Darren.

Welcome aboard!

I'd suggest you contact your local wildlife/animal control department and ask what to do. Honestly, if you "feel sick" about it, don't let the situation linger. Get advice from them and perhaps locals in your area. Maybe you can arrive at a solution that lets the critters live...but if not, then so be it.

I don't have any Dobyns rods experience, but I do have St. Croix Premier, Avid, and Legend Tournament experience. I love St. Croix ML power rods, but most Croix I've fished tend to be a *tad* tip-heavy. That does not diminish their quality. My most recent is a 6' Premiere ML spinning rod paired with a Stradic CI4+ and it is fantastic. I actually upgraded my Avid MXF to a Legend Tournament Walleye 6'3" MLXF (same as bass rods, but offered in more lengths) and love it as well. On casting, I use(d) a discontinued Field & Stream 6' MF rod, which my 2nd son has decided is his fav rod. It was mine before he decided it was his. Then I have two BPS Carbonlites, a black 6'6" ML and white 6'6" MH, both of which excel at their respective duties.

Welcome aboard! Over 40 years. So...a long time, eh?

LOL. I can relate, in a way. For me it was two trips getting unloaded (kayak) realizing I forgot my PFD. Call to my wife, 15-20 min later, I'm good to go. After all, I've got boys with driving permits that need practice!! That said, I've forgotten my paddle before, but I went w/o it anyway since I'm motorized. Not a common thing, mind you. I always have something to paddle with in case my motor fails!

I can attest that standing in my Native Ultimate is a much different experience than standing in my old 16' Grumman aluminum canoe. On that I put outriggers to give me some stability. On my Native Ultimate, I don't need outriggers. It is FAR more stable than was my canoe. Again, the Ultimate and the Wilderness Systems Commander are hybrids, a cross between kayak and canoe. For other brands, look at Bass Pro Ascend yaks. Get decent reviews, priced low, a bit heavy, but functional and will get the job done, standing or sitting.

Lost gear vs. lost life. I'll take lost gear any day. Eldest son and I capsized our canoe and lost a brand new cell phone, $350 camera, and more. But we survived and lived to tell the tale So have you.

And then there's this: http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/8668086/1

River otters, while cute and precocious, are still wild animals and should be respected as such. Doesn't mean you can't befriend them I would try if I lived on water they occupied. Agree with the others, they're a great sign. Hope they don't become beasts with all the hormones and such leaking in from the farm!! Then you should run.

Site copyright is 2012, so definitely not much goin' on.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, @Baitbusta. Sorry you've had bad experiences with recent Shimanos. I've had splendid success in salt/fresh with Stradics. I've got FI, FJ, FK, and the newest CI4+ HGFK (which is the best of the bunch). The FI reels have had bail issues, but never had any binding problems even with them being dunked in the water -- rinsed after the day fishing.

Wowzers! Awesome catch!

She's a beauty! Nice catch!

Welcome aboard!

No idea, sorry, but welcome to the forums!

LOL, floored at about 70mph, eh? You musta loved that scale I have lost too many digi-scales to Davey Jones' Locker over the years that it pains me to buy another. Yet I did, via eBay, and it is a simple luggage scale (recommended on the forums) and I also bought a grip like in @A-Jay's photo. It works well, but the other day it got wet and suddenly stopped. It's back working now but I was so thankful to have my super-accurate Boga with me that day.

Welcome aboard, Ricky! Quite a number of Indiana fisherfolk here. I'm sure some will chime in soon.

Beastly brownies, man!

Well, the whole thing boils down to "sort of" to answer the kayak role question. I started down the road of baitcasting with Quantum Accurists, which I could never get dialed in right but they were serviceable. Got a Lexa years later and loved it. Decided I wanted to go all casting - part in conjunction with a terrible case of fisherman's elbow - so I bought 2 Chronarch 50e reels, upgraded to 7.1:1 and set about learning to cast the lightest baits I was using for spinning. Got pretty good at it, but over time I started thinking about why I was doing this. I was skipping into an area I love to target and ended up grabbing my spinning rod, which made it look easy. That kind of started the unraveling of casting for me. I love(d) it, was good at it, if I do say so myself, but spinning was just a lot less work overall. Yes, techniques do play a roll, but I was able to do 98% of them with a BC. I get the whole "it's another tool in the toolbox" and "best tool for the job" thing, but I fish for love of the sport, outdoors, and relaxation. I'm not making money, fishing tourneys and so forth. I fish techniques I like and produce fish spinning gets me there more easily. I'll still use my one remaining Chronarch for stuff, though. I still like it!!

I'm probably 90/10 maybe 95/5 in favor of spinning now.

Welcome aboard!

Congrats to him, and grandpa! I've got a nephew who wrestled this year and absolutely killed the field. Now one of my sons going into 10th grade wants to wrestle. He more wants it for the workout/awesome body that comes with it, LOL.

I seem to drift a little on the rod front. And some of it depends on my wallet, to be honest. That said, I've made purchases (Legend Tournament Walleye) that were on the over-my-budget-but-can't-resist-end, with the vast majority settling in the $99-120 range. Of those, I have loved the BPS Carbonlite range, but the latest, a St. Croix Premiere 6' MLF rod is a current favorite. Especially with the Ned rig becoming a staple of mine of late. It fishes it well, in addition to wacky rigging, drop shotting and so forth, all in my wheelhouse of techniques. Though I'm hopeful I'll kick the addiction, I suspect I'll rather succumb to another rod one of these days.

Actually agree with your life-span assessment. I was suggesting a shorter time if there was a confidence issue, but that shouldn't be the case.