A GUIDE TO FISHING SECURITY
With anglers being attacked on the bank and every thief in the land looking to have your beloved fishing tackle away if they get half a chance I thought I would share a few security tips that I've picked up firstly as an angler and secondly as a police officer. In this article I'll look at keeping your gear secure and safe at home and in the second article I'll go over how to stay safe on the bank and the best ways to protect your car and marking your tackle.
The Morality check
There is one simple reason fishing tackle gets stolen and that's because there's a market for it, in other words some low life is prepared to buy stolen gear at a knock down price knowing its been nicked. These people who buy this gear are the first to complain when their gear gets stolen without realising that they have contributed to their own misfortune by helping generate the demand in the first place.
The 'morality check' is simple - don't buy stolen gear if you don't want your own being stolen later down the line. If you buy stolen gear and suffer a theft then tough, because you're no better than the original thief and cannot realistically class yourself as a victim, (and we all know that 95% of the tackle at car boots, in the paper or on e-bay that is too cheap to be true, is knocked off gear, so none of this 'turning a blind eye' rubbish as well). And it doesn't just apply to tackle either, because if you buy anything that fell off the back of a lorry you're just as bad, because the bloke who's selling the stolen perfume, contraband fags, or stolen meat from M&S is most likely the same bloke who will fence your tackle collection when someone steals it from your garage.
So it's simple 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'. If no-one bought stolen property in the first place then thefts would drop by 85% overnight as this is the figure committed by those who steal just to sell on to fund addictions. Life lesson over, let's move on.
Keeping your tackle safe at home
Why some people keep thousands of pounds worth of tackle in a £200 shed amazes me. After all, would you keep a £3000 Plasma screen TV in your relatively insecure shed? I understand that some anglers have nowhere else to keep their gear as not many partners/wives will allow smelly, dirty and wet tackle into the house. But if you can just keep the smelly stuff like net bags and bait in the shed and get your gear like chairs, tackle boxes and rod bags inside then do so. Try using the argument that if your gear does get stolen from the shed then there will be no family holiday next year as the insurance probably won't pay out and you'll have to pay out of your own pocket. If they still refuse tell them that if you don't have any fishing tackle you'll get depressed and turn into a drunken tramp. If that doesn't work turn your shed into Fort Knox.
Securing your shed
Start with the door, fit a good strong padlock with the clasp and hinge screwed into the main frame of the shed not just the outer skin. Double up with another padlock or a five lever mortice lock. A security light covering the shed area and shed alarm (available from any DIY store) are also a must. Also a good tip is to line all the walls and door of your shed with ¼ inch ply, this stops anyone kicking through the thin walls of your shed and thus bypassing the door. Also don't forget any window which needs bars to prevent access and either a curtain or boarding to prevent a potential thief seeing your gear inside, they won't try to steal what they don't know is there.
Start at the perimeter
If your have a side entry or passageway to your property then get it gated and keep it locked. Get the biggest, strongest gate you can and fit two bolts with at least one padlock on one. If your gate is 6' or smaller fit trellising to the top to prevent climbing and never leave anything like a bin out in front of it that can be used as boost up. Again a security light should be used to cover side entry's or passage ways.
Garages
Garages are more secure than sheds but still a favourite of thieves. If your garage has access from the house then you can really go to town on securing it by modifying the up and over door if you have one. The lock on most garage doors is next to useless so again double up by either drilling a hole in the bottom lip of the garage door and through into the ground door and inserting a metal rod through the two (an old bankstick will do), placing side bolts inside on the door to prevent opening or simply drill a hole in the start of the slider and place a padlock there to prevent it being opened from the outside. If you rely on the garage door for access then bolts with padlocks can be fitted to the exterior. Don't forget a security light and alarm are also a must.
Deterrent is the key
Unless a thief knows that a truly great prize awaits them they will usually leave all but the easiest targets well alone. The trick is to firstly make them visible or heard, if they can be seen or heard they won't want to be there, so cut those high hedges, remember that gravel drives are nice and noisy, security lights will illuminate the street and will get them running back to the dark hole they came from. A barking dog always attracts attention. If they do try to get in make it as hard and noisy for them to do so as possible. Extra locks and bars on a garage door or shed will make enough noise to wake the neighbourhood if they try to force them, as will a good alarm.
On the subject of dogs I have only ever been to two burglaries where the occupiers owned a dog. At one they had a peculiar breed which did not have the ability to bark and the other one I think was a false claim on the insurance. I know there are exceptions to this, but trust me, 99% of the time they are the ultimate alarm. The thing with dogs is they know if it's you when you're at the end of the drive and their senses can detect a potential intruder before they even cross your boundary. Two dogs, a small keen alert yappy guard dog like a Jack Russell combined with a larger beast like a German Shepherd to provide a bit of muscle and a truly terrifying bark is the ultimate combination, but anything is better than nothing.
Of course the obvious ultimate luxury would be to have a tackle room inside the house, I had one for two months when my wife and I first lived together, oh happy days!
In part two of this article I will cover personal security on the bank, marking your tackle and vehicle security
Graham Whatmore
