Seen them on Limestone, Stillhouse Hollow and Belton.

I have lots of experience with River Otters. We lease more than 100 private ponds and lakes in Texas and Oklahoma. They can be devasting to a small body of water. For those who think they target small bass, you would be incorrect. They target big bass. They can toy with a 8 lb bass like it is nothing. We have had to close 3 of our most popular lakes as they nearly wiped out the entire lake. Some of the lake management companies have hired on staff trappers to help combat the issue. We had one of our landowners that trapped/shot 21 of them in 2022 in a 50 acre lake.

National geographic/social media/documentaries have done a great job making them look playful and cute, but they are fish killing machines. The good news and bad news is that they are very transient. They are here today and gone tomorrow if the fish population is not to their liking. However, if they fishing is good for them, they will stay awhile. If you have a female who likes to stay, it will not be long before the males show up.

For Private Water Fishing it’s a real issue. I did a recent video for social media and I called them public enemy #1 for private lakes.

FYI, their numbers have exploded in the last few years. Yes, EXPLODED. There use to be a market for their fur. However, the pelts in Texas are worth almost nothing.

TRUTH!

The OK Dept. of Wildlife turned reintroduced them for some reason:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/new...urns-otters-to-natural-home/62768720007/

No only do they hurt the fish population, they have been known to attack people:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/otter-attack-victim-photos/

I wonder if otter attacks are as prevalent as rabbit attacks...........

Do Otters "chirp" ? I have been seeing these swimming creatures for about a month now & thought they were nutria...but I have seen hundreds of nutria & never herd one "chirp" like this. About a month ago I thought it was a bird, but finally figured when I got too close to its nest it charted chirping like crazy...

Otters chirp, squeal, make bird noises, and lots of other noises. Babies are especially vocal.

I can tell you that if you are fishing with a guide on the White River and an otter shows up, the guide will waste no time picking up and moving at least a half mile away before he attempts fishing again. An otter in the water sends trout away as fast as they can swim.

fact

All I know is the river where I grew up was infested with them and you can't catch [censored] if they're around. We we're always running juglines and they seem to be curious about them and couldn't stay away.

Saw a family of otters on FCL today. I just found out that a group of otters is called a bevy.

Have seen them on PK at the back of Caddo with a small crappie in its mouth. I had just released several , the otter grabbed one . Also noticed that particular dock which had been stacked with crappie was down to only a few. I have livescope which allows me to circle entire dock(s) to find hiding fish !!

I have seen 3 on Fork in the last 4 or 5 years. One this spring.

Seen em on Lavon, Crockett, Pat Mayse and The Lower Mountain Fork. They are all over.