The-most-useless-thing-you-have-in-your-boat contest

[Hans]

My dear wife, bless her generous soul, is prone to buy me fishing "stuff" that I probably would not buy for myself. Some turn out to be indispensible (my first GPS) and others turn out to be..... well..... occupiers of valuable space.

So let's have a contest - what is the most useless thing you have in your boat, that you haven't thrown away because the person who gave it to you will cry if it turns up "gone".

Winner get's everyone else's most useless items.

My entry is a 1984 "Color-C-Lector" which came with a selection of about 10 incredibly ugly crankbaits color-matched to the bands on the color meter.

Hans

[800proX]

i got a anchor hand crank (i thought they stopped making them in the 70'S??). now this might not seem so bad, but consider that it is meant for a 5 - 10 lb anchor, and i have a 2000 620 Ranger. that would look nice, and perform very well to boot!!

now how in the heck do you tell my grandmother, who i hope never comes to see my boat, that it just wasn't gonna work!

i am not sure this qualifies as most useless for all, but it sure as heck does for me. also, i do not want to win and hope to send this to the loser, i uh, mean winner!

nice thing to post Hans, this spring is really dragging.

jeff

[Sunshine]

Hans,
As the saying goes......one man's junk is the other man's treasure. I used the color selector, temp, gage, PH meter for years until it broke. Loved it and thought that it worked for me. Once I learned the lakes that I fish most often and their characteristics it became obsolete however. I don't want this to turn into a thread on color selectors though. Just MHO.

My most useless item in the boat is the politically correct little red plastic bottle that I'm supposed to urinate in. I'd like to brag that it's too small but the truth of the matter is that when it's time to relieve thyself, that's what I do w/o searching for unnecessary items.

Where do I send the ##### thing? The winner can have it.

[tomr]

My father - in - law gave me a cricket catcher for christmas 1 year. It will go to the winner!!!!

[Homer]

Me. :-)

[Lund_Dude]

I have a buddy who insists on carrying a net...for him, it is pretty useless. ;-)

I have another buddy who brings his pocket fisherman everywhere he goes. He wants to catch a big walleye and take the picture with the pocket fisherman for a joke.

I have a box of the "banjo minnow" kit. My godson was proud as can be to present me with it at Christmas about 3yrs ago. Still hasn't caught one fish of any species.

[cmb]

I have a bass-pro nascar(shaped and painted like a hot wheel car) crankbait. It may becime a collectable in another 20+ years (or sometime during my life) but I would highly doubt that I will ever catch a fish with it!

[eyewinder]

nm

[FJH1]

The first walleye I ever caught came on a Shadling!

Best Regards,

FJH

[ufda]

A harness that fits around my shoulders to hold a rod while baiting, etc. Got it at Christmas a few years ago from my son-in-law's father who heard I was a fisherman. Obviously he is not, but how thoughtful anyway since there was no reason for him to give me anything. Since he lives a long way away however so he wont know when I send it to the winner.
Hey Hans, what do you think the chances are the winner will really give us his address? :-)
ufda

[sib]

we can ad my coca cola mini pop can bobbers to the pot, likewise a gift, but from my mother. whoever wins could start a museum of usless fishing items.

hans, this is a pretty funny thread!

"go outside and play"
sib

[tbomn]

Hey Guys,

Maybe instead of sending all of these things to the winner, we could get them all together and have Scott set up a page to show everyone some of the "baits" that catch fisherpeople instead of fish. Just a thought ;-)

"I respect faith, but doubt is what gives you an education."
Wilson Mizner

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[Nofish]

Hey Hans,

While boatless at the moment, cleaning out the last boat showed me many "useless" items.

Half a styrofoam worm box, bottom only, lid gone.

A wildly colored fish shaped flashlight, that puts out about 1 candlepower. (Mother in law gift)

Banjo Minnow kit, self inflicted.(Did catch a smallie and a pike)

Plug adapter for Q beam. (Q beam gone for 2 years)

Urinal dealy, like in post above.

A ziploc bag containing what may have been a tuna? Ham? sandwich from July(ish) 2000.

A charge/run switch. From what boat? I do not know.

Several assorted allen screws, again I don't know for what.

The rubber butt cap and tip of an old broken rod.

A pint container of Chocolate milk, unopened. Probably to wash down the mystery sandwich.

An old ripped Rain Jacket.

2 bent and ripped minnow nets.

I think that was about it. There were several broken and lip missing crank baits in the glove box too.

Now, since I do not currently own a boat, I cannot be in the contest, so don't send me your stuff.........:P

Have fun.....R

[cisco]

I was given the most useless fish gripper you can imagine from an appreciative friend. It's an aluminum contraption (perhaps made by Lund) with two giant pinchers protruding from two cross members that you are supposed to squeeze. In a perfect world, the device would pick up a fish back of the gills. In my world I either use a hand or a landing net.

Whomever wants it can have it.

Incidentally, I did appreciate the thought. He wanted to give me something for having taken him fishing and he knew I wouldn't take any $$$. But, he should have saved his money. A note of thanks would have been every bit as good (actually, better).

[Hans]

If I win, I'm giving out my bro-in-laws address (the one who lost my Calcutta-250/Fenwick-HMXT66 in LOTW).

Hans

[Bottomfeeder]

My wife gave me a Green Bay Packer spinnerbait for christmas and my son-in-law gave me Travis the Singing Trout. Am I the only one who has a well meaning family that tries to get me gifts that I will use for fishing, but they have no clue what I actually need or want.

Bottomfeeder

[Hans]

Ohmygawd, I forgot about my nauseating "Billy Bass" plaque thingy my daugher gave me last year --- well, it ain't in my boat, so it doesn't qualify for the contest.

Hans

[cmb]

I had the foresight to make fun of the sad plastic talking fish thing while with both my wife and my sister. -my mother-in-law probably returned it for a dick's certificate-

anywho- no plastic singing fish like thing in my house!!

Hans, good humor post!!! we need some more on here

[Mean Mike]

I usually tell family that if they do not know what to get fishing wise, get me a gift certificate at my favorite fishing supply store.

[EricCO]

Right now it would have to be the entire bow of my boat along with the two 27 series deep cycle batteries and the 2620 Charge Pro charger considering I have no trolling motor up there and it is now backordered for another two weeks totalling one month now. Batteries sure look nice though.

[EyeBoy]

I am in the boatless catagory myself, so this will be a great spectator sport. OBTW is the sandwich whole wheat or white?
ON-PLANE!!!TOM

[Gilligan]

Most useless thing in my gear can't be blamed on anyone else but me! Sucked into buying some Cabelas Flourcarbon line. Lost countless fish with the line breaking. They advertize the stuff as being invisible under water. This stuff will soon be invisible above water also, i'ts headed to the garbage can. Thanks for reminding me that it needs tossed.

[LITTLEHOOKER]

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THE MOST WORTHLESS THING ON MY BOAT IS MY GOOD FISHING BAD FISHING BAROMETER, IT TELLS YOU BY EMITTING A SWISHING SOUND OF A FISH IF THE BAROMETER IS AT 30 AND A WA WA WA IF IT IS BELOW. I HAVE TO KEEP IT IN MY BOAT BECAUSE I USUALLY TAKE ONE OR ANOTHER PERSON IN MY FAMILY WITH ME. ALSO GOT A BILLY BASS , TOM TURKEY SINGING DEER, A MOOSE. I WILL GLADLY SEND THEM ALONG TO THE WINNER. DOES ANYBODY ELSE THINK THAT THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS BUY US THIS STUFF JUST SO WE HAVE TO KEEP IT OR THEY WILL HOLD IT OVER OUR HEADS FOREVER?

GREAT THREAD BUDDY.

LITTLEHOOKER

[Marken]

Actually, it's not useless, but I got a Snoopy lighted bobber a few years back. It's about 4 inches long and I glued it to the console of the boat. Turn it on at night and it'll light up half of Winnebago.

[Frank from TBay]

The banjo is famous in our group. We had one of our group bring it out and he just nailed them. We worked hard for our fish and he could of done an infomercial. We never heard the end of it as we had ribbed him the entire evening before about his banjos. He has used it on and off untill they were all gone. We still get reminded of it and our lack of taste in good fishing tackle.

[Nofish]

Hey Eyeboy,

You open the baggie and find out........I'm not that brave!!
:P

Have fun..........R

(and no, I didn't save it.......lol.....)

[Jethro]

The most useless thing in my boat is an old pair of panty hose that has been there for years. When my wife found them, I convinced her that I use them to wash the boat and truck. :o

[Tom/MN]

Great Post Hans! Excluding myself, the worst thing(s) on my boat will be gone this year. My wife in her infinite wisdom decided our kids needed Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck fishing poles. Now I realize one of you have a 10 on the wall caught on one of these, but I refuse to have my 5 and 3 year olds start on anything but a spinning reel, (Lord knows it took some time and coordination to get me away from the Zebco 33). And while they aren't G Loomis or St. Croix or Fig Rig, the 4 ft. ice fishing rods with 1000 series reels ought keep the jigs out of my face. ~xxXXXx>..J

[Barrym]

My wife gave me the Roland Martin Helicopter Lures a few years back. I tell her I use them all the time but the unopened package is still in the bottom of the boat. This year I recieved the FAMOUS Walking Worm from her. My wife may be intelligent but shes no fisher (wo)man!!

[EYES R US]

The Barrel Lure. Which was given to me from my dad. Its a little man with a barrel around and a treble hook at the end. When you pull on the hook the barrel pops up and the fishermens tool stands at attention. I grew up in the U.P and on those special fishing trips I remember family members breaking this lure out after a couple of cold Strohs. Maybe I can't part with it though cause it always made em laugh like #####. Heh

[sublux]

OK my item is a "Indian fish caller" it was sold in the old Herter's catalog when they still sold fishing gear,....I got it as a joke for ice fishing,..its essentially a "tin can" painted to look like a section of Pike,...its weighted to slowly decend sideways,...has a connector on the side and when you yank on the line,..something like a cow bell sounds come from it,...when it was extreamly slow on the ice,..I would send it down the hole,..(some of my fishing buddies thought I was serious about it) and on quiet days you could hear it 20+ feet down,...the funny thing is that often in a few minutes someone w/i sight might get a flag,...(after hours of no action) my best quess is that 'MAYBE' a fish would wonder what the $#&*!# was that! and have a highten awareness for a little while and see a bait they wouldn't have,......OR maybe it was dumb luck,..but after a while,..fishing buddies would ask if they could use it,..and "I" didn't know if THEY were serious!

[eye guy]

Some days it seems like my livewell is the most useless thing in my boat. Altough it has doubled as a beer cooler. Therefore I had better not get rid of it.

[eyewinder]

Have you caught one on it since?

You, at least, have a reason for keeping a Shadling in your tackle box -- I have no excuses, other than ". . .someday I might
need it. . ."

[skipnskul]

Well the little woman says:On or off the boat it's pretty much ME, and after 16 years she oughta know. Besides, I have learned not to argue with her. She allways gets the last word cause anything after that, I started another new argument.She is so eager to see me start fishing again, I swear to God, she evewn helped me wax the boat the other day. Mike

[Hans]

Livewell -- Good one!

Some days I wonder why I thought it was a "good thing" that my new boat had --TWO-- livewells. Never noticed that even one of them was overcrowded!

Hans

[rob]

i got some flying lures,the banjo lure kit was stolen on a trip to canada out of the boat to bad .

[rob]

i got some flying lures,the banjo lure kit was stolen on a trip to canada out of the boat to bad .

[Walley Guide]

The flying lure.....I thought about putting some feathers on the lure and putting it at the end of my fly rod....
I have an old fish mit...the one with the metal spikes to hold Northern Pike. It has to be 30 years old, looks brand new...one of those things that looks good but really isn't very good.
Had an old girl friend like that once...

Enjoy everyday fishing!!!

Walley

[cisco]

Since you mention old girl friends, I once.....

No, I had better not go there. Peace.