I just got a call from a fellow live trapping otter. He is using both the 12x12 and 12x18 inch Comstock cage traps, but wanted to know how to set the traps so that the otter would be most apt to fire them.
The larger 12x18x39 beaver/otter trap is usually set upside down, trigger on the bottom, with the trip wires pointing upward. For a live catch the trap should be set in about 9 or 10 inches in the water, leaving 2 or 3 inches open for the otter to breath, no different than usual, just like trapping beaver. With the trigger wires about even with the surface of the water when the trap is set upside down the otter will plow right into the trigger wires and fire the trap easily. I know of a pair of Washington trappers who caught 45 otter in one season.
The 12x12 differs from the 12x18 in that it has a side mounted trigger instead of a top/bottom trigger. This trap is usually set with upside down doors on the bottom and a side mounted trigger. To duplicate the way the 12x18 is set with triggers pointing upward for live otter, after setting the 12x12, roll it 90 degrees until the trigger comes up from the bottom. The doors will then close from the side. This will put an otter right into the triggers for live trapping.
Remember, "There is no wrong way to set a Comstock trap," the most versatile traps in the world.
Working on new devices all the time, we are chomping at the bit to get new products into production, while continuing to produce the most advanced traps you will ever use. One of our signature accomplishments is the self contained feature in all of the traps we make, no parts sticking outside of the cage to catch or for animals to foul.
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