Stolen Rod & Reel

Confusion came first. My other rod wasn’t where I thought I’d left it. Had I been settled in a little different spot than I’d remembered? I looked up and down the pier and still didn’t see it and then look back to where I had just been fishing to see if I had toted it with me. Still nothing.

Then I noticed my grungy tackle box, right where I’d left it and right where my rod and reel should have been. Then it started to sink in. My new rod and reel — a nice Penn saltwater spinning outfit that I had saved for and bought only weeks before that night — had been stolen.

It was the first thing of value ever stolen from me, and it hit hard. The pier crowd was my community, so I hadn’t even considered that leaving quality gear unattended while I hopped from spot to spot with my other rod was a bad idea. At 17 or 18, I suppose I just trusted everyone on the pier (and everywhere.)

Of course, I’ll never know if it was a fellow angler who saw me roam out of watching range and decided it was time to go home with an new rod and reel or whether it was a non-fisherman who simply saw something that could be turned into cash at a pawn shop. Either way, I felt betrayed, and I suppose to a degree I still do. 

I’ve had various other things stolen in my life — even a car when I was in college and a wallet. However, nothing dug as deep as having my new rod and reel stolen from the pier where I so much liked spending time.

I don’t recall whether I fished any more that night, but my guess is that I just picked up my old tackle box and went home. 

I’m glad to say it didn’t ruin pier fishing or even Big Pier 60 for me. And I suppose it did make me a little bit wiser. Not a lot. More than 40 years later, I still sometimes leave stuff laying around where I probably shouldn’t. I’m more aware now, though, and at least I do so knowing it’s a bit of a risk!