Otter drowning set

[Water Rat]

A couple of years ago I found an otter toilet on a local creek. I never got around to do any water trapping so I decided to get ready for this season. A few weeks ago I went to make sure the otter sign was still there and saw the tracks that confirmed it. I returned the next day with the equipment that I will need to make the set. This will save me some time when the season rolls around. All that was needed was a cinder block , cable , re-rod stake , drowning lock , s-hook and a trap that will be attached the day I make the set. The idea is to have the otter step on the trap pan.....slide down the cable to the cinder block and drown. The drowning lock prevents him to be able to slide the trap back to the shore. The problem with catching otters on shore is that they roll a lot and a drowning set will prevent that. One thing to keep in mind when making a drowning set is to not make the anchor too heavy , because you will have to pull it up out of the water with hopefully an otter attached. The only thing that sucked was carrying the cinder block about 300 yards from my truck to the creek.

[Water Rat]

[Water Rat]

[Water Rat]

[Water Rat]

Well , I finally got around to making this set after putting it off for nearly 3 years. It's still a hot otter toilet and I had confidence in it. After the 3rd day , I walked up to a sprung trap. Upon inspection it appeared the otter slid over the top of the trap causing it to fire. So this time I re-set the trap and moved it a couple of inches to one side. I figured I might have to wait a while for him to return as they travel a large circuit. On the eighth day I walked up to the set and noticed the trap was gone. I saw my pan cover (wax paper) floating near the shore so I knew I had him. The only problem was that he tangled himself up in some branches that made it harder to pull him out. I didn't bother weighing him but he's a medium male otter.

[fasteddie]

Very Interesting !

 

[Nytracker]

Pretty cool . Never actually seen an otter in the wild . Imagine  the local fish pop will get better.

[Water Rat]

54 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

Pretty cool . Never actually seen an otter in the wild . Imagine  the local fish pop will get better.

I had a family of 5 run by me when I was deer hunting in my ladder stand years ago. It sounded like a herd of deer running to me until I saw what they were. They ran into the swamp behind my stand.