Every year we buy new gear, and the unfortunately every year thieves find somebody's gear more to there liking than buying there own. Or, we become careless and leave things behind or just plain... "POOF"..loose them. Here are some tips to help lessen loss this year, and hopefully expedite recovery of lost or stolen items.

#1 Mark all gear with your Name and contact info.

#2 Record and document your gear, take pictures, write down serial numbers and model numbers. File this if ever needed for ID or proof of ownership. A video cam may do well for this and will prove to insurance company's you actually once owned these items...without it, prof is difficult to bare up on when filing a claim.

#3 Do not leave electronics in a vehicle or ice house untended, ever. Bring your electronic in or bring it home, even at a resort or in your driveway, don't risk it!

#4 Make sure your tackle and rod bags also have contact info in them, so if you misplace them, this gives the honest person an opportunity to do the next right thing, and contact you. Without this, it's preaty hard to do, and most will not try..most..but not all mind you.

#5 Look out for the next guy. If something looks odd...it likely is, report it promptly to the proper authority's. The next guy may be you next time. Document what you see, get good descriptive information and all pertinent info, write it down so they have something to work with and it is not forgotten. Take cell phone pics if you can. Have police and DNR/G&F number handy on cell, just in case.

#6 Don't buy suspicious goods. If something is Too Good To Be True..it likely is HOT. Don't do it...no market makes it less attractive to thieves.

Very often the ID thing will save you lost items. It will most certainly help to speed up recovery. Most people will do the next right thing, given the chance.

As for thieves, #5 is our best bet...watch out for the next guy and he will do the same for you.

well said. everybody has to be on the lookout when your out on the ice. not just for people stealing your stuff, but other people's stuff as well. because chances are, if they are stealing your ice neighbors stuff one day, they will eventually come back for yours.

Good post Ed and one I best follow as I'm getting my gear ready this year especially the marking to ID and taking pics part .

It should be easier to do as I'm organizing beforehand .

I also just went over my truck insurance policy and it does not cover the items so I will take out extra at minuimal cost . This equipment racks up into the thousands of dollars in no time .

TD

Amen,

I take photos of the item and the serial number then make backups including uploading them to any one of the on-line photo sites.

Take photos of things that look suspicious. On a couple of occasions I have given my neighbor photos of people or cars around their house that looked suspicious when they were out of town.

There is no better description than a photo.

I can't wait until the day we have a small affordable GPS track chips. You wound only need one, put it inside your most likely thing to be taken and even if you didn't have one in your rod case or auger you know you will find the rest of the stuff with what ever you put the chip in. Just a few people getting busted buy this method would drastically reduce theft as long as news coverage let the public know how they got busted. I can't see a thief that knows that a very small chip that could be hidden inside something that would lead the police to your front door wood be willing to take that risk. Thief's don't think they will be cough and thats why they do it.

I'm thinking some people are doing this with trail cams if I remember right.

one of my acquaintences busted his neighbor stealing his trailcam - he had two and the thief only found the one, nice pic of the guy trespassing and stealing. not too long before the on-star kinda deal is available on a wider market for stuff like ATVs, boats, and other recreational equipment

All my fishing gear is insured, my agent makes me take pics and record everything just in case theres a claim. Kind of a pain but well worth the hassle. I had some gear stolen a few years ago before I was insured, that won't happen again.

After having my vexilar and Frabil aerated minnow bucket stolen last year I am considering putting insurance riders on all my fishing and hunting gear. There are too many opprotunistic dirtbags out there that have no problem ripping people off.

I do the same thing. I also have the strange habit of writing down license plates whenever I see something out of place. somemone sitting in a parked car too long, driving erratically, etc.. I work overnights, and live in an apartment complex, and you never know when even a partial plate number might come in handy.

I also lock all my stuff up at all times. if Im not using it or I cant see it, its locked up. Heck, I dont even leave my garage door open any longer then I need.

I had my walleye rods taken from my boat in my yard and I had coverage with State Farm and they told me go out and replace them right down to the line and lures and bring in my receipt and they would cut me a check and they did. I will be insuring my fish house this year with them also.