your favs? I am about to head back out and try my hand at the beaver again. Got my but kicked for the one week I was able to get out last month. With the 72 hour check rule, I should be able to run 10 traps or so, even with as busy as I am.

I am thinking about this set as my go to for now:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddh3rynNg7s

Any thoughts on this set?

Sean

[ecgreen]

I was hoping you would answer! I like those "old" pics. Couple of questions if you dont mind:

What other woods do you like to use for bait?
Do you like the vertical pole over hanging with wire?
Where is a good place to set these rigs?

Thanks so much!

[ecgreen]

Also, can you set a hut entrance or just a bank den?

[ecgreen]

Thanks again!


Read carefully...I called the pictures old...you inferred the rest! ;D

[mjflores]

HAHA, thanks for sharing Coalman I like seeing all the older trapping photos too! Keep em coming.

[ecgreen]

When you say "poplar" are you referring to aspen or cottonwood? I gotta tell ya, without leaves its tough for me to tell the difference

[danf]

"Poplar" is a Tulip tree- Liriodendron tulipifera:
forestry.about.com/cs/treeid/a/tree_tulip.htm




I've come to realize that aspen to many around here is a "popple" (sorta pronounced POP-ill). Aspen and cottonwood are very, very similar and are in the same family.
Aspen:
forestry.about.com/od/hardwoods/ss/aspen_2.htm
Cottonwood:
forestry.about.com/od/hardwoods/tp/Populus_deltoides.htm

[ecgreen]

OK, so we are not talking aspens that look like birch? Or are we?

Back home we have poplars like that tulip one. The bark looks just like ash to me. How in the world to identify it in the winter time?

[danf]

You gotta look at the buds... Terminal buds will be different between species and completely different between different family's/genus's. The form of ash will be different than tulip too.

Aspen/popple will look a bit like birch I suppose, but only with the younger trees but to me the bark is more gray-ish. Another tell-tale sign this time of year is birch will sometimes have catkins leftover from last season. It's hard to tell you the differences through a computer screen.....

I'm a landscaper and have been doing it for many years, so I can say with certainty that ID gets easier with time and experience.

[ecgreen]

Thanks for the tips dan. Much appreciated

[bowhunter603]

pretty sure the poplar coalman is referring to is an aspen

[ecgreen]

Does aspen by any chance smell like wintergreen? I used some aspen=looking wood today that the beavers where really munching on. After cutting into it it smelled like winter green

[bowhunter603]

i believe gray birch smells like wintergreen. there is one type of birch that if you bite into the new growth it tastes minty. pretty sure it was gray birch, and i know the beavers eat that.

[ecgreen]

Wow, learn something new everyday. Never heard of that.