I was talking with a neighbor last night who lives up the lake from me, and it occured to me (through his curiosity) that there's a lot of guys out there who don't really know how to target otter specifically. My neighbor was shocked that I catch otters without trapping beaver. So my conclusion was that most people catch the occasional otter in a beaver set, but either don't know how or have the patience to target otter. So I figured I'd put what I know out there, as I'm pretty sure that's what this site is for.
Otters are not a complicated creature, it just takes patience to catch them. I find a spot with limited beaver activity (just so I don't have beaver plugging my sets), and I look at the obvious travel routes in and next to the water, and try to find funnels or choke points where their options are limited. I like to walk creeks after a fresh snow looking for otter sign, they'll tell you where to put your conibears. Once you have an idea of their travel routes and some good pinch points along those routes, you're ready to place some steel. In my mind, a #280 is the ultimate otter trap, but I catch plenty in 330's and 220's. I set every single good pinch point I can find, and I may even create a few (drop a tree into the creek, make sure it doesn't reach the far side, set a conibear in the gap between the tree and the bank). I also set any hole I see that they've used to get on/under the ice, as well as trails to and from any toilets I find. Once you're setup, patience is key until you've patterned your otter (are they passing through once a week? Once a month? You need to know) and I check otter sets more frequently than I would most anything else, because I want to know exactly when they're moving through, and I'll be kicking myself if they did come through, but my traps were plugged by a passing mink or muskrat, so I like to check otter sets every 2-3 days to make sure they're still working, and to get a schedule put together for the otter I'm trapping. Just be patient, they'll come through. Hopefully someone finds this helpful, I know otter used to give me fits until I learned to be patient with them.

Nice tips.Otter are also very attracted to mink glands

I agree, good tips AK. Bllnd setting is just about always the best for otter in my experience. My recipe for success with otter is cruising up and down streams and lakes in my jon boat and finding their toilets and setting those up. I've taken 70 or more in a season going that route.

I set all sign that I see, plus pinch points, dam crossings, any little feeder creeks that intersect, and old beaver lodges/bank dens. I keep my gear in place until they've passed through 2 to 3 times (depending how many I believe to be in the group) then I pull and move on

Are otter easily guided? I've caught several, but always in beaver sets.

Kind of depends on the situation. I try to keep the guiding as natural as possible, a fallen tree looks normal to them, as opposed to building a fence out of sticks across the creek. Old beaver dams are excellent spots, culverts work good too, any type of structure in the water that limits where they're going to pass through, can even just be a narrow spot that's just wide enough for side by side 330's and a 6-8" log over the top as a dive stick/anchor. And patience is the key, they cover a decent stretch of water, so it can be a while before they're back

I agree with AK on the guiding. In my experience they tend to spook at overly guided sets.

Yeah, most small creeks have enough natural guiding to work with, it's just a matter of choosing the spots you can set, and what seems most likely, if you have the traps, set everywhere you can think of that they'll come through. I set otter gear really heavy, take as many from the stretch of water I'm on that I feel is sustainable, and move on to somewhere else.

Channels and narrow spots in streams,etc.

Thanks gents, most places I trap are ponds, and a few cricks. The ones I've caught have either been on crossovers or beaver holes.

Just find where they go in and out of the ponds. Or if they're froze over, lay a conibear over the holes where they get out on the ice to rest and eat. If the water level drops under the ice, you can also chip a few holes in the edge of the ice by the high water mark, they'll usually have a trail all the way around under the ice

I used to love to trap otters growing up. When I moved here they have a quota and a per trapper limit. Which used to be two but they upped to three otter per trapper a couple years ago. If I am beaver trapping I can usually fill that in beaver traps, plus I always gang set when I trapped for otter because they travel in groups. And I could overfill my limit in one check, so I pretty much quit setting for them. Toilets are an excellent set but other than that I always said the best otter set was a good beaver set. Crossover sets on dams are deadly on otter, and if the dam is abandoned by the beaver you don't have to worry about them plugging up your otter sets.
I've never made a lured or baited set for otter than I can recall. Because blind sets work so well. Pinch points in smaller creeks are excellent places for conibears.

Yeah, I've never used a baited otter set aside from a submerged bucket in salt water. I set them blind 99% of the time, the submerged buckets are more of a novelty set. I'm pretty familiar with your laws in ID, my little brother works for Idaho fish and game. I was down there hunting with him a few years ago, we saw 9 otter traveling together by priest lake, they should probably lift your guy's quota lol

I set all blind sets myself but when you can find areas where the otter are going in and out of the water a little mink gland will hold them in the area longer and with multiple sets you have a good chance of multiple catches.

Never tried using any lure, just fish heads in submerged buckets, but blind sets in creeks out produce any other set by far. The submerged buckets are just a way to get a set where it would otherwise be really difficult or impossible. I've sunk them in 40' of salt water with the bucket and trap secured to a nylon rope with a bouey. Not a big producer, but it's caught me a few

I also learned how to set for them by following their tracks in the snow. The stretches of water that have alot of debris they will get out and run on the bank. Then re- enter water where the water has limited debris. If there is a big bend in the water they will always have a trail across the land to cut the corner.

They're fun and interesting animals to trap, one of my favorites (I have a few favorites for different reasons lol)

I am by no means an otter expert, but i have found that bottom edge sets, just like described for mink, work very well for otter also. Its a waiting game. I have the locals figured out, as far as they are on an 18-21 day schedule. They'll hang around a day or three when they show up, then they are gone for roughly three weeks.

I happen to live in an area with a decent number of otter, but absolutely zero beaver. So I have had to learn to trap them without the aid of the beaver dams and houses.

Like k snow...no expert here but time is your friend....leave those traps set!

Trapping toilets during late February and early March I don't need much patience. Otter visits during the rut are very regular.... usually every 1-2 days. About 80% of the "customers" are males.

Otters are very predictable in their travel.
Have to be careful not to over trap a watershed after freeze up.
Not difficult to take them all using the watershed in winter.

I have one setup right now where they have tunnels from under the ice that come up about 40' from the water, scat and tracks everywhere, so I laid a bunch of #220's over the holes with sticks underneath to keep them from freezing down

Pocket sets baited with fish or muskrats are very good otter sets. Despite what some say, otters are highly attracted to baited pocket sets. I can't keep them out of my sets. I am tired of having to release them. Unfortunately our season comes in Dec. 26 and then we are only allowed three.

That's interesting, I've had the opposite experience baiting otter, ours seem to keep themselves pretty happy. Blind sets have always worked the best for me. But I also don't make a lot of baited sets, I'm trapping under ice mostly

Same for me AK. We must have too good of forage in our areas.

It's the hole size and how the bait is presented that attracts them. If they come by they seem to just have to mess with them. If I was targeting them instead of mink, I would have the trap back from the hole a few inches. Thankfully, I miss a lot of them because the trap is tight to the hole. I see their tracks in the mud under the water. I used to only have to worry about them in certain creeks but now they are even showing up in small little feeder creeks.

This is the biggest toilet that I have seen, pile is probably 2 ft diameter at least. Haven't set this pond yet, but while checking a beaver house heard something up in a hole sort of huffing or growling. Would an otter or beaver do that? I haven't heard anything like that before.

I catch a lot of otters, I mean a lot of otters. The #1 rule to trapping otters is time. I have left sets in place over a month before I had a catch. Then its on like DonkeyKong. I try to use a set that will get the otter off the run as when a bevy comes through I want to catch everyone of them. On land for footholds I will use a sliding lock cable, that otter can only only move off the run. He will endup about 10 foot off the run and the others will continue to use the run. I will use cables for my land set bodygrips for the same reason, I want him off the run. Water sets will have sliding locks as I want to drown him off the run. I will use a long cable on my bodygrips as I want him off my water run if he is flipping around. I don't know about up north (anything above the I-10), but down here if a run gets messed up they will start a new run and you will have to start over.

Pocket sets work down here but I staty away from using fresh bait as it will go rancid very quickly. A little bobcat gland lure like Sierra Mist for some reason attracts those little monsters like candy. Mink flags attract loutre and feathers around a pocket/dirt hole will get their attention as they eat a lot of ducks on the crawfish ponds. Another method I was tought years ago by a very old trapper and I think I'm the only one that still uses it, is to use a otter toilet. If you find a toliet mess it up and urinate on it. Otters will get fired up and run oall over the toilet. Like I said what works down here works for us, it may not work for up north.

That's otter for sure. I've had them hiss and growl at me while I was out fishing

Gunny, very informative post for this otter rookie...thank you!

Sound like great ideas when you can set steel however an altogether different story when can only use cages, because the game dept let's the public tree huggers dictate what traps can be used

I have caught them in cage traps as some places at marinas and docks, where they don't want you to use leg holds or bodygrips. Really not that hard as I approach it as a bucket set, and bucket sets are deadly on otters. Otters are just like bobcats when it comes to sticking their head in a bucket or cage trap.

I've used submerged buckets in those situations, I just put a couple salmon heads in a square bucket with a sizeable rock, put a 220 over the opening, and run a rope through a spring, and tied to the bucket and sink it next to the dock, and tie to the dock or put a float on the rope.