I posted this in the Idaho chat room but figured you guys might be interested as well. Sorry for the long-winded story, but it was a unique check day. Christmas Eve was a good check day for me, but alas a very weird one indeed. It started off with a beaver caught in a Bridger #1 long spring blind set I had for mink in a very narrow, rocky pinch point. It was a perfect front foot catch and I was glad that I anchor almost all my water traps to potentially hold an otter, if need be. It held this 25 pound beaver great. And I realized on this catch, as well as a subsequent one later in the day, just how aggressive a beaver can be. This little guy charged at me time and time again while I went back to the truck for the dispatch gun. He would charge until he hit the end of the chain then hiss at me.





Next stop on the line was checking on an otter set I made at a marina, where i trapped otter and beaver last year. I had made my adapted version of a bucket set. I took a milk crate and wired a muskrat carcass to the bottom of it and wired a 330 in the top of the milk crate, guarding the muskrat carcass. Then as you can see I hung the whole setup from a structure on the marina. Perfect behind the head catch on this female otter.





On my last check of the day I stopped at a spot where I mostly have coyote sets but also had a couple of otter sets on an otter toilet. This particular spot isn't in an area where I could get a drowner set in on the toilet, due to due frozen edges on the river as well as some logs and stumps in the way. So I have a Victor #4 on the toilet, with a 220 on the trail leading to the toilet, hoping that the otter would go through the 220 and if that failed would get caught in the Victor #4. Well I was surprised to see a 50 pound beaver in the set that afternoon. The lure I used was one I made from otter glands and mink urine. Not something that should have attracted a beaver. This beaver was every bit as aggressive as the first one and I learned that beaver can turn and "spray" castor at you, like a skunk. Except it comes out in a large stream and only goes about 3 feet. I was quick enough to dodge the castor spray and get the beaver dispatched.

What a whopper of a tail on that thing.

Excellent job, good to hear you anchor solidly so you can hold and keep a otter. When we go to north id. I always see alot of otter sign. Happy skinning

Post that in the tail contest. Its yuge!!

Pretty neat day, congrats!

It looks bigger than it is. Was 6 3/4" so I didn't post it.

That was really cool. Do you catch any coyotes on otter gland? A guy I know who is a very good trapper made a few sets with otter gland and his words were it is death to coyotes . Said he couldn't keep them out of his otter sets.

Awesome pics!!