well me and my wife were out for a day of fishing at my favorite spot (the damm at lake o the pines) and i cast out my
line and set it down..yes i sat it on the bank, just left it there... my hands where tied at the moment rigging my wives pole when suddenly i saw it moving slowly closer to the water..for some reason i froze and all i could so was just watch it sink into the river.. ...the worst part was not loosing my Pflueger president, it was not knowing who was the culprit....

ps if some one reels in a rod and reel at that spot feel free to keep it

Lake o' the Pines, 1972, 7 years old. My Dad bought a new spincast
reel and rod for one of his non-fishing friends to use. Best one
money could buy. Day before friend arrives at Tejas Village,
I'm fishing with my Dad and throw it in on a cast. We were there
for an hour as he dragged the bottom trying to find it.

Crappie fishing Richland Creek 1992. It was at night with lanterns. One lady caught a big one downstream from us...i heard an unusual splash...my pole was gone...luckily i had a bobber on and it would surface every now and then...hooked up a treble and pulled in my pole and a good crappie

fishing off a pier a couple of yrs. ago for catfish . while rigging up after a missed bite my other rod shot in ,i wasnt able to catch it in time . after a bit low and behold the rod tip bobbed , only about 6 inches was visible .luckily the water is only about 4 ft on that pier . i took a treble hook and was able to get my rod and the 2 lb catfish . as i drew it in closer the cat got off but i was able to get my rod . never under estimate the power of a fish even if its a small one

Was at Joe Pool fishing at the Marina and letting my daughter catch some Perch with some corn. While I was tieing up she sat her rod down and came over to me to get her chips and soda. While she was talking to me. I saw her pole look like Michael Phelps diving in the water. It happened so fast. Never saw that pole again...

Harry C.

Let's see...

Lost one at Alan Henry off the barge...had it hooked on the rail w/ a freelined minnow not paying attention at all...heard a splash and it was gone. Rick pulled out his drag hook and we managed to snag the line and get the broken rod (by the brush most likely) and the reel (still got the reel). No fish.

Had one pulled in one day @ Denison Dam fishing below the old bait shop, managed to reach out and grab it before it got more than a couple of feet in (was right in front of me and i was squatted down by it), missed the fish.

At a lake back home when it was flooding a few years ago, I was tearing up the catfish fishing right where the water came in. Had a rod right in front of me against a stick in the ground, and without any warning at all, it flipped straight into the water. Jumped in after it into about 4' of water with a steeply sloped bank and managed to get it. Got the 3 lb. channel on the end of it too.

I finally started using rod ties when I'm shorefishing and can't put it in freespool OR if I'm gonna be fishing where I can't keep an eye on it. Fishing the crappie house at White River, had put one out with punchbait off the back with a tie on it (spinning reel). Buddy said "I really don't see a fish taking a rod over the rail." As soon as he finished saying that, something nailed it and took it right over the rail. Missed the fish (likely a carp), but made a believer out of him.

At Caddo a few years ago I had a tele pole literally shoot right out of my hand into the water. I saw the fish and it was a MONSTER catfish.

I was night fishing off the banks of Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma side 3 years ago when something similar happened. I rigged up 3 poles and baited them with shad and ghost minnows, waded to waist-deep water and launched them close to 30-50 yards out. I sat the poles on their respective holders and sat, drank, ate and waited. Every 15-20 minutes I would get another bite, a 3lbr here and a 4 lbr there. It's about 3am now and I'm a little bit drunk and sleepy so I rebaited all 3 poles and attached some bells to them. I figure 8 decent-sized stripers were plenty. I dozed off after 10 minutes and woke up at day break only to see 2 poles with one holder on the ground. I'm like damn, I lost a good rod and reel. I didn't give up though. I walked all around in the water in the vicinity of where I was fishing with no avail but I still didn't give up. I scoured the perimeter all the way until the water got up to my chest and felt something protruding from the lake's bottom. It was a stump with a stick-like object attached to some of it's branches. Bingo, I think I got lucky. Sure enough, it was my pole and the line still had tension or tightness on it. So I dove down, got all wet, grabbed it and got back to the bank while fighting this elusive fish all the way. I landed this 8 pound keeper and got to keep my rod and reel for a little longer. I wanted to stuff this fish for memory sake but I ate'em instead. He tasted way better than the other 8 fish if you could imagine...

In a bass tourney I forgot to click the release before casting.... the momentum carried the rod tip to the water and the momentum of the boat against the large billed crankbait wrenched it from my hands.

We went back the next day and my brother(swimming) found it right where we thought it would be. That reel caught a thousand more fish before it was retired.

Man those are some good stories.. glad to know there is a ton of rods and reels out and not just mine

you got that right!!!

Lake Proctor mid 90s. My friends grandfather said DO NOT set your pole down. So I set my pole down to take a leak and I hear a big splash. I see my buddy laid flat on the dock head and shoulders buried in the water. He managed to grab the pole with a gaspergoo attached to it. Said all he saw was the big white button on the bag of the reel submarining.

Had a $300 surf set up fishing Texoma lake side. Rigged with ghost minnows. Tossed it out, sat it down, turned around and saw the pole shaking like there was a tank on the other end. Before i could get to it, it went over and dove into the water. Setup never even stopped.

10'6 Gloomis with a Emblem 5500 Reel.

Spent the next 2hrs casting for it but it never surfaced. Area near the 377 bridge at Texoma. I'm thinking it was a big OL Blue

3 years ago at Tawokani lake on a boat drifting with live shad.
7'6" G-Loomis with Daiwa Exeler 2500. Hook up shad, let the line go for about 50 yards and set it down to rig another pole. Turn around and the pole dove into the water. Turn the boat around and try to find it with another poles and never find it.

Next trip in the same month. Rig up another pole with live shad again and sat it down on the boat. Saw the pole was shaking then went off the boat. I saw it on time and my first instinct was to grab the pole. Miss it and I dove after my pole. Got the pole in my hand and swim back to the boat. Handed my buddy the pole and the fish was still on it. Got the fish in and it was only 5 pounds hybrid.

Got the pole back but now I am soaked, my phone was in my pocket and so was my wallet. Phone is dead and wallet was wet, but I got got the culprit that took my pole in the water.

Now we got rod holders on the boat. HEHEHEHE

I didnt lose it but I had some bluegill on bottom at Trinity River at night with nothing but a dim flashlight I had my rod laid up against a tree walked off to go to the bathroom something picked up the bait the rod caught up in the tree and the line snapped at the bail very very very loudly I must have ran 50 yards through the woods before I realized I was still going to the bathroom