Either Campo's or BSM would have probably loaned out some fishing gear. This happened to me once at the house (I had backup rods in the shed so the trip was saved, but not the same quality). When I told them what happened (two different trips), both said they would have temporarily helped. Just a tip in case this happens to someone else. Thieves suck.

This saturday I almost had this same problem. At the corner of Paris and Judge perez at the shell gas station. As my brother walked inside the gas station a few younger fellas walked up to my boat and started leaning in to eyeball my gear. I could tell they were up to not good.I stepped out the vehicle and startled them they didnt realize i was watching them. So just be carefull in that area.

I have two fairly new Okuma reels and 7ft rods that I don't use. E-mail me and I will donate them to you, if your interested

Alan

Seem like if this is goin in the area@same place and its keeping tourist from avoiding that area Sounds like some1 needs to call local Police Nothing but Crack heads, If you went to the other corner you could by your Gear Back

Unforunately it happens everyday and in every neighborhood. When I have my boat hooked up, I never leave it unattended. I make sure to plan my trips so that I have everything packed in and only need to stop for gas which I pay for at the pumps the morning of the trip. I dont go into the convenience stores unless someone is outside watching the boat.

Well normally i pump gas and wife in truck&I pay@pump. or if i go in she in truck and vise verser, Ummmm if I'm not mistaken that Truck in a Extention of your Home....'BEWARE OWNER CARRIES 40 SMITH&WESSON LOCK&LOADED'

Yeh when i have my duck boat i always have my pistol with me as well. And Someone is always outside keeping an eye on our gear. I can't afford to replace the gear so i protect it with my life lol. When they kid eyeballed my gear this weekend and i stepped out the truck with with my pistol in clear sight i think he got the point when i asked him ' can i help u with something '
Shame it is this way but just be careful !!!!!!

Thanks Little Miss Lexi for your offer on the rods. Your kindness is refreshing especially after the events of this past weekend. Actually, the pastor of my church (who does more catching than fishing)offered to give me 3 rods/reels and even gave me a zebco 733 just like the one that was stolen. I admit my mistake was not staying with the truck. It's sad, but you can't really trust people too much anymore. I would give someone anything, but don't steal from me.
I was diagnosed with leukemia last year and my eyes were opened to the fact that life is shorter than we expect. I have made it my point to enjoy more time doing things with my family, more fishing, and just slowing down enough to take advantage of every day. I refuse to let thiefs discourage me from doing what I love to do. I usually make a trip every payday and I can promise that I will be at the launch next payday.
I enjoy reading the posts on this site and I appreciate the spirit of the true sportsman that post comments and advice.

Redchaser.

If you would like to bring your kids fishing I would like to offer an all expense paid trip to you and your kids. I dont have a 24' bay but a very comfortable 18' new w/t.

Nothing i enjoy more then kids fishing. My son loves every trip and we have a blast!

That's the way to look at it. They can take away your gear but don't let them take your spirit. You just keep doing what you do and enjoy life to its fullest.

You should ask McDonalds I'm sure they have cameras

I have two boats a crab and a shrimp boat I keep parked in Delacroix by my grandparents also parked there are my brothers two boats and a friends crab boat before Katrina when they had a lot of locals still living there we never had a thing stolen we even left our gps on the boats with no problems well now with very few people living there maybe 8/10 i have to lock my cabin and we can't leave a thing on the boats we've had everything stolen keys/ batteries/ $150 rain suits/ gas a 24gal fuel tank and a lot of other stuff I'm getting ready to have some cameras installed because it's not getting any better

That Mcdonalds makes a lot of money off hunters and fishermen. Print this post and responses and then go ask the Manager if he will show you the video---if he doesn't seem interested in helping you show him the reports. The threat of more bad press may just get you the video. Its worth a try.

Squid

AFI Gorilla holder

Sorry to hear about what happened to you and your family. I have often found myself forgetting or needing some last minute items so I make a quick stop at a store on the way. Usually like many others I have someone with me that can stay with the truck and boat. I don't know what kind of setup you have in your boat but there is something that I did in mine that works pretty well. I have always had the white plastic bolt on rod holders that mount to the side of my console in my skiff. There is a company named AFI thats makes one called the Gorilla Holder. If I remember right I bought them at Academy Sports. Once you put your rods in it there is a latch that slides across just above the reels locking the rods in place and you lock it with a strong padlock. With the rods in place the bolts cannot be accessed. The plastic is pretty strong so it would take some work to even rip the holders from the console. Is it 100% theive proof?...No but most theives are usually looking for a quick grab and run and this will make them move on somewhere else.
Hope ya'll can get back on the water soon.
Good luck and safe fishing.

Thanks Squid Row. I may make a lunch break run to Academy to see if they have one. I definitely learned my lesson the hard way! This is the first time I have ever had anything stolen from me...at 52 yrs old, that's pretty good! I hope to be back out soon. I promised the kids I would take them back so they could fish. That was the worst part of the deal...seeing the kids face when they realized their rods were stolen too. However,my motto is 'life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it'. This was an opportunity to teach them several valuable lessons in life. Thanks for the tip. I am going to look in to that.

Last year i stoped at a gas station in abbeville next to burger king. I had a icechest of drinks and food and another ice chest with bait with a few rods and gear. We were going spend weekend at the camp. Went inside to pay my gas. I left store and later arrived at the dock to realize no more icechest and no more poles. Should have stayed with the truck i guess, but same as you i have never had anything like that happen to me before so i didnt even think about it. By the way, the store had cameras but they were not working at the time. Go figure. Anyway, i think we all agree that times have changed when you have to pay attention to your things constanly to make sure they stay yours. Again sorry to hear about your situation, and what goes around comes around.

Squid Row, I went to Academy but they didn't have one. I'll try looking on line and if that don't work, I will fabricate something that I can mount to my console to lock the poles in. That looks really sturdy.
I see you fish at Leeville mostly. I used to go there back in 1999-2001 and fished a spot called the graveyard canal on the east side of LA 1. Are you familiar with that spot? Man, I used to wear out some trout at the end of that canal. They had a bunch of old boats parked along the banks on each side. Good memories. I usually fish Golden Meadow alot, but made it my goal to learn more about the Hopedale area this year. Once it gets cooler, I will make atrip back your way. I'm in a green 20 ft Xpress CS with a 115 Yamaha pushing me. I wouldn't mind getting in on some the white trout. I remember catching a few big loads of whities! Safe fishing and I hope you get you a fine retirement toy!

not to insult anyone but i think its just silly to worry about locking rod holders and such when all you need to do is stay with the boat or park it so it can be viewed thru the window of the restuarant. if you are alone and you need to go to the bathroom then just ask the manager to watch it for you, most will be happy to since they dont want something bad happening in their parking lot.

there comes a point when you can just go overboard over complicating things and unless you leave your gear unattended overnight then locking rod holders are a nice idea when at camp but a bit of overkill normally. if they cant get the poles they will grab the tackle box or something else thats easy to grab and go so your only real defence is keep it watched at all times.

there are some lucky enough to have rod storage compartments built into their boats and it makes sense if those were made lockable (i think most are) but not everyone has such a setup in their boats.

to those who stole the gear, i hope they experience some form of very painfull payback karma.

Red chaser just sent you an email. I would keep an I on Craig's list. Also email me what models were taken , I get down that way a lot and I can check the area pawn shops.

Nothing against the police down there but they probably won't catch anyone. I'm sure their resources are limited and this type of stuff is not high priority. A few of us should get together and set up a little 'sting'. Catch them red handed and turn them over to the authorities. Just a thought....

West Marine has them in the $40.00 range but I am sure I did not get them there. If it wasn't Academy then Ebay is where I purchase some things also. Craig's list is a good idea too. See if AFI has a website with a list of local dealers.
Keaker - Not insulted but I would rather use any kind of detourant that I possibly can rather than depend on a middle eastern store clerk or manager to watch my stuff while I am shopping. It only takes less than 10 seconds to lift a hand full of rods out of a boat so by the time your alerted they are gone on down the highway. Its not like your going to beable to go chase them down.... remember you are pulling a boat.

i understand what u are saying, but ask the manager to watch it??? they cant even get your order rite much less watch your boat!!! just keep an empty liter bottle with a wide mouth in your truck so u dont have to go inside to pee!!! i have to say it just aint at mac d's in chalmette its anywhere u stop!!!!

Go to youtube and type in Trunk Monkey. Now thats an idea to stop the stealing...LMAO

A nice fat mean cottonmouth in a box ,left on the floor of the boat may not deter a theft, but it would be a sight to see once the snake was loose inside some thiefs car.

It would make it easy to spot the theif as he stood outside his vehicle screaming.

Besides, I think there's no laws of transporting your pet snake in the boat..

Great ideas from all. I did park right on the side where the drive thru is located. They have a long area there that is perfect for the truck/boat and can be seen from the window by the door. I will never leave the truck unattended again and had I not had my daughter with me, I would have been making good use of a 3-liter coke bottle. I will find something or build something to keep the 7 ft rods secured. I had a hard time getting them to take my order when I was there, so I doubt they would be willing to look out for my boat.
I have worked every night until 8pm this week and by payday, I'll have what I need to replace my gear. I was thinking that the next trip will be one where I buy doughnuts the evening before the trip and we avoid stopping for anything.
My boat doesn't have rod boxes, so I will keep everything in my truck and prevent this from happening to me again. Fishing is expensive enough without having to purchase your gear twice. Maybe I can rig up a spring-loaded booby trap with about 100 treble hooks to snag the 'bottom-feeders' next time they reach into my Xpress. That would be my way to Xpress sweet revenge, lol! Be safe and hope you fill your limits on your next trip.

...consider most don't walk around w/a cable cutters...you can thread a 8ft small dia.cable that kids use on bicycles as a slow-down that could be connected to your boat battery w/a small 12v screamer siren from Radio Shack...remember it's a hit and run quicky thing and in this last obammo adminstration the percentage of thief,disception,un-employment and embezzlement is at a all time nationwide high...just give a hard working (close too pension) honest cop 8 or 7 J.D.'s on'da Rocks and he'll tell you all about it !!!...it's all relative !!! cheers

I've heard this same story several times about the Meraux gas station on Judge Perez, heading back to Chalmette from Delacroix. I've left my stuff unattended down there before, but I shouldn't.

I've had items taken after i left the landing--now if there is suspicious people around i run away from landing then return a few minutes later and keep a firearm for my protection

I've lived in St Bernard my whole life and its not what it used to be down here. Truly sorry to hear about that.

I will say that I always have gear in the boat or truck and have never had a problem. The only time I leave someone in the truck is when we have firearms in the boat.