My family goes on two four day fishing trips each year.  Having dealt with thieves on a regular basis during my second career I'm not very trusting.  On one trip our boats were parked in slips overnight.  I pulled my gear and locked it in my truck each night.  On night #2 some young adults from the campground hit my brothers and nephews boats.  What they couldn't carry away they threw into 30' of water.  The crooks were identified and some stuff was recovered.

 

A few years later in another marina on the same lake I and my nephew had our boats in a slip.  I had a boat with better storage but I had installed a loc-R-Bar.  My nephews compartments were pried open and cleaned out.  Mine was untouched.  Nothing is theft proof. Sometimes you just have to make it harder to steal your stuff than to steal from someone else.

 

Oh, and locks don't keep and honest person honest.  An honest person doesn't need locks to stay honest.

@Goldstar225, I think I’d be picking another lake for the family trip.  

13 hours ago, Goldstar225 said:

Sometimes you just have to make it harder to steal your stuff than to steal from someone else.

 

Exactly.

 

You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the other guy.

 

Or stay out of the woods.

14 hours ago, Goldstar225 said:

My family goes on two four day fishing trips each year.  Having dealt with thieves on a regular basis during my second career I'm not very trusting.  On one trip our boats were parked in slips overnight.  I pulled my gear and locked it in my truck each night.  On night #2 some young adults from the campground hit my brothers and nephews boats.  What they couldn't carry away they threw into 30' of water.  The crooks were identified and some stuff was recovered.

 

A few years later in another marina on the same lake I and my nephew had our boats in a slip.  I had a boat with better storage but I had installed a loc-R-Bar.  My nephews compartments were pried open and cleaned out.  Mine was untouched.  Nothing is theft proof. Sometimes you just have to make it harder to steal your stuff than to steal from someone else.

 

Oh, and locks don't keep and honest person honest.  An honest person doesn't need locks to stay honest.

I had my most expensive rod and reel stolen out of my boat while I was 100 ft. away in the Big John.  In the marina where I keep my Vexus on a lift, I have a locker bar with an alarm padlock, two game cameras, a motion detector light, and a combination code for the starter.  When finished for the day I also disable all the batteries.  

 

 

On 3/10/2025 at 8:56 AM, PourMyOwn said:

I lost almost all of my rods and reels in a fire 5 years back. Having the agent walk through the garage made getting a check so much easier. Take a video of all of your stuff just in case, insurance adjusters probably won't understand why you have 5 different crankbait rods!

Only five??