Beavers and bass: The eternal debate

[SudburyBasser]

I was fishing with my brother-in-law this past weekend -- we managed near 20 smallmouth in under two hours so a decent day -- but an old argument flared up as we came up on an area where beavers had clearly taken down a few trees.

 

My B-i-L is of the opinion that beavers are a negative for bass fishing, that their huts drive away bass and that predation of fish by beavers also influences them to go elsewhere. Before someone jumps up to say that beavers are herbivores, they have been known to eat animal protein in limited circumstance, though not in a way that supports his contention.

My argument is that beaver huts and the like are a net positive and attract bass, and avoiding those areas is nonsensical.

So I figured my first post on BR in years would be to entertain your thoughts on the matter.

[Bird]

A beaver hut is a guaranteed bass or two.

[TnRiver46]

How can you answer without saying beavers don’t eat fish ? 
 

so my answer to the poll question would be neither. 

[SudburyBasser]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

How can you answer without saying beavers don’t eat fish ?

Here's the problem with that statement: Beavers have been known to eat fish. In fact, not one hour ago I watched a video of a beaver eating a crappie. In limited circumstances, beavers have been known to consume fish.

I've seen no evidence that they hunt for fish, but they are capable of consuming them in the right circumstances.

[Scott F]

The maze of branches that surround a beaver lodge are perfect for holding bass. I NEVER pass up a beaver lodge. 

[gim]

13 minutes ago, SudburyBasser said:

Here's the problem with that statement: Beavers have been known to eat fish. In fact, not one hour ago I watched a video of a beaver eating a crappie. In limited circumstances, beavers have been known to consume fish.

I've seen no evidence that they hunt for fish, but they are capable of consuming them in the right circumstances.

 

This is my assessment too.  Would they eat a fish or scavenge a dead fish?  Yes.  Do they actively hunt and seek out fish as a primary food source like an otter does?  No.

 

I don't run across many situations where the habitat I'm fishing has a resident population of beavers.  This past spring I did encounter a very large beaver house built right next to a public access I frequently use and there was all kinds of debris in the way.  I notified the park manager and within 2 weeks that house was cleared using heavy equipment.  We had a really fake winter here devoid of snow and they made a home there because of it.

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never fished anywhere there wasn’t a beaver, they go anywhere there is water. (And eat wood) 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

I’ve caught many, many fish right around/in beaver lodges. I mean think about it, that’s pretty much the only wood cover in lots of lakes, at least in my neck of the woods.
Ive been fishing a beaver lodge, have a beaver swim right under my kayak and only a few minutes later I caught bass right where the beaver came from. 
 

[Bird]

I don't believe Beavers eat fish as I don't believe Deer eat meat....... reports misrepresent.

Beavers aren't predators and swift swimmers like otters......wood, bark is their food source.

 

[fishhugger]

i asked my ai - it said beavers are strictly herbaceous....... they eat wood, plants, twigs... they'll store that stuff for later snacking. but they do not eat fish.

what i hate is my stupid fresh water otter............  otters are fish eaters........... 

[Glenn]

I always catch fish off beaver huts, and my lake has dozens of them.  They always produce.  Sometimes I catch over a dozen off one hut.

[K1500]

They sure seem to be a boon to trout fishing. 

[Pat Brown]

The huts seem good for bites for sure but the bass don't seem to like when the beavers themselves are around and active because they're big and noisy.

 

Bass are often swimming amidst ducks I have noticed at ponds I fish.  Probably a food thing.

 

I would imagine that in general bass avoid big things in the water with them that are bigger than them BUT use structure and cover even if it's cohabited by larger creatures.

[scaleface]

Might be the most consistent cover I ever fished. That and culverts.

[GRiver]

I think beavers are a good thing, they produce cover and habitat. Now I do think bass move away from the lodges doing construction of it, ( too much activity)but move around it when most of the building is done.  I’ve caught a lot of fish around them.
I will say fishing around them are snag city, WOW!…. You can loose some gear around them. I fish them with Texas rigged plastics around them anymore, plus I don’t like the thought of leavening treble hooks down there for them to get snagged on.  

I know, an over thought, but still……

[Swamp Girl]

8 hours ago, Glenn said:

Sometimes I catch over a dozen off one hut.

 

Wow! I have never done ^this.^ Glenn, you know where a beaver hut slopes into the water and there's wood inches below the surface? Is that where you're catching them or farther from the hut? Or both?

 

55 minutes ago, GRiver said:

I fish them with Texas rigged plastics around them anymore, plus I don’t like the thought of leavening treble hooks down there for them to get snagged on.  

I know, an over thought, but still……

 

It's a good thought. Thanks for being thoughtful of the world's hardest workers.

 

I caught this gal off a beaver dam, but unlike Glenn, I'm lucky to catch just one. I always assumed that all the splashing and thrashing scared the others:

 

[TnRiver46]

10 hours ago, fishhugger said:

i asked my ai - it said beavers are strictly herbaceous....... they eat wood, plants, twigs... they'll store that stuff for later snacking. but they do not eat fish.

what i hate is my stupid fresh water otter............  otters are fish eaters........... 

come on man, I’ve got 4 years of wildlife management studies from a state university and 17 yrs of trapping experience and you ask a robot ??? 😂 😂 

[Tennessee Boy]

 

[J._Bricker]

12 hours ago, fishhugger said:

i asked my ai - it said beavers are strictly herbaceous....... they eat wood, plants, twigs... they'll store that stuff for later snacking. but they do not eat fish.

what i hate is my stupid fresh water otter............  otters are fish eaters........... 

I’m okay with the otters that frequent the river @fishhugger, they eat WAY more crawdads than fish as the docks covered in otter scat full of crawdad shells can attest. And I think the beaver in @Tennessee Boy’s video thought that trout was a piece of wood cause it lost interest pretty quickly.  Now, if you want to talk fish eaters, these guys do some serious damage, especially during the spawn not to mention they’re known to be a big fan of weigh-ins. But since sea lions federally protected just got to look past ‘em and fish where they aren’t.

[fishhugger]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

come on man, I’ve got 4 years of wildlife management studies from a state university and 17 yrs of trapping experience and you ask a robot ??? 😂 😂 

yeah...  i do rely on a robot... like hal 3000 --------- that red eye following the astronaut dave around, finally deciding he, dave, is irrelevant to the mission.........

[Swamp Girl]

@Tennessee Boy: In the comment thread for your video, lots of other people shared stories of seeing beavers eat fish. So, I'm a believer now. 

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

@Tennessee Boy: In the comment thread for your video, lots of other people shared stories of seeing beavers eat fish. So, I'm a believer now. 

I’ve seen videos and heard accounts from big foot too. And then there are the black panthers…..

[Bird]

Not to derail the thread but we have lots of Heron and Loons in the Lakes I fish.

I physically watch them eat their share of fish.

[fishhugger]

@J._Bricker wasn't aware those sea lions, or whatever they are, are federally protected.  i've seen them in the california delta....... super way inland.  it seems weird to see them so far from the sea

[Swamp Girl]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve seen videos and heard accounts from big foot too. And then there are the black panthers…..

 

As much time as you've spent outside, you must have seen some animal doing what that supposedly don't do or some phenomenon that supposedly doesn't happen.