My trip to Eufaula in March was tough on equipment, but I did not realize it until the next weekend.  Some of it was wear and tear over time, some from stupidity and some from just bad luck.

At Bartletts Ferry the next weekend while re-tying a Chatterbait something just did not look right. On close inspection, the clip holding the line to the lure had corroded and the hook holding it together was gone.

I had caught two good bass on it the weekend before and lost a four pounder that just pulled off. I don’t think the broken clip had anything to do with that but will never know. I do know that if I had hooked another bass on the lure the hook would have come open and I would have lost lure and fish.

Fortunately, it was a regular Chatterbait costing about $6, not their Jackhammer costing $18!  But even an inexpensive lure from a big company should not corrode like that.

The next day I picked up my St. Croix crankbait rod, tried to cast it and something was wrong. I looked and the first guide from the reel was bent. When I tried to straighten it, I saw the rod itself was crushed. It had been stepped on!I don’t remember stepping on it but may have since I have so many on my boat deck while fishing. 

When I got home I contacted St Croix warranty service about sending it back, and was told due to the COVID–19 problem I should just send in pictures of the break and the serial number and it would be replaced for $85, less than one third the cost of a new one

.A couple of days later they called me. Although the rod was about ten years old, and the break was obviously damage, not a defect, it was still under warranty and they replaced it for only $50!

You can not get better service or warranty from anybody.

While all this was going on, I noticed a reel laying under the rods in my back rod holder.  It had fallen off a rod. At first I thought it has just vibrated loose, but when I looked the ear that holds one end of the reel to the rod was broken off.  That is not repairable!

I had to replace my back running light at Eufuala when I let the wind blow the back of the boat under an overhanging bush and broke the pole.

Maybe my run of bad luck is over, but with a bass boat and a lot of fishing equipment, there will be other problems.