fished the good lake tonight , set up early 6 lines . thought we would fish deep in hedgehog - stacked my side rigger at 48 + 35 , making a run for the deep hole (90-110 ft)- saw my poles start dancing - popped the lower release nothing , popped the upper nothing , after a breif pause a hear this realy bad cracking noise coming from the fishboard the riggers are mounted to - i look down to see my downrigger tearing out of the board and heading for the deep . went for the bear hug and down switch , peeled off 130 ft of cable before things calmed down . now we got a problem ! still have 6 lines in the water and lots of bewildered looks going around . WTF !?
the old memory cogs start to turn and i remember seeing marker bouys a couple years ago in this general area ( 20-30 ft down ) . the story i hear is an antique power boat ( the royal flush ) burned and sank here and the local divers have it marked with rope and jugs. been fishing this spot for some time and have never hit it -

damage report : could not get the ball closer than 20 down - lost a 8lb ball and connecting hardware - 2 releases - have a nasty 16 inch hole in the rear fishdeck - managed to imbed a pink db in my left index finger during the confusion - nice added touch !

tried to fish in the wind a while longer no joy -
repairs in order before the weekend !

what a night !

Rick

Man thats a tough one!! Keep yo chin up. I hope you don't get in tree stands to often. Feel for ya w-fat

Almost the same thing happened to me this spring on my boat. Freak accident, but Travis saved my big jon captain pac after a wrestling match with it. It does tend to spoil your day.

Salty

Bummer Rick....If you were on Chanplain it could have been champ eating your ball!!!

Popeye

Happened to me twice. Not fun especially when you don't have enough hands on the boat to help. Some might disagree but.....that is why I keep a pair of wire cutters right next to my riggers. If I have alot stuff in the water and I hang up I cut it and take the $30 loss. Now, I never send my riggers down without my bottom alarm on set 10 feet deeper than the riggers are.

That happened to me this spring in winni I hit a mooring buoy that sank during the winter that was down 10 feet.We saw it come up on my fish finder it looked like a big school of bait but Not it hooked both riggers and fly rods.I have riggers that I always have the drags set so I don't rip them off my boat after 25 min.of tugging and pulling I was able to free the balls but lost 1 fly and 1 lure I thought for sure I was out 2 13 lb balls and gear I lucked out but I also have cutters that can cut thru the cable.I agree take the loss and move on.I will never fish my riggers with out the drag set it has safe my butt 3 times now.Good luck fixing you boat.

Erin

Yo Rick
That happened to me over at Newfound, coming off wagon wheel heaqding to the ledges, Young Cody Dodds made an All Pro tackle and caught the rigger, between the 2 of us and the down button we got everything back. One of my all time favorite tackles! Been delivering pellet stoves and fuel, also slinging sandwiches at the deli. I think (?) I have Saturday off, are you fishing Sat afternoon?
later
Throbbin Rods

Hey Throbbin Rods, How much you guys getting for the pellets???????? My buddy Rob has 2 pellets stoves and is always looking for more pellets if the price is Right???????? Take Care God Bless and Tight Lines LOL Dave From up North

repairs made - 0630 sat run is my only hope , too much work booked for the rest of the weekend . weeknight runs all week - find a night that works for ya TR

anyone seen whip ? aka whipsta aka whipped ?? car shoppin ??

Rick