Took a ride on the Maury river this morning. I spotted a whole family of otter. It was 5 of them. I watched them for about 10 minutes and I bet I seen them catch around 15 fish. Them things can really fish. I had no idea they were so efficiant in the water, catching fish. They were really something to watch. I used to never see otter around here till this past year. I got a few pics, there not the best, they were pretty far away. Cant wait till Christmas, for my bigger VR Zoom lens. Also seen a bald eagle.

That's great!! You can't watch otters and not smile . . .

Awesome pics as usual!! I love otters too. Had one surprise me while sitting in a tree stand during bow season. He caught a bluegill and ate it right under my tree. You might want to email Mike Fies at VDGIF. He manages an otter observation tally west of the blue ridge. Here's a link to use as a guide for what he's looking for.

http://www.virginiatrappers.org/otter_observation.htm

That is too cool. I have never seen an otter this side of the Missisippi. Are they reintroducing them or are they spreading naturally. When I was in Alaska we saw several sea otters. They said they almost became extinct because of uncontrolled trapping. The guide said they were highly prize because they have such dense fur. For comparison he said 1 square inch of sea otter fur has as many hairs as an entire cat. That is some dense fur. It is my understanding that water doesn't even make it to their skin. They are great to watch.

Hopefully they will keep increasing in number. I would love to sit and watch some one day.

Regards,
Vic

Awesome pictures Econo.

I watched two otters a few years back on a shelf of ice in the Lamprey River. The two of them would slip in off the ice and come back up with largemouth bass. They would eat the head and then go back for another.

It is hard not to love an otter at play. It is also a very nice bonus on the beaver trapline. NH allows us 10 otters by trapping per year. There are plenty of them here. They live statewide and visit every trickle of water.

Vic - from what I understand, there is a respectable population in Virginia and it's growing. There are seasons for them both East and West of the Blue Ridge. More dense population East with no limit but West has a limit of two. I have no desire to catch them, I am just glad they are doing well. - BB

Beautiful pics!

I do not see otters often but do see them on the upper James and the New river at times. I love to watch them work and play. Dale and I had one swim up to our duck blind the other year in late goose season.

Now that's some fine photography.