I saw that the ND otter season has shut down due to reaching its quota.

Just following protocol.

You are better off without them.

Some people feel the same about coyotes, some wish all the coon and skunks were dead. What would we have left for furbearers if everyone got their wish? Seems a lot of people think they should be the only thing that can catch and eat something. I feel we are lucky to have a season on them. Most ND is not real good otter habitat.

It ain’t the otter it’s the way they’re managed

If u got food an water u got otter habitat.

Hope they thrive for ya.

I got an incidental the week before season opened. I was bummed but the game warden pointed out that’s how they will realize to increase the limit. Went up 5 this year 🤷‍♂️

Good deal, it happens

That's what we don't have, habitat. There is hardly enough to make them worth the time to chase, even in the better area's. I would bet the population around me is less than one per 100 miles. Like I said we are lucky to have a season at all. We have a quota on Fisher also. But when you look at most ND you would be surprised there are enough to trap at all. Rolling hills, grass lands and shallow sloughs are not really otter or fisher habitat.

The NE part of ND, has some of the best habitat from what I have seen. I trapped over by Grand Forks one year and saw enough sign to know they were hanging out. That was back before we had a season and the G&F was just starting to look at the population. I caught one by Spirit Wood in a coon box one year. I turned it in too. Hopefully you will get one next year you can keep.

Left empty handed this year, anybody catch there Fisher? FYI I'm at 3 bobcat released this year setting at #5+ misses get old, deer zone 2d needs a cat season

No luck here either even though I had both(Fischer & Otter) on camera, the weather certainly didn't help... but 50 degrees at the end of November I'm not going to complain.

No fisher or otter caught by me this season. I think the recent floods have impacted the prey base or they laid up in a tree during the warm weather. Saw some otter sign but nothing used the one crossover I had set up. Seems to me that the quota could be raised since it is filled in a week every year. Would have been nice to have some snow to see what is going on.

It is interesting with regs concerning limited harvest species. With a lottery system many of the more serious trappers do not get permits and thus there may be more incidentals all through the season. With a quota system and a season shut down which may come very early then most incidentals will come after the quota is reached. Hard to know which of those systems manages the resource the best. Here in WI we have a lot of water, big and small streams about 25,000 miles worth and roughly 15,000 named lakes not including thousands of marshes, swamps and sloughs so otter have a lot of habitat and are faring very well.
Can you imagine how easy it is for a family of otters to live in a big marsh full of very slow moving winter carp? It is like a free lunch every day. Some of the toilets I have seen on the marshes are like scoop shovels full of scales.

Bryce

I think it is pretty awesome that ND has a season on otter. Don’t let WI’s odd system that isn’t able to analyze current or past trends and adjust for them influence your view of the resource.

With most of our otter wintering in the Red River or bigger tributaries I say were lucky us ND guys can keep 1 lol, wish I could get the NDGF to understand the Bobcats cross that river, and the Canadian boarders both with open seasons

I agree on the lucky to have a season as few as there are in the state for both fisher and otter. I will pass it on about the bobcats. It can be brought up at the ND Furbearer working group meeting, again. I have pushed to have the entire state opened for years for Bobcat.

I know they did a recent survey yet think all eastern ND is lumped into avg population so we still don't meet they're goal for a season, I must run heavy pans missing my chances at the Fisher in that season, I travel to western ND late season pheasant hunting don't see a bobcat track, check any creek in this area, the Pembina Gorge is not what people think of when they say North Dakota

Pembina Gorge is supposed to have a known breeding population of bobcats, and that is the reason they don't want to open the state up to bobcat trapping. They says that it is such a small area that the bobcats could be cleaned out real easy. In an area like I am there is no resident bobcats and everything is just passing through. So if it is trapped or not has no effect on the population. I am not going to say I agree with that thought process, but I can see their point.

Small area and small populations? Take out south GF to Missouri id bet highest density in the state

I am telling you what I was told while speaking to them about opening up the entire state. I sent you a PM.

Sorry I feel both otter and fisher seasons are almost a distraction to NE Dakota Trappers and NDFT, and the issue I've been pushing past several years, NE North Dakota gets to release Bobcat or worse yet turn them over if snared yet were just miles from MN and Canada yeah both have seasons, I help force the last bobcat survey showing NDGF biologist what turned out to be bobcat and black bear dens.