Bass fishing is expensive in more ways than one. But one thing is inevitable: you’re going to lose something of value at some point while fishing in a bass boat. It’s like if you’re a motorcycle rider, it’s not if you’re going to have a wreck, but when.
Over my many years of being on the water, I’ve lost several items that I wish I could get back. Today, we all have cell phones as one of our prized possessions. So, it won’t surprise anyone that I have lost one over the side of the boat.
While fishing on Red River early one morning, I had a phone call. Scrambling to get my flip phone out of my pocket, I literally flipped it over the side of the boat and into 15 feet of water.
At first, panic ran through my brain and major anxiety set in as to “what am I going to do now?” After looking at my depth finder and watching my phone fall to the bottom of the river, I knew there was no retrieving this device.
Phoneless and totally out of touch with the rest of the world temporarily, as the day went on it was kind of refreshing and nice to not have a phone, to not be at someone’s beck and call at a moment’s notice. After I accepted the fact that my phone was gone, I actually enjoyed my entire day of fishing with no interruptions!
Another item that every bass fisherman has lost at some point is one of his good rods and reels. Once again, it’s not if you’ll lose a rod and reel, but when. I’ve lost at least three rod and reel combos over the years — two in one day while fishing as a co-angler on Lake Sam Rayburn.
The boater/pro I drew-out, back in 2004, had no rod tie downs on his boat for me to secure my rods. Sam Rayburn is known for high winds, which produce rough rides, and if you don’t have your gear tied down, something will end up in the lake.
That day I had two brand new Bass Pro Shop’s Johnny Morris combos that probably cost $250 each. After making a long rough run across the lake late that day, we stopped to fish. I started counting my rods and realized two were missing. A total of $500 worth of rods and reels were now sitting on the bottom of Sam Rayburn, all because the boat I was in had no rod tie downs!
This past year on Lake of the Pines in East Texas, I was fishing in 5-6 feet of water flipping a boat dock. As I got a bite, I set the hook on a solid four-pound bass. Well, all due to my fault, I had a couple of rods hanging out over the water, and while I was fighting this fish to get him into the boat, my line caught the end of one of my really nice Daiwa combos,valued at $500, and jerked it off the deck and into the lake.
As I was landing the four-pound bass, I made a mental note of where I thought the rod went over. Once the fish was weighed and placed in the live well, I began the search for the Daiwa combo by fan casting the area with a crankbait hoping to snag it. But after wasting 30 minutes of my tournament day, I just gave up on trying to find it.
One other thing that is inevitable while fishing is losing your favorite hat! I can’t even count how many hats I have lost while running across the lake or up the river. Towels are another item that seem to disappear along the way. Some anglers have what they call their “lucky hat” or even their “lucky towel,” and losing either one can cause a full-blown emotional breakdown!
So, as you can see, bass fishing can be an adventure. On top of possible damage to your boat every time you go fishing, there are all these other things that can make your trip expensive. Hopefully, none of this will ever happen to you!
Oh, there is one more thing you can also count on if you’re a bass fisherman; it’s not a matter of if you’ll fall in the lake, but when.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com