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Otters
What's the general consensus when you run into a couple of healthy otters in the run/pool you are fishing? Half way through a run yesterday and I see two big otters on the opposite bank staring at me for a few then they slipped into the water and were gone....
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As long as the food is there they will stay.
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They're on most CA streams. Lots on the Pit. I'm sure they cause a little panic for trout while feeding or moving around. But in my experience, once they're gone, the fish go back to their normal lies and start doing what they do.
Not sure how much trout they actually eat. I believe they eat far more crawdads than trout simply because they're easier to catch. I have seen otters on the American munching on half-pounders though.
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If you see lots of predators on a stream or river or lake it means there is plenty to eat.
With the higher flows, the Pit river has a larger population of Pit River Rainbow trout according to yearly surveys.
Up north (BC, Canada) on the lakes they count the pair of Loons to get an idea of how many fish are in there.
Once a fishery is down 90% then predators are a problem.
We drove along a large canal heading West from Fort Lauderdale where the banks were lined with fish-eating birds of many species.
Flocks of swimming fish-eating birds were there too......cormorants, Anhingas?
On lakes, the Delta and the ocean, anglers look for lots of birds concentrated over schools of bait with predictor fish below.
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In 50+ years of steelhead fishing I've seen otters countless times. I've caught a fish in the hole they were in twice. IMHO they definitely disturb the fish when they are working a hole. If low and clear I leave. If higher and murky I might wait for the fish to settle down. I always hope the otters go the opposite direction.
FYI - otters seem to prefer salmon and often target females for their eggs. I've encountered plenty of dead salmon surrounded by otter tracks with only their eggs eaten and the rest of the carcass intact. Bears also prefer the eggs but will eat anything. Birds prefer the eyes but will also pick at the flesh. I don't hold it against any of them. It's the circle of life (and death).