Just got back from the DNR fur school. We signed up with the DNR to put up otters for money to our district trappers association. Twelve members of district 11 WTA put up 50 otter pelts in about four hours. What DNR monies are gathered from the sale of these pelts will then go into our WTA trappers education program. Was my first at skinning otters. Had quite an education. Just wondering how the rest of you handle fleshing out the tail of the otter. I was told to use an 'herring bone' style of assault on the tail, first getting the meat/fat started, then going right then left, back and forth, until I reached the tip. Any of you used this method? Works for you? Ya got another method??? Looks like I'll be getting my otter tag this coming season, and just want to be prepared.

Thanks, Frank.

I use the sharp edge of my fleshing knife to slice the gristle/fat from the tail. The lines of fat left at the corners of the tail are cleaned up with a scorp I made for that purpose

I tried the scoring the gristle/fat technique when I did my first otters but quit as I found it unnecessary.

A sharp knife and good knife control takes a lot of the work out of otter

I don't know where that "Cross Hatch" slicing of the fat on an otter pelt came from, but it has been around for years. The first couple I put up, I did that. Then I found that if you are good enough with your fleshing knife, you don't need to do that.

With a Necker, I use the sharp side to do the tail. I angle the knife at 45 degrees and do one side of the tail at a time. Do forget to put the bevel side of knife down so you can control the cut. If the fleshing knife does hang up, stop and free up that spot. Trying to power through with leave you with a hole in the otter's tail. However a hole in the tail is not gonna degrade the pelt much. Here's a little note, ride the heel of the bevel and it will tend to flatten out the tail and make the fat easier to cut.

And always remember -- the first hundred are the hardest.

So, 94 more to go and I'll have it easy, right? Yeah, it was not fun at all,especially on a couple that were freezer burned. And for even the fresher ones, the Neckers they had for us to use were not very sharp, and the tails kept wanting to slide off the side of the beam. I felt really clumsy, like trying to play table tennis wearing snowshoes and oven mitts. Will get better with practice. YEARS of practice!!

Frank.