Just pulled my first otter line yesterday before going north to deer hunt for the weekend. And this morning, sitting in the stand I had a family of four otter coming loping by the deer stand. I understand they will cross land between bodies of water, but how far will they travel on land? There are some low spots in these woods I figure they might hunt, but they are dry this year. My only guess is that they were headed to a pond across the county road which the gps says is 640yds as the crow flies. How far will they travel on land? Do they actively hunt on land or are they more likely traveling between bodies of water?

Some say that they can smell water a long ways off.

I trapped a mountain pass for about 10 years here in Alaska that went from the coast to around 800' elevation. There was a small creek that flowed through it, for about 2 miles, originating from a lake that was about 1/4 mile wide by 1/2 mile long. The lake supposedly held a few small trout, and would freeze solid. Every winter otter would come up that creek and pop through the ice, always heading to the very back of the lake, then go over-land, over the divide, dropping into a much larger drainage. That next ribbon of water, (generally frozen that time of year), was at least a mile away, through forrest and rock.

They will go miles on land between drainages.
They mark their route with scent and every otter will take the same route.

there is a road culvet neer me that is a mile and a half from the creek to the east and almost two to the creek to the west both drainages going each way are dry ther is a little puddle of a pond next to the road . there have been several otters road killed at that culvert over the years . The guys to the west have seen several otters traveling cross country going west towards a big creek from their deer stands over years . thats three and a half miles with just a puddle in the middle that they cross going from one drainage to another