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.