Originally posted by Tim Barnes:
I got at least one otter in my pond. The dang thing is killing fish and not eating them, both in my pond and my neighbors pond upstream from me. We've found dead LM, Brown trout and BG's laying on the bank.Our state now has season on these critters, unfortunately it closed 1 Mar.
Anyone have a tip on trapping these critters? I have access to a large Havahart trap, any suggestions on bait would be appreciated. The obvious answer would be fish, but I don't think it will go into a trap when it's obviously got all it wants to eat.
Shoot, shovel and shutup. The state could care less about your pond and would be more than glad to burn you if you are caught killing one however. Even for fish farmers, getting a permit is a lengthy process, and bureaucrats move slower than the seven year itch. Fish farmers have to "document" the damage before applying for a permit. Can you imagine how many fish you would have left by the time you take the pictures, send in the application, and get a response?
But you may want to check and see if you can get a depravation permit and that may be faster.
In my state they reintroduced them just a few years ago, and are already considering taking them off of the endangered list. That tells me they are coming back much faster then they anticipated. I predict they will become a nusiance in my state just like the woodchuck did after introduction.
