Launched solo about 10:00; windy and water was 60 degrees. Ran to my spot and water had dropped 10-12" since previous trip Friday. No bites.

Trip was cut short when blue hyd. (UP) hose on PowerPole broke on first anchor. Spike was down in 6ft water. These were original 2015 hyd. plastic hoses.

Drove boat forward to get spike loose and tried to pull arm up with a rope - no joy.

Had to idle in for several miles until I met Jerry from Ponchatoula in main channel. He helped me get the arm up - despite the broken UP line the cylinder still had pressure. We ran the pump UP and oil squirted into the water, but pressure was released and we lifted the arm up and tied it off.

Talked with PowerPole today and new hoses/connections on the way for $68.00 shipped.

Asked PP for suggestion on how to get pole to retract with broken hose. He advised to "drive the boat forward into shallow water and it should trigger a pressure release valve and should be able to retract arm. If the release valve doesn't activate, you really in a bind now.

None of this arm retraction stuff is easy - especially alone. More of a reminder to PowerPole boaters than a fishing report. My hoses were 10 years old - how old are yours?