There is just no better Otter out there. I also picked up a roadkill deer, gonna use the hide. You think spoiled deer meat is good to use for bait?

You should send that otter to FHA and let them determine if LA otters are the best

I think you may be disappointed

Tainted, not rotten, deer is excellent coyote bait.

We have mink bigger than that in NY!

Cool but no way that otter has better fur than a Northern one.
We can't use deer meat for trapping bait, I wish though.

Congrats! Those nutria-otter crosses are exceedingly rare!

The best ones anywhere are the ones you catch. Good going!

Back before the Tibet market died, the southern pale otters were high demand items

Looks like a good otter, considering it's from the Deep South. I'd find it hard to argue however that a LA otter is better quality fur than something like say an Alaskan otter or even anywhere in the Northern US. Congrats on the catch and the bait. Thanks for sharing.

Its quite likely that if there are any otters that beat Louisiana Otter. They are indeed Louisiana otter that were transplanted.

Interesting point about the Alaskan Otter, I need to do some research about USA records of size with otter. I know that atleast one Louisiana Otter caught in the 1920s was the USA record, but I dont know if that included Alaska or not. Great point and I have a question for you guys.

What do you mean by quality of the fur? I understand things like chew marks, general size, fur primeness to an extent, but is there more than that? Thanks.

What’s your source on this info? Let me guess, another legend?

The difference in fur quality is reflected by the grades given by FHA. Different regions have different coloration and general quality of fur. Believe it or not they don’t all grade “Louisiana” section. All things being equal (size, primeness, etc) a northern otter will bring more at auction than the southern otter simply due to higher fur quality and more desirable color (at the moment).

You should be tickled pink with your catch, otter are awesome creatures

Yes...MattLA...there is more to fur quality than what you mentioned. Until you have ran your fingers thru northern tier North American fur, including otter, you have no idea about the term "heft" or heaviness of the fur. There is NO comparison!!!

Lee Roy Sevin was his name and he was the world expert on river otter. Louisiana otter he caught went all over the world and was stocked in 18 states and most otter biologists credit those otter with reproducing and finding their way to over half of the USA.

Like I said those northern otter are likely Louisiana DNA otter that benefit from the climate.

@Swamp, ok fair point. I still think Southern Fur is superior, but I need to do what you said.

Matt may I ask why you think southern fur is superior? I only know about Ks fur but from seeing sales reports it's seems a lot of northern fur is more desirable and brings more $ therefore would seem superior by general consensus.

@Yes Sir, fair and good points all around, but it's like a rivalry to me right? I know the Northern Fur will sell for more, I am mostly prodding at the Northern guys & gals with that comment. However I do hope to convince whoever buys our fur that the Louisiana Otter is different and that you can't judge it the same as the Northern Fur. Part of the secret is our brackish marsh water but the other part is the sweet summer heat. You see where I'm going with it? If I lived in Kansas, by golly Kansas would be the world leader in corn fed Otter and that some of the chemicals in the corn only found in Kansas Corn make that special sheen in the otter fur. .

Gotcha yeah. Lol well I've never caught an otter but I'm positive the limestone in our streams make a much softer fur than those coarse haired brackish water things u guys call otters down there... lol
Carry on

For what its worth, my buyer two years ago told me southern light brown otter were more desirable than my dark brown ones.

Right on, I hope we can get you an otter so we can do that comparison someday. Limestone vs brackish is definitely a test worth checking out! This is my 2nd for the season, which I am mighty proud of and to give credit where credit is due, both of these were caught in RGB 220s. Since I was just starting out in the trapping world, I decided to spend some money on those and really really enjoy them. I can't speak to their effectiveness compared to the square ones over time, but I will say that it "seems' the animals are more willing to go through the circle ones.

In my country what we lack in quality we make up for in numbers. LOL

Can I put a twig in my coni to catch more otter that have had superior LA genetics infused into MT otter? Asking for a friend who wants to be a legend