So, my first solo with my dog Bernice she got the biggest kick out of watching the beavers. She never payed attention at home to them, but in canoe country she seemed good just to sit and watch them. After two nights on Gebeonaquet (not sure I spelled it right) which because of blisters on my feet I called it gee Ben outta quit. We headed up the creek and just turned onto Pocket Creek when a beaver came flying out of the weeds at us. Bernie on reflex almost took off after her and in catching herself looked at me like, I can’t believe I almost jumped. Oops!
I didn’t realize a beaver could be so aggressive.

Mad_Mat wrote on Oct 24^th, 2019 at 12:24am:


This makes a lot of sense and how they sometimes manage that bowling ball in the water sound.  Sometimes you'll get the flat slap but no Ker-Plunk.  Probably newbie beavers. 

Westwood wrote on Oct 24^th, 2019 at 2:45am:


Yeah I've experienced this up close. On a very small island site on Sarah Lake I heard a pair of beavers dragging limbs through my site to the water.  They knew I was there and I shined a light on them but they had a job to do and just carried on so to speak.

Beavers are quite active at night.  One of the things they do at night is cut down trees.  My son and I were in our tent after dark and we hadn't fallen asleep yet.  We heard this creaking sound and a big splash as the tree the beaver had cut down hit the water.  In the morning we could see the recently fallen tree.

TomT wrote on Oct 23^rd, 2019 at 10:31pm:


Thank you!  I wish I had had a really good camera back then, and I could have done better.  But still. . .it is a favorite.

"That big flat tail makes a helluva wollup!"

yeah, but it isn't flat when it hits the water - had a beaver watching my canoe once, and slapping his tail a number of times.  then he just held his tail poised above the water, ready to hit it,  and watched the canoe (on shore) for a minute - he had his tail cupped, like an upside down spoon.  I got a very good look at that.  not sure if they all do it that way or not, or always that way but this guy did.  normally the splat happens so fast that you can't really see how the tail is held.

Spartan2 that's a great pic.  "Nice BEA-ver" in my best Leslie Nielson voice. 

I was on a Woodland Caribou trip with Ben. We were going up a long winding creek. I was moving a little faster so when I got to a down tree I would make a passage way for us.  There was a large tree about 4 feet above the water with limbs sticking down into the water.  A beaver was trying to take advantage of it to start a dam.  I pulled a couple of sticks out and then started cutting some of the vertical limbs that were like bars blocking our way.  The beaver not only smacked his tail but through water on me several times.  I got through just as Ben was coming around the corner and I took off.  At the next obstacle Ben caught up and make some kind of comment about me making that beaver mad.

Old Salt wrote on Oct 23^rd, 2019 at 8:56pm:


That's MY kind of fishing!!!   

The first time I remember was a trip where I led a bunch of newbies to Russell lake. We had a small family of beavers near our camp. I noticed the first tail slap in the distance. Someone asked what it was? I told him it was a huge bass surface feeding. He looked a little quizzical, but his back was to the water. When it happened a few more times, it wasn’t long before those boys were pushing canoes into the water to get the hot bite. Their activity (not very stealthy, we were an armada of Grummans and Alumacrafts back in the day ) caused the beavers to cease their activities and they did find a few bass. I stayed in camp and enjoyed a nice quiet evening with a pot of coffee.