Monthly fishing trip budgets

[SC53]

13 hours ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

I don’t really budget. I just do things. 

I used to too, but now that we are on a fixed income that’s lower than when we were working and had more disposable income, you learn to watch your pennies.

 

[Swamp Girl]

My canoe doesn't guzzle gas and the two ponds I fish the most are five and twelve minutes away, so fuel isn't a concern. However, my personal energy is a concern, so I try not to fish back to back, like an evening and the next morning, where I'm fishing into the night and then beginning again in the late night. 

 

13 hours ago, Woody B said:

I work hard for my money. 

 

Mechanics do, for sure.

 

My big fishing costs in 2024 were $75,000 for my five-acre lake lot, $5,000 for the driveway, another $1,000 for the meandering path, and $1,000 again for the boardwalk labor, for a total of $82,000. Of course, none of this money is gone. It's an investment account made of dirt, rock, trees, and shoreline. 

 

 

[Rucksack]

My fishing spots are urban lakes close to my house, so very little gas cost, and I'm really only paying in lures. I'd say I spend about $60 a month.

 

Like the others here, my main expense is time. My job has crazy and chaotic hours, and I try to spend most of my free time with my family/friends, so I squeeze in my fishing in the mornings before the work day really gets going.

[Dwight Hottle]

There are two things to consider in a budget. Hard costs the actual money spent offset  by value in use. How much pleasure & self well being does your fishing provide to help offset the actual dollar cost? Think about it. 

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Think about it. 

 

Okay, Dwight, I'm pondering and processing and I conclude...I LOVE FISHING! This old gal just needs a paddle and a misty morning to be happy. 

 

 

[Catt]

17 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

How much pleasure & self well being does your fishing provide to help offset the actual dollar cost? Think about it. 

 

This is why I don't put a pen to it.

 

I keep about $1,000+/- in a Local Credit Union. I occasionally help a friend install granite & cultured marble. My biggest expense is Toledo Bend, I hate going for a day, its gotta be 3-4.

[Swamp Girl]

12 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

This is why I don't put a pen to it.

 

I keep about $1,000+/- in a Local Credit Union. I occasionally help a friend install granite & cultured marble. My biggest expense is Toledo Bend, I hate going for a day, its gotta be 3-4.

 

Toledo Bend noun 1. A place where Catt can catch a 35-pound bag in 30 minutes 2. A priceless place

[SC53]

I don’t think I explained or maybe worded my original comment correctly.

I meant to convey that we fish as much or more now that we are retired. But with the cost of fuel specifically, we fish close more often than making long runs to other locations.  We still fish the other locations but do it when we know we have a better chance for success. And by fishing close more often, we still get our fishing in and can use the money saved to go towards the longer distance trips.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, SC53 said:

I don’t think I explained or maybe worded my original comment correctly.

I meant to convey that we fish as much or more now that we are retired. But with the cost of fuel specifically, we fish close more often than making long runs to other locations.  We still fish the other locations but do it when we know we have a better chance for success. And by fishing close more often, we still get our fishing in and can use the money saved to go towards the longer distance trips.

 

You explained it just fine. It's just that the BR crew, if we were a train, would be derailing every five minutes. Here's a little footage of us in action:

 

 

@Catt: Catt, since I'm doing dictionary definitions, here's another:

 

Ol' Crick's Pond noun 1. A place where Ol' Crick can catch a 15-pound bag most mornings and she's wonderfully alone 2. A priceless place

[Rockhopper]

4 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

My big fishing costs in 2024 were $75,000 for my five-acre lake lot, $5,000 for the driveway, another $1,000 for the meandering path, and $1,000 again for the boardwalk labor, for a total of $82,000. Of course, none of this money is gone. It's an investment account made of dirt, rock, trees, and shoreline. 

 

 

$82K for 5 acre lake lot?  I live in the wrong part of the country.  That would be a million here for a non developed lot if it even still existed.

[Swamp Girl]

24 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

$82K for 5 acre lake lot?  I live in the wrong part of the country.  That would be a million here for a non developed lot if it even still existed.

 

It's on its way to being a million here too. More and more rich people are buying lake lots in Maine.

[Koz]

On 9/3/2024 at 4:24 PM, Tennessee Boy said:

It’s about priorities.   I fish whenever I can.  I eat if I have any money left over.

You could always eat what you catch.

 

Then again, if you’re not catching anything…🤣🤣🤣

[Bankc]

4 hours ago, SC53 said:

I don’t think I explained or maybe worded my original comment correctly.

I meant to convey that we fish as much or more now that we are retired. But with the cost of fuel specifically, we fish close more often than making long runs to other locations.  We still fish the other locations but do it when we know we have a better chance for success. And by fishing close more often, we still get our fishing in and can use the money saved to go towards the longer distance trips.

Nah, we get it.  What we're saying is that fishing can be as expensive or as cheap as you choose to make it.  

 

Like any hobby, there's a tendency to fall into the trap of always feeling the need to spend more money in order to progress in your hobby.  We call that the "bait monkey".  That little voice that says you could be catching more bass and having more fun if you just bought a new lure, or a new rod, or a new sonar unit, or a new boat, or made longer trips to new lakes.  And the truth is, it's all a distraction.  In reality, we all already have everything we need to be content and happy.  We just need to adjust our perspective to see it.  It's human nature, in a way.  And there's nothing wrong with spending money on new things.  The economy actually depends on it.  But sometimes it's healthy to remind ourselves exactly why we fish, so we can get the most out of every time we fish. 

 

 

[Koz]

I dropped a decent penny fishing the Bassmaster Kayak Guntersville event with 4 days of hotels, travel, food, and tournament fees. I did have $300 in sponsorship money to offset it a little.

 

I also fished one MLF event as a co-angler, but that was a day trip.

 

Although I live on Sinclair, I spent much of my summer traveling 1-2 hours to smaller PFA’s to fish. So my expenses were gas money, protein bars, and water.

 

But here’s an oddity- there’s a ramp I like to launch from on my home lake, and as the crow flies it’s less than ten miles from my house. But because of the lake layout and few bridges it takes me 45 minutes to get there.

[Swamp Girl]

Quote

In reality, we all already have everything we need to be content and happy.  We just need to adjust our perspective to see it. 

 

 

 

[Glenn]

[MN Fisher]

What budget?

 

What money?

[gim]

6 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

It's on its way to being a million here too. More and more rich people are buying lake lots in Maine.

Land is almost always a wise investment. They aren’t making more of it.

[Smirak]

I don’t budget anything. Maybe that’s why me and the wife don’t talk much? Just kidding. I only have a tackle budget, but that’s just a SWAG. It usually is a moving target. I am a kayak fisherman, and I don’t travel far, so it works out pretty well. 
 

That said, if anyone wants to fish the N Alabama area (Guntersville, Wilson, Wheeler, Pickwick) and wants someone to buy some gas, hit me up. Im always up to help put gas in someone’s boat for a day of fishing and new friend making! I’m always telling my son “hey that guy has a boat. I wonder if he wants a friend?”