Stupidest Thing You've Done While Fishing?

[fadetoblack21]

Fighting an un-medicated sinus infection this weekend, with a headache that made my head feel like it was going to split, I stupidly lost my cool over a "professional overrun" and decided that it would be a good idea to "tap" my fishing pole against the side of the boat. Well I'll be damned if the thing didn't snap. . . .

 

I feel like such an idiot now. . . . at least it was just a lightning rod and not something more expensive. No more raging headache fishing for me. . . . 

 

Anyone care to share some of their their frustrated stupid moments?

 

 

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Last fall I was headed back to the car after some trout fishing when I see what I could swear was a crankbait floating in the weeds at the edge of the creek bed.  So without bothering to put my rod down, I scrambled down this steep 7ft bank to go after it.  Turns out it was muddier than I expected and I slid down and right into the water up to my knees.  Then because the bank was so steep and muddy and cuz I only had one hand since I still had my rod, whenever I tried to get out I just kept sliding back down.  I was pretty much coated with mud from my feet up to about the middle of my back and soaked up to my knees.  My wife couldn't stop laughing and the icing on the cake was that it wasn't even a crankbait.  Turned out to just be a bobber.  Felt pretty dumb after that one.

[pbizzle]

Stop fishing right when the bite turned on.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I wasn't catching fish so went around in a my john boat and see how many trurles we could hit with our hollow body frogs.. awesome times

[Seth12]

Probably pulled my rod back to far to cast and knocked phones, drinks and everything off the coolers in to the river.

[GeorgiaBassBros]

Other than the usual hitting things while casting, ive caught a snake and lost a few phones. 

[rockchalk06]

I forgot to tighten a reel down on the rod once. Set the hook on what could have been a nice chunk, and reel popped off. I had to finagle the reel and ended up stressing the line to much and snap! Got my 3 dollar jig, 30-40 foot of line and I looked like an idiot!

[Sam]

Retied a favorite spinnerbait.

 

Cut the tag line.

 

Watched the spinnerbait fall into the water.

 

Yep, I cut the main line and not the tag line.

 

Also tied boat to ramp to get trailer but did not think there was any river current to put any stress on the boat so I just put the rope around the ramp's cleat two times.

 

When I returned to the ramp with the trailer the boat was floating away.

 

Had to go into the Rappahannock River to swim out to get the boat and swim her back to the ramp.

 

Two guys fishing near the ramp thought it was very funny.

[Traveler2586]

Late summer 2011, I was working a wooded shoreline along a creek on an outgoing tide; I was casting a jig into submerged wood.   My jig hangs in a crotch of a submerged tree limb, so not to disturb the area I put the rod down to pick up a Tx Rigged worm.  While concentrating on hitting my targets I failed to notice my jig rod working its way closer to the edge of the boat.  Plop!! I look down just in time to see the rod go under.  OMG, I start thinking fast while I put down the worm rod, the worm still out in the wood.

I realize “Don’t Panic, I know where the jig line is”.  So I grab a shallow crank combo and start casting to locate the jig line.  After a few cast I happened to notice my worm rod crawling to the bow of the boat, “d**n, no you don’t, you’re not going in too”; so I put down the crank rod to pick up the worm rod and retrieve the worm.  OK, that rod is safe.  I go back to the cranking rod and snag the jig line, but I can’t see the line yet, I just know I have it; without thinking I’m working the TM to hold position in the outgoing current.  Then, just as the jig line breaks the surface….  ?? What’s it doing?? Why is it moving like that??.... d**n, the TM!!!

I take my foot off the TM and reach for the pull cord….  As the motor breaks the surface I can see the jig line is wrapped real good,,,, Then within a foot of the prop I see the rod tip emerging.  I almost wrapped the rod around the TM!!!

So, as I’m working to retrieve the jig rod and clear the TM, I hear a thump, my crank rod is now half off the boat looking to take a dip, so I dive for the rod.  So here I am, lying there on the deck, thinking “pull you sh%t together guy” ………

I could just imagine the Bass down below rolling on their sides, flapping the pec fins and laughing their butts off at me; it was one of the few times on the water that I just wanted to go home and hide under the bed.

[tate]

Late summer 2011, I was working a wooded shoreline along a creek on an outgoing tide; I was casting a jig into submerged wood.   My jig hangs in a crotch of a submerged tree limb, so not to disturb the area I put the rod down to pick up a Tx Rigged worm.  While concentrating on hitting my targets I failed to notice my jig rod working its way closer to the edge of the boat.  Plop!! I look down just in time to see the rod go under.  OMG, I start thinking fast while I put down the worm rod, the worm still out in the wood.

I realize “Don’t Panic, I know where the jig line is”.  So I grab a shallow crank combo and start casting to locate the jig line.  After a few cast I happened to notice my worm rod crawling to the bow of the boat, “d**n, no you don’t, you’re not going in too”; so I put down the crank rod to pick up the worm rod and retrieve the worm.  OK, that rod is safe.  I go back to the cranking rod and snag the jig line, but I can’t see the line yet, I just know I have it; without thinking I’m working the TM to hold position in the outgoing current.  Then, just as the jig line breaks the surface….  ?? What’s it doing?? Why is it moving like that??.... d**n, the TM!!!

I take my foot off the TM and reach for the pull cord….  As the motor breaks the surface I can see the jig line is wrapped real good,,,, Then within a foot of the prop I see the rod tip emerging.  I almost wrapped the rod around the TM!!!

So, as I’m working to retrieve the jig rod and clear the TM, I hear a thump, my crank rod is now half off the boat looking to take a dip, so I dive for the rod.  So here I am, lying there on the deck, thinking “pull you sh%t together guy” ………

I could just imagine the Bass down below rolling on their sides, flapping the pec fins and laughing their butts off at me; it was one of the few times on the water that I just wanted to go home and hide under the bed.

 

That's one heck of a story!  Video of all that would be priceless.

[Traveler2586]

Here's one more......

 

 

Back in the mid 80’s my boat was a 14’ Jon with a 5 hp Sears outboard.  Well, somehow I got my first depth-finder, and took my time to install it and study the user manual.  When the weekend came I was excited to see how the flasher worked so I got an early start.  I went to a tidal creek off the Potomac River where I’d be out of the way of other anglers and boats.  When I got on the water I turned on the flasher and set out; I had the outboards tiller in one hand and the Hummingbirds user manual in the other.  I began zigzagging along a channel drop-off watching the flasher closely; I went across a flat and found a hump that I “flashed” from different angles; then back to the channel zigzagging across the channel to see where the drops were.

Throughout all my motoring I was engrossed in the flasher, trying to understand what it was telling me.  Then all of a sudden I hear a loud “BANG”, was thrown forward, and I find myself kneeling on the floor of the boat with my chest laying on the center seat; I look up in a daze wondering what the H happened; when I got my wits back I realize I had ran directly into the piling of a day marker (that’s a navigational sign mounted on a phone pole for you bank anglers).  What I didn’t realize at the moment was the outboard was still running and I’m not in control, or in the seat.

When I pull myself up and get control of the motor I looked over my shoulder and found a small ski boat about 50-75 feet away coming up on me to render assistance.  A young woman asked if I was OK, and if I needed assistance, I said no thank you; as they pulled alongside the young man remarked something about my new toy, and they had watched and wondered what I was doing as I zigzagging across the channel.  To this day I can still recall the young man telling me I needed to keep one eye on my toy, and one eye on the road.  Talk about embarrass!!  I could tell my face was beat red.. L

[fowlskies]

Anyone else ever have this happen???  Casting with a baitcaster and a loose grip on the rod, in mid-cast get a backlash and the snap of the lure on the other end pulls the rod and reel right out of your hands and into the drink.  

 

LOL, I have had it happen twice, first time I caught the end of the rod by my finger tips before the rod sank to the dark depths of a river and the second time I was on a clear lake in 10 ft of water.  I tied on a heavy in-line spinner with a treble hook on the end to snag my rod. 

 

I have since learned to have a better grip on my rod while at the same time finessing the spool with my thumb.

[Christian M]

I was fishing a small pond with a buddy when I decided to go off on a hike by myself around the other side of the pond. I crossed the stream feeding the pond and went about 2 miles along a trail where I found a little runoff pond with dirt hills around it. I decided it would be a good idea to scramble up one of these hills to get a better look. I started walking toward one of the hills and before I knew it I was up to my waist in mud. I had stepped into a sinkhole! Thank God I was wearing oversized thick neoprene chest waders. I was able to slowly claw my way out of the waders and onto semi dry land. By the time I was out of the waders I was covered in mud past my elbows& my waders were buried. Looking back, they may have saved my life, if I wasn't wearing them I could have easily sunk all the way in. My buddy was a good 2 miles away through thick woods across a pond. He never even heard me calling him

Lesson learned-never venture into unfamiliar areas alone

Another time I was fishing out of my canoe & I got caught in a thunder storm. I put the TM on full speed headed toward my car. As I was passing under a bridge with narrow wood pilings & long lag bolts poking out, my canoe started going sideways. I went to push off the piling, lost my balance & went overboard. To make it worse the TM was still on high & I had to swim after the canoe. The worst part was climbing the slimy piling to get back in.

[JellyMan]

Ran my boat into hundreds of massive fishing spiders in some grass. They started jumping into the boat and I proceeded to have a crisis.

[Christian M]

Anyone else ever have this happen??? Casting with a baitcaster and a loose grip on the rod, in mid-cast get a backlash and the snap of the lure on the other end pulls the rod and reel right out of your hands and into the drink.

LOL, I have had it happen twice, first time I caught the end of the rod by my finger tips before the rod sank to the deep depths of a river and the second time I was on a clear lake in 10 ft of water. I tied on a heavy in-line spinner with a treble hook on the end to snag my rod.

I have since learned to have a better grip on my rod while at the same time finessing the spool with my thumb.

I had a buddy do something similar, but with my rod & reel. He asked if he could cast my new $450 rod & reel, next thing I know he lost a grip on it & I saw it sinking. Luckily the braided line was still floating. I grabbed the line & pulled until I got to the mono backing with a slipknot tied around the spool & gently pulled it out of the muddy, grassy bottom. I had to clean & grease the reel before I could use it again. Needless to say he never touched another rod of mine.

[coldsud]

I was standing over top a small seawall just casting out into the river with my spinning ultra light one day after work. Had a too big spinner bait on it but didn't care. Well anyway i'm just casting along not a care in the world. I go to throw again but this time either I forgot to open the bail or I knocked it close while casting the spinner bait slings out about 10 feet stops shoots back around my neck and somehow pulls the rod out of my hand over the seawall. In matter of about half a second I find myself standing there with a spinner bait rapped around my neck and a rod in the water. There were a couple different people fishing there at the time too. Not my proudest moment. Then I found five dollars.

[lmbfisherman]

Retied a favorite spinnerbait.

 

Cut the tag line.

 

Watched the spinnerbait fall into the water.

 

Yep, I cut the main line and not the tag line.

 

Also tied boat to ramp to get trailer but did not think there was any river current to put any stress on the boat so I just put the rope around the ramp's cleat two times.

 

When I returned to the ramp with the trailer the boat was floating away.

 

Had to go into the Rappahannock River to swim out to get the boat and swim her back to the ramp.

 

Two guys fishing near the ramp thought it was very funny.

HAHA I've done that, fortunately it was on shore that time. 

 

Stupidest thing I've done was launch my canoe in one corner of the lake (last season the water level as you all know was really bad) normally it is deeper so usually couldn't launch easily with a steep bank.  Anyway, I put all my equipment in the canoe slowly put it in the water, went down to get in and bam my legs go in knee deep and I kept sinking!  Didn't think to check the mud, luckily there were nearby cattails so I grabbed onto them for dear life!  Of course then I noticed an animal carcass too behind the cattails and I had no choice but to pull myself up on top of this rotting carcass.  It was a wonderful day for sure, I also had to save my boots too as they got stuck in the mud.  After that I always check how bad the bottom is with a pole. 

[bassguytom]

This spring I lifted my bass mojo rod and it was under my anchor cleat. The rod snapped. That really was really stupid.

[NEjitterbugger]

My dad and I drove about an hour and a half to fish, we got the conoe in the water with the lifejackets, anchor, tacklebox, etc... When we wanted to begin fishing we looked at eachother and realized we had forgotten our rods, not in the car... at home....

[TC235 <*))))><]

I've got plenty and only been seriously been fishing for less than 5 years. Who knows what awaits me for the upcoming years lol.

 

I've droped two fishing rods in the water. One on accident and the other being dumb.

 

The accident was when i was in a canoe and had my BPS carbonlite jury rigged in the back upright. Worked fine for awhile un untill out of nowhere i heard splash. I was going to freak until i saw the carbonlite floating. Thankfully it was a really light combo. Would of never seen it again. Was in water deeper than 20ft

 

Other time i was starting to lose focus after a long day of not to many fish. Casted out and got a backlash with braid that dead-stopped the line and threw the rod a couple feet in front of me. The rod didn't float. Took around a hour to fish out from the bottom. Luckly i was somewhat shallow. Proabably 5-6 feet.

 

 

One of my favorites has to be when a buddy and i took a trip almost a hour away. Forgot the battery and never went fishing. Was a really nice day to be out on the water too. After that day i never ever left anything behind.

[CountBassula]

Me no, nothing stupid, yet (well maybe except how sometimes I suck at casting and I will hit the same tree five times in a row because i'm too dense to move over a bit).

 

But I hear LgMouthGambler once left his rod lying on a boat with the tip over the boat's edge, and a hollow body frog with enough line to touch the water... you guess what happened :-)

[LgMouthGambler]

Me no, nothing stupid, yet (well maybe except how sometimes I suck at casting and I will hit the same tree five times in a row because i'm too dense to move over a bit).

 

But I hear LgMouthGambler once left his rod lying on a boat with the tip over the boat's edge, and a hollow body frog with enough line to touch the water... you guess what happened :-)

 

And this is why I now have a Dobyns Savvy Series. At least I got my upgrade!

[HuskyKMA]

Can't really think of anything too stupid while bass fishing.

 

When salmon fishing, we were on the outside of the hog line and had a massive container ship bearing down on us. After a few seconds trying to convince ourselves that he would miss us, we concluded that we needed to pull anchor and move fast! I motored forward quickly and began dragging the anchor up, but I started turning too sharply too soon to avoid the ship and hooked our anchor on the anchor lines of the two boats next to us. Pulled them into each other and began towing them up river behind our boat. Our anchor was on the surface under the buoy with their anchor lines tangled around it and we got them released pretty quickly. I'm not sure if they knew we had them hooked. That could have really turned into a bad situation, could have easily flipped one or both of the other boats, and it could have prevented us from getting out of the way of the container ship. We move much earlier for those ships now, it's not worth it to play Russian roulette with them!!!

[Topwaterspook]

After repairing a "Seizmic Toad" with super glue. I stuck it between my lips while I fumbled around putting the cap back on to the glue. Yep, you guessed it. super glued the toad to my lips!

[Highhawk1948]

Launched my boat without the line tied from the trailer and the boat.  Had to swim for it.