Otters - What would you do?

[Anthony Pearson]

Stay put. Thirty minutes after an otter rolled two rod-lengths out in front of me last week I had a 4lb chub. Not a barbel, but the fish don't always move away.

 

[David Maddison]

I am sure on my local river nidd an otter would disturb the fish for some time, which may push them further under the cover or into a different swim?. But if i was a barbel on the Ouse i would surely have a greater chance of escaping if it fancied taking a chunk out of me? It would be interesting to see whether a barbel would move back over the feed after an otter enters the swim.

Dave

 

[David Hall]

And while your playing your fish, the otter grabs it.

 

[Anthony Pearson]

David M., I was on the Nidd.

 

[Mike Hodgkiss]

I am sure on my local river nidd an otter would disturb the fish for some time, which may push them further under the cover or into a different swim?. But if i was a barbel on the Ouse i would surely have a greater chance of escaping if it fancied taking a chunk out of me? It would be interesting to see whether a barbel would move back over the feed after an otter enters the swim.

Dave

Dave . Otters do spook fish on whatever river , however on one occasion I caught a big Yorkshire Ouse barbel with an otter in very close proximity . I was fishing virtually off my rod end and the otter swam under the rod as the barbel took the bait !

 

[David Maddison]

David M., I was on the Nidd.

That just goes to show we never really know how much an otter disturbs fish in a swim. I think most of us would consider moving if an otter stayed in our swim for any length of time. Maybe if they are just passing through fish will stay in the swim?

 

[David Maddison]

Dave . Otters do spook fish on whatever river , however on one occasion I caught a big Yorkshire Ouse barbel with an otter in very close proximity . I was fishing virtually off my rod end and the otter swam under the rod as the barbel took the bait !

Hello Mike, I guess with enough depth the otter could pass by on the surface if a barbel was busy feeding. There is plenty of depth in most swims on the ouse for that to happen. But i would still be surprised if it happened to me

Dave

 

[Lee Poultney]

Oh dear Lee now that is a sweeping statement, as a Wavon regular, and yes I know you live close to the river, all I can say is that if I fish WELL into dark more often than not, I will see an otter come through my peg. Over the past few years I have fished (very hard) a number of stretches from above Stratford to below Bidford - but perhaps I just keep picking on their localised areas...... For the record I don't think they will have a huge effect on the middle and lower river (the upper is a different matter) - perhaps the EE's have BBQ them all down your way .

Perhaps you need to stop prebaiting with sardines!

 

[Paul Cahill]

Has anyone had an otter take a fish they were landing?

And you'd assume that some may have been hooked and landed on live baits too. What a scrap that would be...

 

[Roger Carswell]

On TV wildlife programmes, the sight of an otter is sufficient to render the presenter instantly orgasmic with delight. The EA actively put forward the point of view that otters are a prime indicator of improved water quality – how can they claim this when they are fully aware that many of the creatures are being artificially introduced?

Please don't get the idea that I am totally anti-otters, because I’m not - observing wildlife is one of the joys of being on a riverbank. What I am against though, is the over enthusiastic mass introduction of the animals into rivers and streams all over the country regardless of whether they end up competing with already established otter communities. I also think that it is wrong for people to release otters without discussion with anglers and without taking into account the impact on the local fish population and ecosystem. Being philosophical, I suppose it could be argued that nature will eventually balance itself out - however, the lack of anglers on our rivers currently tells its own story.

Click on the pictures below - these photos (and I have several more) have been taken this season on the Severn, close to where I live. Remember, these fish are the lucky ones in that they've survived an otter attack. The amount lost is incalculable.

 

[John Monaghan]

Stay put. I was on a social with a mate a couple of weeks ago and at around 9pm an otter popped up in the swim, stayed a minute or two then moved upstream. Almost straight away my mates rod slammed over and a nice chub came to the net and within half an hour i'd banked 2 barbel.

Yep remember it well mate an the river was very low an clear. Seen plenty this season, though probably same group as there patch is massive , an aint made no difference to the fishing.