What I'm fishing with ......

The gas is really bothering me as well. I love to fish tournaments but you have to take into consideration what you will spend versus what you could win nowadays. My wife wants to fish some more couples tournaments but the travel expenses vs. payout does not make sense. Most of the couples tournaments do not have a good payout.

As for the cost of boats. It is ridiculous but the same applies for trucks/cars. They get higher and higher every year. The best way to buy a boat is to find a year or two old boat that still has warranty and is kept clean. Let the first person take the financial hit for the depreciation.

+1

There must be a lot of lottery winners fishing these days. I understand and empathize with your post. I think it is like most things though, the impression you get on the forum is not really representative of the average/majority of anglers. Most of us have what we have.

I have this conversation with my son fairly frequently. Watching TV and the world around him kinda distorts reality. There are always people that have nicer houses, bigger cars, fancier boats, but the average person can get by nicely if they prioritize. You just have to decide what is really important.

my saying to him, which he hates, is that if it is a good decision to buy something today, it will be a good decision tomorrow. Most times when tomorrow comes you decide some things aren't as important as you thought.

Last weekend was close to 1-K for boat repair(we fish Fork)entry fee, oil, & gas..

Yeah, it's getting to the point where it's not worth the rewards. When the cost out weighs the enjoyment, the industry will suffer just like we are..

My problem is that I'm a Tackle Junkie. I hit that $50 prepaid freight order with the Tackle Warehouse much too frequently. Like I've got $100 tied up in Lateral Perch's and I haven't even thrown one yet...had them 3 mos now. I think I'm better now...and I never pay any interest...but I can't promise not to jump on the next best bait...LOL

Sader, you should go into the boat building business! That's one heck of a job you've done!

+1

There's no need to spend rediculous amounts of cash to go fishing (unless that's your desire) or going into debt for a boat payment. Personally, I'm glad to have taken the kayak route even though I could afford a nice, new Bay / Offshore boat.

Just purchased a new Hobie Outback with GPS Fishfinder combo and other accessories for <$2,100. Best of all I need no fuel. You obviously can't cover as much water but you become a better angler by concentrating your efforts on smaller bodies of water.

From lakes to offshore fishing these kayaks do it all.

Well I can tell you this much. There are two groups of people that have these newer rigs. The first group is the guys that literally do nothing else. I fish and really dont have any other hobby or interests so this allows me to have a pretty nice rig. At the same time, I dont have a girlfriend/wife or kids. Fishing is really the only thing that I spend money on. The other group of folks is the people that are just way deep in debt and feel like they NEED to have all of the things that they see floating around. If you cant really determine a viable use for something then you really shouldnt buy it. Most real tournament fisherman can tell you exactly why they bought everything in their boat. Right down to a specific instance where they needed it and didnt have it or were beaten by it. The punchline to all of this is just to fish inside your means and not worry about having the latest and greatest unless you are competing against other people that have it and are trying to level the field.

The fact is that "the economy" is in much worst trouble than we realize. Otherwise, there would be a Ranger dealer in a big city like San Antonio. They're just not selling very many $70K bassboats.
Personally, I've always save up the money first, and paid cash for all my toys, including small aircraft. My last significant 'toy' that I ordered was my 41 ft diesel pusher motorhome(back in 2003). My last new bassboat was my 1990 Ranger.
Today, I'm a retired senior citizen who nobody will hire(as a commercial pilot). Heck, I can't even afford all the fuel that I want. I'm tired of "cutting back", BUT grateful that I even have a boat. My days of buying stuff are over, but I still go fishing. By launching close to the "fishing hole", I only burn a few gallons of gas.

Neighbor of mine just recently bought a new name brand bass boat, bragging that it cost him $62k and change. All i can say is the bass boat manufactures must really get a laugh at how they can sell boats that cost that much, when another neighbor bought a 24' runabout with a 350 I/O and paid almost $19k. Just seems anything connected with bass fishing is way over priced, like the manufactures say to themselves lets see if they will pay this or that for this way overpriced item.

Many people have lost touch with reality nowdays, fishing used to be a cheap sport, a sport where one would go to the lake to relax and have a good time. Now in a lot of cases its all about how good you look at the boat ramp.

Thanks, it's a great little boat to fish out of by myself, even if it's a little slow. I've got an 18 hp Rude in the garage that needs to be rebuilt. Once that's done it out to scoot aroud the lake.

I have a 95 Cajun and a 2000 Chevy x-Cab paid for and still can't seem to find the extra money these days to enjoy it.This gas is KILLING ME...

As we get older we all come to a point of reality. Like RedSkeeter says one weekend is $1000 for two guys on the tournamant circuit. I can't speek for everyone but my experence on catching fish on the adverage is to hope for 5 good bites in a tournament. You may have to rethank your priorities for this day and time.
I have found that if I do without two of these tournaments I can go to the best lakes in the country for a week with a partner. Even though lakes like Falcon and some of the private pay lakes can produce a greater number of fish than the tournaments I am fishing; it is still not enough, for the money spent.
That is the reason that I perfer to go to Mexico where my partner and I can catch 100 Bass a day and 50 of those are over 5 lbs. For a little over $2,000 I can drive there and fish for 5 days, come home and save my money and go again in 3 or 4 months.
The hard part is the between times and waiting for that next trip. I understand this doesn't work for everyone, because of work and family. Most people are lucky to get off on the weekend to go fishing.
This works for me because I am retired and ready to go at a minutes notice.