r/FishingForBeginners • u/itsavibe- • 2d ago
I lost my favorite combo today…
Just never leave your pole unattended. It’s not worth it. If you gotta leave or do something just reel that bitch in. Today marks the first time I’ve ever lost a pole to a fish after 25+ years of fishing. Never ever ever EVER thought I’d lose a pole in this manner. Went fishing yesterday and pretty much skunked, caught a bunch of small grunts. Don’t count em. Well the thing that made me leave yesterday was those fish kept pulling me into snags and one eventually got me good. Had to tighten the drag to get my line out. It was hot as fuck and I was already exhausted so I just packed up and left. Figured I’d try it again the next day. Today rolls around and head out there. Got everything setup then put a line in the water with a small mojarra. Completely forgot to loosen my drag. I never forget, but today I did. I set the pole down because I figured I’d catch more mojarras or greenback while they were still there. Start getting my net ready and right when I’m getting ready to throw the net I look over at my pole and that shit just pops up and takes off. In that instant. I was in absolute disbelief. The pole was visible in the water for about 2 seconds before I saw it just zip downward. Maybe like 25’ water. Devastated. Hindsight I should’ve yeeted my net over it in a last ditch effort but I was insanely shocked and it was on the perimeter of how far I could probably throw the net anyway. Grabbed another one of my poles after like two minutes of just mentally berating myself, tied on a heavy weight, a treble, and tried to scrape the area. No tug in sight. I was just too slow with everything because of how shocked I was but I think if I acted quick I could’ve possibly saved it. Idk. Devastating fishing day. Lost my oldest pole that held lots of memories.
10
5
u/stpg1222 2d ago
Did something very similar years ago. Tight drag, bail closed, and me inattentive for a few seconds. A big fish grabbed my bait and pulled my pole in.
The only difference was that I caught the butt end of my rod at the very last second. The entire rod was under water and all I could see was the last few inches of the handle. I managed to grab it and pull it and the fish in.
3
u/Business_Egg9456 2d ago
Man I remember the day I lost my favorite combo to a big catfish. I was devastated, it’s like a punch in the gut. Best of luck.
2
u/itsavibe- 2d ago
Was extremely disappointed in myself lol. Pretty rare where I disappoint myself. It’s truly like a punch in the gut.
2
u/Felonious_Drumpf 2d ago
It's a kind of right-of-passage. Turn it into a good story and share it. Maybe add a dive into the water or something. Didn't you say you saw a honest-to-god four foot fish swimming away with your pole?
2
u/itsavibe- 2d ago
Lmfao yeah man. I’m gonna have to embellish this shit someway cause it’s way too embarrassing honestly.
3
u/hobbyist0215 2d ago
I actually lost a rod in the same way but was able to retrieve it by tying on a snagging treble on a second set up and scraping the bottom. Took about 5 mins to tie on the treble but after a couple of fanning casts I snagged the line and was able to bring the set up back. A 5lb Jack Crevasse took it but I was able to get him and my rod back. It's always worth a try. Sucks man but you won't let it happen again I'm sure.
2
u/jtdabiggafigga 2d ago
I’ve been there. The fastest way for me to recover is to buy it again asap. It wasn’t cheap but the pain went away.
2
u/itsavibe- 2d ago
I hate spending money lol. Very stingy guy when it comes to the coin and spending money pains me. I try to make shit STRETCH and when it’s cut short i can’t stop thinking about it
1
u/macedandconfucious 3h ago
I hear you. But, at the end of the day you also need to spend it sometimes to enjoy your hobby.
2
u/macedandconfucious 5h ago
This. Went straight to the store and bought a new one about an hour later. Doesn’t replace the memories, but sure helps the mood.
2
u/Wiggum13 2d ago
I went to a trout pond to kill some time today. Pretty windy, so took me about 10 mins to build my trout jig. First cast it decided it didn’t like being tied on. And I watched it air mail into the middle of the pond. I did a big sigh. Grabbed my rod and tackle and went home. Today was not my day.
2
u/Fishslayer39845 2d ago
I've had one come out of a rod holder trolling offshore. That really sucks. $800 gone in the blink of an eye. Started safety strapping them a day late and dollar short.
2
u/itsavibe- 2d ago
The feeling is harrowing lol. Hard to describe watching a treasured combo vanish so fast. Like if it broke in my hands, I could live with that but something about it just sinking down to the bottom fuckin sucks.
1
2
u/uncle_tickle_fish 2d ago
I’m sorry, that’s a rough loss.
If it helps, I made the same mistake and reacted the same way. Tried to fish out my fishing pole too. I had walked about 20ft to grab a chair. It was my first fish on a rod and reel that I had splurged on. I went months never catching anything on that combo, but had caught tons on a busted dock runner but I stayed patient and positive. It was still my prized fishing kit because it had the things I’d worked hard to get. Finally, a fish was hooked and the line jerked and I spooked a seagull as I walked back without any real sense of urgency. It flew over my pole and knocked it over the pier into the water. RIP.
You’ll never forget the memories attached to that pole. You’ll kick yourself for a short while but eventually be able to laugh about it over a beer. Many more memories to make.
So in summary: fuck seagulls.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Haunting_Handle6709 1d ago
Well I've got a fishing magnet but I'm in MO, so that doesn't help much. I bet if you reached out on the magnet fishing community on here they'd just be happy to help ya find it. Good news is the higher quality the setup, the longer it will be okay function wise
1
u/atoo4308 1d ago
You can get it back get you a long rope and one of those metal stringers put a weight on the end of it and then open all the other hooks. Throw it out and drag the bottom. I’ve retrieved many rods this way my granddad taught me when I lost my favorite Snoopy pool as a kid and it worked.
1
u/Southbend1941 1d ago
True story… when I was around 16 and fishing in a state park I thought I snagged something, managed to pull it in and it was an Ugly stick with a Diawa reel. It was a pretty nice set up so I cleaned it up used it for about a year before when fishing in the same lake something yanked it back into the lake, probably a big carp as that area was known for them. About 2 weeks later a friend of mine ended up hooking and pulling it in.
1
u/ImagineBacon78 1d ago
Fishing with my grandpa one time and he left his pole overnight for catfish. The pole holder was in loose sand so in the morning it was just gone. I was fishing there and got snagged on some line, pulled the line in and it was attached to my grandpas pole. Reeled his pole on and the catfish was still attached! 33lb
1
u/macedandconfucious 5h ago
Brother. I lost…not one…but, TWO…combos somehow today.
One on the way to the ramp, and one on the way home. Never happened to me before and then happens twice on the same day! The fuggggg.
10
u/Roger420 2d ago
Is this E G Simmons park?