1st lost fishing rod in almost 30 years

Well, I have to admit I’ve calmed way down, as I was on a major tantrum when it happened. Still ticked off on how quick it happens.

About 11pm casting cranks to a rock pile. Under a full moon, the walleye bite was very soft. Had another walleye just barely hooked and went to slip the landing net under it. With my headlamp shining on a small eye and the net in the water, all hell erupted. A musky inhaled the eye just a couple feet from the boat and ripped the rid out of my hand. Spent the next half hour fan casting the area, only to come up empty. Almost $600 and I didn’t even get a good look and that freak’n thief.

So, for those that have lost rods from your boat, I now understand how easy it can happen

Well,at least you have a great story!
Never lost one myself but watched as my buddy was a little too slow while in a wheel house on lotw.i watched it bend over in the holder and then POP! It flipped and down it went! I laughed, my buddy didn’t

Ugh, I fully understand your pain. I once lost about $1500 in 2 seconds one morning. Running across a lake in a rain storm a gust of wind grabbed the net I had laying on the front deck, as it went flying across the bow the netting tangled in the handles of three of the 5 rods I had setting on the deck. Before I could pull back on the throttle everything was gone, in 60feet of water. This was years before I had side imaging and gps to mark the location.

I now remember to strap everything down on any kind of high speed run.

Only lost one rod at the hands of a novice guest but my lost net count just keeps climbing.

Lost 1 last year too. $500-$600 gone.!

I caught one a few years ago that a guy had just lost a few hours earlier. Luckily it had his name on it, so I was able to get it back to him. Hopefully karma will be on your side and if someone does snag it they will have seen this and you will get it back.

Wait……….. Muskies eat walleye?

Dropped one in the lake years ago, marked it with a bobber, went to the town drugstore, bought a mask, dove in and got my rig back. That approach for many reasons would not have worked for you in your situation.

Man that hurts! I’m gonna tell myself that this is a great reason I don’t need a $600 rod — especially not in my $700 boat

Cool story despite the bummer.

I had a carp pull my Zebco 33 in.

It has to be worth more than that with the new springs on the trailer.

pool2fool wrote:

Man that hurts! I’m gonna tell myself that this is a great reason I don’t need a $600 rod — especially not in my $700 boat

Cool story despite the bummer.

$600. Holy crap. What were you using for bait? Your wallet?

mojogunter wrote:

It has to be worth more than that with the new springs on the trailer

it’s worth a whole lot more to me cuz its MINE and it gets me on the water a couple times a week!

riverruns wrote:

$600. Holy crap. What were you using for bait? Your wallet?

Just about feels like it.
Rod = $249
Reel = $269.
Braid $18
Yozuri crank 8.00
Sales tax $29.xx
Dam, it hurts

Randy Wieland wrote:

So, for those that have lost rods from your boat, I now understand how easy it can happen

It is a cool story but certainly not worth losing a nice rig for. A few years back I was fishing the Upper Mississippi in my Jon Boat when it swung around and brushed a dock. A few minutes later I reached for my St. Croix Legend with a Shimano Chronarch and it wasn’t there. Suspected it was knocked off by the dock. I dragged heavy weights in the 12 foot hole but nothing. Went to Denver the next day and on the way home stopped at Bass Pro and bought the largest treble hooks they had, 12/0’s. Next I took a 3 foot 1/2 inch threaded rod and made a crude grappling device with the trebles on the end of various length chains attached to the rod. Went back the following Saturday and dragged the area with little luck. On what I decided was my last drag before I kissed it goodbye, up comes the rod, one of the hooks caught an eyelet as the line was not tied to anything. The reel was full of sand so I sent it back to Shimano and it came back good as new. I think my homemade device costs about $20, best $20 I’ve spent!

That will happen

The kids and I were ice fishing Upper Red this last winter. We were doing pretty well one afternoon, when I was helping my oldest son unhooking a walleye. I set my fenwick elite tec/pflueger president on the table. The lure was 1/2 way down in 12 fow. When a fish whacked my jig and down the hole it went before I could get to it. The boys learned a few new phrases and words. About an hour later I was reeling up another walleye and the line wrapped around the line of the pole I lost. The fish was still on it! The kids still laugh about it. Guess it’s pretty funny now, but I was not laughing when it happened.

LOL! I had a happy ending except for the little embarrassment.

I needed a short section of video to complete a video presentation on catfishing. I dropped the boat into the water and motored over to the day marker above the Trimbelle and anchored. Set the camera on the tripod and when to the back to record. A pleasure boat came by and I thought I could add a short section about watching for large wakes…. yup, turned just in time to see the feet of the tripod going over the side of the boat.

I marked a Man Overboard spot on the GPS and put a treble on my brand new Team Catfish Prototype rod and started dragging the area. Felt a snag and gave the rod a quick but light snap and the rod tip broke.

The good thing was that my insurance with Woods and Waters covered the $1000.00 camera and that prototype never made it to market.

I often wonder if that camera/tripod is still down there.

Good friend of mine lost a Legend Tournament with an Arbor this spring on P4…He was fighting a fish, trolling motor kicked on and his second line got sucked in…It all happened so fast that I wasn’t sure what actually happened until I heard him curse more than Steve Martin trying to rent a car…

Of all my lost and broken stories it’s always lesson in stupidity. None worse than setting down a brand new fly reel next to the vehicle in Alaska. Drove away without it, figured it out about 4 hours later but someone else got a Christmas present. Didn’t have another fly reel and 9 days left on the trip. Bought an ugly stik and a reel in a grocery store as a replacement.

What I wouldn’t have given that day to say it was a monster fish that stole my stuff

Haven’t lost a rod yet

Just thought I’d go ahead and jinx myself for the heck of it

I have lost two – one open water fishing MANY years ago in the Ozarks in MO. Had a pole laid out on the beck and fishing another when waves come by and my pool goes in. I marked the spot on a tree on shore, went by for my nephews mask. Went I went down, I first saw my lure floating so I followed the line down to the pole. Grandson has that pole now.

Lost one down a hole ice fishing last year. We could spot it on the camera but could not get it hooked as it “swam” off to the side on its way down.

patk wrote:

Of all my lost and broken stories it’s always lesson in stupidity. None worse than setting down a brand new fly reel next to the vehicle in Alaska. Drove away without it, figured it out about 4 hours later but someone else got a Christmas present. Didn’t have another fly reel and 9 days left on the trip. Bought an ugly stik and a reel in a grocery store as a replacement.

What I wouldn’t have given that day to say it was a monster fish that stole my stuff

I had a similar story of stupidity. Placed a $600+ steelhead rig on top of the truck. Out of site out of mind. Realized the mistake once I was already down the road. Combed the landing and ditch but came up empty. Felt pretty sick about it for quite some time.

I set a trolling combo on top of my Bimini top 2 years ago (still don’t know why I did that) as I went to grab a cold soda. I actually felt the wind before I heard the set-up side off as the Bimini billowed from the wind.

I mean really, how mad can you be at yourself when you do something that dumb?

Brian Klawitter wrote:

LOL! I had a happy ending except for the little embarrassment

No one is going to touch that one?

Yeah, probably too obvious.

I know the feeling. The first time was on Lake Pepin. We were chasing the gulls and long casting to white bass. There was a chop on the water and I set my rod with a white jig down and started to rig another hoping to find a better lure. A moment later I heard the sickening “sploosh” and turned my head only to see a slight splash as my St. Croix Avid and reel disappeared. The jig was in the water and a white bass grabbed it. Duh!!! The second time was on a wing dam on pool 6. I snagged my crankbait good on the dam, so I let out a long belly of line and started working a jig on another rod. Then I decided to leave the spot and forgot about the snagged crankbait. I was a good 150 yards up the river when I realized it was gone. Both incredibly stupid on my part!

I’ve lost plenty of rods, both in the boat and through the ice, kicked in and yanked in by a fish. Thankfully, I’ve been able to snag/retrieve all of them but one cheap ice combo. Now about the iPod and the phones and the sunglasses, not so lucky on those…

My kid has lost 2 Cars fishing kids combos in Pool 4. He is 4 so I guess I’ll let it slide. I did have one of those crazy saltwater fish try to steal one of my favorite spinning combos down in Florida. I was helping my son and just set it down on the dock. Then something grabbed the line and took off. Apparently the hook didn’t get set though cause I was able to retrieve it about 20 ft from shore. Apparently kids are expensive.

Oh dear. That sounds fun Randy! All of my lost rods are not that exciting.
Catfish ripping the base of the rod holder from the boat taking it all for a ride to the deep.
Pike steeling an ice fishing rod while by buddy laughs as it slips down the hole.
Running bigger waves and watching two very expensive combos fly overboard.

Had many people break rods, broken a few myself and have yet to lose a net but have come very close on a few occasions.

All fun and games until someone loses a rod!!

With all the rods lost in P 4, I would think we all would be coming home with an extra rod or a video camera.

I know someone that only lost his sunglasses when he made the mistake of standing up in the boat in a wood filled run. It could have been worse.