"Mike Patterson" wrote in message
...
On 30 Dec 2004 16:53:11 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 01:12:24 GMT, Bullwinkle J. Moose
wrote:
Does the Ronco Popeil Pocket Fisherman count?

No, I think those are stipulated to be useless before you buy them. I
_think_ the topic here is things which were surprisingly useless?

You know, the Pocket Fisherman gets a lot of bad press, but as long as
you didn't expect it to act like your $100 rod/reel, it was OK.

My dad received one for Christmas one year and didn't want it, so I
carried it around in my trunk and used it every once in a while when
I'd be out somewhere and decide to go fishing without having to go
home first to get my "real" rig.

I never had to try reeling in a 10 lb. speckled trout with it, but it
worked fine for light-duty work. Caught a few bass, crappie, and
catfish with it.

Only real (reel?) problem I had with it was trying to get new line on
the reel was frustrating.

MP
Mike Patterson

Must have been almost 25 years ago, I was at a kids' fishing contest at a
small muddy pond stocked with trout for the occasion. The little kid next to
me had the "Pocket Fisherman" and was mercilessly ridiculed by everybody who
saw it.

He soon had apparently snagged his tackle on a log. The reel was so bad, any
tension on the line would just cause it to unspool more. He was just about
to take everybody's advice and cut the line - when it moved.

10 minutes later, he landed a 44lb. carp. It was as tall as the kid, and
bright orange. Maybe somebody's liberated goldfish. He could not get enough
drag on the reel to snap the line, and the fish finally beached itself. I
would not have believed it had I not been standing there.

-Gary