# michigan otters



## mihunter85 (Sep 17, 2012)

hey guys being from the thumb i dont know much about otters considering we dont have any. i was just curious where all in michigan these critters actually live. didnt know if it was just in the northern parts or southern areas (excluding the thumb) as well


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## someone11 (Mar 15, 2009)

mihunter85 said:


> hey guys being from the thumb i dont know much about otters considering we dont have any. i was just curious where all in michigan these critters actually live. didnt know if it was just in the northern parts or southern areas (excluding the thumb) as well


I believe the farther north you go the more you'll see. We have them here in Eastern UP.


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## legard29 (Nov 7, 2005)

I've heard from a very reliable source the mid to north center of the state has lots of otters

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## thiel11 (Nov 20, 2012)

Never seen one in Michigan, honestly I didn't even know they lived in this state till I started looking into trapping haha. 

livinthedream


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## huntercc21 (Nov 14, 2011)

We have plenty of them on our property in the Reed City/Evart area.


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## FAAMECH (Jul 14, 2009)

Caught one last year 33 miles southwest of Lansing.... Found two more pair about 15 miles east of Vermontville...Cheers Eric


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## FAAMECH (Jul 14, 2009)

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## [email protected] (Mar 13, 2012)

mihunter85 said:


> hey guys being from the thumb i dont know much about otters considering we dont have any. i was just curious where all in michigan these critters actually live. didnt know if it was just in the northern parts or southern areas (excluding the thumb) as well


I wouldnt b surprised if at some time or another that they are found in all counties in mich. They are where u find them. Always on the move. Have seen them on kzoo river and also in Barry county. Shrubby


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## Hackman (Aug 13, 2008)

Saginaw River system, Rifle River have otters see a few when bow hunting, as they swim by.


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## wildlife chaser (Mar 4, 2005)

got them down here in st joe county. ind. released a bunch in northern ind toget them reinterduced and they have gone every where, north south east and west.


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## dwalker (Jan 1, 2011)

We do have them in the thumb. Along the Cass river system. I saw one caught in the Shay lake area and I know a guy who caught one in the old muskrat ponds in Caro. My personal attempt to catch one @ lollipop park on 46 did not fair to well, they are smarter than I thought or at least very trap shy. My next attempt will be north where the pressure may be a little lighter.


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## 50/50 camo (Sep 23, 2010)

I saw 2 right under me while bow hunting in tuscola county about 3 years ago. 1st time ever there and have not seen any since.

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## Seaarkshooter (Nov 5, 2009)

They are in every county of the state that I hear. They don't leave alot of sign and people are surprised when they find them in their beaver traps. To target them specifically, you really have to know their habits. The best time to do that is the first couple snows in December. Get out on the river systems and look for sign and tracks. After following them for awhile, you'll see where they like to cross at roads, beaver dams and lake entrances.

Personally, I've seen them caught in southeast Michigan in Oakland, Tuscola, Lapeer, Livingston and Gennesse now.


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## hunt448 (Jan 26, 2012)

I grew up in huron co. I remember when I was a kid running the banks of the pinnebog river I came across some very strange tracks in the snow ( run slide run slide). I forgot all about them until I found the same thing 20 years later along the banks of the Ausable and googled it. Now that I'm trapping and want to find otter tracks, nothin.... like I said that was at least 20 yrs ago.

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## frostbite (Dec 22, 2004)

They are in the thumb. I have seen them in Huron County and I have caught them in Genesee county that i targeted and had success.


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## population control (Apr 18, 2009)

there around huron county
seen tracks out ice fishing two years ago out of mud creek and seen tracks at fish point deer hunting a few years ago too.
I even had one pined down or so i though until i tried trapping that rascal
smarter than me


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## mihunter85 (Sep 17, 2012)

wow guys thanks i never knew they were around here. never hear much about them in these areas. its a big shock to me cause as a teen i lived on the pinnebog river and though i never trapped it i could be found most afternoons in spring and summer standing on the bank fishing pole in hand. i wont bother targeting them but sure is nice to know we at least have them.


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## DIYsportsman (Dec 21, 2010)

mihunter85 said:


> wow guys thanks i never knew they were around here. never hear much about them in these areas. its a big shock to me cause as a teen i lived on the pinnebog river and though i never trapped it i could be found most afternoons in spring and summer standing on the bank fishing pole in hand. i wont bother targeting them but sure is nice to know we at least have them.


doesn't surprise me in the least, try explaining to most deer hunters what a fisher is and then tell them that they are found in michigan... same with other critters if they dont see them they dont think they exist... seems like most hunters these days only think about deer these days.. its sad really, actually they dont care about deer either they like horns! lol i dont understand it, guess thats why i dont enter the deer forums...

funny my cousin used to let his beagle run in his back of his field, then he saw 4 yotes during bow season, he calls me up cause i guess im the expert at predators and i tell him duh of course there are yotes wondering around... now he keeps the beagle on a running wire when he is outside 

like they were not there before... but now his beagle is in danger lol


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## mihunter85 (Sep 17, 2012)

gee thanks diy for lumping me in with the open day only so called sports man. im no where near that. not saying im the biggest outdoorsmen in the state but i sure didnt grow up playing video games. i spent my summers wondering the rivers and woods close to home. the only thing i dont hunt are the animals i wont eat or use the fur, not gonna waste an animal for the thrill of the kill only. as a kid i would actually peddle bike 10 miles to state land just to get a squirell. you should see the looks i got with a 12 gauge across the handle bars. but no i didnt know there were otters around. ive never targeted them or seen one. but its not often you see a mink wondering around either but yet you know there around. hell i havnt even see a coyote in 4 or so years but i know if i head out **** hunting late at night i can hear them every so often. at least i asked where they were to further my knowledge of the wildlife in my area. 

heck while im at it there aint by chance any bobcat fisher or marten in the thumb area woods are there cause that would be pretty cool :lol:


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## DIYsportsman (Dec 21, 2010)

mihunter85 said:


> gee thanks diy for lumping me in with the open day only so called sports man. im no where near that. not saying im the biggest outdoorsmen in the state but i sure didnt grow up playing video games. i spent my summers wondering the rivers and woods close to home. the only thing i dont hunt are the animals i wont eat or use the fur, not gonna waste an animal for the thrill of the kill only. as a kid i would actually peddle bike 10 miles to state land just to get a squirell. you should see the looks i got with a 12 gauge across the handle bars. but no i didnt know there were otters around. ive never targeted them or seen one. but its not often you see a mink wondering around either but yet you know there around. hell i havnt even see a coyote in 4 or so years but i know if i head out **** hunting late at night i can hear them every so often. at least i asked where they were to further my knowledge of the wildlife in my area.
> 
> heck while im at it there aint by chance any bobcat fisher or marten in the thumb area woods are there cause that would be pretty cool :lol:


HA! 

was not my intention in including you in my thoughts, hell you are actually in a trapping forum! the masses that i were referring to basically have no clue about any other animal other than deer, and they have no interest in learning about other critters, this obviously is not you... to each his own

yes it is hard to run into a mink or other nocturnal like critters, but those of us with the interest always notice their sign they leave behind, ie tracks, scat, trails, etc

fisher marten.. no but i would bet that there are at least some bobcats in your area :evilsmile they have been moving south lately


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## dwalker (Jan 1, 2011)

Have you ever read the sign at the petrogyphs, it says to watch for bobcat tracks along with others.


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## Seaarkshooter (Nov 5, 2009)

mihunter85 said:


> heck while im at it there aint by chance any bobcat fisher or marten in the thumb area woods are there cause that would be pretty cool :lol:


3 years ago, 1/2 mile East of M24 and Wells road, a martin fed on a deer carcass thrown in the parking lot. 

I saw the tracks myself over the coarse of a week between Christmas and New Years.

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## MidnightSun (May 8, 2009)

I've seen 5 over the years in the shiawassee river between holly and Fenton. I spend a lot of time in the kayak quietly gliding along. Very cool animals.


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