Got an otter. 3rd one I’ve trapped. Second one I got to keep, one had to turn in cause season hadn’t started yet and I was trapping beaver. I’m surprised how far she got through the trap. Never paid much attention to my trigger location. Did he squeeze by the side before he bumped it? I always set the trigger where the trap is fully open. Pictures of the set, the otter, and the trigger. Mostly just wanted to share but was curious if anybody had any pointers. Limit of 25 in North Dakota this year, this is number 6. 25 pound female.

Pic as the trap was set

Nice!!! Looks like you have a great helper to boot.

There fast I've suitcased them and caught them by the hips.

Have you tuned the trigger on your trap? You might be surprised at how much movement some triggers require before they fire.

No I haven’t tuned the triggers on any. Honestly never thought about it. Any good tutorials? I suppose I can find some in the trapping archive on here. But probably some5ing I should do.

Well done.

Just curious how long was it. Nose to end of tail

http://www.trapperman.com/trapperman/Basic_Sets_Bodygrip_Adj.html

Good catch, looks like you got some good help in the fur shed .

I forgot to measure before I skinned it. Pelt measured 54 inches. Tried to let it lay natural and not stretch it.

Congrats.
Red River?
Starting to see quite a few in it.

that trap appears to be an older BMI magnum. they came with nice triggers and not much needed for tuning them. if totally submerged id use the classic VEE shape of the original trigger, to cover the whole trap. if half submerged, id use the TEE shaped wires like youre using there. nice catch too!

Tongue river. It’s a tributary of the Red River. About 20 miles as the crow flies from the red where I caught it.

Seen quite a bit of otter sign on the red last year hunting coyotes.
Them buggers can travel for sure.

Yup....get yourself a chainsaw file.....and find a you tube video ...to tune up those traps. You’d be surprised how quick you can make them fire...with the correct amount of filing and other tricks. Most trappers ignore that part of trapping with Conibears. When you have a live ..hip caught otter on your hands...it’s not a good feeling. Lesson learned.

A catch is a Good catch

nice catch, don't over think it, otter is like a fish they will get a way's into your trap,

Congratulations

I'll give a guess as to why it got so far through the trap. The trigger looks to have been on the top. If you look at the way the trigger was set there is a lot of space under the trigger when the trap is set. We think of the size of the animal the way we find it in the trap. Dead otter are a round tube that is about 8 inches around, give or take a bit. If you've ever had to kill a live otter then you know they are wider than they are tall in life, especially when swimming. The head is smaller than the body so it went past the trigger easily. Water animals tend to swim on the bottom when traveling to begin with so it was already towards the open part of the trap. The shoulders or farther back on the body is what what contacted the trigger and caused the trap to fire. The speed the otter was moving determined how far back it was when it closed.