Otter Holt

Photo: Adrian Simmons

There are still repercussions from the Foot & Mouth outbreak in 2001; cattle now graze the meadows on the Upper Water, which were traditionally grazed by sheep. To help stop these bovine bank and habitat destroyers, the Club has erected a permanent fence along the main river. Fences are expensive and the £1,000 raised from Wild Trout Trust rod raffle was the catalyst for this project (The rod was been kindly donated to the Wild Trout Trust by makers Thomas and Thomas). This new fence will mean more work for the River Keeper and his mower, but a better habitat for flora, fauna and of course salmo trutta!

River Frome otters will also be benefiting from the fence, in one of the small coppices along this stretch, in conjunction with the Dorset Wildlife Trust, we have built a log pile otter Holt.  

"It may seem strange that anglers are keen to help otters, yes, they eat fish, but they are an important part of the riverside experience. River fly-fishing does have a lot of quiet moments (more than most in my case!!). These precious moments are used by the angler to soak in their milieu and any contribution that will increase the chance of catching a glimpse of an otter or even a mermaid, will be worth any amount of effort."

One Saturday in February a band of anglers and Bronwen Bruce from the Trust, got together and built the holt. The Trust certainly knows how to publicly the event, also in attendance were a photographer from the local daily newspaper and a cameraman from the local TV!!

We choose a small coppice, which was situated between the main river and a small pond. This was an area we felt that Mr. &  Mrs. Otter would love their home to be, handy for the river and if needed, a few eels from the pond.

We also decided to use an existing willow tree trunk as one corner of the Holt. Bronwen then scratched an outline, including the inner chambers. These otters are mighty fussy on the layout and need a number of interconnecting chambers which are dark and reasonably dry!!

We fired up the chainsaws and got busy collecting logs that would be used as the base and walls. It was a little disconcerting having a cameraman poking his lens, as you struggled with a particularly difficult log, but as they say – the show must go on!!

The logs were stacked into place and we were quickly onto the second layer of logs. 

Once these were in place, poles are placed across the logs and chambers to form a roof. We used smaller pieces of wood to fill in the gaps to make the chambers darker and more water resistant.

The final thing was to pile all the brashings on top to completely hide the logs and poles. We ended with a huge bonfire shaped construction and a home fit for Mr & Mrs Otter.

We tided up and headed back to the cars and enjoyed a mug or two of hot vegetable soup.. We now have to wait and see if Mr. & Mrs. Otter decides to use this holt - fingers crossed..

I’m sure your dying to know; yes we did appear on both the TV and in the local press!!

 John Grindle