I found some fresh otter sign today. This is my first season trapping and am just looking for some pointers. It looks like they used this little open channel to travel a short distance otherwise they were cutting across land and ice. One spot they were traveling on the ice looks like they go into this spot in the bank. Should I load this little channel up with 330s and put a 160 in the hole in the bank? Not able to set today due to work and will most likely be setting next week at some point. Is it a guarantee they will swing back through this area?

They've got very good vision and are pretty good about avoiding things if they can spot them. They can also cover a lot of ground before they come back to an area. I usually look for places where they're coming out to roll in the snow or poop rather than setting on traveling sign where they might not return for a while.

By all means set the channel, just anchor off well to account for changing ice conditions. If you can find an overhang where they're less likely to see the trap all the better. Baited bucket sets using fresh fish also produce fairly well, although i usually use a 220.

I have the most luck with otter when I wait for the weather to get as cold as possible to remove some of their ingress/egress points, then I'll set the bank holes where they're coming in and out still, looking for ones that have a fairly long narrow tunnel that they have to commit to before they're able to see the trap. In a good cold snap these have an almost 100% success rate.

I would set the channel and be patient. I've found that they are extremely hard to pattern and it could be anywhere from a day until they are back or maybe months until they return. When they do return they may use the same trails or completely different ones. If you can find small channels like that though that will stay open through the cold snap we have coming that's a great place to set for them.
Another trick that has worked for me, but after only trapping a few seasons for otter myself I can't guarantee its effectiveness, is using a flashy fishing lure on the trigger of a 330. Remove the hooks obviously. I think it just peaks their curiosity or gives them something to inspect. Nonetheless it's caught me a couple of otter.

I would set a few submerged bodygrips in that channel.

well? show us some fur

Getting some sets out on sunday to hopefully connect. Also possibly found some fisher tracks in this area so im going to throw some cubbys woth 160s out as well. We will see what happens