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Otters have made to huyton Liverpool
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fatmanscoop

Posts: 27

#36 17 Mar 2025 at 9.40am

In reply to Post #35
The "spiked" roach are put on the bank not in the water. The otters come round at the same time everyday hence the camera (for learning the routine). Literally pop the spiked roach on the bank where you've been baiting them, walk away and smoke a rollie then walk past pick the little devil up and you are away. Apparently.

jhhilton1983

Posts: 1797

#35 6 Mar 2025 at 4.30pm

In reply to Post #34
Imagine how many Pike could have been killed

I have herd of much better and more discreet ways they can be dealt with. But alas they are protected so all theory of course.

fatmanscoop

Posts: 27

#34 6 Mar 2025 at 1.34pm

Apparently poison is the most effective way to get rid of your otter problem. Wildlife camera, few roach in the freezer and a bottle of strong poison.. A culvert on the river Severn near Shrewsbury was found to have been blocked with a number of dead otters which had all been poisoned with the same poison. Ace Ventura came to our mere with a list of names poking around a few years ago when it happened.

whitey79

Posts: 364

#33 4 Mar 2025 at 7.54pm

I understand that they will not nail every fish in the lake granted but what they will do is get most probably a bulk of the fish leaving a few fish that will become erratic and sporadic in the fishing the lake is big enough for some to survive

People’s perception is different there is people on here that have witnessed it on there lake and people that haven’t then there is people who have been involved in actual research studies over along period of time all have differing opinions and experiences

But imo this is not as simple as mother nature and they have always been here
No the have been reintroduced by man not nature but by humans they are also protected so that again is man interfering and protecting at all cost to the point where it affects people’s livelihoods people’s hobbies and even mental health if they are causing a nuisance they should be culled or trapped and re homed this is not from a personal agenda as I have fished with them before but on the rivers where fish can migrate up stream and down stream that’s natural still man made but more natural

All I can do is hope they move and leave a good chunk of stock behind the lake needs a break nothing grows through past the cormorants so the change of any recovery is slim if not restocked

scaley&dark

Posts: 5410

#32 4 Mar 2025 at 8.47am

In reply to Post #31
OP, like I said the fishing will change but the lake won’t die completely like some are telling you. It’ll be different and in years will recover as the otters move on.

Maybe in some places, maybe not.
The otters need for food will never go away, anything is fair game to otters, garden ponds, koi centres, birds, etc.

As these increasing & breeding numbers of escaped/released otter pairs/singles/pups increase, so will the area of 'their' 20 miles or so Territories, forcing any other otters that may intrude, to further afield into new areas ( like Liverpool now )

Any lakes on an otter route are at risk, maybe not in recent past times, or next year, but that can change overnight unfortunately. Especially in winter, the low water temps, make the carp easy pickings as they are less active.

You know there is a bit of an issue ( near a venue I used to fish ) when local council & do-gooders decide to build an otter tunnel under an A road dual carriageway so they don't get run over.

We have all just got to enjoy what we've got, when we've still got it.... or fence it, and restock.
The problem is here to stay.

Greekskii

Posts: 3242

#31 4 Mar 2025 at 5.52am

In reply to Post #30
Unfenced club lake of around 16 acres. Maybe 15-20 carp left. Otters spotted regularly but tend to just pass through. Has a similar amount of coots, moorhens, mallards, swans, geese than the fenced lake next door. The tufties prefer the unfenced lake over winter most years.
The lake has recovered now otters don’t hunt it as regularly, just use it as part of their route. You wouldn’t know otters were there apart from the lake of bigger fish or seeing them. It’s taken it a few years.

80 acre pit up the the road, unfenced, otters there regularly, still has a good head of carp and when I walked it this winter there were 100s if not 1000s of birds of all species. Rich and flourishing ecosystem still.

5 acres country park like I mentioned earlier, rich ecosystem still.

The way you lot speak about the effects of otters is that once they turn up the entire ecosystem does and you’re left with a muddy, barren place. No life, no nothing. It just isn’t the case. I have more first hand examples if you want them.

OP, like I said the fishing will change but the lake won’t die completely like some are telling you. It’ll be different and in years will recover as the otters move on. Probably end up with more weed as the stock gets reduced. It won’t end up a muddy bomb hole.

nicky_napkins

Posts: 516

#30 4 Mar 2025 at 0.20am

In reply to Post #29
Look at the wildlife on a lake with otters compared to one that is fenced off...
The otter lake is almost barren.

Greekskii

Posts: 3242

#29 3 Mar 2025 at 11.12pm

In reply to Post #26
As I said previously, when the exertion of energy to catch prey outweighs the energy gained they move on, from the water or to a new food source. This naturally allows food sources to regenerate and be available again in the future.

But yes, they seem to be more intelligent than some of the forum members at times. They don’t piss on their doorstep, they hunt from the extremities of their territory to the middle, normally where the main holt is. I’ve watched them swim through lakes full of fish to a preferred hunting ground for that day. Eat where/what is plentiful and all that.

It’s extremely naive to think these animals are not highly intelligent and complex tbh. Believing they are some mindless animal that just eats every last bit of food before moving on, even if it means exerting 100x the energy to catch it than they gain from eating it, can’t even be called naive, it’s beyond that.

runneil

Posts: 1843

#28 3 Mar 2025 at 10.37pm

In reply to Post #1

JamieNow

Posts: 7471

#27 3 Mar 2025 at 10.25pm

In reply to Post #25
I share the water with loads of beavers & a few otters here close to where I live.

Beavers are everywhere - I have never heard of anyone mention they eat fish & I have never seen then chasing / hunting fish as I think they're too slow. The don't always make dams - they will make lodges too which are basically massive snags made out of old branches. The do take down trees but they seem to manage the area & there are still loads of trees around the areas where they live - I think they prefer dead branches over live ones. They aren't particularly clever animals & if they are annoyed at you they will swim up & splash their tails at you - sounds like a crashing fish & can be annoying if you're trying to sleep. Nobody here seems them as an issue (public & anglers) - I believe that if a farmer has issues with them damning a stream, they just break it down (Lots of videos on youtube - a weird kind of AMSR following)

Otters are a bit more elusive but I am seeing more of them over the last couple of years including some in the city. I have caught one carp that had tail damage from one - I didn't realise but someone from the Uk who fishes the Cotswold Water Park told me when I showed them a picture. I have caught carp from swims where they have been hunting just a few minutes before & from what I can tell, they are more interested in any crayfish than fish - the ones I have watched usually come back with crays & when I come across their preferred area's / eating spots, I have only seen bits of cray shells & no fish bones yet. They seem to love swan mussels too. They seem to be very territorial & I will only see a single adult & a couple of pups in the area. They are on a smaller local pond & I have caught plenty of carp from it - there may be more food here but there seems to be a balance. I watched one follow a cormorant around for over an hour last year - it was proper comedy as it was just behind it like a benny hill sketch - every time the cormorant turned around the otter dipped beneath the surface. As mentioned - they seem to be quite clever.

RE other animals - we get the occasional bear up north of the city - they are more akin to foxes as a PITA - you don't leave food out at all as they are scavengers & will always prefer an easy meal. There are loads of them out west & you hear of the odd trouble but that is usually when they have been startled or have their young near by. We have had a few sightings of cougars in the area over the last few years - they are very elusive & will avoid humans completely if they can. I don't think I have ever heard of any attacks.

PaulBishop

Posts: 299

#26 3 Mar 2025 at 10.06pm

In reply to Post #25
"Otters are incredibly intelligent, they won’t wipe out a food source as then they don’t have future food stocks in their territory, loads of apex predators do the same"

They're predatory animals, not farmers or gamekeepers, once they've decimated a food supply, they move onto the next. Attributing crop rotation or what have you to some sort of super intelligence is naive.
Or do you think they fast occasionally to conserve future food supplies ?

Greekskii

Posts: 3242

#25 3 Mar 2025 at 9.56pm

In reply to Post #23
Try and give someone a glimmer of hope, it’s not all the end of the world for his water. It’ll just become a hard low stock pit. That suits plenty of anglers down to the ground.
That’s the reality. Not that it’ll become a lifeless waterbody with no ecosystem which is what you put across. Different, yes. Damaged, yes. But it still exists. I’ve seen much more devastation done by the hands of man to lakes and rivers.

Otters are incredibly intelligent, they won’t wipe out a food source as then they don’t have future food stocks in their territory, loads of apex predators do the same.

Fact is i’m trying to educate, and you don’t/wont see that. Not my fault.

I have first handed witnessed otters hunting the lake I was fishing, seagulls attacking them the entire time. My friend caught a carp two hours after the otters hunted his swim! I’ve personally fished lakes where otters visited daily, they built a home in the riverbank behind my swim because of how well I got it going and the fish activity in it. I still caught a few of the remaining carp and tench and bream aplenty. I also never found a carcass of a carp in 2.5yrs, despite seeing them active daily. This was a 5 acre lake in a busy public park and I knew the rangers very well. Not one carp carcass was found.

To the OP, things will change but it isn’t the end of the water. It’s always horrific and disheartening to see otters arrive and kill fish. Been on the end of it plenty of times. But the world isn’t ending so just keep going.

whitey79

Posts: 364

#24 3 Mar 2025 at 8.31pm

In reply to Post #22
Depends which country you live in if steal in some countries they will shoot you other countries will just chop your hand off ect ect nothing wrong with that in my eyes

People have fisheries which are there business that can’t be fenced so people who illegally introduce otters or like the other week lynx into the wild are fine to do so and business just have to except that or be put under even more financial stress erecting fence around sites that vast in size ying and yang the ripple effect every action has a consequence
The lake I fish has shoots through the winter the pheasants are breed to shot for sport they can kill there predators foxes ect nothing wrong with that

Your right on the antis were all doomed if they start making head way so I think best keeping opinions of fish pain of public forums where you are basically give them bullets to fire in there search to ban this hobby of all ours

wandle1

Posts: 7209

#23 3 Mar 2025 at 8.10pm

In reply to Post #18
Doom and gloom,lol...no I just tell the truth of what's happened ..shame that some don't have the knowledge and understanding ,but hey all I can do is pass what I see and experience ..

The PAG book I helped to produce,with some of the most respected names around. ,do you think they are doom and gloom and lying..

Take note of what Goose said about what he saw ,not mine eyes ,but his eyes on the lakes and ressis,some of which I know ..

I know one thing ,after reading some of your posts Greekski,and that is you like to cause trouble or get a rise,however if you posted more in educational terms ,with some of the experience you say you have ,you'd come across better..

Educate ,not denigrate ,eh Greekski ...and I'm...out of this convo..

Greekskii

Posts: 3242

#22 3 Mar 2025 at 7.49pm

In reply to Post #19
Fish farmers can though protect themselves. With a fence because no one farms a 60 acre pit. It’s small ponds. Easy to fence when you’re making money and as you said yourself, these fish are for sport not food. Completely different to the farmer you have examples about. When the do gooders finally turn on angling, boy will fish farmers be out of business fast. We might stick a hook in a fish, but they breed fish for the sole purpose of being hurt. That’ll be their view of it, look how they are about animals being farmed and killed for food.

A private fishery, someone profiteering from the desire of others to inflict pain on a living creature. I think most people would not agree they should be able to shoot and kill a protected species. Paying out their own pocket to protect their business sounds reasonable.

Bit like business owners aren’t allowed to shoot anyone that tries to steal from them, they can hire security and put a fence up though.


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