I have had luck with retrieving a couple. We would have gotten this one if neighbor had not caught the marker. That was stupid.I would have been pissed if it was my rod. Buddy of mine caught a Lew's 7-1/2' telescoping speed stick on Texoma that had 1/2 of a good size gizzard shad on one end. He caught the line and starting pulling it in. He was going to give up and throw it back but I convinced him to keep pulling. There was a line of guide boat just to our and I figured one of them lost it. 2 summers ago on Texoma I was drifting a 10" gizzard near Mac creek and put my rod in the holder and accidetnly engaged the spool. We all heard a loud pop and were WTH was that. I saw my rod and holder go flying out of the boat. I was right there when it hit the water and almost went in after it. Reel was a real loss because it was a 5600CA with clicker and they don't make them any longer. I would have liked to have seen that fish.

That's a tough one. Catching the line is probably your best bet but if you tried with a spoon and didn't get it, then the line may not be out of the reel as far as you think. Also in 25' of water the rod can "sail" a long way on the way down to the bottom. At some point you have to weigh the cost of the rod and reel against the lost fishing time trying to find it. Oh and as an encouragement, many of us have been there...

Maybe a fish took the bait on the rod and drug it off. I caught a Duckett rod with a Lews bb1 reel once while deep cranking someone had lost. Good luck!

Dragged until I lost the rig. Not sure if the high water in May/June would have moved it. Also it is a popular fishing area someone may have snagged it.

Coat hanger in shape of a V. A treble hook on both ends, filed down so they are not sharp. Also add a weight to both ends. It worked for me on fork in 30 ft water.