Tackle thieves netting big bucks stealing fishing tackle on Texas tournament lakes
John Salamone and his partner were bushed after a long day casting for bass and fighting strong winds on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The fish didn't bite particularly well, but the anglers still managed to catch a limit worthy of trailering back to the weigh-in station at the Umphrey Family Pavillion.
Salamone didn't think twice about leaving his boat, tackle and other gear unattended while they went to weigh their sack. After all, it was broad daylight outside. Plus, the parking lot was bustling with his tournament fishing brethren.
The Jasper angler says he won't be so trusting next time.
When he returned to the boat, Salamone discovered he had been robbed. Missing from the front deck were nearly a dozen premium rod-reel combos. Thieves also snagged a tackle bag he left sitting on the floor.
Salamone said the discovery made him feel sick at first. Then reality began to set in.
"This is one of those things that you think will never happen to you, especially in the middle of the day in a wide open parking lot with so many people walking around," Salamone said. "But when it does happen, it is really a wake-up call. I take this kind of thing personally. And honestly, I am still [upset] about it. I guess they would have taken my partner's stuff, too, but he was smart enough to lock his up in the rod locker before we left."
Luckily, Salamone had "replacement cost" insurance on the gear. He was able to replace it in short order with limited cash out of pocket.
An isolated incident?
Not hardly.
The tackle theft report Salamone filed with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department last weekend is just one of many that have been filed with the agency since the first of the year and one of dozens that have been filed with law enforcement agencies statewide during the last year.
"I don't think it has been as bad [on Sam Rayburn] this year as it has been in the past, but it is still a major problem for us," said Jasper County Sheriff Mitchell Newman. "Like all law enforcement agencies, we are spread pretty thin, and we can't be everywhere all the time. These people are good at what they do, and they are very organized in the way they work."
Tournament cash cows
Newman said the tackle thieves also appear to be particular about when they work and the types of gear they target. The common denominators in both cases point toward competitive bass tournaments and the anglers who fish them.
"They know exactly what and who they are targeting," Newman said. "I think they follow these big tournaments from one lake to the next. They're not after the Zebco's, either. They know most of the guys who fish these tournaments are going to have the good stuff. They'll leave the trash behind."
Most competitive anglers gravitate towards high-end gear. Some rod-reel combos may cost upwards of $600. It is not uncommon for a serious tournament buff to own more than a dozen such outfits.
Hardcore anglers also use top-end electronics and accessories. High-tech LCR units with laptop-size screens that cost $2,000 are the norm on decked-out tournament rigs. So are stainless steel outboard propellors that can easily fetch $500 at a retail outlet, and stacks of tackle boxes filled with $10-$15 lures.
"They'll steal all of it if they can get their hands on it, but it seems like rods and reels are mainly what they are after," Newman said. "Most electronic units will have a serial number that might be traced."
Smooth operators
Newman said tackle thieves are usually pretty slick in the way they operate. They normally work under the cover of darkness, often by boat using the silent power of a trolling motor.
The sheriff recalled a crafty theft ring from Orange County that his agency managed to bust up about five years ago. The group paid multiple visits to Sam Rayburn. Not surprisingly, most hits came at night while there was a major tournament in town.
"They would slip in there, steal a pile of stuff and stash it in the woods for a few days," Newman said. "Then they would go back and get it once the heat was off."
Brazen incidents like the one reported by Salamone don't happen near as often, but they do happen, Newman said.
"I had one guy who had everything ripped off out his boat while he was asleep in the bed of his pick-up in a camper," Newman said. "He told me he was a light sleeper, but they still managed to get in and out of there without him knowing it."
A widespread problem
As serious as the theft problem is at Sam Rayburn, it is just as costly at other popular tournament lakes. Tackle thieves raid Lake Fork in northeast Texas on a fairly regular basis, according to Lieutenant Jerry Blaylock with the Wood County Sheriff's office.
"I can't tell you how many times we've been hit, but I can say it has happened a bunch," said Blaylock. "It's not anything for us to file 20-50 reports in a weekend that might add up to $50,000-$100,000 in stolen property. Of course, that's pretty easy to do when you consider how expensive this gear is nowadays."
Blaylock said the most active times for thieves around Fork are when big tournaments come to town.
"It happens just about every time," he said. "When they hit, they hit big. This isn't small-time stuff. These aren't crackheads or methheads we're dealing with. They are organized. The know when to hit. They know what to steal. And they normally don't leave a trace of anything behind."
Blaylock said his deputies spoiled what may have turned out to be a major twilight heist last summer. The officers just didn't know it until the following morning, when they discovered three stolen boats floating across the lake. Each boat was brimming with rods, reels, depth finders and other gear that had been ripped off from lakeside marinas, RV parks and motels the previous night.
"They had an engine up front, and they were towing the other boats around like train cars," Blaylock said. "When they would get one boat full, they'd steal another one, tie it off and fill it up. My guess is we got too close to them, and they got scared. Then they cut the boats loose from the engine and took off."
Blaylock said the incident reflects how most tackle thefts are carried out at Lake Fork.
"I'd say 75 percent of them take place from water," he said. "They troll to the bank, let their buddies out, then pick them up when they are done. They will troll way offshore before they crank the big engine. Then they go to a ramp, load the stuff in a vehicle, and they're gone before anybody realizes they were there."
Know your insurance
The tackle theft problem isn't just limited to Texas lakes. It goes on at other popular tournament destinations all across the country.
Longview bass pro Jim Tutt had more than a dozen of his spare rods stolen at Table Rock Lake in Missouri last year. He said thieves scaled the ladder on his truck camper and cracked open the makeshift rod case he had strapped to the top.
"It happened while my truck was parked at the boat ramp in broad daylight," Tutt said. "It was a pretty big shock to find all that stuff gone."
Tutt said he was even more shocked when his insurance company refused to honor the claim.
"The agent said the rod case was not permanently attached to the camper, so they would not honor it," Tutt said. "I talked to everyone all the way to the top, and they refused to make it good. I'm not with that insurance company anymore either."
Former bass pro Ann Thomasson-Wilson of Jasper said she can feel Tutt's pain. Wilson was competing in a tournament at Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla., several years ago when she and four other competitors had all their tackle stolen on the same night.
Wilson said her insurance company would not honor her claim because the theft occurred while she was conducting business.
"I had no idea I wasn't covered until I went to file a claim," she said.
Salamone, a licensed insurance agent, said the previous cases illustrate the importance of carrying theft insurance on fishing tackle and, more importantly, knowing the limits and types of coverages written into the policy.
Some companies offer "replacement cost" on fishing tackle and personal property, while others offer actual cash value. Replacement cost is the best deal. It pays the full value of stolen property without taking depreciation into consideration -- less the deductible.
Actual cash value means the company only has to pay what the used equipment is worth if it were sold in the marketplace. In other words, you might only get reimbursed $90 for a fishing rod you paid $250 for two years ago.
Solving the problem
Tackle theft is maddening. And considering the strained economic climate, some law enforcement agencies believe it will get worse before it gets better.
Salamone said he foresees trouble down the road unless the problem is curtailed.
"It is a shame that it has gotten to the point that you have to be so worried about this kind of thing, but it has," Salamone said. "This theft thing has become almost an epidemic, and it has to stop. The fishermen are fed up with it. It is only a matter of time until these thieves run into the right guy in the right situation. Sooner or later there is going to be some blood shed over this. Or worse."
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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