It seems the easiest way to loose a rod is to flip the canoe. One year my buddy and I were having a longest cast contest from camp. Not wanting to be outdone I grabbed his ultra light outfit, tied on a big spoon and gave it everything I had. Well my hands were a bit wet, a little slippage occurred and his rig flew about 20 yards never to be seen again. That officially ended the contest. You should have seen the look on his face after that one. Whoops. Anyone else willing to share any utter buffoonery.

I have heard of that happening before. How far can you throw it ?? One year my buddy's wife bought him a new baitcasting rod and reel. He wanted to troll with it just sitting in his lap. Just as I said you shouldn't do that - over it went ! I know about where it is but it couldn't be snagged. 28 feet of water off an island on Alpine. Izzy

Ok kids.... Be Careful not to step on the rods.... Ok dad.... SNAP !!
Been there, done that! Only one was broken, so kids survived the trip.

2 of my friend were doing the same thing as you, mycellaman, and one of them lost his grip on the rod, and it went in the drink. well, this was right at our camp, and later when we were swimming, one of the guys felt something with his feet, went down, and it just happened to be the rod that was lost earlier that day!

Knocked my baitcaster out of the canoe within the first twenty minutes a few years back on Agnes. Tried dragging a Daredevil but never managed to snag it. Managed to snap several rods along the way as well, but unfortunately never because of a lunker. That's why I bring 3 rods.

Did manage to snag an ultralight rod and reel on Leech Lake someone else lost. At first I thought it was my rod because it was identical to the one I had in the boat.

Make sure the rod tip is in the car before closing the door. OOPS! Where is the repair kit? I thought we didn't need it so I threw it out. The conversation went downhill from there.

Kep the poles out for trolling while traveling last year in the Q. THe first portage in my son fell and snapped my pole in two. An extra tent stake, some hockey tape, and I was back in the action.

On Grace a few years ago, I was getting frustrated since all we were catching were smallies. I figured I needed to go deeper to catch Walleyes but got even more furstrated by getting hung up every 2 minutes. On one particularly tough snag i tried to horse it off the rocks and ended up snapping a brand new rod in half.

On Elbow Lake in the Timber Frear Loop my buddy also lost his rod off his lap while trolling, as some others have mentioned.

Luckily we both bring 2 rods and one extra reel each so it hasn't made a major negative impact on any of the trips.

Two years ago on Beartrap, my buddy was fishing from the front, and i the back. When he reached backed to cast his stick bait, something happened. Somehow, when he heaved his rod forward (and almost the canoe over), his lure cut my line, hooked a guide on the top half of my rod, and then flung said half of rod about 40 feet out from canoe. I was so pissed, but then we laughed about it.

Hey Bud,

I just finished reading your article (sharing the wilderness - The Passion Revealed) in the winter 08 addition of the BWJ. Thanks for an enjoyable read. The incident with your rod going into the drink had me laughing as well. And I loved Oscar's final quote of the trip. That's exactly how I felt after my first trip to the BWCA. I can't wait to return this year.

Thanks again,
Craig
Champaign, IL.

We fliped on the oyester river last year. the bungie dealies kept the rods on board, except I lost the end half of both the two piece rods I was using. we were able to recover one, but not the other.

never have had anyone in my group lose a rod until this year. my dad was trolling while helping me net a fish. then all the suddened his pole went overboard, not sure if a fish took it or snagged on a rock. searched for it but couldnt find it. then later that day i was fishing with my uncle and we finished trolling back to camp. it was dark and he slid the pole behind the canoe, but it fell in the lake. we were only 50ft from camp and marked the spot. in the morning, we spotted the rod, tied a daredevil on a different pole and hooked it.