And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

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OutdoorActionOntario
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And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by OutdoorActionOntario »

I had a blast reading all of the various posts this off-season about what gear we were all excited about, and I must say that after spending thousands of dollars this offseason, I was also very excited when i found myself out in my new kayak, fishing in a pristine private lake east of Georgian Bay...

My excitement was short-lived. After successful morning and afternoon sessions catching both smallies and walleye with ease, i was back on shore throwing a few casts prior to dinner. I happened to get a snag, so I figured I would take my Kayak out quickly to retrieve the snag - didn't want to lose one of those expensive tungsten weights after all, right?

And of course, since I was right in front of my campsite, why not take out a couple other rod/reel combos to get the most out of those few casts before supper, right? Always gotta have a follow-up bait to throw, of course!

This logic would come back to haunt me...

So off I went. Retrieved my snag, and proceeded to fish in front of my site about 25 feet offshore in 20-25 feet of water, casting a light jig and grub in to shallow waters from off the ledge and super-slowly retrieving it back - a sure-fire way to engage in smallmouth action on this specific lake.

Turns out my dog wanted to come out and play too. However, when he came out in the water, I couldn't get away from him in time. Worried he might catch a hook, I tried backing away in my kayak from him, right at the same moment he tried putting both paws up on the front of my Kayak, and as I turned my paddle in the water, I caught an edge and FWOOSH - A total capsize.

The end result? A brand new SHimano Stradic Ci4+ paired with a Compre, a Fenwick Elitetech Smallmouth paired with an Ardent Forge and another Ardent Forge paired with an Abu Garcia Veritas rod, all 25 feet down in very murky water. Almost 800 dollars in total - down to the deep murky depths of a classic Canadian Shield lake.

A very expensive lesson to learn, unfortunately- always tie your rods down if you're in a boat that isn't stable.

To make matters worse, just prior to the capsize, my Girlfriend's exact words to me "Honey, dinner is almost ready why don't you come in now and get ready".

Of course, i just wanted that one last cast in...

No worries mates - Orders are in the works for replacement rods/reels already. However, it will be on me to make sure that such a nightmare never happens again... I'll be making sure my poles are locked in from now on. I wish the best to you and your family/friends this season... just wanted to share some of my misery with you in the hopes that anyone out there may be saved from suffereing a similar fate that I did! LOCK THOSE RODS DOWN BOYS!!!

Cheers

OAO
OutdoorActionOntario - Ottawa ON
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by ShawnD »

25 feet, hmmm Time to get creative and get that gear back!

:geek: You would need a heavy weight with hooks to snag those rods..
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OutdoorActionOntario
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by OutdoorActionOntario »

Yes, I was out for about two hours the following day with my deep-cranking rod and my Mann's 20 and 30 foot deep divers trying to smash around the bottom to see if I could get lucky and hook one of them. Didn't even get a bite let alone my rods back... fiugres.

Also, this tragic event led to many many phone calls throughout my vacation, including to any local dive shops i could find. Near the end of the week a dive shop told me it would be 200 dollars for someone to come out diving to search, with no guarantee they would be able to locate them.

My hope is that through either the reward money i am offering to others on the lake, to hopefully getting some divers out there in July, that one or more of these rods might come back into my possession. They're literally right in front of my property in 25 feet of water. They aren't going anywhere. I'd put money on it that the stradic would work fine too, with a little grease.

In the meantime I just keep telling myself "oh well at least you were able to catch some fish on them prior to losing them".
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by lape0019 »

First Off,

Welcome aboard!

Kind of a great first post! Great in the fact that is an excellent story but terrible in that you lost some pretty nice gear.

Get rid of the crank and tie on a bigger treble hook only. With the weight Shawn is talking about, you should be able to get down there and drag bottom. It may take some time, but you should be able to get them all back.

That is still a terrible situation to find yourself in!. I have been fortunate enough not to lose any gear although I have come close. I had a Shimano core go overboard but I was able to reach it before it sunk and even though it was only in the water a few seconds, it was pretty nasty on the inside.

You will be able to get the stradic working if you get it back but sedning it to Shimano for a full cleaning and inspection might not be a bad idea. My Core really didn't work right until I thoroughly cleaned it.

Adam
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by StarTzar »

OutdoorActionOntario wrote:
To make matters worse, just prior to the capsize, my Girlfriend's exact words to me "Honey, dinner is almost ready why don't you come in now and get ready".
Excellent post. Good story telling skill. 8)

... and when you got back did she say (emphasize first three words): "I told you to come in and get ready". :wink:
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OutdoorActionOntario
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by OutdoorActionOntario »

HA, yes my GF was aware of her being right (rule #1 they are ALWAYS right, StarTsar.)

However, she was very awesome about it. Sensing I was upset, she immediately took me into town for Beer and Wings. There was only minimal chiding of me losing my rods and reels and she even knew the actual price tag.

I might have lost my rods but apparently I found the most perfect woman on Earth in the process ;-)

On a good note, I received word today from a diver in the Parry Sound area who has agreed to help me with his dive equipment. I think these rods will be back where they belong in due time.

Cheers, Gents.
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by TheMaverick »

Rejoice yourself, you get to buy NEW gear!!!! :D :D :D

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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by ShawnD »

SI DI, Bet I could find them :P
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lapointeric
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by lapointeric »

Sorry to hear this bud, hope the diver is able to recover them.

I'd never tell my wife actual price... AND she'd certainly wouldn't take me for beer/wings if I lost them. So YES you do have a keeper. lol

E
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by OutdoorActionOntario »

EPIC UPDATE TIME

Ladies and Gentlemen, good news for me, not so good news for the Large and Smallmouth bass of Eastern Ontario:

I was able to retrieve 2 of the 3 rod/reel combos I lost a few weeks ago when my Kayak flipped. I contacted the Parry Sound Dive Shop and they put me in touch with a young man starting a diving business in that region, and he came out and dove for my equipment for a modest fee. If anyone needs a contact like this in the Parry Sound region I have his contact information.

After about 20 minutes of diving, I was getting pretty nervous as he had yet to find anything... then, some bubbles to the surface, and his hands rise from the water with my Shimano Stradic Ci4+/Compre combo held high!!!

After some triumphant yells from myself (yes there was some salty language, but used in a happy manner,) he dove back down, and a few minutes later came up with another combo. That was 2 out of 3 and he still had another 20 minutes of oxygen left to dive with...

However, due to water conditions (very dark at the bottom) he was unable to retrieve the last one, which of course was the nice Fenwick Smallmouth Elitetech rod i really wanted to get back... I was still pleased, as he managed to salvage 600 dollars worth of equipment for me.

So, a good ending to the story.

To make it even better, after being submerged for almost a month, I cleaned up the reel and rod (which was covered in very thick algal growth) and wouldn't you know it, the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ still casts/retrieves like a total beast. So, I went out for a little session, and on my first official cast - BAM, 3.5 pound smallie (hit a watermelon Trigger X slop hopper being retrieved slowly, swim bait style, on a pegged 1/4 ounce tungsten head with a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG.) It was a good test for my reel too, as Mr. Bass took me into weeds, did some nice acrobatic flips, and even tried taking me into some wood. I pulled him out of it all like it was nobody's business.

Love it. Shimano, get in touch with me if you want to license this story. I can't think of any better way to express the quality of a reel than telling how mine was underwater for a month and after getting it back it is still almost as good as new.

Now THAT is a quality product.

Tight Lines.
OutdoorActionOntario - Ottawa ON
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by ShawnD »

Awesome!! I'm so glad to be reading this.. I knew the reel would be fine, quality stuff and it hasn't sat there for years.
To get that other one! lol
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by TheMaverick »

Epic for sure! Thanks for the report! ;)
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by cprince »

I think my ears popped just thinking about diving down in 25 FOW!!

How do they do that???

Great story though!

Craig
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by Kerrazy »

Well as meatloaf sings-2 out of 3 ain't bad!
I have been relaying your tale on a couple of occasions. And I appreciate your frustration on the intial loss. Did you put the dog down? Just kidding.
I have a stradic too and man I love that reel.
Craig 30 foot dives are pretty much the norm and up to 60 is quite achievable the challenge is you reduce your air supply the deeper you go and have consider your time to surface as it is slower and you need to rest at different depths on the way up to reduce the Benz
My wife and I are both certified open water divers.
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Re: And into the water they went... Opening Day Misfires

Post by PriorMike »

Not opening day, but last weekend I had a Fenwick Smallmouth EliteTech/Shimano Calcutta B combo resting in my boat with the tip up while using the HMG. Hooked the ET on the backswing of my cast and pulled the works clear over my head and into the lake. Luckily the line on the ET was hooked to the spinnerbait I was using and I was able to reel it in.

Horseshoes on that one.
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