LOCKING UP YOUR GEAR
With petty theft getting worse, I now keep my stuff locked up, even when running into a tackle shop for bait or a place to grab takeout food, when fishing at places where I’m well away from the vehicle, going in for a meal, etc. AND I take my stuff in at night. I know, a PITA, but seems necessary today.
I use plastic coated cable with a loop swaged at each end. One cable for each rod. One end of the cable is looped to the rod rack, and the other end is passed around the mount shaft and thru the bail of a spinner or around the base and between the spool and a side brace on a conventional. Swages had to be flattened a little more than usual to accommodate some conventionals.
Then the end of the cable is locked to the rod rack with just enough slack that it puts no tension on the rod/reel, which can move up maybe ¼ inch in the rod holder. This keeps at least one set of the circle screw rings for the reel mount down inside the rod holder so a reel cannot be easily removed from a rod and just the rod taken. It also keeps the rod/reel from bouncing up in the holder as an added benefit. I use a set of locks that has a single key, so only one key for all 20 rod holders. And one rod/reel can be removed from its holder with the rest of the rods locked in place.
My coolers are locked to the racks with a cable thru a handle and each cooler has a cable that is looped to the rack that goes over the top of the cooler and is locked to the rack with enough tension to keep the lid from being opened. This top cable also makes it even more difficult to take a cooler off the rack. Same keyed lock set used for coolers.
All the cables used are flexible enough to lock rods/reels as I’ve described but tough enough that pliers type wire cutters would take some time to cut a cable. Thus the quick snatch/go thief is not a problem unless they come with the “JAWS of LIFE” so to speak.
My front and rear racks are locked onto my vehicle with receiver pin locks. With the newer easy on/off rack mounts, it’s just a matter of time before a whole rig (rack, cooler, rods) disappears.
Call me paranoid but I’ve never lost anything since having a couple of rods disappear off my vehicle some years ago on Pea island during the day, with me on the beach over the dune and the vehicle parked on NC12 shoulder out of my sight.