What have you lost overboard?

[JasonMN]

Keeping in theme with the other cabin fever questions...what items have you accidently dropped overboard? I have only lost a 1/2 dozen hats and a 1/2 dozen pairs of sunglasses, nothing out of the ordinary. I have however heard stories of rods/reels, anchors, cell phones, kickers, and trolling motors ending up on the lake bottom. What is your story?

[mbrandt]

Jason,
Over the years, I have lost 2 pairs of eyeglasses. One was in the case on my console as I was wearing my sun glasses. I was tooling down the lake when all of a sudden the case and everything blew out. Since then, my glasses or sunglassess, depending on which I am wearing, stay in the glove box.
The second time, I was actually wearing my glassess and turned my head. I was at full throttle heading into a very strong wind. The wind caught the lenses just right and they also blew off me head into the lake. Now I wear them on a cord. LOL

Mark

[gilly8000]

Last winter while ice fishing i managed to drop our boom box down the hole. The funny part was we could actually hear it playing as it was falling to the bottom.

[Big Laker]

I lost my dog Murphy (a blind 10 year old springer) over the side. I was landing a fish off the bow, while Murphy was exploring the back of the boat. All of a sudden I heard a big splash. Ole Murph must have lost track of where he was and stepped off the back of the boat. Landing him was not as easy as you might think, he kind of liked it in the water. He's still my best fishin buddy.

[Sunshine]

Over the years I have accidently dropped overboard:

1/2 dozen hats
2 sunglasses
1 pair of eye glasses
2 rods/reels, I need to learn to lock down rod holders
1 anchor
1 secret map of lake of the woods, unreplaceable!
1 beckman musky net, ouch

BUT..........

I have caught:

1 anchor
3 rod and reel combo's
1 hat

and a fish stringer with 3 live walleyes attached.

[Schnauzer]

I've managed to lose an anchor and a brand new Rod/reel - basically on the same spot (7 months apart).

My wife also lost a sentimental "boat hat". A big gust of wind took it while we were anchored on Tonka. It was full of pins and trinkets so it sank like a rock.

[ufda]

Yeah, I not only wear a string on my glasses, but also have a corded clip between my fishing hat and my collar. Have lost both before. But, most embarassing losses were fishing rods. Leaned one up on one side of the boat, went to cast off other side and hooked tip of first rod and flung it over board. Amazing this was, got it back the next day. My fishing partners son was casting a spoon and hooked the 1 foot of line between the rod tip and a Plummers floating frog while the rod was lying on the bottom. Got all excited thinking he had a fish and reeled in my rod. The other one I never got back. Cast out a grub and laid the casting rod in my lap as I went to light a cigar. I was sitting on a raised seat in front of my Crestiiner Sprotfish. Fish nailed the grub, yanking the rod off my lap and into the lake. I grabbed for it and missed. Bearing the other recovery in mind, my fishing parner and I dragged spoons on the bottom, but no luck. Course my partners laughing didn't help. Oh well, 60 years of fishing and only two rods lost isn't too bad, just embarassing. And I could tell by the way he yanked that bass was a world's record!!!! ;-)

[gonfishn95@aol.com]

1-Genesis Bow mount, Big Stone MWC Last year came off go splash.
2-Partners where abouts somewhere lake michigan (just kiddin).
And I am sure countless items over the years that just blew out.
Larry Dawson NPAA #273

[Mckoz]

I've watched several hats, sunglasses, 1 pair of prescription polarized sun glasses and several pliers take the swim.

I bought my son a pager to let him know when it was time to come in - that lasted less than one day before it found 85' - still scratchin my head over that one.

This is gonna be a long post!

[Backwater Eddy]

There is one particular incident that to this very day makes my blood curdle, just to think about.

I saved up to get a prescription pair of Costa Del Mar polarized "Havana" sun glass's. Like close to $300 all said and done right, very cool.

Well day one after picking them up from the shop, off to the Red I go.

Things to do, client and I get all set up on a spot and had things all running smoothly. Even a little time to kill, so I thought, "Hay lets break out the new glass's and give these baby's a whirl!"

Show off the new specks eh, going to look cool Yep-Yep, I just know it.

Opened the case and see they had some goofy sticker on the left lens, so I peal it off, no problem.

Hay so now I see there is some sticky dang glue junk on the lens, better wash that stuff off and wipe it spotlessly clean with this nifty no scratch cool type cloth they provided, no problem Eh.

I got it all covered, I am cool, oh joy.

Go to dip the glass's in the water, cloth in one hand, glass's in the other and "WHAM", big cat whacks a rod sending in my direction airborne.

Instinctively I grab for the rod so not to see it splash into the Red, that is never cool to see ya know.

Meanwhile temporarily forgetting, the new never been wore $300 (UNINSURED) fancy Coasta Del Mar glass's of my dreams, were in my hand.

You guessed it, they sail into the Red River, never to be seen again.

I catch the rod in mid air only to see the wake of my new specks disappear down stream.

Client says to me, "Wo...Nice catch Ed!"

:O

I could have puked!

I still may?

:O

So I wore my scratched up pair of $7.50 Sta-Mart brand kinda sorta polarized sun glass's the rest of the season. By coincidence they fit nicely in my new spare glass case, oh joy.


Backwater Eddy ~ ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

[The Great Guide]

Hats
Nets
Box of lead of all sizes
Life Jacket
Cooler
And worse of all 5HP Johnson Motor. I put it on the back of a boat, got in a hurry and forgot to tighten it. Drove about 5 miles down the lake when I stopped the wake rose up and there went my motor. Fortunately the wind was blowing the right direction.

TGG

[Hawgeye]

When I started thinking about the things that flipped over the edge, the usual stuff came to mind, then I read about the blind Springer going overboard.

That tweaked my memory about when my Springer was just a pup. We were out for a boat ride for the first time together and she was up leaning over the bow and sticking her face up and out into the wind like dogs tend to do. We caught the wake of another boat and "fwoooop" catapulted right over the bow at about 25MPH. Needless to say, I was not ready to already part with my new companion and I killed the motor immediately. I look back about 50 feet behind the boat and there was her head sticking up and her two front feet paddling frantically toward the boat. That was a sight that I will never forget. She had never been in the water before and swimming was not quite natural yet. Her paws would come out of the water and splash each stroke. That was one of the most releiving and hillarious sights I have ever seen. I retreived her from the water and she had a look on her face of embarassment. I know some say that dogs cannot show emotions with facial expressions, but they do have eyebrows, beleive me, she was embarrassed, a little shaken but unhurt.

She has been my fishing companion for 10 years now and has never leaned over the bow since, now she just leans out over the gunnel with her back feet firmly planted on the deck!

[1fife]

does myself count?

i dropped a pole overbaord and reached for it and fell in :)

[Peanut]

Fortunately, I've never lost anything of great value over the edge. As always, several baseball caps have gone down, I think a seat towel has blown out.

A little more interesting - one night we were fishing, caught the first, put it on a stringer, but didn't connect the stringer to anything. We threw the perch in the water, and he/she just swam away, stringer and all.

On a similar note - caught a small pike, as usual it swallowed the hook up to its a$$hole, so I grabbed a pair of spreaders to assist. Got the hook out, and wanted him to get back in the water quick, so I tossed him over - with spreaders still firmly in place. Felt bad for the little bugger - still do.

As for canines, I have a border collie that jumps out of my boat, on purpose. Anytime he's bored or hot and we're not going too fast - bloonk - there he goes. He swims around for a couple of minutes, then swims back up alongside the boat waiting for a lift back in. I must look like a goof from shore trying to arm-lift a soaking big black dog back into the boat....

derrek.

CANADIAN WALLEYE OPEN UP AND SAY "EH"!

[Jason]

Of course I've lost the usual stuff but this one is about the one that didn't get away! I was deadsticking 2 rods. The first was on its way down and I readied the other to cast. When I flung the second out the first started to get drug in. Of course I had the rod "strategically " placed in case of just such senario - So I wasn't too excited. Not until I saw the rod jump up over the gunnel and teeter as if saying goodbye. I dropped the rod in my hand and dove for the one about to take a swim. The rod actually fell in and was about a foot under. I wasn't letting it go that easily! I lunged for it and caught the very end of the butt. Now my head and shoulders are under and I can't reach the side to get back up! !$%# if I was lettin' go of the rod. I finally bobbed up and reeled the fish in (3lb bass). My cap was floating away but besides that I was OK. Of course while reeling the fish in I was looking around to see how many people saw. I sat down and took a breath(after getting the hat back). I did end up losing a pager in the ordeal but it was the company's. Way to go dumb #####.

[Art/Co]

My Wife,

At the time we were just going out at the time. I lived in Illinois,she..in Colorado. I took her on a trip to Door County Wis. Up on Washington Island.Went fishing for smallies in the bay and ran out of bait. As we went in to the marina I told her to jump out when we got to the dock. So we pulled up to the dock I didn't seee the need to tie up I said Terri go grab some crawlers form the store and as I turned away from the dock I hear this splash as I turn around I see Terri's head pop out of the water with sunglass still on and a cigarette butt hanging from here mouth. Only problem was the marina we were at was not the one where we launched from. After a three mile run across the bay she was frozen solid.What a trooper ...She did't hold it against me though...married for three years in July.life is good.

Art

[DarrenB]

Great topic. I don't feel so embarrassed now.

Other than a Blackhawks cap, I'd been pretty lucky all these years. Finally my luck ran out when a buddy of mine knocked my brand new musky combo overboard while we were fishing Corner Lake in Ontario, and how he managed to do this was a pretty good trick on its own.
He was in the front forward-casting a spoon for northerns, and I was in the back and had just leaned my rod up against the inside of the boat. Somehow, on the backswing of his cast he unknowingly managed to snag my rod in the perfect spot(the cork handle), without getting himself tangled up with my rod. How in the world he did this astounds me, as we all know what a connected and tangled mess you'll get if you cross two rods in a boat.
Lo and behold on the swing of his cast he launches my setup into the
lake about 5 feet off to the right, and the thing sank like a rock. Before I could grab the net and reach out to try and grab it, the thing was already sinking underwater. Tried dragging the area but were unable to come up with it.

[Dutchman]

An ex-wife, should of left her there.

" Fishing is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope "

[wawajake]

Besides the 4 or 5 pairs of pliers my most embarrasing was a few years back on a annual last weekend in September fishing trip with guys from work (French River in Ontario) First evening I help by being in a boat of rookie guys that came to drink and fishing was bonus.
We were "still fishing" with jigs and one of them gets his first fish ever and I try to net it while my buddy goes wild with excitement. I put down my rod with my bait still on river bottom . Five minutes later look back , my rod is gone to bottom of river. Well we are far from any shoppping so I figure I got to go diving after we could not snag it. Well I strip down to my knickers and dive into the freezing water (frost the night before)
The five other boats in our party laughing away. No luck finding it either 20 ft deep !!. Fortunately one of my buddies decided to concentrate on expanding his beer gut for the rest of the trip so I had his rod. Rest of trip was great for walleye and musky and diving stories!!

[gilly8000]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the time when I was a little kid. We were bobber fishing out on Buffalo Bay. My Dad says, "OKBrian, just drop your hook in the water because there's no need to cast". So what do I do, reach way back to cast as hard as I could, snag his glasses and launch them out into the lake. 20 years later, our family still talks about that day, but now we laugh.

[Skillz]

Oakley sunglasses. Supposedly "the best"- can withstand a shotgun blast from point blank range. I bought them about noon for $145.00, went out to the lake and within 2 hours lost them in the lake. Money well spent....

skz

[SnellTier]

Well, now ... let me think.

1. My 85 pound male black lab. He got excited seeing my wife playing (very professionally, I might add) a 25 inch walleye she nailed vertical jigging. I guess he fed on our excitement and got even more excited. Finally, he could not stand it anymore. He jumped in head first trying to grab the walleye with his mouth as he went past it on his way into the water. (He is a DARNED good and HIGHLY MOTIVATED goose and pheasant retriever!!) My wife managed to steer her prize away from the dog while I grabbed the dog's tail to keep him from "helping out" by retrieving the fish. He nearly pulled me in (big, strong boy ... the dog, not me) as she worked the fish to the other side of the boat. I let go of the dog's tail long enough to grab the net and bring in the fish. Then I went to the back of the boat to bring in the dog. He was not happy that I interfered with his retrieve. Yes, dogs do show emotion in their expressions. This one was ... "You idiot, I could have HAD that fish!"

2. My wife's hat. Actually, hatS. Let me see ... 3 of them. I finally started to hand her a 1/2 inch thick bungee cord with 2 huge alligator clips on it every time we have to make a 180 to get one of her hats. She just glares. (And those darn little cords don't work, either ... they just slow her hat down on its way out of the boat!)

3. A $50 engraved Cross pen I have my wife as an anniversary present. She took it out of her purse in the fishing cabin and put it into the boat to make notes on our lake map. When done, she put it back into the map, clipping it to the paper. We were at a smallie spot and had decided to move when she gestured with the map in her hand toward the direction she felt we needed to go. Yup. ZIP!!!!!!! Pen flies up in the air. Being HEAVY, it sank like a 3 ounce bottom bouncer. She looked at me with a stunned look on her face. As I recall, I said something very supportive like "That was the dumbest f****ing thing I have ever seen!" It was quiet in the boat for a long time.

I replaced the pen.

4. This one was not by us, but by a well-respected one-time champ on the PWT. He is a good friend of ours and true gentleman and one of the finest fisherman I have ever seen.

He was vertical jigging with his boat next to ours and set the hook on a good walleye when he lost his footing on fish slime and wet carpeting in the bottom of his boat. He went one way, the rod went the other ... into Lake of the Woods. He was moving like a blur as he grabbed a marker bouy and tossed it in to mark the spot. I would have helped, except both my wife and I were doubled over laughing.

He put this huge grappling hook on a muskie rod and started dragging the bottom. The sunken rig was worth about $250 he told us later. After about 30 minutes he snagged the sunken rod. He brings it to the boat and says ... "Watch this ... I bet this fish is still on ... I had a pretty good hook set!!". My wife and I started laughing again at his optimism. He was right, though. Yup. It was. He landed the fish. Released it, too.



Good topic. Thanks for letting me dig up those old memories.

[Goldpig]

Lost my Guidewear raincoat out of the boat two summers ago. That hurt.

[MN]

Do to some precision anchor work there is now a GPS 45 on the bottom of the Rainy River....

MN

[eye_guide]

This isn't one of the things that have gone over the boat but I think its funny anyway.

Out ice fishing two years ago and sitting with my buddy in a 2 man Clam. It was a Sunday at about 8:30 AM. I had the Aqua-Vu pointed on my buddies line. My buddy likes to have a little shot of Schnapps out there so he reached into his bag and cracks the seal on a brand new bottle. After taking a sip he sets the bottle down next to his foot and no sooner than letting go the bottle tips and slides down a little incline of snow right into the hole. Now, the funniest part of this is when we looked at the camera. That bottle was setting in front of the camera, perfectly centered, label big as day and easily readable. It looked like something out of a commercial. It really bugged my buddy since it was Sunday and he couldn't get anymore until noon.

[nosnoots]

15 hp 4 stroke Mercury off my partners Triton is at the bottom of the Illinois River. Happened day 1 of the MWC tourney 2 years ago.

While fishing in my boat on the St. Louis River in Minnesota 3 years ago, my friend tossed his Loomis in the river while showing off. We got it back. But just for good measure, the next morning he fell off the front of the boat in to the river while struggling with my bow mount. Water temp was about 46. He is only about 155 pounds so I just hoisted him back in the boat. The people in the 50 or so boats around us started clapping all at once. I asked him if he was going to want to go in to get some dry clothes on. He looked at me and growled....."just shut the $#@&^! up and fish Holmes!" Must have still been mad over the 11 pounder he broke off the day prior. Not a good weekend for him. We still sit around the fire and rib him about it!!!

nosnoots

[Chad]

We were heading out in the dark to hunt ducks and I was sitting on the bow shinging my mag lite. For some reason I just let go. Boy, those things shine great underwater. It was too deep to retrieve but it was shining all the way down to the bottom.

[JerryA]

Group of guys went out on a charter on Lake Erie. It was rough and one of the guys got sick. While he was leaning over the side calling for ralph, out flew his partial plate. It floated for about two seconds and then disappeared. Pretty funny until you think about what one of those setups cost and how long it takes to get it to fit right.

Of course, we got up a pot on who would be the one to catch the walleye with those store-bought teeth in his mouth.

[Gilligan]

Far be it from me to tell on Keith, I'll just hope he posts it!

As for myself I've lost 3 anchors, and my lunch on occasion. However... I nearly lost a partner overboard last year in a Lake Erie tournament when Sluggo knocked off an 11#er ($500 big fish pot) Only thing that kept him on board was when I remembered he had the keys to the jeep!

[curt quesnell]

Not overboard but my cellphone went down the hole into Lake of the
Woods 2 weeks ago.....There have been things blown out of the boat
but this hurt the most.

Curt Quesnell

[manitobawalleye]

must be something about springers....
mine has gone off the front many many times...
1 foot on the deck and three on the rail....
just like a pontiac hood ornament...
first time was the worst... ontario opener may long weekend ...
boat load of camping gear right with the wind and water about 45 degrees... i killed the motor and with her pathetic first time swimming the wife was screaming for me to jump in... the dog made it... even with us drifting away... rained all weekend the dog was not impressed... left us by the fire at night and went to sleep on the wood pile...cranky as #####
she is far smarter now... 1 trick i did learn was to teach her to swim i used a childs lifejacket on her so she could not paddle in panic mode...
1 other not lost out of the boat... but i had given my cousin a brand new rod right before opener and he got his feet tangled in it climbing into the boat and broke it without ever making 1 cast...
1 more i can't resist... not fishing but bow hunting...
buddy shot a buck before dark and we went back next morning to get him...
he had brought along his bow and was re-inacting the scenario..
on drawing back the string slipped out of his hand and here was his browning compound riser in hand and limbs and and cables wrapped around his wrist like some funky bracelet...
man did i laugh and still do when i think of it... the look on his face... priceless... hahahahahahahahahahahaha
good posts
keep them coming

[TimT]

Lost my favorite Silverado hat. Also an old manual downrigger. It was a rod&reel that had the biggest impact on me, though.

I had just landed an 18# king and had set the lure and put the rod in the holder. Went to the other side of the boat, and was setting one of the lines that we had to clear to land the fish. While setting the line, the pole that we had just caught a fish on started pumping with a screamer on the other end. That plastic rod holder snapped and the rod and reel dove straight into the water like a missile. I thought I was in a Jaws movie and actually got scared. Somehow the boat felt smaller, the waves looked bigger, and shore seemed a lot farther away. Wierd.

[Tracy]

My worst experience occurred at age 17 while on vacation on Drummond Island, Michigan. It was early June and my dad and I had been fishing for Northerns all day. We came in at 5:00 for dinner and heard other guests talking about the Walleye bite earlier in the day. They had all been pulling harnesses in Scott's Bay and several had caught easy limits. We decide to go after dinner. Dad asks me to grab the 5.5 Johnson and put it the Bracket on the transom while he gets dinner going. Full of excitement and the anticipation of pursuing evening Walleyes I jump to the occasion! All of the guests at the resort we were at were on the front lawn lakeside engaged in their evening chats while I am hands full of the 5.5 in the well of the Sylvan. Well the angle of the mounting bracket and the weight of the 5.5 were just about all I could handle. I miss the bracket on the way down with the motor and can't pull it back. In slow motion I am pulled over- board, motor in hand with the whole camp watching. For some reason I could not let go! I follow the 5.5 straight to the bottom, but only after my jeans got caught mid thigh on the bracket. Soaking wet and totally embaressed I climb out of the murk only to realize the 5.5 is still on the bottom. Pants torn from thigh to heel I go back in for the motor. Needless to say our evening of Walleye fishing was over!

The second time I lost myself overboard was on Lake Erie fishing the Wagon Wheel in Canada with my wife. We are out having a great day catching was easy! I re-bait and lean over the side of the Lymann to rinse my hands of worm dirt. Just as I reach the water a wave hits the boat, the boat rocks up into my other arm and knocks my favorite casting rod and reel loose. I can just about reach it as we drift away and it is sinking. Just as I get a hand on it over I go. My wife looks over to see what caused the splash and realizes she is alone! I am fully clothed jeans, sweatshirt and shoes and I am sinking for a rod. I missed it :(. Sure was tough finding my way back to the surface. Even harder getting back to the boat that had drifted about 30' away. Ever try climbing back into a 25' Lymann fully clothed without a ladder!

I have lost 2 other rods to Lake Erie, countless hats, two pairs of sunglasses, but never my wife :) maybe next year!!!

























Tracy
Tracy

[SUPERTROLLER]

He still should have ridden home on the roof rack. Knocking off fish is inexcusable.

[CarpetBagger]

Seems as though everytime something is sacrificed to the fish gods on my boat we end up with a productive day. We've lost 2 Nets during 2 bat attacks. A few nice rod and reel set ups and Countless coffee cups...And this year im sure ill be able to add to the list...

Cb

[water_wolf]

Well lets see. 1 coleman double mantle lantern while crappie fishing ( No this isn't the story where I went back to same spot next year and caught the lantern still lit..lol) 1 Mag Lite. 1 net. And the best of all. Was smallmouth bass fishing with my son 1 day. Caught a decent smallie and my son was jabering to me and had a momentary laps of right brain, left brain. Kept hold of the fish and "released" my needle nose pliers in to the lake. I didnt say a word but my son caught it and asked "did you just throw the pliers in the water?" His smirk was priceless.

Rich

[firebird]

Last summer I bought a new Frabil landing net with an expansion handle. I was bringing in a walleye and my son was getting the net ready. He was extending the handle and the net part went flying out into the lake. It sank faster than we could retrieve it. Got the walleye in the boat though. Hats, anchors, seems to be pretty common.

[Cbellin]

we had been fishing a spot on lake winnebago but the wind was really blowing so we went back to the landing and got another anchor. remembered to bring along more anchor rope too. when we got back to or spot i told dave to drop the anchor of course it was the one with no rope on it

Chris

[FROGMAN]

You can't let a sleeping dog lie can you?!
Last year at the Lake Erie PWT tournament in Dunkirk, NY was out fishing in some, well let's just say "choppy" water. I was running back in to port as they had gone to 5'-6' waves, and fishing was the last thing on my mind. I hear this strange "CLUNK" above the roar of the wind, and outboard so look around to discover my port downrigger missing. Stupid me had failed to secure it properly, and this was the last pre-fish day.....so no downrigger plan for the tourney!!!!

Are you happy now Gilligan???
Hey, if you ever do find let me know OK? Have a great day!
Tight lines everyone.

Keith Segar
NPAA #260

[daver]

175 mariner with transom attached.

[Hawgeye]

OUCH! The motor and the transom!? I call that a "bad" day.

[EricCO]

Hat, link rod, and a diamond ring.

"Hunting 'eyes in the Three-O-Three"

[JasonMN]

Did you get the 175 back?? That would be a beast to haul back up!

[bobnalong]

1. myself: 5-year old daughter had tangled line in lower unit of motor while wife and I and three kids were anchored on mid-lake hump.
I'm kneeling on transom, stretched to the maximum to pass line over
the skeg of the up-tilted motor, and I thoughtlessly leaned (with only
a pound or two of pressure) on the anti-cavitation plate. Motor tilted
vertical immediately. I knew I was past the point of no return and
just ducked my head and rolled in quite smoothly. Kids were puzzled at first, didn't understand why Dad was swimming fully clothed. I
believe this was the occasion I was demoted from godlike superman to
merely human in their eyes.

2. 9.9 hp Mariner. Was running this truly mint condition 9.9 on kicker bracket wide open to evaluate how fast it would get my 19'
Crestliner off Lake Superior in event of failure of main motor.
The 9.9 Mariner was stronger than my kicker bracket. To the bottom in 29'( We were in the shipping channel in the Duluth-Superior harbor).
No luck getting a diver - they don't like the Bay - it's cold, dark
and has current. Dragged a grappling hook for many hours unsuccessfully. Was successful in obtaining a sunburn severe enough to keep me from my job for a couple days. Injury added to insult.

Bob

[Steve(CO)]

Well, beyond the standard hats and glasses (including a $300 pair or prescription glasses- ouch), the funniest was two spinnerbaits. I was in Canada with buddies fishing the backcountry for pike. I pulled a spinnerbait out and got distracted by something; the next thing I do is drop it in the lake. Unfortunately, I had not tied it on. Probably something we all have done, right? My buddies had a good laugh, but that was not the end. As they finished their chortling, I proceeded to remove an identical spinnerbait from my tackle box. You got it, with all the humor and comments, probably somebody catching a fish in between, I did the exact same thing. I dropped it in the lake, forgetting to tie this one on too! You can imagine that I have never heard the end of this.

[OrangeBarrel]

My partner & I were fishing a tournament. He has a Champion 194 and we were screaming across Lake Butte des Morts. We get to our spot, set up for trolling and kick back. I start to get a little hungry so I went to grab IGLOO Lunch box. The bigger one that you could a 15-20# turkey in. It is nowhere to be seen. I looked at my partner and asked, alright, where did you put it. He had no idea what I was talking about. Than we realized it got sucked out somewhere on the lake. And than to add insult to injury, he wouldn't shut up. He just kept laughing while eating HIS lunch.

Most expensive - 1995 Yamaha 9.9 4-stroke in Lake Winnebago during the FLEET FARM tourney a couple years ago.

plus a couple rods and reels.

[daver]

Was 28 miles off shore in heavy sea, when my boat and transom came apart, the 175 was hanging by the steering cables. After being towed
in we used a tractor loader and lifted the 175 into the back of what was left of the boat...

Very bad day, hope to never do a repeat.

[hammertime]

reading these remind me of a fishing trip with a friend years ago, , he caught his first 5lb+ smallmouth bass in a body of water that thats a one of a life time. he put it on a stringer and every once in a while he would pull it out of the water to look at with pride. then he went to pull it out again and it was'nt there. of coarse he asked me what i did with his fish ! he stood up arguing with me about that missing fish and turned around to find his brand new first time using it pole was gone, while he was looking at me asking about his missing fish stringer, his pole was pulled out of the boat either by another fish or grabed the bottom. he was running around the boat screaming like a wild man he was so mad. i really dont know what happened to either one but my belly was hurting real bad from laughing at his bad luck. then to top it off that day, when we got back to the boat launch that day, he went to sit on the side of the boat and slipped and fell into the river ! still laugh at him for that day from time to time.

[Scott Richardson]

My cell phone sleeps with the fishes as of two weeks ago. Went right down the hole. Heard a plop and looked to see it disappear into the darkness below.

Scott Richardson

[eyewitness]

Did you GPS the spot? Sounds like a good excuse to buy a good underwater camara to me!:)

[dkooser]

Two stories to share:
1) Took the wife and young kids fishing at Pueblo a few years back. At the time, before Lasik surgery, I wore expensive prescription sunglasses. Baited one of the kids poles and handed it to him. He walks to the other side of the boat and drops the rod into the water. I quickly spin around to see the $30.00 outfit sinking to the bottom. Being a quick (but not always correct) thinker, I dive in head first, arms stretched out, fingers wide open trying to catch the rod before it goes out of sight...caught it. Climbed back in the boat as the kids were telling me how impressed they were with my cat like reflexes, Superman like agility and brave decision to save one of their poles. About that time I realize how bright the sun is and reach for my sunglasses...gone. The positive is that I saved a $30 kids rod and reel, the negative - I had to spend another $150 on prescription sunglasses.

2) At Lake Powell, 15 miles from the closest marina. Had my Crestliner tied to the back of the houseboat. Tied tight enough so that only the bumper bouys fit between the two boats (were talking like 8 inches here guys). I ask the other father (two families vacationing together) to get me my boat keys as we were headed out to go skiing. He grabs the keys and tosses them to me. Now, I have a floation device on my keys but through time and adding additional keys to the ring it sinks at a slow/medium rate. I miss the keys and watch them drop into the water between the two boats. S....L....O....W....L....Y they start to sink to the bottom (probably 50 feet deep). I dive over the rail of the houseboat thinking I can somehow perform one of those "pull a fat guy through a straw tricks". Remember from the above story, "I'm a quick (but not always correct) thinker? Well here we go again. In mid air, above the two boats I turn my upper body sideways and pinball from houseboat to Crestliner and back until my hips get caught between the boats (those ##### hips, forgot about those things and how they tend to "follow" me around). So, there I am head and upper torso in the water, feet and legs straight up in the air, reaching to grab the keys before they sink. Got the keys and a few bruises. Also gave another pair of expensive prescription sunglasses scuba lessons.

[The Smalleye]

I lost 2 boat fenders in Lake erie last summer with a strong south wind they were blown out to sea before i new the were gone of the boat.

[Gilligan]

I take it with your footnote you are involved in highway construction.

I lost my cousin last fall when a runaway truck killed 5 workers in SW Pa. Sad day, really got my attention and gave me much more (and needed) patience traveling through construction areas.

[Walteye]

How many hats did I used to own?
1 rod and reel( I have since learned how to cast and hold on to my equipment)
3 Anchors (I really seem to have a problem here)
1 Drift sock
2 Spool tensioner caps for level wind reels
1 Drag adjustment knob for a spinning reel
rags by the score
1 tackle box of lures (approx. value $500) This one hurt....

Thank you for reminding me of what a goof I am at times!!

[Gilligan]

Actually Sluggo is a good net man but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick on him. We were in 4'ers and he was hanging off the back of the boat and took a quick stab at her as she wasn't well hooked and could have popped off at any time. Besides, it was his jeep!

[s.f.]

i live on mille lacs as some of you might know. in over 35 years of guiding on the big puddle, i or someone in my boat has dropped a couple dozen rods overboard. got 'em all back too. but one time stands out. a guiding client, back in '73, dropped a rod over the side on the nw corner of the backer flat. of course, not many beings fished on those spots back then.(especially five miles out). you could count the boats on one hand for the whole season on that spot back then. anyway... i threw a marker on the rod and decided to fish for it that evening after "work". as usual, i hooked the rod on the first pass...or so i thought. lo and behold, i caught a rod all right. but it wasn't the one we left there earlier in the day. it was dropped there by someone else, by the looks of it, the year before. no big deal right? or is it hard to believe we dropped a rod on top of a rod in that BIG lake in the days when boats weren't very common? i sure wish the lottery tickets would have been on sale back then. i woulda bought a bundle that day!

#49

[SUPERTROLLER]

I'm not trying to start any arguments here but who was the manufacturer of that boat and was it fixed under any kind of warranty?
(Please do not start dumping on any brand names of boats. I'm simply asking daver a question.)

[Upnorthwalleye]

Well it didn't go "overboard"-but "off the truck"----Was helping a buddy install his X-15 on his boat--Brought my GPS 12 Map(paid 350.00 for it)----Well, after entering cords. and such, I put my GPS on the back of his truck and forgot about it----Needless to say, the next day He drove to work in that truck and it's now gone-----Wife was not very happy!----Nor was I----Just glad that I had saved all my cors. on my home P.C. or they would have been lost also------Ray

[Bobby]

TOP THIS...

I've lost rod/reel combo, sunglasses, anchor, girlfriend (retrieved!)...

BUT, I went ice fishing last winter, set up my shack, and drilled 3 holes in a row inside. I was drilling away at the last hole, in between the first two holes. The ice was thick and I began to hunch over as the gas auger drilled down deep. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I say my portable radio come out of my jacket chest-pocket and plop into the open hole beside where I was drilling. Gone. Three months later, while fishing in a boat, my replacement radio slipped out of my hands and out the boat. Gone.

The clincher is that these were work radios that I'd brought along just to keep in communication with the other fellows here at work in the isolated northern Manitoba community where I live and work. AND, they cost (and I'm not kidding here one bit) nearly twenty-thousand dollars APIECE. And, NO, my boss wasn't happy. Luckily, I didn't have to pay for them.

[luckyketch]

First day of ice fishing last year dropped a brand new coleman northstar lantern down the hole, snagged it back up and tried to light it about an hour later, believe it or not it lit without changing the mantle. Strangest thing i ever caught while fishing was a 12# lake trout with a boy scout knife in its stomach. Somebody must have dropped it in and it hit it on the way down.

[MIke2]

Hey Daver - That wouldn't have been on Green Bay during an MWC tourney??

[Prchjerker]

Dude,
Loomis in the River!!!! Heeeeeee

[s.f.]

another rod lost...and found story.
i was about 10 years old, fishing off the dock. the old man always preached, if i leave the dock, make sure the rod is stuck into the homemade holder. well, i din't listen well those days...still don't these days... anyway, i come back and the rod is gone! i waded out and looked all over and never found it. so i caught #####, on and off, for years 'bout that one. so about 15-18 years later, we're fishin' about a 1/4 mile out from shore and a quarter mile to the west from our dock and my dad hooks into somethin' big but dead feelin'.figured it was a rod by the feel as he pulled in the line. sure enough, he had a good feel for things. it was a rod...the same rod i lost off the dock many years before. pretty bad shape to say the least. and you guess it! i caught ##### again for not puttin' the dang thing in the holder.

#49

[Targa 18]

The down rigger thing reminds me of when i went out on lake mich with my buddy on his boat got to the boat launch and started to set up stuff iasked where he put his other down rigger he said it was on there.Wrong it had fallen off on the way up i still wonder if anyone found it on the highway.And if it was any good comeing off at 70 miles an hour!!!!!

[steve dover]

A net with a large salmon in it, followed by a pole and reel, followed by myself....During a salmon derby I stretched too far out of back of boat to net a large salmon and fell into lake ontario with the net with the fish in it in my left hand and my pole in my right hand....my wife who had been in the front of the boat ran to the back and tried to grab me to keep me from continuing by descent to the bottom of the lake.....I yelled at her (as only a husband can regretably do at times) to let go of me and grab the net and fish first and then the pole and reel . I then ppulled myself back in

[MarkG]

I lost the biggest Walleye I ever caught before getting a picture!
Had him in the boat ,off the hook,and measured, was getting into position for my partner to snap some pictures. My partner turned his back for a moment to walk to the back of the boat to get a better position,turned towards me and said wheres the fish???!!! He had muscled his way out of my hands,bounced on the gunwhale ,and back into the lake. Lots of people dont believe it when I tell it now,but then realize it must be true.Who would deliberatly make up such an embarrassing story? Of course when asked how big was it,I cant actually remember now,cuz the fish does seem to get a little bigger every time I tell it.

[Fuzzy]

Several pairs of pliers
Line Clippers
Lake maps
Nets
Rods/Reels
Crankbaits, various tackle
PFD's, hats, jackets, shirts
Shoes
Sandwiches - various beverages
Myself (in 1988 I fell out of 3 different boats on 3 different lakes in 3 consecutive months-all stone sober)

On the first day of my honeymoon on a canadian fly-in - I returned to the cabin porch after securing gear in a sudden thunder/hail storm - I shook the rain water off my rain jacket by flailing my arms(you know the move) I removed the jacket only to realize that my brand new wedding ring was not on my finger. It flew off during the flailing arm thing and the hard rain and hail covered all sound - my new bride was standing in front of me when it happened. I searched for it frantically all week...looking under the decking, in shore rock grags, everywhere in the vacinty. No luck. The last day out it rained again so we put the raingear on after breakfast. When my wife lifted her jacket hood she heard a 'ping' on the floor. My ring flew off my hand and landed in her hood! - No Sh**! We have a good laugh now and again about that. She was very good about the whole thing while it was missing. I was more upset than she was.

[OrangeBarrel]

I am the man that sets up all the Signs & barricades for the construction workers. I've been doing it almost all my life. Sorry to hear about your loss. It is painful to learn lessons on safety like that. I always tell people to think about someone they know may be working in there.

[s.f.]

obviously, when a person loses something overboard, you hope to quickly retrieve it. well, not always is that the best move...
one windy rough day on my mille lacs charter boat, my wife was fishing over the bow of the boat, sittin' with her legs draped over the bow, outside the hull. next thing i know, she ain't there! now, i'm trolling forward. the boat is crashing up and down in the big rollers. sure enough...out from under the boat she pops. beer bottle still in hand. biggest mistake i made was get the dock hook out and pull her back in...soon after she became ex-wife and has haunted me ever since! shoulda left her for the muskies...

#49

[JBL]

Lost a $500, solid gold mens bracelet down a ice hole. It was a gift from my fiancee, (now wife) explaining that one was tough, believe me. Just in case, I now leave my wedding ring at home when I go fishing.

[RK]

Have lost the usual assortment of odds and ends over the years, including at least one set of car keys.

Oddest one though was a guide client of mine - elderly gentleman, and a super guy - on a lake near Walker MN. We were jigging a point, and he'd just released a very nice fish over the side when I heard a *plop* and an 'ohhh no.' I asked if he'd dropped something in. "Mmmhmm." So I asked what he'd dropped in. (guessing hook-outs or at worst a pair of sunglasses). His answer:

"My teef."

He'd been grinning so wide at the walleye, his dentures fell in the drink.

More than ten years ago now and I still laugh every time I think about it...

Cheers,
RK

[W'eyes Guy]

Two years ago, fishing the Merc. Nationals on Lake Winnebago; my partner and I took off in his boat for the long run north. We had some pretty big chop on the water, and were taking a better than average beating. When we arrived at our fishing destination, he went to the bow of the boat as is usually the routine, and I to the back. As I was setting up, I noticed his brand new (never been wet) transom mount trolling motor was gone. I,not sure if he had forgotten to mount it, asked, "where's the trolling motor?" His only reply was "I don't want to talk about it". This was not a good tourney, since we also found out we had cracked the hull as well, and were not able to fish the second day.

#610

[fastbass]

Have had two of my rods pulled in when other people were fishing with them, and nearly lost one when I was using it.

On a non-fishing canoe trip (many beers) on the Illinois River (the one in Oklahoma) my girlfriend lost her sunglasses in a 12 foot deep hole, probably the deepest spot on the river. My buddy and I, thinking it was time to impress the ladies, dove in to find them. Dave came up with a pair of sunglasses, but they weren't hers. We kept looking. I found another pair of sunglasses, but they weren't hers either. We kept looking and I found a third pair that someone else had lost. After that we looked for another half hour but never found her pair.

On a trip in NW Ontario, my two brothers and I were having a terriffic day catching walleye. It was a rare moment when we went more than two minutes without catching a fish. We stopped keeping fish one short of each of our limits, so we could keep fishing. When it was time to go, my brother picks up what's left of our chain stringer. One hook, with one fish. Somewhere in that lake were a bunch of nice walleye, swimming around hooked together. We laughed for an hour thinking of the fish story someone could tell when they caught that one.

[Backlash]

Great stories here - and a lot of good entertainment. My story took place on a charter boat off the coast of Puerto Vallarta. We were two Canadians, one American and a Mexican crew of three and out for the day of Deep Sea fishing in the Marietta Islands.

Tons of fish out there and we always had one on and playing it. One of the fellows was handling a big fish on one side of the boat and I was on the other side reeling in a smaller one. Fish don't fight fair and the ##### things began to cross each other's lines. So we did what we had been doing, trading off the rods so lines wouldn't tangle. My buddy missed the handoff and the rod I handed him went over the side - with a fish still on it.

The captain was watching from the flybridge and he yelled "Manny! GO". Young Manny, a Mexican kid about 20 years old or so, dove right in after it and swam down about 15 feet and grabbed the rod. He came back up beside the boat and held the rod up for buddy to grab it and said "Who wants this fish?"

We all had a good laugh about that one and it was one of the highlights of our day.

[kmon]

Myself. I'd just come back from a canoe trip up north and was being joe cool canadian fisherman in a friend's cedarstrip canoe. Dropped my paddle in the water reaching for my fishing rod, now I had another paddle in the canoe, but I thought I'll just reach over and ... when I saw the water rushing over the side of the canoe I realized I had to jump in to save my tackle. I got to be joe cool swim the canoe back to shore.
My rod. I'd just bought a new musky rig and ripping my jake back to the boat I hit the trolling motor. Out of my hands it pops (late sept. kinda cold) and sploosh into the river. I'm thinking, okay I can zoom home and change I'm not losing that rod. As I dive in to save the rod I realize, hey, with that fat cork handle the rig floats.
This was made double embarrassing as on shore a lady with two small boys is watching. The kids thought I was just out for a swim, but she was killing herself laughing.

[Beach]

Lake maps!! Yes, mapsssssss. They may be waterproof but they do sink :D

[Daver]

It was on lake of the woods, the boat was a 1995 ranger 690.
Ranger is building me a brand new boat, I am expecting it anyday.
They also put a new powerhead in my 174 mariner.

1st rate customer service.

I still wouldn't want to go through a day like that again,
not even for a new boat

[SUPERTROLLER]

Thanks. I was hoping you had good news on the customer service. Proves that even a well put together boat, as Ranger is, can still have a problem every now and again. Hope you have much better Luck with the new one.

(P.S. Soulda bought a Lund! Just kidding. I couldn't resist.)

[TOm B]

Lake maps sink fast.... this past summer we went to Lake Vermilion and I was eyeballing this babe on the shore. Got my stuff ready to go, took off and my map flew out, she noticed, laughed, I felt like a butthead.

Tom B

[ScottL]

I was fishing on Lake Oahe (SD) with a buddy in his boat, when a small fast moving thunderstorm came rushing up the river and turned calm water into 4footers we turned around and headed for the access pounding across the waves. one miss timed wave, one lost minnkota autopilot. Which was bad enough, but the next two days were dead still not even a breeze. Tough fishing just using the big motor.

[ufda]

This wasn't out of a boat, but......I was about 12 when my dad, his friend Cliff and I went ice fishing. This was back in the days before augers and Dad had borrowed a really nice ice spud from another of his friends. When we got to the lake Dad put a loop in the rope on the spud and put it around my neck saying something like, "...there, now if you drop it down the hole....". Well, I punched my hole fine and Dad took the spud, but put the loop around his arm. When the spud went through the last inch of ice it slipped from his hand and, instead of tipping his arm up which would have caught the loop, he reached for the spud. Yup, the loop slid off his arm and this nice new spud was on the bottom in 15 feet of water. But, the funniest part was when Cliff said, "boy Dick, aren't you glad you didn't do that? YOU would sure of caught #####!" Bless their souls they are both gone now, but laughed at that many times.

[Mr. Sauger]

Its catch and release time for the walleye on my shad rap,
so I firmly hold the walligater in one hand while working the needle nose pliers with the other. A moment later I'm staring at a walleye in my tackle box...where's my pliers?

[Tim]

My good friend believe it or not but he stunk so at least it cleaned him up a little

[Angie]

my bra and panties hehehe

[Hutch]

Several years ago I'm crusing down the Mississippi river in a big lund with a 150 with 4 brittnies and a friend doing some fishing. All of a sudden my buddy yells stop. One of the dogs, leaning over the side of the boat see's a stick, well you know the rest. Turned back around and here's BRUTIS swimming with a stick in his mouth. DUMB DOG, just dumb. Good for a laught though.

[eyewitness]

Ok sign me up. That's my kind of fishin'!

[bobnalong]

no gps, this was several years ago, but i still don't own one.

actually struck the motor twice while dragging the grappling hook, but didn't "catch" it. had a couple bobbers out to mark the area. had to flee, rowing a tiny 14-footer, when the Reiss Marine fueling boat came charging down the channel at full throttle. wiped out my markers.

this channel actually sees very little use from big ships. most of the shipping uses the duluth entry, and the superior entry is used by the traffic to and from the BNSF taconite dock in allouez bay. the motor took its dive behind barker's island, between the two above-mentioned routes.

bob

[eek]

About 25 years ago I went on sailboat trip with several of my teenage friends. We had a 40 some foot catameran (sp?) and being such a big deep boat, it had a Zodiac inflatable lashed to the deck between the hulls for use as a tender. The guy whose doctor dad owned the boat, got a little wild with 3 of us in the Zodiac, and managed to hit a boulder in Lake Michigan near Washington Island (close to Door County, Wisc.) and of course as we were wide open at the time, it took off the entire transom, outboard, fuel tank, steering wheel and most of the binnacle that held it. It didn't sink completely, and we paddled it back to the sailboat. Then came back later that day with a new inflatable (no motor) and recovered most of the stuff. Amazingly no one even got a scratch.