When using 10 inch conibears for decades, beginning in the late 60’s, we had to look for narrow channels, not always readily available or easy to find. I remember countless wide runs, too wide for a conibear as is, which we simply passed on. We did fence at times, but it was a lot of work, too much. When Rich Kaspar made the wide 660 conibears, that all changed. Now the same thing can be accomplished with the right cage traps, easier, faster and better. If you are trying to use anything but a powered door cage trap with lock bars or a bifold door, you are limiting what you can accomplish, especially in the ice.
With wide cage traps and powered doors its a new ball game. Cage traps can be set on uneven bottoms, sometimes even perched on rocks or logs without worry. Angles are not a problem nor is level necessary. Instead of trying to find the perfect narrow channels, which are far more limited, wide is fine. In fact, really wide is no problem either. Yesterday I checked a 3 foot wide run with a pair of cages set under the ice side by side. The run was 3 feet deep or better, two traps, two beaver. In fact one had just been caught.
An FYI. Beaver are nocturnal in summer, but in winter, under the ice, they are apt to move at any time of day with no worries from predators or people. Its not that unusual to catch a beaver during mid day.
Rather than spend a minute looking for a tight spot, I look for the wide spots that are common. Cage traps are bulky, but can be slid on a sled or carried with bungie cords on your back. Setting time is far less, no wiring, no staking, no fencing, no looking for the perfect narrow run. A 3 to 5 foot wide run is not a problem, easy to take multiples when two or even three cage traps are set side by side.
Theres nothing much better than early ice, clear at times, before a deep snow. Runs given up by some peeled sticks scream set me, set me, accomplished in a minute with a swim through powered door cage trap. The thiner ice is a great platform, providing access to anywhere you want to set a trap and easy to open with an axe. An inch and a half of ice or better will keep your from swimming, but you can cheat it down to an inch if there is brush or sticks frozen in to add support.
Pictured are 4 beaver taken in 5 traps, which is not unusual, but more the norm. A 4 foot deep run was set with a 14×22 inch oversized cage to take a 40 pounder in a six foot wide channel with no fencing. Just set and drop the trap on the bottom in the “shiny center of the run.” One of the 4 tipped the scales at 60 pounds, caught in a 12x18x36 standard opening cage trap.
