Otter Problem.. what do I do?

[flg2010]

 

 

I live right next to a fishing park on the WallKill River in NY.  I also have about 120 feet of riverfront on my property that I can fish from or launch a canoe from.

 

The WallKill river has serious issues due to farm runoff in my area and after buying my home I realized I could still catch some decent Smallmouth and catfish.  Totally catch and release.

 

This year I see a problem.  Both in my back yard and in the park there are numerous River Otters.  I have seen them eating fish, they have also snagged food off my food bag a few times when it was open.  The problem is I didn't see them here a year ago when I moved in and there seems to be less fish.

 

What can be done to protect the fish population?  Is there a NY DEC program that might relocate them or will I be forced to watch them destroy bass fishing?

[RoLo]

 

In most cases, no management is the best management because 'man' is the spoiler, not Mother Nature.

 

Having otters is a natural indication of a good fish supply.

If the fish population became depleted, the otters would have no choice but to move on. 

Simply put, a high otter population indicates a high fish population.

 

On a low note though, the problem with the Wallkill River is not the fish population but the health of the fish.

By all accounts, the Wallkill is sky high in phosphorus as well as fecal coliform, which are both man-induced.

One can only feel sorry for the otters.

 

Roger

[CTBassin860]

Hand feed them the fish you catch to befriend them, then you can have them attack anyone fishing your spot due to their loyalty to you.

[Turkey sandwich]

38 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

In most cases, no management is the best management because 'man' is the spoiler, not Mother Nature.

 

Having otters is a natural indication of a good fish supply.

If the fish population became depleted, the otters would have no choice but to move on. 

Simply put, a high otter population indicates a high fish population.

 

On a low note though, the problem with the Wallkill River is not the fish population but the health of the fish.

By all accounts, the Wallkill is sky high in phosphorus as well as fecal coliform, which are both man-induced.

One can only feel sorry for the otters.

 

Roger

 

 

This.

Farms cause more problems than almost anything.  If you combine the pesticides and fertilizer from farms with dams, you're asking for nightmare with blooms and hormone rich silt that does everything from killing off aquatic insect larvae/prevent insect reproduction to causing cancer in fish.  

 

Otters, however, are a rarely a bad thing.  And they're adorable.

[flg2010]

Well I'm more afraid of them I think then anything.. I have started to keep my lunch on me when I fish from shore.. I move a around a lot and sometimes can be 300 feet from where I started so I can't leave my stuff unattended.  I did and paid the price, had to go hungry because they touched my lunch.  

 

When I first saw them I was startled.. came right out of the water in front of me and spooked me.  They seem aggressive.

 

The Wallkill has issues, last year the smell was so bad in my back yard I thought I had a septic issue and found out later it was the Oder from the river.  

 

This last weekend people were catching big catfish but the bass seemed gone...

 

 

[chadmack282]

r they building dams?

[RoLo]

18 minutes ago, chadmack282 said:

they building dams?

 

 

I'm not aware of otters building a first-generation dam.

Crafty devils that they are, they will occupy an abandoned beaver dam 

 

Roger

[david in va]

11 minutes ago, chadmack282 said:

r they building dams?

I think he meant farmers not otters lol

[RoLo]

2 hours ago, flg2010 said:

Well I'm more afraid of them I think then anything.. I have started to keep my lunch on me when I fish from shore.. I move a around a lot and sometimes can be 300 feet from where I started so I can't leave my stuff unattended.  I did and paid the price, had to go hungry because they touched my lunch.  

 

When I first saw them I was startled.. came right out of the water in front of me and spooked me.  They seem aggressive.

 

The Wallkill has issues, last year the smell was so bad in my back yard I thought I had a septic issue and found out later it was the Oder from the river.  

 

This last weekend people were catching big catfish but the bass seemed gone...

 

 

 

You're afraid of river otters?

Hmm, I'm more afraid of the postman  

 

 

[Darren.]

River otters, while cute and precocious, are still 

wild animals and should be respected as such.

Doesn't mean you can't befriend them  I would

try if I lived on water they occupied.

 

Agree with the others, they're a great sign. Hope

they don't become beasts with all the hormones

and such leaking in from the farm!! Then you should

run.

[CTBassin860]

The otter corps of engineers

[RoLo]

50 minutes ago, david in va said:

I think he meant farmers not otters lol

 

 

So now we have farmers building dams

and river otters terrorizing fishermen.

 

Rough Neighborhood  

 

Roger

 

 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

As stated above, you can't mess with Mother Nature; especially in NY.  A number of years ago, the cormorants were putting a real dent in the fish population near Galoo Island (on which they also killed every bit of trees and vegetation) on Lake Ontario.  Some fishermen took matters into their own hands and killed a number of these cormorants.  As hated as cormorants were/are, the NYS DEC still found those guys and prosecuted them.

You can only imagine what would happen if you messed with otters, which people like.

There are all sorts of other critters competing with us - mergansers, cormorants, loons, etc.; we just need to accept their presence.

[frogflogger]

I figure any critter out there has as much right as I do to fish or hunt or whatever - folks can get crazy. We've had guys shooting canadian geese and leaving them to rot because they pooped on their river bank.

I did have an otter strip a trotline of mine one time - gave me a chuckle.

[geo g]

Enjoy mother nature in her purest sense.  These are marvelous creatures and highly intelligent.  You are lucky to have them in the neighborhood.

.  

[RoLo]

9 minutes ago, geo g said:

Enjoy mother nature in her purest sense.  These are marvelous creatures and highly intelligent.  You are lucky to have them in the neighborhood.

.  

 

I used to see otters quite regularly on Lake Tohopekaliga, FL, but haven't seen one in many years.

Differently put, I'm envious of the OP and would happily share my lunch with his otters.

 

Roger

[UPSmallie]

Hire someone to trap them on your property.  Them, muskrats, and beavers all contribute to erosion.  We've hired a local trapper in the past and he has cleared out numerous beavers and dozens of muskrat.  If you can see one, then there are over a dozen close by that you aren't seeing.

[flg2010]

3 hours ago, RichPenNY said:

As stated above, you can't mess with Mother Nature; especially in NY.  A number of years ago, the cormorants were putting a real dent in the fish population near Galoo Island (on which they also killed every bit of trees and vegetation) on Lake Ontario.  Some fishermen took matters into their own hands and killed a number of these cormorants.  As hated as cormorants were/are, the NYS DEC still found those guys and prosecuted them.

You can only imagine what would happen if you messed with otters, which people like.

There are all sorts of other critters competing with us - mergansers, cormorants, loons, etc.; we just need to accept their presence.

 

 

I would never harm or interfere with a river otter.  However I do fear them since they are quick, wild, and could be full all sorts of pathogens.  In addition they seem to eat a ton of fish.  Well, no one ever said fishing was easy LOL..

  

[Raul]

Hmmm, now blaming the otters for not catching fish .......  that's a new one.

[NCbassraider]

River otters are cute too look at but that is where it ends.  They can decimate fish population in smaller bodies of water very quickly.  I recently had some invade my 8 acre pond using a newly created beaver pond (another issue) on my property to travel from a near by river.  

 

They can be up to 30 lbs and eat half they're body weight in fish each day.  They prefer larger fish and can easily catch any size bass.  They got into my pond and wouldn't leave so I hired a trapper to get rid of them.  I had a mating pair and 2 pups that went through my larger bass in a matter of weeks.  During the recent spawn and throughout pre-spawn fishing I have noticed a drop in the number of large bass throughout the pond.

 

In NC they cannot be relocated as they are considered a possibly rabies carrier so trappers must destroy them.  They are also not to be messed with.  A large otter will stand and fight a single coyote.  They are fierce.

 

Rivers and large lakes is where they belong.  Your post seems to read that your otters are in a river system but if they find a small lake or pond, they will continue to return until the fish are gone.  Small bodies of water are a canned hunt for them and they like easy meals.

 

I felt bad trapping them but they had to go.

[flg2010]

2 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

River otters are cute too look at but that is where it ends.  They can decimate fish population in smaller bodies of water very quickly.  I recently had some invade my 8 acre pond using a newly created beaver pond (another issue) on my property to travel from a near by river.  

 

They can be up to 30 lbs and eat half they're body weight in fish each day.  They prefer larger fish and can easily catch any size bass.  They got into my pond and wouldn't leave so I hired a trapper to get rid of them.  I had a mating pair and 2 pups that went through my larger bass in a matter of weeks.  During the recent spawn and throughout pre-spawn fishing I have noticed a drop in the number of large bass throughout the pond.

 

In NC they cannot be relocated as they are considered a possibly rabies carrier so trappers must destroy them.  They are also not to be messed with.  A large otter will stand and fight a single coyote.  They are fierce.

 

Rivers and large lakes is where they belong.  Your post seems to read that your otters are in a river system but if they find a small lake or pond, they will continue to return until the fish are gone.  Small bodies of water are a canned hunt for them and they like easy meals.

 

I felt bad trapping them but they had to go.

 

This makes me feel sick... and they are protected in my neck of the woods so basiclly one more reason not to fish in my back yard.. potential rabid crazy animals...

 

i need a new fishing spot

[Darren.]

1 minute ago, flg2010 said:

 

This makes me feel sick... and they are protected in my neck of the woods so basiclly one more reason not to fish in my back yard.. potential rabid crazy animals...

 

i need a new fishing spot

 

I'd suggest you contact your local wildlife/animal control

department and ask what to do. Honestly, if you "feel sick"

about it, don't let the situation linger. Get advice from them

and perhaps locals in your area. Maybe you can arrive at a

solution that lets the critters live...but if not, then so be it.

[NCbassraider]

Most states allow trapping permits for nuisance animals.  For instance, we are out of season here for trapping muskrats but because they are burrowing in my damns and threatening the property, we have permission to trap still.  They do the same for beaver and otters here also.

[SuperCorona]

On 5/15/2017 at 11:18 PM, NCbassraider said:

River otters are cute too look at but that is where it ends.  They can decimate fish population in smaller bodies of water very quickly.  I recently had some invade my 8 acre pond using a newly created beaver pond (another issue) on my property to travel from a near by river.  

 

They can be up to 30 lbs and eat half they're body weight in fish each day.  They prefer larger fish and can easily catch any size bass.  They got into my pond and wouldn't leave so I hired a trapper to get rid of them.  I had a mating pair and 2 pups that went through my larger bass in a matter of weeks.  During the recent spawn and throughout pre-spawn fishing I have noticed a drop in the number of large bass throughout the pond.

 

In NC they cannot be relocated as they are considered a possibly rabies carrier so trappers must destroy them.  They are also not to be messed with.  A large otter will stand and fight a single coyote.  They are fierce.

 

Rivers and large lakes is where they belong.  Your post seems to read that your otters are in a river system but if they find a small lake or pond, they will continue to return until the fish are gone.  Small bodies of water are a canned hunt for them and they like easy meals.

 

I felt bad trapping them but they had to go.

^^So true^^

 

My sister-in-law had a great pond full of huge bream.  A few otters got in there and cleaned it out.  They vanished when there was nothing left to eat.  She has since restocked the bream and with the help of the Ogeechee River flooding, there are some nice bass and catfish in there now.  While we were there a month ago, I saw an otter cross the driveway from the pond heading into the woods.  We set some traps the next morning and caught 2.  I took a .22 rifle along while fishing and shot one on the opposite bank from me a couple days later.  She hasn't seen any since.

[Koz]

Simple solution:

 

http://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2015/02/tantalize-your-tastebuds-with-a-river-otter-recipe/