hi there.just wanted to know if anybody experienced their fish being eaten by otters,we fished in kommandodrift this weekend and the 1st fish we caught that night was half eaten the next morning.a barber abt 4 to 5 kg had been partially eaten ,the otter bit through the steel keep net.info on how to keep fish safe during the night would help.thx
hi there.just wanted to know if anybody experience
- Thread starter zunaid777
- Start date
Hi zunaid777
Seen it happen many times.
Q. Did you plan to keep the barble... or release it later ?
One of my friends (passed away now) used to keep the fish he cought. I asked him why he kept it. He didn't give it much thought, but said after a while he just wanted to keep the fish for a while before letting it go.
Of course my comment was are you scared you're going to ctch the same fish again... he wasn't too impressed ;-)
Thing is if you put fish in a keep net with the intent not to keep it then it would be better to let the fish go. The keep net damages the slime layer which is the fish's natural shield against illnesses and parasites. Some fish even die after being kept like that.
So if you're going to release the fish, take pictures and throw them back.
If you plan to keep the fish I would suggest you bring the keep net closer to shore and put a light up making it visible. Get up every 30 mins or so ;-)
Don't try to confront or catch an otter. They are fierse biters. Cute animals actually.
Seen it happen many times.
Q. Did you plan to keep the barble... or release it later ?
One of my friends (passed away now) used to keep the fish he cought. I asked him why he kept it. He didn't give it much thought, but said after a while he just wanted to keep the fish for a while before letting it go.
Of course my comment was are you scared you're going to ctch the same fish again... he wasn't too impressed ;-)
Thing is if you put fish in a keep net with the intent not to keep it then it would be better to let the fish go. The keep net damages the slime layer which is the fish's natural shield against illnesses and parasites. Some fish even die after being kept like that.
So if you're going to release the fish, take pictures and throw them back.
If you plan to keep the fish I would suggest you bring the keep net closer to shore and put a light up making it visible. Get up every 30 mins or so ;-)
Don't try to confront or catch an otter. They are fierse biters. Cute animals actually.
Mazdadrifter
New member
When we fish during the night I usa a red cloth that is hanging from the net and a smal bit in the water.
It moves with the motion of the water and the otters don't come close to the net.
The only other thing that I seen working is the red LED's that flicker on top of the keepnet stand.
It moves with the motion of the water and the otters don't come close to the net.
The only other thing that I seen working is the red LED's that flicker on top of the keepnet stand.
Mazdadrifter
New member
When we fish during the night I us a red cloth that is hanging from the net and a smal bit in the water.
It moves with the motion of the water and the otters don't come close to the net.
The only other thing that I seen working is the red LED's that flicker on top of the keepnet stand.
It moves with the motion of the water and the otters don't come close to the net.
The only other thing that I seen working is the red LED's that flicker on top of the keepnet stand.
Hi All
Last year I read many of the comments on this thread with interest as I was going to the Vaaldam for 10 days in early January, and I have had otters raid my net in the past. My future son-in-law got hold of a little circuit board with an white LED which he mounted in a little plastic box with just the LED visible. I put this in a pick 'n pay packet to protect it from the rain and hung it over my keepnet. I didn't lose a single to an otter in the whole time. It worked a treat. And the battery is still not flat either.
Thanks to all who have posted some great ideas here!
Last year I read many of the comments on this thread with interest as I was going to the Vaaldam for 10 days in early January, and I have had otters raid my net in the past. My future son-in-law got hold of a little circuit board with an white LED which he mounted in a little plastic box with just the LED visible. I put this in a pick 'n pay packet to protect it from the rain and hung it over my keepnet. I didn't lose a single to an otter in the whole time. It worked a treat. And the battery is still not flat either.
Thanks to all who have posted some great ideas here!
Hi Diesel
It's quite an interesting debate about keeping vs releasing fish. My understanding, and please help me if I'm wrong, is that one may not legally release exotic species, i.e we are supposed to remove any carp/bass we catch from the dams. The Vaaldam I also believe is over populated, another reason to remove fish. However, I do release the bigger fish or indiginous fish (muddies, yellows and catfish). I fish in a very impoverished area so the smaller carp go into my keepnet and I give them to the (very grateful) locals.
It's quite an interesting debate about keeping vs releasing fish. My understanding, and please help me if I'm wrong, is that one may not legally release exotic species, i.e we are supposed to remove any carp/bass we catch from the dams. The Vaaldam I also believe is over populated, another reason to remove fish. However, I do release the bigger fish or indiginous fish (muddies, yellows and catfish). I fish in a very impoverished area so the smaller carp go into my keepnet and I give them to the (very grateful) locals.
I agree with taking out smaller carp under 3kg... yet for me its just too much of an effort and the smell in your car/bakkie and i feel kind of bad about killing them... yet i would not be angry at people taking smaller fish to eat... but catching a 10kg carp or a 20kg catfish and then taking that home is nonsense...
i got no problem with okes killing small carp and bass however , fish over 3 kilos should not be killed (every fish caught is a gift from an angler the practises catch and release, so keep the gift rolling ) right? then we will eventually have lake and rivers with an ubndance of large fish that everone can enjoy, its a far far far off dream to get right in this country but i like to make my difference