Lessons learned from theft.

[Lily 2]

As the dust has finally settled some I am finally at a point I can reflect on what occurred to  me.   The previous thred started by Captain Mark Lewis was about what happened to me at the beginning of the month.   My boat was cleaned out in the middle of the night by 4 individuals dressed in all black and wearing gloves and face masks.   They stole a life time worth of work from me and even stole my garbage bags to help load my stuff in to to carry it all.   The list of things they took is long but the other post has had people sharing market place listing and I don't want innocent people being accused of things.   

I had 4 spoon pads taken consisting of over 200 spoons various makes and sizes.  

11 rod and reel combo's taken.   The reels are all connectors or Mada pros some pen warfare and a few old versions of the cabelas depthmaster reels.   All the reels were 45s and 30 series reels they also were spooled with short cores and short coppers and some with braid.  The rods were all ugly stick gx3 rods at 7ft 6 inch.   If anyone is interested these rods in a medium ligjt action are awsome for fingerlakes lake trout with both down gingers and junk lines.   My diver set ups were also lifted consisting of connector 30 reels with wire on them the rods are diawa great lakes with twili tips.  Also every fly set up every spin n glo / gambler rig set up was taken with over 80 of each.   The out pouring of support and generosity from the marina and other fisherman has been humbling to say the least.   We are still operating and trying to put this behind us.   It  has been like starting from scratch half way threw the season.   I  have learned over the years giving up is not an option and grinding it out only makes you stronger.   Or first charter a day after the theft we.did with 6 borrowed fishing poles and 10 spoons and some borrowed Flys and we successfully bought fish to the boat.   I thank everyone for keeping an eye out but I would hate to see someone get coined a theif for selling what is rightfully theirs.   I  am watching all versions of online forms for selling things.and will know immediately if the stuff being sold is mine.   Thank you everyone and keep on fishing tight lines and we will see you on the water

[Gill-T]

I have 4 Cabela’s Depthmaster reels with upgraded T handles and leadcore that I probably will be upgrading at the end of the season. You can have them. 

[PD Buoy]

So sorry this has happened to you, 

[Reel Doc]

Love that you are keeping a positive attitude and moving on.  At least your boat was not vandalized/damaged and you can keep getting out on the water.  Glad you are making the most out of a bad situation.

[sherman brown]

I feel your disgust on this. a few years back a young woman we were letting live with us that we took in when she was 15 to get her away from a drunken mother and an unsafe environment. She had a boyfriend who was a roofer that was laid off in the fall. so being soft hearted we let him stay with us because it was cold weather and he had no other place to go. we made a fishing trip to Erie and some people either him or my youngest son let stay in my camper broke into my pole barn and took several thousand of dollars of things. some of the items I had gathered over the last 40+ years. they took a lot of my fishing gear tools and whatnots.

 

I replaced a lot of the things they took. then about a year later after I had run her boyfriend off we made a trip to TN for our family reunion on Memorial weekend. we left our youngest son at home and told him that no one was to be there. we got home and I had been cleaned out. I don't know for sure what happened but both of her x-boyfriends had been there and my drug addict son let them stay. then my son and the woman had broke into our bedroom and gave them access to the remote for the pole barn. they knew I had installed cameras in my barn so they had went into my basement and turned off the power. then they proceeded to take everything that was loose. my welder I had for a few years and had only been used 2 or 3 times and a brand new Champion Generator most of my saltwater fishing gear including a big box of 3, 4, and 4 oz flat no roll sinkers, a box filled with Sabiki bait rigs. They stole so much freshwater gear that I could never replace, a box full of bass magnets, and cranking craws. I had been gathering for over 40 years, and all my hot n tots, plus many other cranks, I had 2 of the large spoon boxes full of spoons most were stinger scorp spoons, but what really pissed me off the most of the things they took out of my barn was they took my high five prop for my boat and my vhf radio out of the boat. there were so many other things they took.

 

the heartbreaking part was my mom gave me a silver dollar key ring with an old silver dollar in it for Christmas the year I got out of the Marine Corps and just a few days before she died. it was the last thing she would ever give me and I cherished it with all my heart.

 

I couldn't do crap even though I knew who did it because I didn't have any proof. the police was a waste of time. they didn't even dust for prints or anything else. I did find a slip where 1 of them pawned some of my fishing gear but I had no way to prove it was even mine. one cop took an interest in my problem and let me describe the gear in the pawnshop by memory and that got him arrested but he and his girlfriend both swore my son had given it to him and got off scot-free. but I did get a few rods and reels back from the pawn shop.

 

 I have my gear for Erie and enough freshwater gear for me and my granddaughter who fishes with me. at one time I had enough gear for 4 people. I have replaced enough saltwater rods and reels to fish saltwater but not the no roll sinkers or baits or bimini bait rigs. I had several light rods for pan fish, bass gear, salmon gear, plus just my everyday gear. now I'm happy to have enough to get by.