Cost of your fishing trips ???

[Fish Chris]

{once again, I have no idea what section to post this in}

Anyway, gas in Nor Cal right now is at about $3.50 a gallon, but I totally expect $4 by Summer ! Just rediculous ! But anyway.....

My trophy Smallmouth trips (about 90 miles from my home) are costing me;

$30 gas for truck

$12 gas for boat

$18.50 for parking + launch + fish

rounded out to $60 a day.

My trophy Largemouth trips (about 40 miles from home... but includes a fair amount of stop and go, through city driving) are costing me;

$15 gas for truck

$5 bridge toll

$7 gas for boat

$12 parking + launch + fish

rounded to $40 a day.

To any of you guys with high performance bass boats, this might sound really cheap..... But for a poor guy like myself, that doesn't work as much as he should, and tries to fish 140 days a year, these freaking gas prices are killing me !

I guess I'd have to say, gas has finally gotten high enough that it might start to affect how much I fish..... or at least, where, and for what.....

Your thoughts ?

Fish

[fishn bear]

Here in North Carolina gas in running about $3.10-$3.20 a gallon.  Not quite as high but still to the point of starting to put a hurtn on how much and were I fish as well.  Im not running a big bass boat by no means an old 17' procraft with a 140 johnson on her but still cant afford to fill her up and just run up and down the lake all weekend.  When gas does get to $4 a gallon Im thinking I will have to park my bass boat and go back to my Jon boat to be able to afford to fish. >  but that might not be a bad thing I have cought a lot more fish out of my old Jon than my bass boat anyway.

I think we will start to see of the boat manufactors change the new models they come out with in the next few years to become smaller and something that can run well with much smaller motors.    

[Jimzee]

I have a few small lakes around me that have 10 hp limits or electric motors only.  I fished these a bit more last year than the year before.  I will probably do more of the same this year.  I just trim the big motor up and use the trolling motor to fish these small lakes.  I am kind of limited on the 300 acre lakes on how far I can go but the smaller 100-150 acre lakes are just right for a trolling motor.  A few of these smaller lakes are C&R only like the bigger lakes I fish so that helps keep the size up I'm used too.  It's gonna cost me about $40.00 in fuel every day I go out on the big lakes so I feel your pain too.

[jrhennecke]

It's outrageous and is only going to get worse.  

[maxke01]

Gas prices dont bother me too much.  Just have to budget around it. Cutting down on stuff that isnt a necessity is a great way to fit the gas bill in the budget

[KU_Bassmaster.]

The main lake I fish is about 50 miles from my front door. Last year I put a hitch on my 4cyl Honda Accord to combat the rising gas prices. Before I would just borrow my dad's 8 cyl Trailblazer.

So before with my dad's SUV it would cost me about $20 a trip. Now with my car I am down under $10 a trip. Putting the hitch on my car paid for itself with in the first couple months.

I fish out of a pond hopper type boat so my only means of propulsion is a trolling motor. = no $$ spent on gas I am liking that more and more everyday.

The more and more I think about it, a big fiberglass gas powered bass boat just might not be for me. I just don't need it for 99% of the fishing I do. Most of the lakes I fish or either no wake or electric only and all of them are less than 1000 acres. I thought that with in the year I would be in the market for a bass boat. Now I think if I get anything I will look for an older bass boat with no outboard, gut it, and make my own all electric boat.

[CJ]

Kentucky passed a law that went into effect last year that abolished launching fees.

I pull with a diesel($3.65/gal). :-[

On the average:

$10.00 diesel for towing

$40.00 gas in boat (250 Merc)

$5.00 outboard oil

Here in a few days I switch over to a 225 Optimax. I think I'm gonna be getting out a little cheaper.

[HesterIsGod]

I am lucky, I have three 2 acre ponds literally a half mile from my house that I can fish any time when I am feeling the high gas prices starting to effect me.

[Pond Hopper]

They use to cost me about $100 for a weekend of fishing.  This year I have moved to where I did most of my fishing and now have about a 5 minute drive to one of a few dozen ponds, a lake 10 minutes away, and a couple other great lakes within an hour.  Good move so far

[George Welcome]

Diesel today in Fellsmere: 3.99 -

[Tin]

The two lakes a fish often, about $10 in gas and $10 to launch. Others, about $15-20 in just gas.

[Evan Pease]

My trips usually cost $10-$15 in gas for the trip+a few days after that and a few bucks on some type of snack. I fish from a 9'6" basshound in a 300 acre electric only reservoir about 30-40 minutes from my grandpas house so its not bad at all.

[FD.]

Around $80 for a tourney day with gas at $3.50+..

Most of my non-tourney fishing is now in smaller lakes with a lot of time on the trolling motor....

[BucketmouthAngler13]

When you go fishing driving one of these....

...its pretty cheap. I get 20 miles to a peanutbutter-jelly sandwich. 8-)

~MG

[tkite16]

Its gonna be ugly this year. For a weekend at tablerock this year it will be.

109 for condo for 2 nites

20 to keep boat at marina

180 gas to get there and home

50 boat gas

100 food

60 show for the wife in branson :-/

Thank god for overtime.

[Hooked_On_Bass]

Sweet ride BucketmouthAngler13!

[Bob Kavanaugh]

Depends on where I go. I have some good choices nearby, and luckily my boat sips gas (Merc 4 stroke 40).

Guntersville - $60

Pickwick(@Waterloo) - $25

Wilson - $15

Pickwick(@McFarland) - $10 tops

Cypress Creek(wading) - $3  8-)

I hope to add Wheeler and the Bear Creek Lakes to my rotation this year, should be equiv. to the Pickwick @ Waterloo outings.

[Fishing Doug]

My fishing partner and I fish lakes that have a 25hp restriction so we bought a Tracker 170 XT w/25 four stroke. Gas for the boat isn't bad but the SUV takes a tank to get there and back-approx 170 mile round trip.

I would estimate one day of fishing costs approx $100. If we fish on a Saturday, we usually end up at a bar either talking about how good of a day we had.....or....drowning our sorrows from a bad day on the water! ;D

[Korea_Bassin]

When I saw the title of this post, I thought you might have been referring to the cost of TACKLE.  I guess I was thinking that because I bank fished some rip-rap today and lost almost as much tackle as it cost me to drive there (1 Rat-L-Trap; 2 Flukes; 1 Jig w/ trailer...all gone!  Yeah yeah...I know...how do you lose not only one but TWO weightless flukes over rip-rap???  I don't know, but I did it.).

[vtspinnerb8t]

Louisiana is about 3.10-3.20 for Regular.  You would think since we make it down the street it would be cheaper but nope.

I have a 150 Carb that doesn't use a ton of gas, but I consider myself lucky it isn't any larger, not t mention the boat is pretty light, so it helps when towing.

My trips usually vary based on the level of competition.

Club Tournaments (Local):

Truck Gas = Usually $10/day (include Prefishing and Tournament Fishing)

Launch: $2/day

Boat Gas: $10-30/day

Oil:$5/day

Larger Local Tournament(BFL/BASS Weekend):1-2 Days

Usually 3+ hours drive

Truck: 20+ Gallons= $60.00-$120.00/ trip(usually no more than three tanks per trip , approx. 24 Gal tank

Boat: Same $30-40/ day

Ramp Fee: $5-10

Oil:$5/day

Out of state license? Usually ~$20 buck for temp.

It never hurts to take someone and be a guide.. It pays when someone else pays

[ba7ss3in]

I'm pretty lucky except when i want to take a trip. It cost me under $15 bucks on a regulary weekend trip to the river or lake closest to my house. When I take a trip it cost me about $120+ in gas for the truck and boat. Another $15 for food and dip.

[Chris at Tech]

It's times like this that I feel REALLY good about fishing the electric only lakes.

My cost?

$25 season pass for my favorite lake (and anywhere from $3-10 to launch on any of a few other lakes in the area) and whatever it costs me to recharge my trolling motor batteries.

[Daniel My Brother]

I try not to think about what it's costing...but if I break it down:

$15 gas to and from my favorite lake ($3 gallon)

$2 gas for the boat (mostly troll, though I fire up the 9.8hp merc a couple times a trip)

Sometimes more, sometimes less.

When gas is high I'm happy to have a 14' jon and a decent mileage mini-van to tow with.

Big Lakes+Big Trucks+Big Boats = Big Money

[Grey Wolf]

I guess I'm lucky , my primary lakes I fish are within 15 min. of my house.

[GobbleDog]

Gas prices have certainly effected the amount of pre-fishing I do.  The further the lake, the less likely I am to trailer my boat and make the haul.  That's probably true with a lot of club fisherman like myself.  The winnings don't quite justify the costs, especially when the lake is 50 miles away or more.