when are you going to learn??????????????????

There is a point in time we need to stop feeling sorry for the folks that get their tackle stolen because of their stupidity and laziness in not removing the items and taking them inside. This has been going on long enough that they should know better. No different than leaving your home sitting wide open while you go on vacation. If the opportunity is there, someone is going to take advantage of the situation.

Bgibson I agree that people should do everything they can to make their boat less attractive to thieves, however there is no way in hell you can remove everything of value from a tournament rigged bass boat every night. Once there is no tackle to steal they will take depthfinders. No depthfinders then they will steal props. etc. etc. etc. The piece of .... thieves are the ones to blame not the people who leave stuff in their boats.

Both of the past two posts (leethefishking and bgibson) make good points. Yes, the thieves are to blame, but if you leave your stuff out unguarded when it is clear that theft is rampant, than you share some culpability. We need to live in reality rather than just 'how it outta be'.
It's hard to equate a person's life with some fishing tackle, but I would be tempted to shoot first and ask questions later myself. If the consequence for stealing isn't dire enough, the thefts will continue.
Of course if it is actually addicts and abusers doing the stealing, there is no reasoning with them, but it also shouldn't be a death sentence.

I had a very similar situation come up a few years back.

I was working on a house over in the East Dallas area. I came out of the house to find a crackhead walking away from my truck with my Dewalt 18v drill, charger, and my new Poulan Chainsaw in his hands. He was stnading right by the tailgate of my truck when I came around the corner and saw him. I think we were both surprised equally by what we saw. I had my hands full of empty boxes, and my toolbelt around my waist. I hollered at him, "you better put my sh!t down now". He just stood there for a second. So I dropped the boxes I had, pulled my hammer and advanced on him quickly. Told him again, "you better put my f'in #&%$ down now"! He set my stuff on the tailgate. I reached in the back and grabbed a large ziptie (I do A/C work), and told him to get on the ground. He backed up a step and said, "if I get on the ground you're going to beat the sh!t outta me". I said, as I raised the hammer, "if you don't get on the ground I'm gonna kill you". He backed up a few more steps, and I closed that distance. I then went into a rant about how I make a living with my tools and he was a sorry piece of [censored] lowlife. He just kept back up, and I kept advancing. At one point he looked behind him like he was going to run, so I unclipped my tool belt,and told him I was very good at throwing my hammer, and I would then beat the living [censored] out of him.

About this time the adrenaline flow ebbed a little bit, and I looked around. All the neighbors were coming outside to see what all of the screaming was about. And I realized that they were all of the same tribe, so to speak. And at that point I started to seriously question if I should get physical about this or just back off, since I had my stuff back anyway. (For some reason I started thinking about Reginald Denny during the Rodney King riots). So I finally told him to get the heck out of their and if I ever saw him again I'd kill him. Once he got 50yds orso away he started ranting racial slurs back at me. So I made a false run at him, and he took off running.

So I went back to my truck to get my phone and call the police. My phone was gone out of my truck! Now I'm furious all over again. I threw all my stuff in the truck and took off in the direction he fled. I round the corner and there's a cop coming down the street. I flagged him down, explained every thing to him. He asked why I didn't hit him and knock him down? I pulled the hammer out (from under my seat) and showed it to him. I told him if I'd have hit him, I'd have killed him. He said something to the effect of me having the right to use deadly force to protect my own property. I told him he wouldn't be telling me that if he were over there picking up that fellas dead body out of the front yard, and at the time I let him go I wasn't aware that my phone was in his pocket. He gave and understanding laugh at that point.

So I told him to just ruin the guy's day if he saw him, and he assured me he would.

The kicker to it all.....My keys were hanging in the ignition of my truck the whole time. He could have taken everything! But the dumb a$$ crackhead couldn't think more than 10$ at a time.

So I went straight to Sprint, cancelled my phone, and got a new one. And life goes on.

Would I have shot him, if I'd had a gun on me? I don't think so. While what he had (drill and charger) were part of my livelyhood, I don't think that would have been worth me taking someone's life over. Or the legalities involved in taking such action.


That's my experience with one of these lowlifes.


Jay

If you take out all your tackle, lifejackets, gear and your depthfinders and leave you rod lockers wide open you would b surprised at how they will not jack with your boat. They are not gonna give it a second look when they see it empty. I figure I spend 15 minutes per day while on a trip loading/unloading my boat just to be safe at night. I Its a good investment because I would spend at least that much time digiing out my insurance policy and starting a claim if I was hit.
Also there is no way I could replace all I have accumulated even with a hefty insurance check. I would not want to spend the time trying either.

Also just another tip for the guys that were hit and got insurance checks I wanted to add that most big box tackle shops will make you a heck of a deal if you replace your items all at once in their store. I know Cabelas will cut you some discounts to get you rolling again if you ask. Sam with a few smaller shops too.

This thread is hilarious, especially for everyone who puts most of the blame on the boat owners for leaving their items inside their boat! You make it sound like if you are stupid enough to do that you deserve to have your items stolen??? Let me ask you a question for all those who believe this, when you leave your home and lock your front door, do you remove all your personal items from your home before you leave? If not, why not! Your logic is flawed!!

Your logic is beyond flawed, its rediculous! I set my monitored security system when I leave my house, and your comparing apples to oranges. When I leave my house its not in a strange town at a little riky dink motel. Leaving your gear in your boat without a security system or a lock r bar would be like leaving your car unlocked at the mall with a 50" plasma in the backseat. Most crooks know whats inside the boxes on a bass rig.

Anyone that has had their tackle stolen always takes this stance instead of taking responsibility for being stupid. It has happened to one of my friends, first words out of his mouth were and I quote "God I am an idiot! Why didnt I take out my rods and tackle." There has been post after post about this happening in the last few years at Rayburn, Fork, Toledo, Falcon, Texoma, and many more I am leaving out. How many do you guys need to read before you start being proactive and watching your own arse? IF YOU DONT TAKE THE 15-30 MINUTES TO UNLOAD YOUR STUFF SOMEONE ELSE WILL! If you still dont get it, I guess we will all continue to benefit from the great deals on Ebay and Craigslist.

My girlfriend sleeps with hers in the corner of her bedroom ,,even at her home,,,she is not taking any chances with it in my boat or at my house , but I dont want the responsibility of keeping up with it anyway

And I suppose noone ever has their house broken into!

I am assuming this is a joke.

Which club and what area on Rayburn ??? Which motel ??

Hey, its your right to leave your stuff in your boat. Knock yourself out. I'll keep taking mine out every time I travel.

Maybe the outrage is this is about fishing. A clean wholesome sport. And when criminals soil it we seem surprised.

Times have changed is the reality and we have to adapt to how fecked up the world is now.

It's sad but stash your stuff or risk it being ripped off. Personally I'd just gun down the thieves and take my chances in court but it's fairly easy enough to bring your stuff out of the boat to secure it.