Beaver and river otter trapping permits on managed areas for the 2022-23 season will be issued via in-person lotteries on Saturday, Oct. 8, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
A permit is required to trap beaver and river otter on state managed areas, including wildlife areas, state parks, and state forests. A complete list of available trapping permits is available on the Controlled Hunting Access Lotteries page at wildohio.gov. Visit wildohio.gov or call 1-800-WILDLIFE (1-800-945-3543) for more information about the lottery.
Drawings will occur at 12 p.m. at each Division of Wildlife district office. Office locations can be found at wildohio.gov. Trappers will be randomly drawn from submitted applications and successful applicants will be announced at that time. Each permittee may select one partner to accompany them for the duration of the season.
All applicants are required to possess a valid Ohio hunting license and fur taker permit. Beaver and river otter trapping lotteries are grouped by region; trappers may apply in only one district (central, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest). Beaver and river otter trapping permits are valid from Dec. 26 to Feb. 28, 2023.
Also new this year there will be several controlled waterfowl hunts available throughout the state every Thursday during the seasons. The controlled waterfowl permits will be offered on a first come, first serve basis using the OLHAP system. Registration will open at 10 a.m. on the Wednesday before the Thursday hunt. Registration will remain open until 10 a.m. the next day (Thursday). Permits will be valid from legal shooting time until 1 p.m.. Hunts will be offered on Thursdays during waterfowl seasons at the following wildlife areas: Andreoff, Killdeer Plains, Magee Marsh, Mercer, Mosquito Creek, Nimisilla Reservoir, Pickeral Creek, and Pipe Creek.
One permit will be issued per unit, per day, and the permittee may have up to two hunting partners per unit. A hunter is allowed to obtain 6 waterfowl permits per month.
• Boat owners interested in renting public boat dock slips at some of Ohio’s most popular boating destinations may apply for an online lottery beginning Oct. 1, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Watercraft. The online lottery application period will end at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31.
Online applications will be accepted for spring 2023 availability at the following state parks: Alum Creek, Buck Creek, Buckeye Lake, Burr Oak, Caesar Creek, Delaware, Dillon, Guilford Lake, Indian Lake, Lake Milton, Mary Jane Thurston, Mosquito Lake, Paint Creek, Salt Fork, Shawnee, and West Branch.
Interested lottery participants will also be asked to submit a copy of their proof of watercraft ownership (title) and current registration. Applicants can sign up for more than one park, but only one application per household per park. Those selected for the 2023 season will be entitled to renew their dock rental privileges for up to five years (renewable each spring).
• This past weekend was the youth and veteran appreciation waterfowl weekend hunt and Mother Nature blessed them with the season’s first taste of those cold north winds from the North. The young hunters not only had local geese and mallards to pursue but the first migration of teal and wood ducks was timed perfectly with their weekend season. There was plenty of opportunity for success for those youngsters that ventured out for the early season.
• The walleye tournament world was shocked with controversy this past week in Cleveland. The Lake Erie Walleye Circuit was wrapping up their tournament series with their final tournament of the year when the leading team was disqualified for stuffing eight pounds of lead weights into their five fish limit.
The tournament director became suspicious when their total weight didn’t match with the length of their fish, so he asked for a filet knife and immediately removed two lead weights from the first fish he gutted. Chaos erupted and the two disqualified contestants were removed from the area. The two man team has won hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past few years fishing walleye tournaments. They are both now famous in the fishing world for all of the wrong reasons.
Until next time, Good Hunting and Good Fishing!
