What happened here?

[kmstorm64]

Take a look at the image and tell me what is wrong here?  If you guessed "Kev, where is the handle?"  You would be spot on.  I had been fishing a few days with this little Battle 4000 (love the reel), when I went halfway out on the Jetty in Westport. That is a long Jetty!  I got in my spot started setting stuff up, and I hear this , ting, ting, ting, ting, ting of something falling and hitting rocks as it descends. I start looking, and can't find what is missing, Knife check, pliers check, lures check, everything metallic, seems to be here check. Okay I can't find it, maybe I kicked something?  So I set everything up get ready to cast, and then I find what fell, or should I say I now know what fell.  The reel handle must of gotten banged loose while climbing out there.  That ended the day for me.

[Wompus Cat]

BUMMER !!!
Go to that much trouble I would of made a cast anyway 

[PacRat]

I was going to say...at least you caught it BEFORE you made your first cast.

I've watched some of our amigos from south of the border use and empty can or bottle like a spinner (no rod). They wrap the mono around it and twirl the weight and bait over-head like a lariat, then fling it way out there (like David slaying Goliath). They point the can right where they're casting to then they reel in by wrapping it back onto the can.

-Mike

[Gfish]

I remember a guy that lost his wallet on the Cresent City jetty. Secure all the stuff you can out there. Great habitat to fish at times.

[Maxed Out]

 Be careful out on the Westport jetty. Plenty of people have  needed to be rescued from that jetty as conditions can change in the blink of an eye, as waves start crashing over the jetty

[6thMichCav]

Breaking a handle was the reason I never go fishing without two reels. I was fishing a trout stream once and slipped.  I put my rod hand down to catch myself, and came up with a broken handle. Now there is always an extra reel in my vest, car, or bag...or all three!

[kmstorm64]

lost not broken luckily!

[Crab Pot]

I would have started Pole Poking in the rocks to save the day.

Bummer on the handle though.

[steelfish]

I've watched some of our amigos from south of the border use and empty can or bottle like a spinner (no rod). They wrap the mono around it and twirl the weight and bait over-head like a lariat, then fling it way out there (like David slaying Goliath). They point the can right where they're casting to then they reel in by wrapping it back onto the can.

-Mike

hey Mike have you been spying me?


before I started taking fishing as a hobby I used to go to the rocky beach or pier with my family and fish that same way you just described, some guys use any can or any bottle to fish but actually you can find plastic bottles from soda that have a kind of concave curve on which is more easy to wrap the mono line and keep it in the same zone without worries of the line unwraping or sliding to a side of a slippery aluminium can.

then when I found out my kids and myself really enjoyed fishing I bought my 1st combo at wallyworld for 25 dlls (yep a cheap shakespeare combo) and I thought it was pretty expensive that was 15 years ago, now my wife see the invoice of my reels and every time she remember me that time when $25 was "pretty" expensive for me and said why spend more when you can get the same fish with the empty soda bottle and a $0.25 hook than with those $100 fishing combo, so $25 was my limit to spend that time.


Now back to the topic, I will share a story that happened to me 15 years ago, so you dont feel alone in this world with you last Bad luck with you reel amigo.
like 3 months later after I bought my 1st cheap combo (15 years ago) , I bought a second combo, but this time it was a much better quality $50 dlls combo for my wife, so, on a Saturday morning at 5am my wife prepared sandwiches for my 2 kids and for mom and dad and I drove 2hrs to our favorite spot to fish from the shore, when we arrived I stared to unpack everything to prepare the fishing rods then I remembered I never took the fishing reels that were in another bag and were left on the house, so you have us with all prepared to fish but no reels for the poles and driving back to pick them up and return it wasnt an option

then I found in the car my go-to fishing gear from few months back, yep the plastic bottles with mono line still wrapped with the weights and hooks attached to them, that saved the day LOL, we used them and caught some triggerfish and some spotted bay bass, enough for a ceviche and fish tacos for the next day.
I think that was the last time I used a soda bottle to fish.

[PacRat]

I wish I knew this technique when I was a kid. I remember scrounging through the trash cans at the local pier for some mono and a hook and some leftover bait. We would just hand-line but never thought to wrap a bottle.

-Mike

[Shark Hunter]

Well that sucks.
I love the Battle reels with a handle.

[Donnyboat]

Yes I love to battle fish, with a handle to, hard luck, I bet you keep double checking the handle on your next reel, cheers Don.