How common are otters in Louisiana

Why would you shoot an otter? I watch them all the time while I’m hunting at our camp and shooting them has never crossed my mind.

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Are they a nuisance? For reference, are they legal to shoot?

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No and probably no.

Although they may do a number on a fish pond and be a PITA in that regard.

See them all over in Venice when duck hunting and fishing.

Why would you shoot an otter? I watch them all the time while I’m hunting at our camp and shooting them has never crossed my mind.

They'll clean out your fish pond in a heartbeat.

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I've had them steal a dead duck off the pond.

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YEP...

They are very common and very smart. They will make a pinfish or any bait fish cage look like it was chewed up by an outboard prop, too. Amazing but a pain in the arse.

The otters in Grand Isle can open a Yeti with their eyes closed.

My deer stand is on the edge of a crawfish pond. the otters had been terrorizing us for weeks. One rainy morning I look down the road and there is a huge otter rolling on the road at 115 yards away. I pick up my rifle and he goes back in the canal right next to the road. That fricker comes back up and rolls again, I shoot and see mud fly, otter goes back to ditch.

Put my gun back in box, and otter comes back out, hurry up and throw up rifle and shoot again, mud again. Otter back in the canal. Trying to figure how many bullets I have left at this time. Otter comes out again, miss # 3. It's getting pretty comical at this time. I believed this otter was fricking with me. I have only one bullet left in the rifle but have a shotgun with buckshot with me. So my plan is if I miss again, when the otter goes in the canal I will jump out of boxstand and run down the road as fast as I can with the shotgun and shoot when he comes up.

This time that fricker comes out rolls on the ground then stands up giving me bigger target. BOOM finally got that bastard. Now I get to eat crawfish in November!!!

When my dad and two buddies come down the road to get me they stop and look at the otter. They pull up to my stand crying laughing. I hadn't known my old man had put out some traps to catch the otter. That fricker was stuck in a trap. I could have walked up to it and killed it with a stick.
I still get teased about that to this day, that they have to tie down an animal for me to be able to kill it with a rifle.

I live on the water and keep a very large fish basket in the boat slip. If the otters come through they will clean you out. For whatever reason, they always go for the big sac-a-lait first.

That's one of the better things I've read on this board in a while.