Best fishing poles.

thill said:

It's funny... I guess growing up in the city, I learned at a young age that if your stuff looks fancy, it tends to catch the eye of thieves and you won't have it for long.

So when I got into rodbuilding, I made almost all of my rods VERY plain. No fancy wraps, nothing to distinguish it from a junk rod until you picked it up and then, Aaaaahhhh... The balance, the crisp sensitivity, the power, the action... They sing in your hands. I am very partial to G. Loomis GL3 and GLX blanks, and those things are special. I still have a couple I've been hiding for a special day.

The are awesome in the hand but I generally make them look really boring. A sharp eye might notice the handle and seat design, and on a few rods I have a single wrap of silver or gold under each guide that you barely notice. In 20 years, I have left the rods on the boat at the dock while running to grab lunch or whatever many, many times, and I've never had a rod go missing.

I learned this from my Mom when a little kid. She had a $$$ pearl Fuji racing bike and I remember a guy trying to steal it off the bike rack on the car while at a red light with all of us in the car. 1970's equivalent to car-jacking , I guess. Fortunately, it was well secured, and we pulled off fast as soon as the light turned, and he didn't get it off, but that's when Mom realized that beautifully crafted machine was really tempting.

So, she took modeling paint and painted what looked like rust and scale all over the bike. It looked TERRIBLE, like it was going to fall apart, and no one ever tried to steal it again. Someone got Dad's Raliegh, but the police recovered it, and then mom did her thing on his bike, too. We had those "ugly" bikes for many years after that.

I've done this same thing to tools on the job. Stuff tends to disappear on a big jobsite if you don't keep an eye on it, which is impossible to do all the time. A little spray paint "vandalism" makes them much less appealing! Plus, if a guy is seen walking away with something that distinctive, someone is going to point the finger, so they don't bother.

Sorry to digress and hijack the thread!

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thill said:

It's funny... I guess growing up in the city, I learned at a young age that if your stuff looks fancy, it tends to catch the eye of thieves and you won't have it for long.

So when I got into rodbuilding, I made almost all of my rods VERY plain. No fancy wraps, nothing to distinguish it from a junk rod until you picked it up and then, Aaaaahhhh... The balance, the crisp sensitivity, the power, the action... They sing in your hands. I am very partial to G. Loomis GL3 and GLX blanks, and those things are special. I still have a couple I've been hiding for a special day.

The are awesome in the hand but I generally make them look really boring. A sharp eye might notice the handle and seat design, and on a few rods I have a single wrap of silver or gold under each guide that you barely notice. In 20 years, I have left the rods on the boat at the dock while running to grab lunch or whatever many, many times, and I've never had a rod go missing.

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lckstckn2smknbrls said:

I'm not really a fisherman, I bought my jon boat to use as a floating blind. I do own some gear my current favorite is a Shakespeare 7' outcast that I bought in 2012 for $7.50. One day in the near future I will put the Okuma Avenger on it that I bought maybe 6 years ago at Cabela's for under $20.00. I bought some line last year. I should be trying out my favorite rod any year now.

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lckstckn2smknbrls said:

How important is it that my rod and reel look good together? Will I catch more fish?

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lckstckn2smknbrls said:

How important is it that my rod and reel look good together? Will I catch more fish?

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FuzzyGrub said:

I hear that some trout are very particular!

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thill said:

We moved to rural VA about 20 years ago, and although it's a pain that it takes 20 mins to get to the grocery store, I won't be moving back to the city.

The time I worry about losing rods is when on trips. There are certain areas near tourist destinations off 95 where you go to get a coffee or use the bathroom, and when you come back 3 mins later, your rods, GPS, Livessope, etc will be gone. Happened to me once a long time ago, now I'm pretty careful.

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LDUBS said:

It is just sad. There are many times I skip pulling over for a burger, soda, or something for that same reason.

I would love to hook the boat up and have it ready out front when I'm leaving early morning, which is most of the time. Even though we live in a fairly safe place, there are frequent reports of thieves roaming the middle of the night for unlocked cars, etc. I might find all the gear gone. I could put everything in the locked vehicle, but transferring it is more hassle than opening the side gate and hooking the trailer.

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FuzzyGrub said:

Sorry that you guys have to deal with that crap.

We regularly hitch the boat up the night before, but all the gear is locked in the back of the suv. We transfer it at the ramp. Sometimes we bring spares that stay in the suv. The ramp is at a well used park and nobody has ever messed with it.

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Billy H said:

I’m in the sticks, and have a long driveway. No worries about an opportunistic thief just happening by. I get my boat hooked night before. Just have some rods in the rod locker. A lot of my gear is in the truck because I switch between boats. Having two dogs on the property is a good deterrent. Doubtful any person could sneak around long before the dogs let me know. Some thievery and vandalism at boat ramps but not much. Biggest issue I can remember were PETA folks letting air out of trailer tires.

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LDUBS said:

"Biggest issue I can remember were PETA folks letting air out of trailer tires."

What the heck!

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Billy H said:

Thieves suck!

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kazzer said:

I guess long prison sentences don't deter. If they are juveniles they don't get ANY punishment, so keep doing it. It's a huge joke! I'm a victim of my Jag being hijacked by 13 year olds, $10,000 worth of damage and even if I got a judgment against them, they'd cap it so the parents would only pay $1000. I have Apple Airtags on everything now - even the dog! It obviously pays to thieve!

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kazzer said:

I guess long prison sentences don't deter. If they are juveniles they don't get ANY punishment, so keep doing it. It's a huge joke! I'm a victim of my Jag being hijacked by 13 year olds, $10,000 worth of damage and even if I got a judgment against them, they'd cap it so the parents would only pay $1000. I have Apple Airtags on everything now - even the dog!

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Billy H said:

Even murderers get only like 15 years. Down in Philly ( thank God I don’t live there) the policies are not to pull over cars for minor infractions. Not to prosecute for crimes under a certain dollar value. So why bother keeping things legal? That city is out of control! Just this week the DA decided not to seek the death penalty for a guy that shot and murdered a cop in cold blood. Cop was a husband and father with young kids. The scum have more rights than law abiding citizens.

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kazzer said:

I guess long prison sentences don't deter. If they are juveniles they don't get ANY punishment, so keep doing it. It's a huge joke! I'm a victim of my Jag being hijacked by 13 year olds, $10,000 worth of damage and even if I got a judgment against them, they'd cap it so the parents would only pay $1000. I have Apple Airtags on everything now - even the dog!

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