What animal could have taken my trout?

[Kayleigh]

I thought an otter would not clear out a lake as they need to keep the food stock going..

[Monkstone]

Thank you for your thoughts.
My husband agrees with the human theory.
I don't want to.
We do however live on the edge of a shooting estate and the woods behind are full of pheasants. More activity there at this time of year too.
I will stick with the otter/mink theory.

[fluff11]

human i would say, the lakes around here have been targeted by foreigners after a free meal.

[christ1979]

Most likely an otter but could also be a mink

[davecatt]

Originally Posted by fluff11

human i would say, the lakes around here have been targeted by foreigners after a free meal.

Dont blind yourself by making assumptions,no matter how obvious they may be to you, facts are all that count.

The "foreigners after a free meal", may actually be locals after a bit of beer money.

Have you heard of any local pubs or restaurants who have now got trout on the menu,perhaps for the first time?

I worked on a management plan for someone in East Yorkshire who had given up on the idea of a trout fishery on the site of an old gravel pit he had purchased for that purpose because his trout failed to show. After setting up surveillance equipment he was able to get a prosecution, with the help of the local bobby, for poaching. The poacher was the manager of the local pub.

If the predator was any other animal than man then there would have been marks on the two fish left on the bank and signs of them being dragged out. Otters are large and heavy, mink are a lot smaller and would have to struggle with a fish that size, but either would leave sign on the bank, and on the fish they left behind.

Man is the only animal I can think of that could remove two fish of five pound or more,leave them unmarked in the grass with no obvious sign of disturbance
and then return the next night and take the lot.

If you stock the stream again try mounting a trail cam at a strategic spot above human eye level.
Dave

[davecatt]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

How can you tell its not an otter?

Even if its been disturbed an otter would leave a large wound on the back of the fish (probably just behind the head) I've never come across a large fish killed by a mink but I would expect it to leave a mess behind.
Dave

[unclemicky]

My vote would be for Mink

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by davecatt

Even if its been disturbed an otter would leave a large wound on the back of the fish (probably just behind the head) I've never come across a large fish killed by a mink but I would expect it to leave a mess behind.
Dave

Sorry Dave, I wasnt asking how you identify a otter or mink kill, I was saying from the information we have how can someone say its a mink? To be honest i didnt read any further to realize that the fish had no marks on them.

Mink kills are similar to otter kills, although they do tend to be more messy, perhaps due to the finer teeth.