Real Cheap Insurance

Having a Supply of Tip-Tops in Your Fishing Bag

My bank account has taken a beating in the past month with premiums on all sorts of insurance policies I have purchased over the years: home Insurance, wind & hail insurance, flood insurance, car insurance, long-term health care insurance and an umbrella policy.  Likely there are a few more types that I have forgotten I have.  In this day and age, insurance is expensive but increasingly necessary.

But not every action I take in the realm of insurance involves a policy.  For instance, I get new windshield wiper blades for my vehicles about every 6 months.  I buy new batters for the vehicles (including boats) every 3-4 years.  I get new tires before I really need them.  I have my radiators drained, flushed out and have new coolant    After getting stranded on the side or a road in blistering heat twice in one summer, I learned that while the anti-freeze material retains its anti-freeze qualities for a good long time, the anti-rust/corrosion aspects begin to fail after two years.  So I change it.

The point is a little forethought can save a lot of pain.

For instance, fly rod tip-tops are accidents waiting to happen.  They are located at the weakest part of the rod.  They are held in place by a drop or two of glue.  And they are subjected to incredible pressure in addition to being exposed to all sorts of bumps and bruises just from handling the rod while walking to the stream or loading up the boat.

And if mine doesn’t break, a friend’s will, effectively ruining a nice fishing trip.

So, I have a plastic bag in my fishing bag with about 25 tip-tops of various sizes (diameter of the female section of the tip-top) along with a glue stick (for cutting off slivers of the glue to pack into the female portion on the tip-top) and a butane lighter or two used to heat the female member with the glue slivers inside, melting the wax so it can be slipped on the end of the tip, allowed to cool for a minute or two and then continue fishing.  I also carry a small gauge for measuring the diameter of the male member of the tip so I know which size tip-top to use.  Sometimes the rod ha to shortened even more so I make sure I have some rather hefty tip-tops.

Of course, I have to remind myself not to take the butane lighter to the airport- I’ll just buy another lighter (or two) at my destination.

OK, so I have $100 tied up in this little package.  But it sure beats having to sit on shore when I’m in a distant location  I consider it cheap insurance for a good trip!