I have never actually targeted Otters
The owner of property that I fish on occasionally contacted me up a few days ago about trapping otters and beavers from his property that has 5 strip pits on it.
I know there are dozens of books on otter trapping available.
Looking for some good otter specific book recommendations from those of you who are otter trappers.
Wouldn't object to tips and tricks either.
Thanks

A Few More Otter
Written by a man that doesn't need an introduction to the trapping trade. 20 pages. Loading... A Few More Otter - This book tells it like it is. 100% otter trapping. Deadly sets with lots of clear pictures to show you how it is done.

Are there any docks in these waters. If so this was shared with me years ago by a top otter trapper who caught hundreds over the years, a great many of them in boat houses and around docks. He said the chain or cable needs to not reach the bottom so the otter is suspended under water when it pulls the weight off the platform.



It's a crude drawing I know but you make an L shaped platform that places the trap about 8 inches under water. The trap has a weight, 5-10 pounds, on the chain close to the trap and the weight is hung on a finishing nail on the side of the platform. A little otter gland lure, beaver castor or mink musk on the top edge of the L. I used it a few times in fish hatcheries to catch otter that were raiding ponds. I always used it in conjunction with other sets, trails sets were they come and go from the ponds, 280/330 in channels, and pull out sets where they toilet, which is mostly a trail set but at their toilet area with a little otter gland lure.

The L actually works fairly well for beaver in the same areas. I've had several beaver find their way into them when lured with castor. May want to go a bit heavier on the weight though when targeting beaver with that L set.

The Morris Fenner book is money well spent.

Washington State Trapper's Association put out a book, "Otter Trapping - Knowledge and Methods". A joint effort by several contributors. Good otter trapping information.

I have every otter book on the market.

The best one is by Hal Sullivan. Good coverage of very effective otter trapping techniques.



Hal's Beaver 2000 should have been titled Beaver 1985....as there are no new methods discussed......just basic well known techniques.

If you can find it, Claude Taylor put out a video years ago on trapping otter.
Claude has probably tripped over more otter in his fur shed than most people will catch in a life time

All of the above suggestions are excellent choices to learn about otter....I am an otter rookie as they are just starting to invade my trapline.
Cool critter for sure that needs to be controlled. I will say that from my sources regrind Southern trappers, Mr. Taylor was a master otter trapper.

Sadly Claude passed away two years ago. He was a very interesting man to say the least. I always told him l would love to know half of what he had forgotten about trapping otter, beaver and mink.

Look for toilets and set every possible way there getting to and from them on the first day . Otters travel in packs it may take a week or two for them to come back I always set on the oldest sign first if you plug every spot with traps you can expect doubles and triples when the do show up

[quote=marty weatherup]Are there any docks in these waters. If so this was shared with me years ago by a top otter trapper who caught hundreds over the years, a great many of them in boat houses and around docks. He said the chain or cable needs to not reach the bottom so the otter is suspended under water when it pulls the weight off the platform.



It's a crude drawing I know but you make an L shaped platform that places the trap about 8 inches under water. The trap has a weight, 5-10 pounds, on the chain close to the trap and the weight is hung on a finishing nail on the side of the platform. A little otter gland lure, beaver castor or mink musk on the top edge of the L. I used it a few times in fish hatcheries to catch otter that were raiding ponds. I always used it in conjunction with other sets, trails sets were they come and go from the ponds, 280/330 in channels, and pull out sets where they toilet, which is mostly a trail set but at their toilet area with a little otter gland lure.

The L actually works fairly well for beaver in the same areas. I've had several beaver find their way into them when lured with castor. May want to go a bit heavier on the weight though when targeting beaver with that L set.

Have you ever tried this on lay downs on a river or lake where docks aren't present?

I have used it on a big floating log that was covered in moss and vegetation and otter scat. It was in one of the fish hatchery rearing ponds and floated around the pond wherever the wind took it. I anchored it in the middle and used a little pram to get out to it. It was alway good for an otter or two every season.

I think it would work in other applications other than docks.

Good stuff Marty! Thanks.

Exactly. Otters are easy to trap, if you understand them. Set on the old sign first. Gang set, a bevy might be 3-9.

Set on anything that looks like sign.

I've found that down here a blind set will out preform a baited sets. Many times otters avoid baited sets as they are predators, and do not like dead fish, it goes bad fast down here.

Try to avoid catch circles as otters avoid them like the plague. I run dryland sliders to get them off a land run.

Its best to use the smallest trap you can get away with, just make sure its strong. Before anyone boohoos that think about the length of a otters front leg. Hard to beat a #11.

A bevy down here can have a range up to 120 square miles with up to 30 miles of linear waterfront.

The number 1 reason you will not catch otters if because you DO NOT Leave the traps out there long enough. I've set traps in late November and started catching in them in January. If you get on the backside of them it might take all season for them to show back up.

Don't walk parallel to a run as otters, keep the runs as pristine as you can.

Duck feathers on bank of a crawfish pond will draw an otter like a moth to a flame. They love finding ducks hunters can't.


I teach otter trapping and down here we have kids hammering them. You need nothing fancy, just...Can you find sign? Can you set a blind set with foothold and bodygrips on water and land? Can you leave your traps set for long periods of time? Can you approach your sets from the water side? Don't walk parallel to a run as otters, keep the runs as pristine as you can. Not much too it.

Good post Trapper Gunny! Thanks.

I thought Paul, reworked Claudie’s video. Took it from vhs to digital or something. Blind sets hammer otters, caught one yesterday in a damage control beaver set. Anything guarding a hole and you catch them.

wws

I took his VHS video and made a DVD from it. I still produce his DVD for his widow for dealers, and I sell them at conventions.

Minnesota Trapline Products has it - https://mntrapline.com/collections/...ilter.p.m.custom.brandAND=Claudie+Taylor

Paul,
Can l bother you to bring one for me at the NCTA.
I can not find my copy l got years ago and need to replace it.