Gumbo Yes, Bait No.....

[fishinwrench]

Al, I think Eric's position was that otters are native and not the real problem.

Myself I think the whole hating otter thing is just because bad otter press has gone viral. I only see enough otters (and their sign) to appreciate them, and wouldn't assume that they were any kind of threat at all if I hadn't heard/read all the BS about them.

It's kinda like the quail/turkey thing, some "scientist" writes a piece about turkey eating quail eggs and from that time on bird hunters cuss turkeys.

[ness]

Al, I think Eric's position was that otters are native and not the real problem.

Myself I think the whole hating otter thing is just because bad otter press has gone viral. I only see enough otters (and their sign) to appreciate them, and wouldn't assume that they were any kind of threat at all if I hadn't heard/read all the BS about them.

It's kinda like the quail/turkey thing, some "scientist" writes a piece about turkey eating quail eggs and from that time on bird hunters cuss turkeys.

+1

[ness]

...but, we're always tinkering with things and don't always get it right. We have jacked up the balance of things to the point that the only way to get them back would be if all the homo sapiens packed up their stuff and moved away for a couple thousand years.

[Mitch f]

...but, we're always tinkering with things and don't always get it right. We have jacked up the balance of things to the point that the only way to get them back would be if all the homo sapiens packed up their stuff and moved away for a couple thousand years.

You go first

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I knew that was Eric's point, my point is that while they are (were) a native species, when they were reintroduced into habitat that was vastly different from what they had lived in previously, they had the effects of an invasive species. I agree, like I said before, on many streams, including all the bigger rivers, they have probably had little effect on the game fish population, but I do know they did have a huge effect on some (but not all) smaller streams. Like I said before, I think the key is how good the wintering habitat is. In the summer the fish are spread out and active and harder for an otter to catch. But in the winter the fish are slower and are concentrated in small areas. If the wintering pools are few and far between it just concentrates the fish more, and if they aren't big and deep there is less room for the fish to get away. So I can see otters decimated the population in the winter.

But I still get a kick out of all these people who keep implying that they always knew it was a bad idea to re-introduce them. I guarantee you that when it was first being discussed you probably couldn't have found a hundred people in the entire state of Missouri that thought it was a bad idea. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[ness]

You go first

Heck, I'm just sayin' -- I'm not going anywhere. I'm a huge fan of man's messing with stuff when it makes me happy. I'm glad we've got rainbow trout, brown trout and pheasants around for my amusement. And when the fishing's slow, watching otters messing around ain't too bad

[Mitch f]

Heck, I'm just sayin' -- I'm not going anywhere. I'm a huge fan of man's messing with stuff when it makes me happy. I'm glad we've got rainbow trout, brown trout and pheasants around for my amusement. And when the fishing's slow, watching otters messing around ain't too bad

Just messin with ya

[joeD]

Dear Earth:

Sorry for our existence. I'm sure you'd be better off without me. Your perfection is undeniable.

Sincerely,

humans

PS: We love to fish for smallmouth bass in the Missouri Ozark streams. Is that wrong? Even if they weren't there "originally?"

PSS: We know. Sorry. Will do better next time. Bye.

[joeD]

Dear Earth: Sorry for our existence. I'm sure you'd be better off without us. Your perfection is undeniable. Sincerely, humans PS: We love to fish for smallmouth bass in the Missouri Ozark streams. Is that wrong? Even if they weren't there "originally?" PSS: We know. Sorry. Will do better next time. Bye.

[joeD]

Dear Earth: Sorry for our existence. I'm sure you'd be better off without me. Your perfection is undeniable. Sincerely, humans PS: We love to fish for smallmouth bass in the Missouri Ozark streams. Is that wrong? Even if they weren't there "originally?" PSS: We know. Sorry. Will do better next time. Bye.