Many moons ago on a fateful offshore fishing trip, an unlucky event unfolded. While struggling with a 50-or-so-pound Yellowfin, or perhaps Albacore Tuna, I lost my grip on my rod and reel.
Only it wasn't my rod and reel. I had borrowed several setups (because I had none) to take out when the tuna bite was on.
Always Inspect Your Gear
Running any kind of business that requires machinery also required maintenance. Same with owning and operating a vehicle. You don't just drive it on and on without giving it love.
Machines need calibrating and cars regular check-ups to ensure their proper and continued use. It's exactly the same way for an angler with his or her gear. Frozen reel bearings, cracks in rods, rusty hooks, and old compromised line won't do.
And as fishers of fish, we tend to learn the lesson of gear maintenance the hard way. That's been my experience for sure. In fact, it happened on this same trip when I lost a borrowed setup.
0 For 3 On A Hot Bite & Then I Noticed My Line
To add some flair to the story, it may as well be known that this all happened back in my drinking days. No wonder I didn't inspect the gear I'd borrowed for the trip. There must have been beer to be drunk.
It's a shame, thinking back, that I wasn't sharp enough to realize the gear needed love before use. Tuna were almost jumping in the boat that day and I missed many opportunities.
It was after I'd lost the first three tuna I'd hooked into that I noticed the line on the reel was bad. Having borrowed 5 or 6 setups, I quickly grabbed another. Moments later I was hooked on another tuna and the line broke again!
F&$k, D/#m, S@"t!!!!
Lit up on beer like a Christmas candle, the Captain must have thought I wasn't worth the weight on his boat by this point. Finally taking the time to inspect the line on my remaining borrowed rods, I found one that was good. It was time to redeem myself!
The Deckhand That Tried To Help
Once again the Captain found the fish and in short order I was on, this time with solid line. It was a shorter, thinner rod with lighter monofilament fishing line. But the line wasn't old.
I remember worrying the setup wasn't enough to handle the tuna I had on the end of it, but the point would soon become mute.
Right next to me, another angler who was also hooked up crossed my line. His tuna circled my line a few times before we recognized the tangle and the deckhand was there to help.
He took my setup and began circling it around the other anglers' rod. Once it appeared our lines were no longer crossed, I moved away from the other angler.
But our lines weren't quite all the way uncrossed. Seeing there was one more wrap to undo, the deckhand grabbed the other anglers' setup. I was already moving back towards the angler to readdress the tangle when the deckhand moved sharply in my direction.
Our reels came together with a loud smack as the sideplates connected with each other violently. Not at all expecting the vibration from the collision, my hands inadvertently opened. Not the best thing for hands to do when they're holding a rod with a pulling tuna.
When this happens, it's not like dropping a rock off the side of a boat and watching it sink. The setup I was holding hit the water at a good 30 MPH and accelerated from there. Tuna, rod, reel, hook, and line (I wasn't using a sinker) were gone in a flash.
Whining & Complaining
Being the little punk that I was back then, I let it be known how upset I was to have lost a borrowed setup. The deckhand also felt bad and we had words about what had happened.
He basically said I dropped my setup and I argued it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't knocked his reel into mine. On a positive note, it was a successful trip for the boat and I did end up with a couple of tuna.
At some point on our long journey back to land, the deckhand did a good deed. He approached me and apologized, offering me a setup of his own. Joe, whom I borrowed all the equipment from, wasn't happy to hear I'd lost one of his setups. Having the replacement to offer him was my saving grace.
Else I would have had to buy Joe a brand new rod and reel before I had even bought my own.
Hope you liked the tale and as always...
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