Lost and Unfound

Journalist James Phillips recently sent us a link to a page he found on Rusty Gates’s Au Sable Lodge Web site. It is documented proof that not only do people lose gear on a steady basis but that many of them also forget that they have forgotten it.
Here are some of the highlights from Gates’s Lost and Found page:
“Lost: Net in the swamp above Guides Rest.
Lost: Orvis Zero G outfit left at Parmalee Landing one busy Saturday night. We know where it belongs.
Found: Complete outfit, hanging in the trees between Conners and Mc Masters.
Lost: Compete outfit, Winston with Ross reel. Upper Thunder Bay River North of McCornick Lake. Dirve [sic] away…
Found: Wedding band, as in ring, at Wakeley Bridge Canoe launch. Or maybe there was a divorce on the spot, after an unhappy canoe adventure!”
As Phillips says: “Some fly fishing no-nos deserve repeating, especially the admonition to always stow your rod and reel safely in your vehicle before taking off your waders, vest, etc., when you come off the river. Do NOT put your fly rod on top of the car for temporary ‘safe’ storage while you undress, lest you momentarily forget about it and drive off. I failed to follow this advice and lost a nifty 7-foot, 3-weight rod and reel last year in a drive-off.
I found solace when talking to friends, many of whom to my surprise had made the same error. And then I came upon the ‘lost and found’ department of Rusty Gates’ fly shop along the Au Sable River near Grayling, Michigan. Mein Gott! Drive-offs are epidemic.”