I am in

Posted on by — 32 comments

I am issuing a public apology to all those nitwits that lost a rod, reel, bag or another piece of surf fishing equipment on the beach over the years. Yeah, I can see losing your camera in the wash, boga in the sand, dropping your pliers in between rocks. I can see snapping a rod, falling on it, have the reel disintegrate in your hand. But how in the world do you ever lose a surf bag on the beach? Or a jacket, or a ,gulp, a rod and reel? You must be a real nitwit to do this I always thought!!! Well, all you nitwits can rejoice now because you got another idiot that joined your ranks!

Me

Man, for years this bothered the crap out of me. When I see on the websites or The Fisherman announcing a lost bag. I even found one on a jetty once. I never got this, how in the world you lose your bag. I did leave a pair of Costa Del Mar shades on the top of my truck in Montauk once, never to be seen again.

But last night, last night I was so dumb, it was brilliant!

I took a ride down to the beach. But instead of walking from town to the inlet, I parked in town and took a bike out of the trunk. Yeah, I got smart in my old age…or so I thought. I drove to the beach with my 7 foot St Croix Legend and a VS 150. It took me about 20 cast to figure out no one was home. So fifteen minutes after arriving I was pedaling back to the truck. What can I tell you, I am not a believer on waiting for fish to show in certain spots. Either they are there or they are not. So there I am pedaling trough town in Kline shorts, Polo shirt and flip flops. I might not have caught anything but I sure looked good doing it…and flip-flops are killer on the rocks. Chicks dig them…

I leaned the rod on the side of the truck, packed everything in and left. Twenty minutes later, I am at Old Country Road in Westbury, one more light to my house. For whatever reason I look back on the truck,. the bike is laying there but the rod is nowhere within the eyesight! @#!#$@%%^$^&*&*()*&%$@#!!@#

I stop the car in the middle of the road and pop the trunk. Nope, I never put my Legend and VS in my truck !!! I made a U turn, like in the movies, rubber burning, people honking and got on the highway…but now I cant drive too fast and risk a speeding ticket along with lost rod and reel…but I have to go back, even though I know, leaving a VS on a main street ..it was not going to last long. But I can always NOT tell Da Wife about THAT. Speeding ticket, no dice on that one.

To make a long story short, my rod and reel were not on the pavement after they fell of the truck as I pulled out of the spot. If you remember they were leaning on the truck as I put the bike inside. The rod and reel were gently placed on the grass on the sidewalk, so that no one runs over it…and left it there. I got to tell you, small town folks $%^&(* rule !!!

So here I am ,a new member of a nitwit club. You want me or not, I am in. Hey, for once, I get to say, I am in. Sweet

 

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32 comments on “I am in”

  1. Steve S

    Zeno, you’re very lucky there’s still some good people left in this world. Try not to do that dumb s*** again!!! LOL. Glad you got your stuff back.

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  6. joe pags

    I left my favorate traveling set up on the dock of kismet. Another time i left the bed of the truck open and had to “pick up” scores of run over lures on my street. My neighbors love me …

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  13. John P

    Long time ago I went fishing with a guy from school. Trout fishing with fly rods. We had a good morning, nice hatch.
    As he was breaking down his gear he lit up one of them funny cigarettes. I declined, not a prude but I never really acquired much of a liking. Not sure what happened exactly, but he closed his rod in the trunk. Well I had a great ride home. Man did I give him the business, “that wacky weed makes you stupid, and you do stupid things like close your best rod in the trunk.” ha ha ha

    So one hour later when we got home I opened the trunk and handed him his broken rod, ha ha ha… But where was my rod? I left it leaning against a tree at the river.

    Somebody fishing the Fly Stretch of the NJ Musconetcong River got a really nice Fenwick fly rod that morning.

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  15. DonR

    You don’t deserve that fine combo–put it up here as a giveaway, I’m in!! lol

    Glad you got it back:, Smooth is right-go play the lottery.

    Flip flops on the rocks? I hear ya, I just put sheet metal screws in my Teva’s ’cause it is too hot, haha.

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  16. Karl

    Your not alone there’s a lot of us that have been there and done it, I left a rod on the roof drove out the parking lot and 45 miles later realized no rod, lucky went back and it was on the ground right where I parked

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  18. Rich S.

    Left a Fenwick trout rod with a Shmano sustain attached to it, leaning on a tree next to a reservoir once. went back for it, gone. Nice to read your story Z, kind of renews my faith in humanity, a little.

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  20. bunufish

    I am in… though the worst memory I had of this was when I was a kid fishing out in long beach for snappers off a bridge. Some neighborhood kids were fishing with me, and I thought I could trust them. A few hours later, they left, and took my tackle box with them. So I learned young not to trust people.

    I’ve had a few plugs get lost while in Montauk my first years fishing there… those rogue waves and rising tides. Plugs that float… float out of your bag. =)

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  21. Barry D Thomas Sr

    Walked up on the Beach here and there were two Brand new Alum Sandspikes sticking out of the Beach. Fished for about two hours when I left I carried them with me. Stopped at my local tackle shop and walked in to hear that this guys buddy failed to pick up the spike and now he has to buy new ones! asked where and you know the rest! They never came back figured they would be gone

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  26. CaptFrankB

    Wow! You are quite lucky. I left my surf bag on my rod rack 2 years ago. Left the beach, drove two blocks, turned around, and it was gone. Of course nobody saw it. Never saw it again. Good to know there are some nice folks out there.

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  27. firstlight

    The gods were with you. After learning the hard way I always place my rod and reel against the driver’s door and mirror before getting out of waders. On one occasion I placed it on the passenger door and backed up, damaging both the rod and reel. Too costly a mistake to repeat.

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  28. mark m

    Z, I spent the younger half of my life enjoying summers each year in that town and your “lost & found” experience had always been the flow of things. Always was a great place to grow up and learn to fish. Glad to hear you got your gear back, humility is the glue which binds us all….

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  29. Matt L

    Were you also riding a Mary Poppins style bike? I’d feel bad for you too lol. Z- Glad you got your R&R back, and thank you to the good Samaritan whoever you are.

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  30. richtrox

    Left tw orods leaning on the sign at the 2nd Wantagh when a statie was waiting to give me a parking ticket. Took the ticket and drove off without my rods. Fortunately they were still there when I went back to get them.

    Left my surf belt w/ VS pliers on the hood of my Jeep when I went to take a piss at the porta-sans at Shinny east before I left one night. Had to be like 3:30 am and I was fried, so I didn’t even notice them fall off the hood as I backed up. I posted what I lost on noreast, but nobody stepped up and offered them back.

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  31. Jimmy Jam

    Same thing happened to me. I lost a bag filled with at least 20 custom lures made by me, my dad, and lefty.

    I didn’t fish for three years. 🙂

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