I looked through the archives and didn't find a lot of info on otter handling. Hopefully we can get a thread put together with pics and tips to get the most out of the fur. Some of topics I'd like to discuss are: singe, tail pleating, where to pin the back legs, inspection window, fleshing tips, ect. Here's one I did to start the discussion:

Would especially like to hear from those who ship their otters as I have several more to do that are heading north. Thanks.

That looks good to me. But I am by no means experienced at otter

http://www.nafa.ca/trapper/Resources/NAFA_PeltHandlingManual_2009.pdf

Rickey

Personally I like a pretty clean head, but some late nights it just don't happen. I also would stretch the tail wider and possibly pleat it. That just me but it looks good. I keep my legs up front also, helps with the tail stretch, and not a big inspection window. Most singe is already done so don't worry to much about it. I pulled one out of the water the other day and when dried was already singed.

You must be awful tall to hang those strecthers...LOL......here a few pic of the way I put them up

I do my otter tails the same way.I spoke with several fha graders when the pleated tail started showing up and they said to keep the tails natural shape.Same with the pelt.

thats what I thought!

It's either hang them high or pick them off the ground when the tractor knocks them down. The shed belongs to a buddy. Got any pics of your otter put up Cletis? I have ten left to do.

I got three left, got all my coons, yotes , cats put, then beaver to do......quess will thaw out and pelt the swift fox instead of taxi-net

Where do they measure the pelts with the back legs on the tail side? Bottom of the legs, or base of tail?

I used to pleat mine wide and short, now i just tack them without stretching them. I haven't noticed any difference in the price i get for them.

They measure down the back to the base of the tail.

Got any pics of your otter put ups beeverpeeler?

Nope. I'll have to remedy that...well here's one pic

Don't know what Carl would do without friends like me. I have to keep tabs on his pictures for him now!!! Here are a "couple" of Carl's otter from a few years ago showing the put up.

In the pic that "newhouse114" posted there are some otters that have darker leather. Is there any reason for this?? Or just as simple as,,,some are dark and some are light.

Here are some of my tips. Flesh on a beam and use fine sawdust. Be sure all sawdust gets removed with a final scraping with a one hand flesher once boarded. Use a burlap apron to keep the pelt from slipping on the nose of the beam.









Three acceptable ways to handle the leg holes. Trim and just leave them open, pin them closed, or sew them with a purse stitch.

Trim:



Open:



Pinned:



Sewn, we use a three cornered glovers needle for all fur sewing:







One other tool we use for final touch up on otter head and neck as well as those two heavy strips of gristle like fat down the tail is an old safety razor with the teeth removed so about 1/16 if and inch of the blade protrudes. Works well on shoulders and head of beaver also.





The tail can be pinned or use a screen, cardboard over it also works very well. Do not pleat the tail.





Be sure you make a good window and use a belly wedge. Under the end of a belly wedge another small wedge helps so you main belly wedge does not stick.

I always get a kick out of the Canadians and Alaskans that use sewing needles in their fur put up. But maybe if I lived where it was that cold I'd rather stay in where it's warm and sew too!

Very nice work Ron. Thanks for sharing the pics.

I like that idea of the wedge under the wedge. I often have trouble with my otter wedges getting stuck. I will definately be trying that method out.

Trapperron the kicker wedge under the main will be a time saver....thanks

There is one other wedge tip I have for all your belly wedges. Drill a 3/8" hole in the end (you can see it on the wedge I posted. Then if you have a stuck wedge you can put a spike through the hole and use it as a handle to grab with a hand on each side and pull it free. Seems stuck belly wedges are hard to get a hold of to pull them out and this works very well.

I like the burlap apron idea. I will have to try it out on coyotes next year to help reduce the sliding.

Thanks trapper Ron. Very nice pics and info. I use 1/2" PVC for the belly wedge. Next one will have a piece of lath between the PVC and the board.

On belly wedges ... use a narrower wedge for mink and otter or the pelts come out in the shape of a triangle being leather out. A wider wedge works well for the long haired furs that get turned to fur out. Seems also the long haired furs have more slack towards the skirt.

Nice pics.

lot of good info....put up my last three today, now the dreaded beaver, rather put up cats and canines...LOL

Here's some otter I put up today.

Incidentally, the only tools I use for fleshing otter are a knife for the head (and part of the tail), and a pull type paint scraper for the rest. Takes me 20-25 minutes to flesh and board.

I trapped six otter this season, could have trapped a lot more but I have always dreaded putting them up. I froze the skins in order to do them at the end of the season. Well, I've found the ultimate fleshing system for otter. I've owned a fleshing machine (the kind tanneries or taxidermists use) for a few years. It works great on skins that have been salted or pickled, the salting proccess really firms up the flesh making it very easy to slice away with the fleshing machine. I always thought that it wouldn't work on fresh skins because they are too pliable and soft. But this year I decided to try it anyway. I was to some degree correct in my assumtion, but I found that with a little care, especially around areas with loose skin (like the front leg holes) the fleshing machine works great. I put a couple of small nicks near the front arm pits on a couple of skins, but not a big deal. The soft skin of a fresh pelt wants to get sucked in a little by the fleshing wheel so you have to be a little carefull and keep a sharp wheel. I can now flesh an XL otter in about 10 minutes, and these are huge SE Alaska otters with a lot of fat/flesh/gristle. I think I'll even be able to get faster at it. I think one huge advantage to using the flehing machine is that you are not putting any pressure on the fur as you would on a beam. This greeatly reduces the chance of trapper induced singe. Not one of my otter show any sign of singe. Of course you still want to keep the fur a little damp. Any of you other guys ever try this method?
Mark

I watched a guy from Manitoba do a beaver with a fleshing machine(the wheel type mounted on a table).It didnt take him very long.

I just put-up my first otter ever. Sorry no pics, but I think he turned out mighty fine comparing to what I see here. I must say that it was not difficult at all. Just a hardwood beam and a regular old 12" two handle fleshing tool. I was expecting a much tougher battle based on what I have been reading. Maybe the fact that I have been battling the beaver that made it seem so easy. I would actually say that it was easier than fleshing a coon, the otter are just longer so it takes a little more time to work all the way down. Thanks for all the great advice on this post.

Another (putting up otter) tutorial from Wilderness Trapping Archive.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthrea...tml#Post2440132

Sold the otters in the above pic at Prineville for a $108 avg. Not NAFA prices, but decent for an association sale.

ttt