Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Anotter Otter!

Here's one fool of an otter caught during evening hours. He even gave me the opportunity to go and get my gun. I have to give credit to my dog who tipped me off. This one was a big male, weighed 20lbs, and was out this evening in my broodstock catfish/recreation pond, aggressively in pursuit. This pond is full of blue and channel catfish broodstock, hybrid stripers, bluegill, and largemouth bass, plus gizzard and threadfin shad. Hybrid stripers all but disappeared in this pond in 2008, and since then we have restocked for recreational purposes. Otters have provided enough evidence to suggest they are to blame for my loss of HSBs.

Today I found the head of a ~5lb channel catfish on a pond that has no adult catfish, which to me is the sign of an otter. The head was found on a separate section of my farm from where this otter was killed today. I intend to go night-vision (cyborg-style) hunting tonight, on a hunch that there is another otter currently hitting my farm.

Even though I know what an otter track looks like, I seldom see tracks around my ponds. To me a lack of obvious otter tracks or other signs means nothing. These predators often leave no trace of their presence on my farm, carrying fish off and eating them elsewhere.

I get a handfull of calls each year from pondmeisters who can't explain the disappearance of their fish, especially catfish. I've been forced from experience to at least suggest otters as a possible culprit in many cases, depending on the geographic layout of their pond.

Go get em!!!!!


Critters must DIE!

Doing your job as top of the food chain.

Just to be clear, Dave, I don't eat otter.

Well you otter. There are so many otter recipies...

Otter is the fruit of the pond. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There, uh, is, Otter kabobs, Otter creole...

...otter gumbo, panfried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple otter, lemon otter, coconut otter, pepper otter...

...otter soup, otter stew, otter salad, otter and potatoes, otter burger, otter sandwich...

that's about it.

What make is that rifle?? I have a Birmingham Small Arms .30-06 that looks just like that, I was just curious. Good job ont he otter removal, heh heh.

Now thats a war wagon!

John Wayne would be proud.

Wow I hope I don't see one of those fish eating machines or suffer the losses from them on my property. I have a family of them that were introduced by the state within less than a mile as the crow flies. Makes me nervous!

The state is also reintroducing ospreys (fish eagles) but I'm not too concerned about them. I thing they will stay away according to what I've been told. Too built up in my area for them.

Good going Todd. Sadly I'll bet it will be an ongoing thing.

Do you have a river or stream nearby they come in from?

PA is reintroducing them in the state and they are slowly spread in from surrounding states, lots of pond owners not happy about this... VA has them scattered all over, but I have never had a problem with them in the ponds I have worked on.

The gun is a winchester model-70 .222

Otters can come at me from two downstream directions, so I have to keep a close eye on things. Once they find a honey hole they will likely return frequently and/or decide to stay for a while.

We delivered fish about a month ago to a customers pond who had a resident otter. With this $700 fish stocking to protect, the customer showed up with 2 guns and we took care of that problem the very same day. Oddly enough the only tracks I could find on this drought-affected pond were below the surface of the water in the mud. Water was clear and we did not witness a single fish while on site before stocking. Can you blame the otter for this apparent lack of fish? I do.

I respect these creatures, as they are indeed very fascinating and adept, but they aren't welcome here.

On the war-wagon. I am very proud of this machine. This is an electric golf cart with a high torque motor and controller upgrade, red tape on the headlights for stealth mode hog hunting, gun rest directly in front, mud tires. Mix this machine with a night vision system and you are just plain dangerous!! Just plug in at night, and good for a regular day here on the farm. One month after I bought the cart, my brightest employee drove it completely into a pond, and so needless to say he no longer works here. Actually I think he is de-boning chickens now

Good to see the gun is back on target, Todd!

Now come back and take care of some of our hogs, please.

Look for droppings with scales in them.

Our SWAT team has a vehicle similar to your war wagon except they use it to do deer herd reduction in the county parks. The thing is awesome!

Awe, don't be so hard on the guy, I believe I saw a picture of a blue truck parked halfway in one of your ponds on your website. That isn't the boss sitting in the drivers seat is it ?

Droppings with scales does not prove an otter; could be a raccoon, or a hog, or a coyote, or my dog.....

Chad, this is hilarious!!! This truckdriver in the water is the same guy, way before he left our organization. I'll not name names. Seems as putting this truck in a pond is some sort of initiation out here. And the golf cart is not the only other vehicle that he drove into a pond. I was very forgiving as a boss, because this guy was a hard worker when he wanted to be.

You should know better, by the way, than to mistake me for this guy......