How do you guys trap these? I’m trapping some beavers for a farmer and I found one, but I have never trapped otters before so I was wondering how’d you go about targeting them.

Ideally, you can see where they approach the toilet. I usually set them with a 280 and a KB Stabilizer. I avoid using foot holds unless the toilet is very close to water and suitable for drowning, as otter caught with a foot hold and anchored will destroy the toilet. You don't want that, as toilets are usually used by other otters that happen by.
Also, if the location allows, make multiple sets, as sometimes otter will be travelling in family groups and multiple catches are very possible.

I've always set them with footholds on drowning rigs. As AV says, set the approaches, and set multiple traps if you have the places for them.

I set the toilet but put them on a 1/8 cable slider to keep the toilet intact. Large male in the foothold and had a medium sized female in a 220 Belisle where the trail went under a bush into the water.

When I lived in Idaho where we had lots of otters I would do a foothold on a drowner where possible. A couple locations it wasn't possible and the approaches in the water were hard to find. On those I put 220s very well blended in pinch points leading to the toilet on dry land, but check your regs on that.

They will also check out cubbies. In Alaska I caught several in wolverine cubbies set in the trees near the beach., resulting in a demolished cubby.
I even lost a Belisle 120 to an otter that had been set just inside the tree line for mink. I had the trap wired to an alder with 14 wire. the box was about 10 feet from where I set it, wire was broken about 6" from the wrap, and otter tracks in the snow on the beach and at the tree line fringe told the story. The otter made it to the water. I combed that beach, expecting to find a dead otter washed up but never did.
The mink box was baited with a large, fresh herring.

Ok gentlemen here's my otter question. Today my neighbor took me to look at some holes that were dug into the bank of one of our strip pits. The holes were anywhere from 5 feet to 15-20 feet from the shoreline. I found an otter toilet amongst the holes which is 10-12 feet above the water. Above the toilet another 5 feet I found 2 more holes that had a lot of leaves that were saturated with water at the entrance. The holes are 10-12" in diameter. All of the other holes in the area are similar in size and do not have wet leaves. I'm I wrong in thinking that this hole is where the the the den is located ?

That would be a new one, for me. I have seen otter use abandoned bank beaver dens, and once found what I thought might be an otter den in a sort of cave/crevasse in a jumble of very large boulders, but other than that, can't say I have definitively laid eyes on an otter den that was purpose-built as a den by an otter

When I lived in Idaho, I found an otter toilet. With no defined slide to set a coni, I put a foothold near the toilet, with a short chain so it couldn't mess up the toilet. I just did a dirthole with a fishy bait, and fish oil making a trail to the dirt hole over the trap. My thinking behind the fish oil was it would be a trailing scent to get the otter to go over my trap. Caught a big male on the first check, remade the set again doing the same thing, and 2 checks later I had a female. The limit in that area was only 2 at the time so I pulled, but left a trail cam. After 2 weeks I pulled the cam and had otters every 2 or 3 days. So that showed me that I did miss otters with this method, but was still able to get my limit.

I know very little about Otters, accept that they're not welcome in our pits.
I could be way off base in my thinking that the their den could be in that old hole. But I can't explain the water saturated leaves. All of the other holes are dry and we haven't had anything that resembles rain for at least 2 weeks.
I'm going to spend some time up there scouting around today and get some pictures to share on here with guys that have good Otter knowledge.

Well, the wet leaves might indicate a wet otter went into that hole. I would put a BG in front of every hole. And you could bait the other holes with a fish or two and see what happens.

Leaves could be placed by birds. I don't see otter carrying leaves really. And it isn't "nesting" season for otter, either.

After further research, otter almost never dig their own den. They take over abandon beaver dens or lodges, and sometimes even muskrat dens, modifying those to suit their needs.

What size foothold is that, that will hold otter? #2? would a 1.5 work or do i use my beaver trap #5 bridger?

I found a little den with a bit of a "skylight" in it when beaver trapping. looked like a baby beaver skull or a muskrat more than likely. we have really low muskrat numbers here (lots of otter).

Could that be a den? it's directly on waters edge, on a large stream leading to a lake. very small area inside den. and with the small "skylight" was probably just crawled up for a snack?

Carpenter that is a #3 Montgomery dogless, one of my coyote traps. There were coyote, bobcat and fox tracks along with otter at that toilet. Know guys that have caught otter in 1 1/2s but it wasn't intentional.

Toilets are where I get most of my otters.

Every toilet is a little different so the first thing I do is try to see if I can set a BG trap where they are coming up out of the water. If that isn't possible I try to see if up higher on the toilet there are any decent pinch points that I can get a 220 BG in to (the biggest legal BG for a land set in Oregon). And if BG's are not possible on the toilet I'll set a foothold in a drowning set. If possible on a 1/2 inch rebar slider. I can often get an otter on the toilet to move over to where I want him with some fresh scat from another toilet of some urine soaked vegetation from a foreign toilet.

BTW, fresh scat from anther toilet that has a little shellfish oil poured on it sees to be really exciting to them. Also, if you ever are lucky enough to get bladder urine from an otter that is also very attractive; especially during the early spring rut.

Well maybe the leaves were already in the holes. Maybe the wind blew them in there. And maybe a wet otter caused the dry leaves to become wet. It could happen.

Where I trap we seldom see what is a true "toilet" like you see up north. When I do find one its normally on grass along the bank or a small island, the whole purpose is for a bevy to establish a foothold on territory. We have more otters in my parish than the total in most states, so desirable habitat is a premium and they will defend it. I don't like to use the term "toilet" I like to consider them marking areas, just think of otters in gangs and that "toilet" is their street corner. Most try not to disturb a spot like that, I try to let them know I was there. I was when I was kid one of the best otter trappers to walk this earth taught me to destroy a "toilet". He would tear it up and rub otter glands on the ground, place otter dung from another area and just make it a mess. He would than set a couple of #11's and wait. He even told me that he would sometimes urinate on the spot. He said that otters would come in mad and start stumping the grass down, peeing on everything. So they are fired up and mad, you catch one they actually get more made, making mistakes that end them up in a trap. Does it work? For me yes, will it work in your area? I don't know if it will just due to how many we have, year round open water and a all you can eat otter buffet.

On another note, otters do not dig dens. I have seen them using holes along a waterline and I have found otter holes further from the bank. Down here the water entrance can be above or below the water line as it doesn't matter to them as our water levels go up and down all the time. But last year spending time observing them, they do like to have a hole above the water line and sometimes it is a considerable distance from the water. Its almost like a escape passage. I caught a few otters using these dry land holes.