Retrieving Beavers
Here are some thoughts I have about retrieving these water varmints (where I live the rural municipality pays a bounty). Spring is a great time to be hunting them.
If you’re in a boat, head over there quickly. I’ve tried a number of things but nothing seems to work as well as grabbing a hind foot and bringing it up-and-over the gunnel of the boat. The beaver can’t get a chomp on your hand when it’s inside the boat hanging onto the beaver’s foot while the rest of the beaver dangles in the water on outside of the boat. I’ve tried large nets, bungee-powered snares on poles, and spring-loaded fish grapplers. The equipment mostly just gets in the way.
Bavrs that you’ve shot and that you ar trying to grab ar usually ying or ad; they arn’t consious so the procur is quit saf on you larn how. (Sorry about the missing lttrs–’d', ‘e’, and ‘c’–thos ar th ons that I typ with th mil fingr of my lft han, an thr’s just a stump thr now….<G>)
For ponds, chest waders are almost a must have. Either the wind will blow the beaver to some place you can’t easily get at or it’ll be calm and the beaver will get stranded before reaching shore. Be sure to wear a PFD (personal flotation device), though because you sometimes step into a beaver run and drop a foot or so unexpectedly. Waders work in small streams as well.
The most difficult retrieves occur in streams where you don’t have a boat but that are too big to wade into (expecially during the spring run-off). My suggestion (I haven’t tried it) is to use a long pole with a line and a large three-pronged fishing hook on the end. Or maybe a fishing rod. Even if you shoot them on shore they’ll often kick themselves into the water so you’ve got to move fast; if you’re not keeping them for the fur it might (not necessarily) help to put another bullet or two (from your .22LR) into them.
Even beavers that sink will pop to the surface again in a day or two. So if it sinks from sight it might still come back to the surface (and blow to shore) by the next evening.
Fun whatever you do, though!
Ken
