Gear Demons, A Passaic River Story 11/2

[thyer]

I was trying to fit in some more local fishing before the cold really settles in and I start my Stealhead trips to Erie. Forecast was for nice temperatures and an overall great day so I mount the kayak on top of the car and load up the gear. I'm a minimalist when it comes to kayak fishing but I did break down and put a GPS/fish finder on my sit on top kayak. I get to the waters edge a little late because I woke up with a little less drive than normal, possible premonition of what was to come. I get to the waters edge and it's low as everyone knows but still plenty fishable. I push off and notice that my fish finder is not reading correctly. After a few reboots and "lite" taps I figured out that my transducer popped off the inside bottom of my kayak. Ok I say, no big deal, I'll fix it later. I paddle a little while and get to some fishing. I then notice that my one reel is binding a little. Annoying at best but just needs a little attention when I get home. No big deal I say, I'll fix it later. Still no fish but no big deal I say, I'll catch some later. Then as I'm working an area I guess I lost focus and paddled near a tree branch. Well even though, many times before, I've paddled close and had tree branches brush my gear, I've never had one do what happened next. This SOB of a branch reached out, grabbed my rod and pulled it right out of my behind the seat holder. As I look back I see the rod lift out of the holder and before I could react, it picked it up clear out of the holder and dropped it in 12 feet of water. Mind you this is my favorite rod to fish with, an an ultra lite that's tons of fun to hook up with. After a brief WTF I back up my kayak to the shore, perpendicular to where it dropped and rigged up one of my other rods and tried to snag it. After about 30-40mins and a brief drive by from a fellow pike lover I ended up gently hooking my rig and was able to bring it up. Well that pretty much made my day but ultimately I was in no mood to fish. Pack it in I say, at least I didn't capsize, I'll fish it later.