I'm not trying to start a fight or argue about this . But a freind who has a $40.000 deepsea rig goes offshore and catches all kinds of BIG BIG fish . But he spens an average of $300.00 for 12 hours of fishing . Me I go to a fishing pier , with my small tackle , and catch lots of small , med , and sometimes big fish . I fish for about 12 hours . It cost me about $30. I love to fish and would like to have a boat and blow that kind of money , but my parents didnt leave me a fortune and raising 4 kids and sending them to college well ...... Now I want your honest answers who do you think has the most fun .

I think you can have fun with both or either. It's all in the frame of mind. I've never had a bad time fishing offshore or in a drainage ditch. It's all good.

The question seems impossible to answer to me. I suspect you get to fish more, but I suspect your friend really enjoys what he is doing as well. I personally enjoy playing captain and I like to fish. So, owning a boat works for me. I think a more interesting question is: Why do we feel the need to fish, whether it cost $30 or $300.

Let's not kid ourselves here.......The guy with the boat (if he can afford it)is definately having more fun. But if he's doing it despite financial difficulties......well than the pier fisherman is having more fun. That's like asking......who's having more fun on vacation, the guy who travels to exotic islands for weeks at a time or the guy who spends a week on Galveston beach.

the guy who spends the $100 to go out on a 12 hour party boat has the most fun/bang for his buck. there will be bad days/hopefully more good than bad. Gets old catchin sand trout off the pier.... bait/tackle/maintenance adds up to about the same as the guy who goes on a head boat a couple times a month....no boat payment saves a LOT!

I have asked A LOT of boat owners the same scenario- all say "DONT BUY AN OFFSHORE BOAT!- find friends and pay them to take you out!"..... I even looked at selling my bass boat to get a GRady White 27' offshore/twin engine.... If'n I lived closer, I would have a lot of friends who would know I would pay my share of the costs, do my part of the cleaning to help offset their expenses.

This user has a few misconceptions over his lack of money and how others may have acquired theirs. I only had 1 child. That was a choice we made. I have a 3-2-2 vacation waterfront beach house on PI with a nice boat parked in the back dock. That was by choice, not by inheritance or luck. What I have, I worked for. The same applies to you. You can't measure fun:dollars. I enjoy what I do. Be kind to yourself and enjoy what you do.

To me it's all about the open sea and the hunt for an record fish. Nothing else matters as soon as I leave the docks.

So to me.. The guy with the boat would have more fun.. However, my best fishing buddy is happy as long as he is catching fish, any fish, soon as the bite dies off so does his attention span.



-z-

I would have to say that the person who is making the most memories is having the most fun.

Bob--
you can't measure fun in $$.
Do what YOU enjoy. Most of us can't afford offshore boats, but at least you have a friend that can.

I am sure you catch more pounds of fish per # spent, but
you can't put a price tag on bluewater adventure.

good luck
Mo

Sooooo subjective.

I've been miserable on shiny 50' cruisers and miserable fishing from the bank. I've also had great times on both. Here's some of my fondest fishing memories.

*Red Snapper fishing with my dad way back when.

**Down at Port A with family and friends. Fishing had been slow with dicey weather. Me and one of my sisters got tired of hanging around the condo so late in the evening, we hopped in the car and went down to the park by the Ferry landing. Tossed out a few lines and had a ball, shooting the bull, watching boats and catching trash fish.

***About a month ago taking my 11 year old daughter out on the Island Queen and watching her win the big fish pot!

****Helping my brother in law catch his first trout on a fly rod.

I guess my point is that the company is just as important if not more so then the amount of money spent or the number/amount/species of fish caught.

This was not really a question it was more like a survey for me . I would say Mo and Longhorn hit it on the head . I have the money to buy a big offshore boat but for 30 ys I have enjoys fishing offIf you come to Galveston Fishing Pier and you see a fat old crippled guy fishing in the shallows setting on a barstool THATS ME stop and say hi the piers around Galveston , Freeport , Corpus and High Island . Personally I love pier fishing and I love meeting new people and that is what me and my wife do ever week . If you come to the Galveston Fishing Pier and you see a fat crippled old man setting on a barstool fishing THAT WILL BE ME Say Hi

Sittin on a small bridge in southern Missouri with my GrandDad with a tree branch, some black fishin line, a hook and a crawdad....gives me more warm feelings than any other memory of fishing. Take your kids. Give the fun and memories. You will find yourself grimming down the line.

Wanted to say that if EITHER of those guys thought about how much they were spending, NEITHER would be having fun. You can't put a cost on having a good time and building memories. One favor I will ask is.....no matter what the cost.....take your kid, or grandkid fishing. It will reap many, many good memories and be worth every cent.

I try not to think about the money I spend fishing until after the fact ... spoils the moment otherwise.

However, I enjoy being out on the water in my own vessel more than being on a pier or shoreline. Something about freedom and being the captain of your own vessel, no matter how small that boat is, makes the fishing more fun.

BUT - that's my subjective opinion of value. If I haven't enough money to take my boat out (like when it needed engine repairs earlier this year), then I can still enjoy shoreline fishing without complaint.