Ah, Spring is just around the corner. When the warmer days of Spring grace us with their presence it also tends to bring the thieving scum out from under the rocks that they sleep in during the winter.

In recognition of this annual event it's time to go over some suggestions as to how to help prevent losing valuable property to these vermin. I'll present the ones that I know of and the rest of you all can chime in with what works for you.

1) If you wanna keep it, don't leave it in your rig. Believe it or not, you aren't the first person to think of putting your detachable stereo faceplate in your glovebox or under your seat, nor are you the genius that came up with hiding rods under blankets. How many times have you driven around with a blanket spread out under the canopy of your truck and weren't hiding anything under it?

2) Don't leave valuables unattended in your boat, no matter how busy the area is. It is more than likely that nobody is paying attention to who owns that boat (or who is there with the owner) so if someone comes along and grabs the rods like they know what they are doing then nobody will notice. Same with your kicker. If you have it setup so that it's easy for you to take off at home, then it's also easy for someone else to take it off.

3) The nicest car alarm on the market won't deter anyone from breaking into your rig if they know that you're hiking a half mile into a canyon to fish. Therefore, see #1 above.

4) If you have a nice rig, invest in a nice alarm system that will not allow it to be disabled so the vehicle can be driven off easily. Cheap factory alarms often can be disabled with a couple quick snips. Of course, this will not deter the thief with his own flatbed tow truck, but it will stop the rest of them.

5) By nature, thieves don't want to have to work at it. They're much happier stealing from someone who makes it easy for them. Therefore, park next to the idiot who has the blanket spread out under the canopy of his pickup.

I'm serious here, folks. Every year there are posts that come up on the boards that someone left a couple of their nice Lami rods and Shimano reels in the back of the truck under a blanket and they were stolen. Don't make it easy for them to rip you off, because they will. Let it be someone else who gets victimized.

or you might leave that smelly old horse carcass in your trunk. that would keep them away

Oh, I'm not worried about someone breaking into my car. Hell, they'd leave something they'd be so depressed. And not everyone has the "horse connections" that I do, if ya know what I mean.

I try to park next to the guy with the new spotless $50,000 truck. Mine is practically cammoflauged in mud and gook, from driving to hell and back to find good steelie water. My tires are probably worth more than the truck itself...

whatever you do don't put, phenix gold stickers on your truck, clarion, exclispe, soundstream. there just break into me stickers. but my anti-theft sticker has worked for about 4 years so I'm doing pretty good. Ben

I drive an old beat up subaru that has never been broken into.The interior is thrashed by me and my two dogs playing in the woods.There is just enough trash to hide my cell phone,walki talky"s,camera etc.
Fancy stereos are a big invite for the crank heads easy to trade for the sh**.Dave is right removable face plate is going to be in the car not in you'r vest and they Know it.Just leave it stock if ya can.I installed a couple a hundred car alarms as a kid and trust me they are easy to get a round if not installed by an expert that cares about the install.9 times out of ten the installer will get the power for the alarm at the fuse box which can easily be yanked on the way into the vehicle.Do not trust alarms exept to kill ignitions.
I leave my car unlocked as I would rather replace what little will be in my car than my window.
Get yourself some 8 inch plastic pipe,a cap, and a threaded access glue cap on one end and aceass on the other.Mine is 5'6'' to acomidate 10'6'' rods.
Screw the access plug in untill it is secure.Drill a 5/8 inch hole through access and the plug.Get a 10''by 1/2'' inch bolt,and a 1/2 washer,get a galvie it won't rust, and a small lock.Drill a hole through the bottom of the bolt,big enough and low enough ,to fasten the lock to.Now slide bolt through hole on acesss and slide washer onto bolt and secure lock.My buddy has his secured to his wheel well,in the bed with a couple bolts and steel backing inside the pipe.I have mine fastened to a car rack with steel banding.I dare say you will not break a rod again or get one ripped off.
I have hidden gear in the woods away from my rig before too.Just do not forget it!I have done that before also.

I have also put a car alarm in my boat, for when I am tied to the dock, or in a parking lot. Since I have done this I have had no problems, of course I also have my trolling motor chained and padlocked to the boat, it won't stop them, but it will slow them down a little.

My truck is the 1980 Ford F250 4x4. Two tone brown. Don't let the condition fool you, it runs great! The keys are in the Ign. and it's unlocked! Can't get a new truck since I already have one! Help me out guys

When I was in my early 20's, I bought some cheap speakers at a flea market and propped them up in the back window of my cherry 66 GTO. All the better to listen to The Doors, ya know? ( Or was it Abba?)
I was at the Seattle Sports Show and fishing with some of the reps before the show opened. Late at night, when I returned to my car, the door was pried open and my speakers were stolen. The thief climbed over $1,000+ worth of fishing gear to steal my $50 speakers. Geez....how can I possibly be mad, eh?
But, boy did I learn MY lesson!
diana

If you decide to bring any valuables with you maybe leave your door unlocked at least you won't have a broken window in addition to loseing your property, seriously, just take everything worth anything out before you head out, might be a pain in the #*# but I beleive they only want it if they can see it, and if it looks like it's hidden I think thats even worse! I had my rig broken into sturgeon fishing on a busy boat launch day all they took was my cell phone cord but they smashed my passenger window to get it, like I said leave the goods at home and you'll fish easier, everytime I go I dread going to my truck even though I know it's empty!...... good luck!