Protect your gear!

[cjac]

Hey all,

I just posted this in the Muskie forum and thought I'd share here as well......

Sounds like a lot of us added new gear to the mix in the off-season. I know I did.....

It's important to protect you gear and investements, as it's not cheap! I deal with theft in my job, more at a retail level, but theft has no boundries, fishing gear is not excluded. Check out your insurance policies, both home and boat, to ensure you have sufficient coverage.

The key is to provide back-up of what you own. I try to keep a folder with receipts, and I also have a separate online file of digital pics of my gear. Take pics of your gear, rods/reels, tackle boxes, electronics on the boat, etc....and hope you'll never need it. If the time comes you do, you'll be glad.

Here's an old example of what I do (bass reels, just for you guys...), line stuff up and take a pic. In this example I really should include my boat Reg ID to further associate it to "me", which I chopped off, but you get the idea. If my stuff is stolen, at least I have some back-up for the amount of what I lost.

Take pics, send the link to your insurance agent, and hope you'll never need it. I just looked at my file and they're two years old, there's a few bucks (understatement) not represented for sure.

I'll be updating mine, so that's the reason for me posting.

[BassProAddict]

Canyou insure ALL your mid priced gear as one lot?

[cjac]

BPA,

You'll have to ask your insurance agent and see what coverage fits your needs and how to best represent your belongings. Raising the questions like yours was just what I was looking to do.

Check it out and make sure you have what you need. Hope that helps....

[Newcastle]

Timely note-everyone is in the mode of getting gear organized and ready for the year, easy time to take a couple photos and take a rough inventory. To be honest-the thing I hate the most is having to run into the baitshop or gas station with the boat hooked up. Figure $5-600 in rods (no rod locker in my boat) and probably the same in tackle--I get worried everytime someones going to pull up and help themselves.

[Scott M]

Dude, I am exactly the same way. Whenever I'm hauling the boat or a truckbed full of ice gear, I have one eye on it at all times in the gas station and I sit by the window at the fast food joint. If I'm on a private slip, I remove everything. I try to take ZERO chances. I don't even want to have to file a claim, but its there if I need to.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Hey, I have all my stuff coverd on my home owners, and then a side on my boat that also kinda covers my gear as well, so that if bad things go down on the lake, or bad things go down at home I am covered..

here is a cut and paste from my post in the muskie forum where this started.. i asked cjac to post this here as well..

cjac- This post needs to be in every forum in my opinion! When I was a young dude, I was getting ready for my first tournament. I wasnt old enough to drive, and wanted to get a head start.. So I packed our family van that my dad was going to give me a ride in...

The low lifes went in through the side window and took everything. For a 14 year old kid, 4,000 in insurance claims was not believeable, I only got a portion of that. But I guarentee thats what I lost, I knew every lure, rod, reel that I owned... I had a paper rout(star tribune) from 4th grade on.

Now, not only do I take pictures(EveryYear), I invite my insurance dude out to my house to inspect for himself!

BTW-Cjac if you ever want to have a shimano box pyrimid building contest... Let me know.. LOL.. nice collection dude!!!!

[bassNspear]

looks like we know who the high rollers are?

[Craig Plummer]

 Originally Posted By: Bass N Spear

looks like we know who the high rollers are?

Hilarious

[Central Bassman]

Good thinking!!!

[tanman]

i got my first boat stolen off of my buddys dock