05-11-2003, 11:30 AM
[cool]Well, JR, that's a simple enough assignment. All I gotta do is either come up with a fail-safe theft-proof system for keeping your fishing assets intact whenever you leave them vulnerable...or solve the world's crime problem. What's next? World peace? Perpetual motion machine? Cheap energy? Being able to figure out females? (Sorry ladies.)
While I have never left my treasures unprotected in the back of an open truck, I have not been spared the anger and sickness that comes from discovering somebody has ripped you off. As I was told by someone in the lock and alarm business one time, "If someone wants to get into your house badly enough, they will find a way to do it." That applies to vehicles too. Locks mean nothing to the determined thief. Leaving ANYTHING clearly visible (in a truck bed) is an open invitation to theft.
That being said, the reason that anti-theft devices are widely used are because they at least slow down the bad guys, and make their jobs harder. Locks, alarms, covers, steering wheel bars and other counter-theft devices hamper crime enough that the perpetrator usually looks for an easier target. These guys do not want to be seen or caught. They care nothing about the morality or ethics of ripping you off.
Leaving something out of your sight for only a few seconds is often long enough to provide a skilled thief the opportunity to grab your goodies. If they only have access to your pockets, that's what they will go through. They will take what they find, hoping they can find a ready buyer for it somewhere...often not even knowing what they have found.
It is seldom we lose our treasured fishing gear to true fishermen. Most fishermen I know are honest sportsmen, who would never think of robbing a fellow angler of such holy belongings. Those who steal everything they can, from anybody vulnerable, are likely drug addicts or career thieves. Strangely, the truly hungry and needy generally have too much pride to steal.
So, after all that dissertation, what is my solution? If you have to leave valuables anywhere...inside a vehicle or outside in a truck bed, cover them from view. Our fishing gear is "an attractive nuisance" to the theft minded. If we have quality gear, it is evident that there is some value...which may be quickly turned over at pawnshops or yard sales.
If it is covered, some of that attractiveness is averted. I use old towels or blankets to cover tackle and trinkets in the back of my SUV, if I have to leave it for any reason. In a pickup, covering with a tarp, before ROPING AND TIEING, will shield your tricked out craft from casual inspection by opportunistic thieves. It won't stop the hard-core ripoff artists from taking a knife to your cover and ropes...and maybe your tube...but it will keep your gear from shouting "TAKE ME".
I used to think asking an innocent looking bystander to watch your stuff for a minute was a solution. That's before I came out from a two minute chat with a customer, in the back of his restaurant, to see the "guard" running around the corner with an armload of stuff he had grabbed out of my car after smashing the window...knowing he had only a couple of minutes...as I had told him.
Even if you have everything stowed either inside, or protectively covered and secured in an open truck bed, there are things you can do to further lessen the chance of "tackle-jacking". Since thieves hate to be seen in the act, try to park where your vehicle is easily visible by a lot of people...yourself included if at all possible. DO make sure all the windows are rolled up and the doors locked.
Amateurs go around checking these things, just for opportunities. Pros often have "slim jims" to open doors, and hammers for opening windows. Alarms mean nothing to car thieves and ripoff artists. They are merely a temporary annoyance during the theft process. Nobody pays attention to them anymore...even the car owner.
I am not a bleeding heart liberal do-gooder nice guy when it comes to having someone rip me off. I am big, mean, combat trained and weapons proficient. If I catch someone trying to steal from me (as I have on more than one occasion), I give them an instant harsh "lecture" on the evils of crime. Some of them even survived.
In short (from me? RIGHT), there is no easy remedy, but there are some common sense things we can do to reduce our chances of loss. If, in spite of all our best defenses, we do lose some "irreplaceable" gear, we need to deal with it and move on. Losing a prized rod and reel is not unlike losing a loved member of your family. From personal experience, I know there is a grieving and anger process involved that is like mourning a loved one's passing.
Hey, JR, I have probably not covered anything you do not already know, but putting these things on the board may just serve as a reminder to others that our world is not the lovely place we would like to think it is. We should always do what we can to "KEEP THE INNOCENT PEOPLE INNOCENT"...by securing and watching anything that could be subject to theft. By sending the easily deterred crooks somewhere else, we may not keep them from stealing, but we keep them from stealing from us.
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While I have never left my treasures unprotected in the back of an open truck, I have not been spared the anger and sickness that comes from discovering somebody has ripped you off. As I was told by someone in the lock and alarm business one time, "If someone wants to get into your house badly enough, they will find a way to do it." That applies to vehicles too. Locks mean nothing to the determined thief. Leaving ANYTHING clearly visible (in a truck bed) is an open invitation to theft.
That being said, the reason that anti-theft devices are widely used are because they at least slow down the bad guys, and make their jobs harder. Locks, alarms, covers, steering wheel bars and other counter-theft devices hamper crime enough that the perpetrator usually looks for an easier target. These guys do not want to be seen or caught. They care nothing about the morality or ethics of ripping you off.
Leaving something out of your sight for only a few seconds is often long enough to provide a skilled thief the opportunity to grab your goodies. If they only have access to your pockets, that's what they will go through. They will take what they find, hoping they can find a ready buyer for it somewhere...often not even knowing what they have found.
It is seldom we lose our treasured fishing gear to true fishermen. Most fishermen I know are honest sportsmen, who would never think of robbing a fellow angler of such holy belongings. Those who steal everything they can, from anybody vulnerable, are likely drug addicts or career thieves. Strangely, the truly hungry and needy generally have too much pride to steal.
So, after all that dissertation, what is my solution? If you have to leave valuables anywhere...inside a vehicle or outside in a truck bed, cover them from view. Our fishing gear is "an attractive nuisance" to the theft minded. If we have quality gear, it is evident that there is some value...which may be quickly turned over at pawnshops or yard sales.
If it is covered, some of that attractiveness is averted. I use old towels or blankets to cover tackle and trinkets in the back of my SUV, if I have to leave it for any reason. In a pickup, covering with a tarp, before ROPING AND TIEING, will shield your tricked out craft from casual inspection by opportunistic thieves. It won't stop the hard-core ripoff artists from taking a knife to your cover and ropes...and maybe your tube...but it will keep your gear from shouting "TAKE ME".
I used to think asking an innocent looking bystander to watch your stuff for a minute was a solution. That's before I came out from a two minute chat with a customer, in the back of his restaurant, to see the "guard" running around the corner with an armload of stuff he had grabbed out of my car after smashing the window...knowing he had only a couple of minutes...as I had told him.
Even if you have everything stowed either inside, or protectively covered and secured in an open truck bed, there are things you can do to further lessen the chance of "tackle-jacking". Since thieves hate to be seen in the act, try to park where your vehicle is easily visible by a lot of people...yourself included if at all possible. DO make sure all the windows are rolled up and the doors locked.
Amateurs go around checking these things, just for opportunities. Pros often have "slim jims" to open doors, and hammers for opening windows. Alarms mean nothing to car thieves and ripoff artists. They are merely a temporary annoyance during the theft process. Nobody pays attention to them anymore...even the car owner.
I am not a bleeding heart liberal do-gooder nice guy when it comes to having someone rip me off. I am big, mean, combat trained and weapons proficient. If I catch someone trying to steal from me (as I have on more than one occasion), I give them an instant harsh "lecture" on the evils of crime. Some of them even survived.
In short (from me? RIGHT), there is no easy remedy, but there are some common sense things we can do to reduce our chances of loss. If, in spite of all our best defenses, we do lose some "irreplaceable" gear, we need to deal with it and move on. Losing a prized rod and reel is not unlike losing a loved member of your family. From personal experience, I know there is a grieving and anger process involved that is like mourning a loved one's passing.
Hey, JR, I have probably not covered anything you do not already know, but putting these things on the board may just serve as a reminder to others that our world is not the lovely place we would like to think it is. We should always do what we can to "KEEP THE INNOCENT PEOPLE INNOCENT"...by securing and watching anything that could be subject to theft. By sending the easily deterred crooks somewhere else, we may not keep them from stealing, but we keep them from stealing from us.
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