I have caught them using shiny salmon skin wrapped around the trigger of a 330 suspended under ice. I hear a realistic fish lure with no hooks can work as well

I’ve gotten a few otter under the ice this year in my beaver sets. Wanted to try baiting the trigger with a smelt or a Zman scented bait used for fishing. I would think it’d have to be scented because how well can they see in the dark, under snow covered ice? I’ve got some glow paint I haven’t tried yet either, say it glows for about a day…might bring it along this weekend lol.

Hal Sullivan sums it up in his otter book to me. “ I don’t make otter sets, I find otter sets. “

I think everyone knows blinds sets are the best option for otter, but it seems like a lot of folks forget that not everyone traps with the same rules or habitat as others. Not everyone has beaver ponds and swamps to work with, many of us can’t use bodygrips unless they’re submerged. It can make finding good sets difficult. Theres always a spot or two that stand out, but throwing in a handful of “baited” sets doesn’t hurt either. The best set I’ve had was a pocket set dug right where they couldn’t possibly miss it. No bait or lure, it just was the perfect set up that they couldn’t help but check it out as they traveled a small creek. That one set caught four otter in 7or 8 days on a small creek thats barely ankle deep in places. Never stop looking for good blind sets, but some places just aren’t set up well.

There is an old saying that says something to the effect of, "Some don't know what they don't know." I say this in reference to otters and bait. Otters, a lot of otters, can and are caught with bait. I wish it wasn't so but I catch several every year in baited pocket sets and have to let them go because our otter season isn't in yet. AND, if I wanted to catch otters in baited pockets, I would catch more if I set for them by moving the trap back away from the hole 3 or 4 inches instead of having it tight to the hole. Fish and muskrats are my baits that catch otters.

We don't have a lot of otters compared to Mississippi and other southern states but we have enough of them to be a real nuisance. This year I caught 10 otters in Ohio and 7 of them were caught in baited sets. Thankfully I missed at least that many more.

When I trapped Miss. I didn't use any bait because there were crossovers and runs everywhere. Here in Ohio, unless trapping in a beaver swamp, we don't have those kind of options.