I finally lost a rod to the bay

[Fish123]

So I dropped a rod and tee overboard on Saturday and luckily it wasn’t one of my more expensive set ups. I tried leashes when I first started but found them to be a massive pain. Anyone use the foam rod floats? They don’t seem like they would do much, but I could be wrong. How do you make sure you don’t lose a expensive rod and reel?

[Mark]

Fish123,

That's unfortunate but it happens.

I also used to leash my rods when I started kayak fishing but it got to be too much bother for me. I also was concerned about tangling in the leashes should I roll my boat. I've always managed to keep the wet side down, cross my fingers, so the possibility of being lashed underwater with leashes is something that will remain remain a mystery to me since I no longer use them.

I have used the floats in the past and they did work on my rods, which are mostly light to medium lightweight. They even worked on my fly rods and my low profile baitcasters without interfering with the line.

You can see where I placed them in these old photos:

IMG_1912.jpg 10 (2).JPG

I kept the floats on the rods butted against the handles since the reel is heaviest part of my outfits. I tested them in shallow water to make sure they would work.

But, in time I stopped using the floats. I noticed that they were dulling the finish on one of my rods. I think that was due to water staying under them after I rinsed my rods with freshwater after trips. So I started putting them on and taking them off before and after each trip. That got to be too much trouble also.

But the floats did indeed work. Perhaps if I lose a rod, I will try them again. Right now a lost rod would make me feel pretty bad, mainly due to the sentimental attachment I have to some of my older gear, but I believe I would view it as a cost of doing business for a hobby I enjoy.

[dsaavedra]

Oof, that sucks. I lost a rod overboard once in about 12 feet of water. I was reaching for a rod out of my milk crate rod holder and the handle caught on another rod and sent it overboard with I grabbed the rod I was going for. It was a St. Croix too! I spent the next half hour to 40 minutes dredging a 3/4 oz rattle trap over the spot where I lost it, eventually I snagged it and was able to recover it.

Sort of related, I lost a band new stringer overboard while fishing in the bay, no big deal because it cost about $4 but I literally bought it that morning and was looking forward to using it on an upcoming snakehead trip so I was bummed. Fast forward two weeks and I'm fishing the same spot, a boat comes up and fishes on the other side of this piece of structure (where I lost the stringer weeks before) and sure enough he pulls something up and yells over to me "Hey you didn't lose a stringer did you?" He managed to snag the exact stringer that I had lost 2 weeks prior! It didn't move an inch sitting at the bottom of the bay for 2 weeks!

So maybe there's hope to recover your lost rod if you remember exactly where you dropped it? Daisy chain some huge treble hooks with bullet sinkers and drag it around? Get a magnet fishing magnet?

To answer your original question, now I have these little elastic coils with clips on the end, I have one attached to each of my rod holders. So I clip the rods in place when they're in the holder to avoid a situation like the one that caused me to lose my first rod. Whichever rod I'm actively using is not leashed and does not have a float, however.

[Big Mike]

The briny deep has always claimed her share of treasure. I’ve lost a couple of rods over the years and while I don’t like it, it’s part of the territory. If you’ve got nice equipment you’ve paid a premium for weight, sensitivity, and balance. Adding floats or leashes offsets why you bought the good stuff to begin with. So fish your equipment the way it was meant to be fished and just recognize that’s there’s a chance of......

[ronaultmtd]

Plus one to a Big Mike Post...exactly right...

[moc]

I have never lost an expensive rod, but I have lost two inexpensive rods to Poseidon treasure chest. I use the floats when I can. I was able to recover a good rod thanks to the floats. I worried also about the entanglement issue that were echoed earlier.

[rugbyfish]

I use floats, which can be annoying at times, but it’s never bothered me too much. I’d rather be mildly annoyed occasionally than lose a nice rod and reel once.

[john from md]

So I dropped a rod and tee overboard on Saturday and luckily it wasn’t one of my more expensive set ups. I tried leashes when I first started but found them to be a massive pain. Anyone use the foam rod floats? They don’t seem like they would do much, but I could be wrong. How do you make sure you don’t lose a expensive rod and reel?

After loosing a nice rod and reel, I tried leashes but go tangled up. I then switched to rod floats and, after testing, found my rods need 2 on each. No big deal they work fine but I secured mine with Goop so they don't mover around.

John

[bassguy84]

I found the floats to slide a lot on the cast and gave those up after leashes as well. I and also most people I know have lost them while unhooking a fish. I try to be very careful of where I put my rod then. Might use the goop idea. I buy pretty cheap stuff but it is more sentimental. I broke one of my favorite spinning rods traveling to Florida and was a mess for a couple days. Now I just fish and if it happens it happens.

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[Fish123]

Thanks for all the replies! This was a rod and reel under an month old too. It was just a penn battle combo but still sucked haha. It was at the end of day coming to the launch and I went to get my paddle and knocked it right out of the rod holder. I dredged the bottom with a 1oz jighead for about 30 mins and couldn’t find it. I might try to put rod floats on only when I’m not using the rod. This will probably last all of one trip before I get tired of it.


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[PigPen]

I've dropped 2 rods over board but being the cheap scotsman that I am I've gone dredging with my anchor and retrieved both. I try to use these home made leashes but they foul the spinning reel. I wish there was a more elegant way to attach them the the handles

[Hemingway]

Sounds like I’m going to be the exception here. I have fished for years with up to 4 Leashes attached, this is after losing three rods a couple of which were very expensive combos overboard. I have turtled twice while using leashes and fortunately had no problems with entanglement and were able to recover the rods. I use the Hobie leash, and have worked out a system that does not affect my casting or retrieving. The Hobie has a little accordion stretch so it helps keep a tidy deck. I did try using paracord first, but they did rats’ nest and drag in the water. The trick with the Hobie leash was to attach the quick release tether so that the leash exits away from the crank, and does not affect rod handling by getting in the way when you are retrieving or fighting a fish. I do fish up to 10-12 hrs. some days with a lot of casting, so having a balanced comfortable piece of durable equipment is essential. I think the float option would affect that more. It always comes down to finding what works for you, and just taking the hit of losing an expensive piece of equipment as part of a days fishing became too much for me.

[jbrown]

I lost a very expensive set up on the Chesapeake in deep water between the two bridge span’s. No way I was going to get that back. I lost it due to an ill advised back cast and flips the rod right out of the molded kayak rod holder. That was $350 on the bottom of the ocean. The floats to work. You would at least have several seconds to reach down and grab it if you knew it went overboard. I do clip them to my kayak with a short leash and then unclip them when I use them. The rod that I am holding in my hand hopefully I will not drop ever. The leashes are somewhat cumbersome. The floats are cheap and work but with a spinning outfit you will hear the line whizzing off of it when you cast. And they do slide up and down the rod.


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[john from md]

Goop will stop the sliding and it will peel off if you want to take it off.

[Mark]

When I used floats, I would take a medium to large rubber band and fasten it to the rod itself via a loop knot. I would wrap the tag end of the band around the rod to create a little bump of rubber, which added girth to the rod. Then I would add the float to the rod on top of that little mound of rubber band. The rubber band stopped the float from spinning on the rod and from moving up and down. Also I tightly cinched the Velcro fasteners on the floats.

I never found that the floats adversely impacted the balance of my rods, nor did they interfere with the line. The floats are very light and they make a low profile on the rods. But I did find them to be visually distracting. That and the installation and removal process is why I stopped using them.

However do try the rubber band method if your floats are moving on the rod which indeed is a real annoyance.