Fishing gets me excited. So excited, in fact, that I sometimes forget to bring any common sense whatsoever along for the trip. This has led me to make many mistakes over the years, a few of which I think are pretty novel.
If you’re interested in “common” fishing mistakes, like using old line, you’re in the wrong place. This article is just for the true doozies. So, without further delay, I proudly submit to you the absolute stupidest things I’ve ever made while fishing:
Not Taking Off the Hook’s Storage Tube
It’s a simple little problem but a critical one. Many spinnerbaits and other lures are sold with plastic tubes over their hooks to prevent little kids from turning your local store’s sporting goods aisle into a blood bath.
Just in case it isn’t obvious, you need to remove that plastic before you start casting your lures. Otherwise, you might find a curiously large amount of fish “shake off.”
You can pull off these tubes with pliers though I find it easier to use my fishing scissors to cut them off.
Trusting the Weatherman Even Though He’s Trying to Kill Me
Most people would say that a common fishing mistake is failing to watch the weather report. I’d argue that a worse mistake is trusting it.
I’ve long been of the opinion that you don’t get to graduate school and become a weatherman until you’ve killed at least three fishermen. I find their reports totally unreliable, especially if they’re covering large counties with their broadcast.
You can count on adding at least 10 mph to any wind report, and need to realize that in weatherman parlance, the “light” in “light showers” really stands for “lightning.”
You’re much better off taking along a cellphone or other connected device and checking the actual radar map yourself to see what is on your way.
Storing Crankbaits in a Sandwich Bag
This one has to take the cake. I wish I could take credit for it, but it’s actually one a fishing partner keeps making. For some reason my dad has an infatuation with plastic storage bags and other containers. He’s like the zip-lock king in our parts, and puts everything he can think of into one of these bags, including crankbaits.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m not knocking the product. These bags work really well for most things. I would, however, submit that they aren’t the best choice for storing your crankbaits, especially if you’re going to put the bag inside of your pocket.
The plastic doesn’t hold up very well to the treble hooks and so I’ve spent a fair amount of time helping Dad get a hook out of his finger because of this unique storage system of his.
Forgetting My Boat’s on Wheel Chocks
My driveway is on a slight hill. If I back my boat in and don’t spend a ton of time getting the tarp just right, rain will collect in my bilge and can’t escape. So, when I’m feeling lazy or don’t have a lot of time, I just pull the boat in forward with the truck and call it a day.
Even though I’m pretty sure it would be fine left connected to the trailer hitch, I do like to take the precaution of adding some wheel chocks in case someone tries to disconnect it without thinking.
I think this is a good idea, but the key to it is you need to remember the chocks are there. Otherwise, you look really stupid trying to back your boat up when it’s time to go fishing, and could potentially ruin your trailer tires if you force it past (and crush) the chock.
Forgetting the Worms with a Four-Year-Old
If you forget the worms by yourself, you get to show off how great you are at catching fish with artificial lures for the day. If you forget the worms with a four-year-old in tow, you spend the entire day apologizing for “ruining their life.”
Of course, it’s not just the worms. I’ve also forgotten the boat keys once, my tackle box, the rod I really wanted, the sunscreen, etc. It’s especially easy to forget something with kids because you’re in such a rush all the time trying to get them ready.
About the only thing you can do is to try and pack up as much as you can the night before so you aren’t rushed in the morning and forget something important.
Forgetting to Bring in the Buoys
Buoys are a good thing. They help prevent dock rash and tossing them in gives smaller children something they can help with. You just need to remember to bring them back into the boat before you hit the throttle, or they’re going to throw up a spray that soaks anything and anyone sitting towards the back.
This isn’t that big of a deal on a hot summer day but could ruin your passenger’s day or even make your boat very dangerous in colder weather, especially if there is a chance that ice can form.
Not Zipping Up My Jacket
I was once on a fishing charter in terrible weather on Lake Champlain. I was confident that I could deal with it as I had great rain gear. Unfortunately I didn’t zip it up and got soaked on the ride from Plattsburgh to the Gut.
This was all the more terrible because it was October at the time. It’s definitely not a mistake you want to make! Make sure your rain gear is worn correctly and properly zipped!
Dropping My Reel (But Somehow, Not the Rod) in the Lake
Reels can work their way out of the reel seat over time. It’s a good idea to check the connection before each trip and to tighten it if need be. If you don’t, you might go to cast and find that your entire reel flings towards the abyss.
If you were fishing with strong line and took the time to tie a good arbor or uni knot to the reel seat, you might get the reel back, but it’s going to take you a while as you’re going to have to drag it back in slowly by hand. Trust me, it’s not that quick to bring in 150-200 yards of line.
Burning Myself on the Boat
Bear in mind that the little metal hinges and screws that comprise your storage compartments get exceptionally hot during the summer. Forget this while wearing shorts at your peril.
This seems to be a bigger problem on boats with full-vinyl floors because there isn’t any carpet that might give a little bit of cover over the hinges. In fact, the vinyl itself on these boats can get quite hot so you will want to consider bringing along some beach towels for your kids or pets to sit on if you’re taking them out in a boat equipped this way.
Forgetting to Tighten the Rod Holder
Rod holders are awesome, if you install them correctly. Some allow you to adjust their angle, which is great, but the way they allow you to do this is by loosening them so you can position them as needed. If you forget to tighten them afterwards, a large fish will remind you.
Luckily this only happened on my dock, so I was able to retrieve the rod quickly, saving it and the fish, but if it happened in deeper water on my boat, I would have lost an expensive set up and the fish would have lost its life (it’s kind of hard to hunt while dragging around a 7′ fishing rod).
Forgetting to Take Off the Boat Straps
Everyone’s going to tell you not to forget to put in the plug, but I’ve got one better – don’t forget to take off the tie-down straps! These are designed to keep your boat safely on the trailer over bumpy roads but also do a great job of keeping it on the trailer while you’re trying to launch it!
If you keep on backing and backing and your boat keeps getting deeper but isn’t really going anywhere, you might have forgotten to unstrap it. This is a good thing to realize before you swamp your car or get your trailer stuck past the ramp.
Be careful with how you attempt to correct this, because if there was any play at all the boat may have slid back a foot or so and could be balanced awkwardly. Pulling it all the way out of the water could make a silly mistake even worse.
Forgetting Minnows in the Car
I once bought a bucket of minnows and decided to put it on the floor by the front passenger seat, “to be safe.” I then took a corner too fast and had two dozen minnows flopping around on the floor.
I only cleaned up 18.
I realized this error a few hundred-degree days later when an overpowering stench reeked from my truck. I pulled back the floor mat and found a mush that was once the other 6 fish.
Thank goodness it was a lease.
Turning Too Tight With the Trailer
Ever notice those “Caution: Wide-Right Turns” signs on tractor trailers? The same concept applies to you now that you’re towing around a boat. Make sure that you take your corners wide or you’re going to wind up with a new mailbox.
Attempting to Launch a Boat by Myself With a Weak Clip
So a good way to launch a boat by yourself is to get some strong dock line with a mooring hook, and then to clip the mooring hook to your boat’s tow eye and wrap the other to your trailer before backing up. The boat will float off the trailer and the dockline will keep it nearby so you can pull it where needed.
A bad way to launch a boat by yourself is to get some dock line with a simple snap hook and try to do the same thing. That snap hook will do just that – snap! – and you’re taking a swim.
Don’t Learn the Hard Way
There’s a host of other stupid things that you can do while fishing and you’re going to make plenty of mistakes. While this article was written to have a little fun at my own expense, not all mistakes are humorous – there are others that can be deadly.
If you’re new to fishing or boating in general, please consider reading my article on Safety Tips for Fishing With Kids. In it, you’ll find some other mistakes that I’ve seen people make (or almost made myself), such as failing to wear their kill switch, or getting snagged on a trotline.
You also might want to read my article on How to Buy a Boat for Your Family Without Losing Sleep. There’s a section towards the end called “Fun” Surprise Boating Expenses where I talk about some other mistakes I made during my early years of boat ownership. It could save you a lot of money.
As for the dumb little things I’ve discussed in this article? Well, if you make them yourself, then you just need to be able to laugh about it as it’s all part of the process and makes for a fun memory… Eventually.
While I’m pretty good at laughing at myself (just look at the cover photo), I hope you don’t have to. If this article gives you a few ideas of what you shouldn’t do, I’ll be happy.
As always, if you found this article helpful please share it so it can help others (and if you’ve done something dumber, please leave a comment and share it with the world)!
Thanks,
John Paxton
