I have been boating and fishing for over twenty years but I have never not came home at the end of the day. Made a few catfishing trips where we fished until sunrise but then went home.

I have a trip to a distant lake coming up where I will be staying several nights in a cabin at the lake. I talked to the owners and they said they have boat slips with electric that we could rent for $20 a night or lots of people just park their boat on the trailer by their cabin and run an extension cord out to charge.

My main concern is theft. For those of you that travel and fish do you completely empty your boat every night? It seems that while the slip would be convenient it would be a hassle carrying everything back and forth every day. My boat doesn’t have any lockable storage. I am thinking I will have to remove my graphs, poles, tackle boxes, life jackets, etc every night.

Only leave in your boat what you are willing to replace.

Excellent advice from rockyp

+1

When we travel for family trips and rent a cabin I park the boat where I can see it from my bedroom window. I bring a pole that I hammer in with a motion activated light that is wired to plug into an extension cord. I still remove my graphs at night but it’s worked out great for me. Scout out the cabins for the proper set up ahead of time….
Good luck!

This. I don't overnight with a boat but I always bring all of my valuables into my bivvy. The rods stay out as they're on bite alarms and if someone tries to steal 'em it'll beep at me and I'll be up and out to run them off (or more likely, catch the fish on the other end!)

Keep your boat close & your weapon closer. Unload what you want to keep. You'll sleep better.

What lake? What cabins? Maybe someone here has experience there? Get as much info upfront as you can.

Good advice so far.

Depends on where I am

I do several overnight fishing trips each year and I've never had a problem. I was in Traverse City and Detroit just last week. First, I'm selective about where I stay (is it a decent area?). When staying at a hotel, I always call ahead and ask about boat parking with access to electricity. Try to select spaces that are under lighting and preferably on a side of the hotel where you can see it from your room window. You mentioned that you have a cabin, so I would take my boat back to the cabin with me. Be sure to take an extension cord so that you can charge your batteries. If you have a cover for your boat, I would recommend putting it on every night. That seems to be a bit of a deterrent for some. My boat also has locks on all compartment doors so that's nice. I have e-locks installed on my graphs now, but before I had them I would remove my graphs when staying at a hotel... not when staying in a cabin. Maybe I've just been lucky, but this has always worked out for me. I wouldn't let the worry keep me from making the trip! Just use some caution and common sense and go have a good time.

I don’t leave anything in the boat at night. Years ago it was not much of an issue but theft has increased in many of the areas where I fish.

I travel over night a lot for fishing stay at hotels where the boat can be out of site but I have an alarm system that’s cheap and has never failed me. Harbor freight sells a wireless security alert system for under 15$. It’s a motion sensor good for about 300 ft from the sensor. Uses 9v battery and 3 C. I cover the red light with black tape and have the base on a Velcro strip. It sticks to the carpet back by the motor pointed at the truck. Anybody walks by the boat it will alert you. Going on 6 years using the same system. I have to change the batteries every 6-9 months. Bunker hill