You'd think one zap and the otters would head to the creek to look for some brookies? I wish you had a game camera and could show us some videos...I think that would be interesting to see the various creatures find your wires!
Dry winters in the Adirondacks? I just figured you had 50" of snowpack from Dec-March. Could you pump water from creek to the pond via trash pump once a month to keep her leveled off?