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Thread: River Otters on Putah Creek

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Willows
    Posts
    894

    Default River Otters on Putah Creek

    Saw a big group of river otters on Putah Creek on Friday. Not good!!!
    Lance Gray
    Fly Guide
    530-517-2204
    http://www.lancegrayandcompany.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
    Posts
    23,837

    Default

    My experiences with river otters is they seem to keep moving all the time.

    I use to fish Lake Solano a long time ago and never saw any otters.

    I think otters and other fish predators means there are fish?

    I heard that they have been getting lots of small wild rout now.

    How is the fishing this winter?
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

    567 Barber Street
    Sebastian, Florida 32958

    Fly Fishing Travel Consultant
    Certified FFF Casting Instructor

    Email: billkiene63@gmail.com
    Cell: 530/753-5267
    Web: www.billkiene.com

    Contact me for any reason........
    ______________________________________

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    392

    Default

    The otters have been on the creek for several years at least 10-15 years. The wild fish seem to have survived the increase in otter population. The wild fish have tails and can swim faster....

    The fish are especially vulnerable to otters and other predators during the spawn and low flows which are going on right now. It is best to fish some of the other valley tailwaters until at least March or April when the fish stop spawning.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Willows
    Posts
    894

    Default Otters

    I have been guiding for at least that long and I have never seen one. I have seen beavers throughout the years. I usually guide during the week at the creek. We also do tours. This was a tour and we saw them right below guides hole.

    I didn't see any fish on the redds on throughout the creek, I did spot fish around guides hole and the upper portion of Deer Xing that looked like spawners. It seems to me the spawn is over.

    The fishing was good on Friday. We hooked and landed several fish. Top flies where the Red Fireworm, the Red X-May and the JuJu Beatis.
    Lance Gray
    Fly Guide
    530-517-2204
    http://www.lancegrayandcompany.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Location
    Dixon
    Posts
    36

    Default

    I've seen river otters on Putah since the early 70's. I would guess they eat more crayfish than anything else but It's too early to dig through my reference books. I did see a mink just below the dam in the late 70's/early 80's. With all my time outdoors, that was the first and only mink I've seen.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    East Bay
    Posts
    681

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lance Gray View Post
    I have been guiding for at least that long and I have never seen one. I have seen beavers throughout the years. I usually guide during the week at the creek. We also do tours. This was a tour and we saw them right below guides hole.

    I didn't see any fish on the redds on throughout the creek, I did spot fish around guides hole and the upper portion of Deer Xing that looked like spawners. It seems to me the spawn is over.

    The fishing was good on Friday. We hooked and landed several fish. Top flies where the Red Fireworm, the Red X-May and the JuJu Beatis.
    I’m sure the spawn is still going on. There’s new gravel everywhere. I’m sure if you see a redd those fish are close by or pulled off after spotting you. There are also redds that are vacant and I’ve seen redds still occupied. I’d give it another couple weeks to be safe. The average spawn lasts to February. Probably wanna promote that since the last spawn was a bust from the flood flows.

    I’ve seen otters the last 5 years. This is nothing new. If you don’t see them their crap and slides are everywhere. They mainly eat the crawfish.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    el cerrito
    Posts
    339

    Default

    I have not fished Putah in a couple of years now, but when I used to put in 15 days a year there, this was not uncommon. I had seen them before at Guide Hole, below Deer Sign and down at access 3 over the years. Usually in groups of 2-4.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Garden Valley
    Posts
    1,076

    Default

    I can’t think of any decent trout stream that I don’t see otters on a pretty regular basis?
    "Lord help me to be the person my dog thinks I am"
    - unknown

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Morgan Hill, CA
    Posts
    275

    Default

    I had one giving me the eye last fall on the Truckee. He wasn't the least bit afraid of me... me on the other hand, kept having visions of him taking a bite out of my calf.... i went and fished another run.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    livermore
    Posts
    150

    Default

    For years on the Klamath near the state line we saw a family of otters, anywhere from 4-7, always in the same stretch..they were fun to watch but we got out and gave them the river.

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