Sucks losing a piece of sentimental gear

[Shoemoo]

Went fishing tonight and the yellow perch were red hot. Must have caught 50 of the suckers. Most were around 8", but it was fun not even being able to keep a line in the water. I was using cut bait and had to take the skin off the hook to rebait. Pulled it off with my stainless steel needle nose pliers and went to snap my wrist to fling off the old skin. Well, my hands were wet and the pliers went flying. Heard them bounce off the wooden railing of the dock and *sploosh* in 10+ feet of water.

Bought those pliers when I was in high school, and they were by far my oldest piece of gear. They've been a part of practically every fishing trip I've been on for more than 20 years and unhooked thousands of fish. The pliers weren't really meant for fishing, they were from K-Mart's house brand of shop tools, and since K-Mart merged with Sears they don't sell them any more.

I suppose it's silly getting attached to a hand tool, but if the water had been clear I would have gone in after them. Heck, I had $35 in my wallet and I would rather have dropped it in the drink instead.

RIP trusty fishing pliers

 

[Pepop]

Not silly at all Shoe! I lost a pair of needle-nose pliers a couple years ago myself in much the same way, it was 34 degrees & I had taken my glove off & when my hand got wet, it got cold(er) in a hurry & I just lost my grip & 1 bounce & "ploop" over the side they went. Like yours, they weren't anything special except they were a Father's Day gift from my son when he was 6 (he's 37 now). I got this knot in my gut & just sat there for the longest time. I think my boy felt as bad as I did when I told him what happened. He gave me a nice, new pair last year on Father's Day & they're great (but just not the same).

 

[StumpHunter]

"RIP trusty fishing pliers" Sad

I have lost tackle that couldn't be replaced by any new piece. It's hard to find the right pliers that just feel right in your hands.

 

[LedHed]

Shoemoo you might want to try going over the area with a strong magnet on a string....

Hate when that happens.

 

[Pup]

I, too, have a favorite pair of needlenose pliers that I'd hate to lose. If that happened, it'd be as if I'd lost my wallet. :beat-up:

 

[Shoemoo]

Well, I managed to find an almost identical pair on Amazon (don't they have everything?) for $8.50, and they came with a pair of spring loaded gate shears. I was planning on getting a pair of gate shears for cutting off lead sprues anyway, so I bit. The package came today and I'm very pleased.

My first pair probably could have lasted another 20 years, and the quality on this set is the same. The narrow head and fine tips on the pliers do a great job for extracting the hook from even the smallest of baby perch and sunfish, and the spring makes it easy to control how wide the jaws are open.

If you need a pair of good fishing pliers, I'd recommend these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008R6NKQA/ref=ox_ya_os_product

 

[Kdog]

Went fishing tonight and the yellow perch were red hot. Must have caught 50 of the suckers. Most were around 8", but it was fun not even being able to keep a line in the water. I was using cut bait and had to take the skin off the hook to rebait. Pulled it off with my stainless steel needle nose pliers and went to snap my wrist to fling off the old skin. Well, my hands were wet and the pliers went flying. Heard them bounce off the wooden railing of the dock and *sploosh* in 10+ feet of water.

Bought those pliers when I was in high school, and they were by far my oldest piece of gear. They've been a part of practically every fishing trip I've been on for more than 20 years and unhooked thousands of fish. The pliers weren't really meant for fishing, they were from K-Mart's house brand of shop tools, and since K-Mart merged with Sears they don't sell them any more.

I suppose it's silly getting attached to a hand tool, but if the water had been clear I would have gone in after them. Heck, I had $35 in my wallet and I would rather have dropped it in the drink instead.

RIP trusty fishing pliers

Be careful what you wish for. It is always hard to loose something with sentimental value but you always have the memories. A wallet on the other hand is a tragedy. Lost my first one on Lake Erie in 1982 not real bad but took a couple months to get everything of importance back into my new wallet (except the phone number of that cute redhead named Bethany that I met the night before and promised to call.)

FF to 2013 cars were broken into and wifes purse was stolen along with my carryall checkbook, no checks, just fishing licenses. various membership cards, general accumulation of things we gather as we grow up. My miscellaneous stuff was time consuming to replace. New licenses TG I bought online and PDF copies on my PC. Various clubs and associations required phone calls and attend meetings etc etc etc. But the worst part was credit cards because in addition to checkbook, credit cards, gas cards etc the wife had in her purse she also had a stack of bills to be paid the next day, her Drivers License, work ID and lord only knows what else.

Took the better part of the day to cancel credit cards and bank cards and get new ones issued. Almost a week on all that stuff before new cards were all in hand. Her ID cards and License's took a while longer, SS card was a toughie as her Birth Certificate was hand written but her employer had a photocopy on file which she was able to use to get a replacement.

Drivers license was almost as bad fortunately her work ID which was easily replaced for $35 worked as a photo ID along with ODMV now keeping photos electronically new Drivers license was fairly easy to get. A few of her professional credentials were tougher to obtain but after 4 months had everything back to where it was.

Loss of the tool and sentimental attachment is sad but has an upside, you get to try to find a better one. Also you have motivation to take a big magnet and return to the spot to try and retrieve the pliers. Be glad it was not your wallet.