Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Otters?

I suspect otters have devastated my pond. Last year it was a perfect little ecosystem. I haven't seen any big fish this year and very little response from feed. The kids have only caught small bluegill all summer. There are a few 6 to 8 inch large mouth bass. Fall creek is within a few hundred yards from the pond. I have seen them there.

I have a .243 that can reach the pond with ease and I am deadly accurate with it. However, I have not seen a thing.

Any advice would be helpful. Will this be an ongoing problem?
Thanks,

I would recommend Conibears 1st. ricochet off of water is unpredictable and you can't be there 24-7. I say this without knowledge of , your pond ,Children, pets, etc. As powerful as a Conibear is , all safety concerns must be addressed . If not a trapper, you might consider hiring a trapper. Water and rifles concern me personally, My ponds , the rule is shotguns or pistols with "Rat Shot" only . Yes, I'm afraid it may become an ongoing problem and in interest of full disclosure , I have , when I felt conditions were safe , used my Ruger 10/22 from time to time. But much less and less. Much of my pond is in a "Box Canyon" , helping to contain flying lead. Don't forget to consider your local furbearing and other laws ..... It's a multifaceted and difficult question , be safe. Preceding , just my opinion and I hope worth the $.02 . You'll have to weigh the all the facets , and decide how to handle, your the only one on site.

A customer with the same concern just installed an electric fence around his pond. 1st wire 6" off the ground, 2nd wire 12" off the ground. So far no otters in his pond, and the geese stopped getting into his pond too.

an excellent option , burn them good before snow flies and possibly buries hot wire. might go high enough with posts to putt wires at 18 and 24" while doing it. disconnect lower wires and reset power supply when snow buries lower wires. Just a thought.

Could also have been cormorants. They clean you out and move on.

I appreciate all the replies. I have contacted TWRA. The gentleman was very knowledgeable. He confirmed that it's most likely otters and didn't have another explanation. He gave me guidance on how to control them with traps and said it would be completely lawful.

I plan to catch as many as I can. I'll probably kill the fish left and start over in the fall. I'd like to drop the water and do some maintenance anyway.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be watching closer in the future.

Do you have a game camera?

Otters are well-insulated in their fur, so they may NOT trigger the camera if they are even moderately far away.

If that appears to be the case, you might gain some valuable information by putting your camera on "time lapse" with a short interval. Step One is to find out exactly what species of thieving rat b*astards are devastating your pond! Hopefully, you can catch otters, cormorants, etc. in at least one picture over the period where they are actually on your pond.

(I agree with the experts above, that it is probably otters. However, if you are not observing any otter sign around your pond it is more difficult to place your traps. If you catch otters on the camera, and they have a favored entry point, then you can really get going on eliminating them!)

P.S. Personally, I would not hesitate to take a shot with the .243 at an otter on sloped ground (a backstop), if there was zero expectation of humans in the line of fire.

Good luck on your fish re-population project.

Otters have a toilet and it's very easy to find..if they are actually there. They will frequent the same spot every time they are there and youll see that their scat will have bones and scales in it - sometimes crawfish shells as well. The area will be well matted and very easy to see right next to the waters edge. When otters arrive they will usually come in through an incoming stream or depression -very easy to see as well and the best place to funnel them in to a trap.

I put 10 otters to sleep this past winter and fall...was very easy.

Cheers.

Louie

Yes. I have some investigating to do. The TWRA gave me some pointers to find out where they are coming from. He also recommended cameras.

I'm with you. I have zero issues shooting at my pond. If there were safety issues, obviously I would shoot. I'm not sure how this turned into gun safety thread... I have plus 50 years shooting experience. Besides, such issues are for those that can't hit their target.

Thanks guys, I'll try to remember to report back.

Tinylake
That's almost exactly what the TWRA said. However. You gave more detail.

Thanks, I'll be looking.

Connibears did the trick for most of them, .223 dialled in for 400 yards took care of the others.

Good luck!

Connibear traps are what my trapper buddy uses at our pond. We trap 1-2 otters pretty much every year. We have a deep creek that runs along the edge of the property and the trapper says that is almost for sure where they are coming from. River otters are cute until they start eating thousands of dollars in stocked fish. Some type of night vision is helpful if you are shooting, because otters are much more active at night. It appears in some cases like ours the river otter problem never fully goes away.

BTW Louie...I love your way with words!

Here

This has really upset me. The more i think about it, the madder I get. My pond was a perfect little ecosystem before these little monsters found it. I had learned so much on this site. The pond was perfect. Its about to be war when UPS delivers.

Use the traps the way they are now, then after they get a light coating of rust on them boil them in Logwood Crystals to dye them black. DO NOT wax them. https://flemingtraps.com/logwood-tr...Fu7kSokhiGZ0lDFsBAQTINItA-7EIvYisRPQNXuH

They have to be free of grease and oil for it to work.

Sorry, but I'm really enjoying the dead otter pictures...

That happens after you have been cleaned out by otters, Ive been there done that, been cleaned out and it takes a long time to get your pond back to the shape it was in if ever.

Unfortunately if they have cleaned you out real good, they may have moved on to somebody else's pond for easier pickings, which will make trapping or shooting tougher, but they will be back, they remember the good times very well and just about the time you have your pond peaking out again with some sizable fish they will be back, right about the time when you have relaxed and let your guard down.

I have had a good bit of luck with a gun at a high vantage point on an old strip pit that they were in the process of emptying out, but also have had a bit of luck with a cable snare at the entrance to their den, a lot of times they will use an old beaver den or hole in the bank, at least thats what they did for me.

Good Luck!

Will a thermal imaging scope work on them at night? I would think iffy while wet or in the water.

Otter scat has lots of fish scales in it - it is fairly obvious once you have seen it a few times. Also they tend to tear up vegetation.

Conibears 330s along slides and other access points are most effective way to get them.

I have been looking for signs of them. I see nothing. I believe they may have dined and moved on. Fall creek is within 150 to 200 yards of my pond. I have seen them there. This may be an ongoing problem.

Due to work, I have let the vegetation get out of hand. Prior to that, I kept it manicured like a golf green. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Currently, it looks bad in my book.

Michael37090:
I too have experienced an otter invasion. They can definitely have an impact. Beautiful creatures; but more beautiful mounted on the wall than in your pond eating your fish! Not sure if they have any positive benefits.
FWIW: Don't feel so bad about letting vegetation get out of hand. I let it get out of hand around my biggest pond, then saw four different mink when bushhogging it. Kind of made me reconsider if that weed cover around the edges was worth it if it helped protect the mink from hawks / owls so more of them could keep the muskrats under control. I later put a wide strip around it in the CRP program and let it grow up more. When the CRP contract expires, I'm going to clean up around the edges though as willow trees now surround the pond and the water quality isn't as good.
Ranger

I do believe they have moved on. I see zero sign of any anything. This fall i plan to drop the water and kill whats left. I need to do a little maintenance while it's down. I have bought two traps. The TWRA has explained the best way of using them. He has given me a couple of options. I have found an older gentleman that has the same exact problem. He is a wealth of information and agreed to help me.

I have already picked out my new toy. The traps are a little more healthy than I expected.

Savage 110 Predator in 22-250 24 inch threaded barrel
AGM 50-384 V2 Varmint with ballistics calculator
Can on the end...
Using, Hornady superformance 22-250 varmint 50 grain

Yes, I've done my homework.
No, this will not pass.
Yes, I'm mad.
Yes, they are gonna die...
Im stubborn. I don't care if it takes 5 years.

They move on but will be back, most likely they are dealing with their young - but will start to show them the local fishing spots soon. I hammered 10 of them from last fall to early spring and have not seen any signs of otters on any of the numerous swamps and beaver dams where I have cameras set up...that being said about 30 miles from me there is a lake with 17 otters counted this spring so it's just a matter of time before a new family makes their way to me But I'm ready for them this time!

This trap setup is fantastic and very effective, you just need to find a pinch point and/inlet to your pond and set it up.



There are lots of great videos of otter trapping on youtube, I enjoy watching them being pulled out of the water. Nothing worse than finding fish heads and scale ridden scat.... not to mention they blew my dam out this spring. They actually bore a hole about 15 feet through my dam - was amazing.....