dumbest thing you've done while fishing

[Big Daddy Duke]

Like most of you I have done some pretty dumb things while enjoying a day on the water. But the main one that comes to mind was on one of my many attempts to learn how to use a baitcaster. Which by the way I still can't use worth a darn so any tips would be great. Now I have what you would call a bit of a "MILD" temper at times and it will sometimes get the best of me. On this occasion I had went to the local sporting goods and bought a cheap baitcaster to learn on which was probably my first mistake and then headed out to Mark Twain Lake here in Missouri for the first time ever fishing that water. After about 30 45 minutes of surveying I found a nice cove that had lots of good cover and went to work. The first 2 3 cast went pretty smooth and I started thinking that I had it, made a couple more cast and stated to get a little cocky and started bragging to my buddy that I was fishing with my big boy toy. Then it happened, made a long cast dropped the lure close to where I wanted it and then looked down. The reel had back lashed so bad that it looked like a giant wad of tangled line that some one pulled out of the back of there truck. This mad me a little angry but I sat there for close to an hour untangling all that mess and all the while here's by buddy catching bass one of another, which only added to my frustration. So I get it all cleaned up talk a little trash and proceed on my hunt for a monster bass. Throw a few casts and it happened again, I had caused another back lash but this time was worse than before. That was it I was heated took the rod snapped it over my knee and threw it as hard as I could which I'm sure if it would have ended there I would have been fine. The problem came right after the throw, that was when my buddy started rocking the boat from laughter and I lost my footing. Next thing I know I'm treading water and my buddy along with another 2 other guys in another boat are crying there laughing so hard. I was so embarrassed I just told my buddy I would meet him at the dock and headed for shore. By the time I got there I had been able to think about how stupid and funny it had to look seeing a fat man fall head first into the water rather ungracefully and was able to laugh it off myself. Which was a good thing seeming's how my buddy and the other two guys had already made it back and were waiting to tell me all about it. 3 years later it's still my buddy's favorite fishing story.

On a side note this is my first post as I am brand new to this forum so, Hello to all and I look forward to reading, and learning from you all.

[Blues19]

I was fishing at a local pond before I could drive so i had my parents drop me off.  I made a cast toward a big bush taht was in the middle of the pond. My texas rigged brush hog was buried in the branches and all the swinging wasnt doing anything so i tightened the drag and held the spool and walked backward waiting for my knot or line to break.  All of teh sudden the line went slack, but something hit me in the forehead.  I knew it had to be the bullet weight coming back and hitting me so i put my hand up to feel the lump it made. Turns out i was wrong, the hook was stuck there. I ripped it out cause I was alone and the blood was like a waterfall.  It was about an inch and a half over my eye and i had no glasses so I got lucky.

[RoLo]

Dumbest thing you've done while fishing

Would you like that numerically or alphabetically? :-?

Roger

[Gangley]

Done this one dozens of times while night fishing, tied the perfect Palomar knot, cut the tag end and looked down to see the bullet weight sitting on the deck.

Can't count how many times I have tied the knot before realizing the weight wasn't on the line, lol.  Glad I'm not the only one to do this 

[Fishes in trees]

I've been reading through this thread and I realize that I've done alot of the things that have happened to other guys. Several times I could have been severely injured, but wasn't.

Probably the dumbest thing I've done on the water was to mouth off at a Water Patrol agent. He thought I was drunk ( I wasn't, I was stoned - minor difference) He boarded the boat and proceeded to go through the compartments and live well, looking for who knows what. On a positive note, it didn't occur to him to look in my pocket. After an exhaustive search and inventory of all required safety equipment he told me to beat it.

I'm still not sure what he did, i.e. boarding my boat with out an invitation was legal but I don't fish that lake very often any more - and that incident was over 10 years ago. These days when I am required to have a conversation with a Water Patrol or consevation agent (mind you, I don't seek out these conversations) I am totally polite. Yes sir, no sir, short to the point answers to quesitons and I never volunteer anything.

[Bass Junkie]

I've had a similar experiance with the whole yanking the T-Rig and it coming back thing. I still have the glasses I was wearing, with the scratch right over the right eye. I'm lucky to have that eye. I've also hooked a fishing partner while casting...... Not good.... I've tried to grab a lure with Gammy trebles after flipping it into the air over hydrilla.... hooked my self with a lure I was tying on(still don't know how that one happened).... I also cast a rod into the water. Not mine, mind, but my fishing partners. I was chuckin' a buzzbait, went to cast, and I feel the rod really load up. I chucked the thing 15yards or so into 12ft. of water. I just started reeling as fast as I could, and wouldn't you know it but that stupid thing was still hooked..... I was luuuuuuucky!!!!!! Those are the ones I care to tell :

EDIT: I've also cut off a Rooster-Tail that I was absolutely killing 'em on that day, and watched it bounce off the side of the boat and sink..... And used a medium action rod with frogs for two years..... I missed atleast one teen fish because of that.............. And several 5-6's............

[spooksandflukes]

Well there is too many dumb things to list here, but a few come to mind. When I was maybe 16 or 17 I was fishing this small mountain river. Its loaded with little redeyes and I had hiked about 3/4 mi to get there and on the first cast my spinner caught a branch of an overhanging hemlock tree. In the process of trying to free my bait I gave it a super yank and it came flying straight at me and stuck two of the trebles right under my right eye. Anyway, I couldn't see to remove it so I had to hike all the way back out to my car so I could use the side mirror to remove the hooks.

Another time I was fishing on my friend's boat. It was early springtime and the fish were really biting good. My friend hooks up and starts fighting with a foul hooked 3lb bass and starts yelling for the net. I reel in several ft of line on my new quantum baitcaster combo and set it on the rear deck floor of the boat. While netting the fish I notice something in the net besides the fish and realize that thing looks a lot like my cell phone. In my rush I had brushed the net across my pocket catching the belt clip and pulling my phone out. I untangle the fish and hand it over and retrieve my phone pull battery out really quick and put it in my gear bag. Then I hear a dragging sound then thump and a splash. I turned around and my rod was no longer on the deck. The water was still in the mid 50s so the last I saw of that rig was it sinking to the bottom of lake Hartwell. Luckily my phone was alright after drying out, but never saw my rod again.

[airborne_angler]

I was musky fishing, I had just tied on a $25 lure to my line, trimmed the tag & threw it overboard, exept....I had actualy tied on to a old piece of line that was on my boat floor. I was really confused when I picked up my rod & there was no lure attached!

I did this once with a Mattlures Bluegill.

Ive dropped The pliers overboard when I was trying to shake a treble out of a Trouts mouth. Shook the fish free,opened my hand and in the pliers went.

I was launching my boat out of the back of the truck and ended up getting a crankbait stuck in my my leg. I clipped the line,and went fishing with the lure still attached. On every cast,my leg rattled. Removed it easily when I got home.

I decided for some reason I wanted to Anchor off the rear of the boat,as thats where I fish,and its easier to manage the anchor from back there,instead of climbing up front all the time.

Waves were crashing over the back ,filling up the rear compartment of the Jon Boat I was in. I got to pulling up the anchor(which got stuck),the back end dipped lower and lower until I had to jump ship because the boat had taken on too much water.

I Destroyed(Bent) the shaft to my TM,Broke a blade off the prop, while trying to muscle the sunken boat back on land I didnt have an oar with me.,Yet after I drained everything and recovered my gear,I managed to limp the boat all the way back in(barely),fighting the wind the whole way.

I ended up losing 3 Rod/Reel Combos off the boat in that experience which I retrieved 2 days later.

For those that dont know already...

DO NOT ANCHOR OFF THE BACK OF A BOAT!!

[JaxBasser]

I had hooked a large bass (5+lbs) on a Horny Toad. As the fish got close to the bank for whatever freaking reason my brain decided "hey, lets try to just flip the fish out of the water onto the bank like an idiot instead of leaning over to lip it". Yeah I lost the fish.

I was dumbfounded as to why I would even try that, I was beyond ticked off. I chalk it up to rust and excitement. Would have been my first fish of the year this year. I caught some other that day so it wasn't so bad though.

[AndyPlaysDrums]

DO NOT ANCHOR OFF THE BACK OF A BOAT!!

My boating certification instructor was incessant about this.

[shallow thinker]

A couple of painful memories........

Once I ended up at the ramp without my boat keys.  Still fished with the trolling motor and got a 4 lb bass.

I lost 3 different pairs of expensive sunglasses off the deck of my boat.  One was while packing in the driveway at night and the other 2 were taking the glasses off while on the water (then jumping up on plane).  Now I wear cheaper glasses

[bassman018]

I was fishing off a pier in lake champlain and makea perfect cast with a floating rapala, then i hear a huge splash I turn around to see my dads favorite old rod and reel combo sinking in 40 deg. water. and me with a floating bait the was nothing i could do. Then I was fishing with a brand new 6.6 ultralight doin a side cast unbenounced to me my friend walked up and i wacked him right in theback with my new rod and broke it over him he then fell forward in the water and was unbelievably ticked when I stopped laughing so hard I realized my 100dollar rod was busted. then I casted a popper with a good knot and hit the other side of this river, broke off, then one of my buddies went swimming.... found it... gave it back and I tied it on went for another cast and saw my lure foating away.... I felt so dumb...

[baluga]

I farted in my waders and forgot about it.

Then later when I got to my car and loosened my belt the stink came out.

Waders!...we don't need no stinking waders!

[J Francho]

I farted in my waders and forgot about it.

Then later when I got to my car and loosened my belt the stink came out.

Waders!...we don't need no stinking waders!

The old breathable waders Dutch oven.....uggghhhh!

[RoLo]

I farted in my waders and forgot about it.

Then later when I got to my car and loosened my belt the stink came out.

Waders!...we don't need no stinking waders!

PHEW! Talk about a fate worse than death 

[Shane Procell]

12 miles deep in the everglades, I sunk my boat in alligator infested water.

I'd like to hear a little more about that one!!!

x2. Do tell.

I was in the everglades backcountry running airboat trails (a place I should never have had my boat) with my friend/sponsor. When I came off plane the lower unit settled into into the swamp muck pretty hard. Never gave it any thought. Filled the livewell with some hawgs and started the run out. Noticed the peehole was clogged. Shut the boat down and both of us were working on unplugging the peehole. What we did not notice was that our weight (500#'s + 220# motor) was causing us to take water over the transome of my skiff. My partner hollers that my fuel tank was floating. I thought we had accidentially knocked the plug out. 20 seconds later the boat had filled to the rub rails and smoothly settled to the bottom of the muck bed. Somewhere during that 20 second period we both bailed out because we were listing hard to starboard and a few seconds from rolling over. Now we are in the water looking at a major problem. The only part of the boat above water was the trolling motor, steering wheel, motor cowling and poling platform. After alot of "What the heck just happened", we worked the boat about 40 yards over to a sawgrass island (I could feel with my feet that the base of the island was dug out by gators). We got the bow up on the island as far as we could and my pardner went to the stern and tried to hold it up as I used a tackle box to bail boat. I would have used the bilge pump but it plugged up immediately by the muck. It took 2 hours to get enough water out of the boat to safely get up on plane. Thankfully the motor started up and off we went. Its funny now ;D....but at the time it was a nightmare X10. Didn't have time to worry about the gators.

Yep thats definately the dumbest thing i think I have ever done.......

[BassMike88]

Back in 1994, I was fishing in the Chagrin River with my father for smallmouth bass. As it was getting just past dusk, bats began to fly. A bat got caught in my line. As the hilarity ensued, something unbelievable happened. A bullfrog jumped up and grabbed the bat in it's mouth. I still laugh 17 years later at that. I have a picture from a Polaroid somewhere. I'll show it sometime.

[shootermcbob]

BassMike88, taking your bat story one step further, I was fishing last summer and felt something on the end of my fishing rod...keeping me from reeling in. I thought it was part of a lily pad since they were everywhere. I reached up to pull "it" off, and a bat bit me on the middle finger.

Rabies shorts ensued shortly thereafter. Not fun.

Now, if i even think something is on my rod/line...on comes the headlamp. ;D

[CSimon2]

I have a couple of stories that come to mind while fishing in Canada. 

I was 19 and it was my first time going to Canada back in 1996.  I had hooked into a pike on the second day there.  It was heavy and hard to pull in, so I thought it was huge.  I got it to the boat and it was just covered in mud.  I had seen nothing like it before or after for that matter.  I grabbed it behind the head and brought it up to the boat.  I was not able to find my pliers, so stupid me set the northern down in the bottom of the boat.  That thing started thrashing and threw mud all over me and my boat buddy.  My boat buddy was not too happy with me at the time.  It was a quick lesson learned.

The next year I had gone up and had a different boat buddy.  This guy had a huge red and white musky prop bait tied on a baitcaster.  I was the one driving the boat because it was his first time up there, so when we would move to a different area, he would take out this set up and throw it out and let it run while we were moving.  This one time, I don't know exactly what happened, but I heard a splash and then some cussing.  His rod and reel had gone for a swim.  Luckily it was a topwater lure, so we were able to go and grab that, but he had left the spool disengaged.  We sat there as he had to take up his whole spool of line to get back his rod and reel.  Funny for me, but not so funny for him. 

[7mm-08]

Had to swim after a couple of boats when unloading due to rotten rope.  Once was just above a lock on the KY River.   

I also dropped 2 rods off the boat into Green River Lake in one day.  Only time I ever did it and it was two separate occasions on the same day.  Both were retrieved with a large treble thankfully.

My cousin hooked a nice bass on a Roostertail and the hook came loose right as he was pulling the bass in to land it.  It wrapped around his head then the hook went completely through the cartilage in his ear.  He manned up and got it out with pliers.  I was in tears laughing so didn't assist much with the removal.

[piscicidal]

I've got a flats boat that has a poling platform on the back. I was pulling it out of the garage one day to go fish the everglades when the poling platform caught on the red release handle on the garage door lift. You can imagine what happens now...the garage door comes down, my poling platform hooks the garage door. I tear the poling platform off the boat and bend the garage door out in one fell swoop.

Didn't keep me down for too long, though. I grabbed a rubber mallet, banged the garage door back into place (kind of), threw the platform in the backyard and went fishing! Caught a bunch too...

[joshholmes]

heading out on a lake without checking the weather report in a leaky canoe. lets just say 20+ mph winds pushing you the wrong way down the lake away from your dock and your favorite spot with no cup to bail the boat out, no trolling motor and getting stuck in a rocky area don't go together well

[Cecil]

Night fishing from shore at a local pond on a completely moonless night. It was really dark and I couldn't tell how close to shore I had worked my Senko. Got a hit and set the hook so hard I launched the fish through the air and hit myself in the face with it. Never even saw it comin.

Now that's funny.   ;D

[South FLA]

1. Turned around to check motor tilt while going full speed 60+ and lost a pair of brand new Costa's with 580 lenses!

2. Forgot to put the plug in Jon boat after throwing it over a levee in gator infested water.  Did not have a choice so had to floor my 9.9 hp engine to get the water out, put out a wake the size of a sport fisherman while going down the canal AT NIGHT!

3. Tied on a new spinner-bait and proceeded to throw it in the water, problem is I cut the tag end of the knot and when I threw it in it was not attached to my line.  Then to did it again!  (420 moment in college)

[bigbill]

Please don't get hurt when you fall on the ground laughing i'm not responcible.

My son is one of those kids who is so smart he has degrees on degrees of education but they took out the common sense i tell him all the time. He is one heck of an engineer but with the hands on stuff we have to watch him. He'll give you the shirt off his back to help you too.

Ok he purchases his buddy's boat. First they all tried to help him tune it. There are two sets of ign points in the engine. He told me they had problems trying to get it running. I went over and tuned it and fired it up.

They cut out the middle seat to install a post seat(the previous owner). Then they tried to bolt in a bench seat again. Then i look at the partical board they use for a strengthener when making the fiberglass on this boat and its soft and swollen and the glass is cracked and the plywood is showing in spots. This was in the late fall.

Trip number 1 "the first outing of the SS Minnow"

Hang on now. We launch the boat on the lake to go pike fishing and luckily the engine won't start. It sat all winter with no stabil in it. This was an intervention from God that day. All of a sudden there is water flowing in the bottom of the boat. My son says there's a crank in the keel of the boat but we have enough time to take it fishing because its a slow leak. I'm thinking my tackle boxes need life preservers too? Since it didn't start we went home.

I repaired the 6'' long crack in the keel. The problem was they tried to use cheese cloth were it wasn't needed.  I patched it with just fiberglass.  Now its running. We launch it and he forgets the drain plug. Again were taking on water much faster now while were moving. The drain plug is at home of course.

Thats it for me with the SS Minnow.

I notice the boat is very bendable and the fiberglass seems to be weak. We called the non profit org to have them pick up the boat a trailer for free and he donated it. The trailer was like new and the money went to the needy a great cause.

I did feel bad because he purchased it to take me fishing. Maybe soon i'll buy him another boat a better one. I just wished he'd ask me to look at it before he bought the last one. Now the SS minnow has sunk for good its scrapped. Bill

BTW; The look on my face when we were on the water with the keel leaking had to be priceless.