UPDATE: Bassmaster Thieves Busted

This morning I had the chance to talk with one of the pros affected by the recent fishing gear robberies that happened here in Florida.  

Jimmy Mason was one of the eight affected pros in the recent burglary in Florida.  They were here pre-fishing for the Bassmaster Southern Open set to start on Thursday.  Jimmy said he was on of the lucky ones and said they took a battery and two pumps for Power Poles.  They didn’t  get any of his tackle and he believes it was because he was parked in a well lit area and also had his boat cover on.  Pro Dave Smith seemed to get the worst of it as they took rods, reels and tackle as well as two Power Poles.  The thieves couldn’t get to his power pole pumps easily so Jimmy Mason believes that is why they went for his.

When asked for his advice to anglers on how to prevent this again, he said to make sure you park in well lit areas and also use your boat cover.  Jimmy went and bought a baby monitor for his boat so he can hear if anything is happening in his boat.

The good news is that the thieves were caught.  They were believed to be part of a ring that had been going up and down the coast for Power Poles and equipment, following the major tournaments.  They had parked out of the way, but their license plate was still seen from security cameras.  The video showed that it only took around twenty minutes for two guys to steal from eight guys.  These guys were professionals and everyone needs to be more careful.  Jimmy said he was lucky and the biggest thing he lost was the four hours of fishing time he lost yesterday morning.