What do you need?

May 22, 2005

$1.49 for a pack of plastic bodies.

$1.99 for a pack of jig heads.

$2.25 for a scoop of minnows.

$4.50 for a spool of line.

$60 for a rod

$50 for a reel.

$18.50 for a fishing license.

$40 for a life jacket

$14,900 for a boat, motor and trailer.

$37,988 for a pick-up truck.

$800 a year for insurance.

$2.05 a gallon for Gas.

$29.99 for a net (if you’re lucky, you’ll need to use it)

Seems kinda spendy to me. But it’s worth it.

But WHY is it worth it?

Is fishing exciting because it is a challenge? Or because you never know what you will catch…or how big it will be. It’s a little mystery every time you get a bite.

Why is pulling on something that is pulling back in sporadic movement such a blast?

And if that’s fun, how come we don’t cast out big ball shaped “practice plugs” with no hooks in them in the backyard, and then fight the dog as we reel it back in?

Wouldn’t that be fun?

Why don’t we just get a spool of yarn, and dangle it over the stairwell, and fight the cat on the other end?

If I didn’t fish, I would live in a mansion.

Why?

Because then I could afford it.

I could still drive a new car, too.

A 2005 Kia.

Cost me $100 a month in payments and gets 42 mpg.

But I pay more then that a month in insurance for all my fishing related toys.

Need a boat.

Need a truck.

Need a 4 wheeler for winter.

Need a snowmobile when there’s too much snow.

Where does it stop?

Some people have a cabin on the lake.

They need a dock, and a boatlift.

And I need…the POWERBALL to continue to afford my only hobbie.

FISHING.

I NEED fishing!

May 22, 2005

Nice thread

I've asked myself the same questions.

I had all the toys new truck, boat, trolling motor, rods and reels, gps, trips here and there. I thought do I need all this? Well, I sold my truck and boat and some toys... You know what? I found that I get the same satisfaction and euphoric feeling plopping my arse on the river bank with a walmart combo, not knowing what I might catch, watching the sun go down.

May 22, 2005

Hey United, First thing I would do is call around to get better rates on insurance. Yikes I don't pay anything like that for boat and truck combined. Find out how to get off risk and get off. Har Har. All hobbies can get expensive. But really a 29.00 rod and reel combo at walmart a 1.29 pack of hooks and a 2.00 pack of sinkers. And a .33 can of corn per trip will get you some great days on the river catching carp.

So really it's what you want it to cost. Cheap therapy really.

LOL.

May 22, 2005

i have most of the toys, but my stuff is a little older.( couldn't afford the new!) and the fishing in the back yard for my black lab was a riot!!( now she's to old to play ) but i need fishing too.

May 22, 2005

....i guess i really never needed the bigger boats the main stream need to be out on the lakes..i've have always liked the more "remote and simple" way of enjoying being on the waters up here in northern minnesota...some of the boat landings provided are pretty tough to launch a full sized boat trailer(like the pics i have here,tough to launch a trailer at this site near the gold mine camp on the vermilion river)..sure these canoes are small but great for those more remote fishing holes that the mainstream has no access to....these pics were from yesterday(just a day trip)....grey ,windy,rainy but still had a great time(managed a few average walleyes,northerns and couldn't keep the perch off the hook)....and this way of fishing doesn't cost an arm and a leg...i've been doing it for 35 years...and still enjoying it

"your's truly" at the small creek side access:

a pit stop on a pine coverd point.."my canoe"

my partner in his "sport pal"

not big but he's still smiling.lol!

May 22, 2005

UJ, mind if I quote you? I like that! I know a bunch of other people that will thoroughly enjoy and completely agree with this.

May 22, 2005

nice pictures u got it right i wouldnt be able to put my boat in there sure wish i had a cannoe.

May 22, 2005

A $20k truck and a $3500 boat (14.5 foot and 20hp motor) do the trick nicely for me...not gonna get you out on the big water (Mille Lacs, Leech, Winni, OT), but there are plenty of other waters around.

When adding up the costs don't forget: $300 for a portable ice shack, $250 for an auger, and $300 for a Vexilar/MarCum. Fishing is a year-round sport...

May 22, 2005

I have been fishing for 25 years and most of the toys of the sport. I will admit however that I get great joy simply fishing off the dock at the cabin, shore fishing on a remote lake, or from a kyak or canoe. I think it is the peacefullness and being at one with nature as much as the fishing that I enjoy

May 22, 2005

*What I need* ?

Bait on occasion, and to replentish the supply of tackle when needed.

I dont need the best of everything.. it saves a lot of money..

$3500 truck... paid for

$1500 boat(rigged like $4000 boat of same age) ... paid for.. old, but they get me there and catch fish the same as new.. without the payments

30+ rods and reels.. nothing generic, a couple spendy ones, most probably average around $110/combo... so $4000?

Tackle .. It looks like a bait shop around here.. $2000.. and I thinned it out last year, then a bunch was stolen right after.

4 wheeler and 3 wheeler.. one was 1/2 inherited and I payed off the balance... $6000 value

Motorhome(old) and popup camper modified to be ice house(hard walled).. inherited.. $3500 value

Misc gear for fishing.. easy $1000

I'm sure theres lots left out.. but for the most part, I am set besides restocking tackle on occasion, buying licenses, and getting these bait tanks going in my house.

A normal fishing outing financial requirement.. $10 bait, $5 gas(local fishing), $2 beverage... or, I can leave the house with $20 and come back with change.

Good day fishing... priceless ... the bad ones cost $20.

May 22, 2005

My biggest need was $2000 for my 2004 15hp motor to get my dad's old 14 foot Lund on the water. Then of course some basics.. $200 for Finder.. $200 for battery/trolling motor, $150 for 3 rod/reels.. $30 for tackle box.. maybe $200 for a collection of spinnerbaits, rapalas, hooks, plastics etc.. I just have a car.. and certainly don't need a truck for my small boat.. so I did have to fork over $200 for a trailor hitch. That's all! Not too bad actually.

Sometimes I get a little green at the huge SUV's and Triton 225hp boats I see in front of me at the launch... but of course... we don't need that stuff to have fun!

May 22, 2005

This is how I look at it UJ...

#1 I dont need a big house.

#2 I dont need to be Rich.

#3 I do need to be happy.

So, would I be as happy if I had the $20 walmart combo standing in tennis shoes from shore of the local lake? NO... would I be happy?, probably!... But I work my tail off, to afford the kind of things that make me happy. I have rod reel combos that may value about $350 maybe more maybe less, I dont think about it. Its worth every penny to me!

Many people go fishing to relax. To me fishing is not relaxing. If I fish an 8 hour day, I am dead tired at the end of the day. My relaxation is bow hunting. I go bowhunting to relax!

May 23, 2005

Deitz,

I couldn't have said it better myself!

My wife always says "everytime you make more money, you spend more money"

It's always on toys for fishing too.

What you say about an 8 hour day on the water is true.

I fish pretty seriously myself as well, and feel it is a source of pride and accomplishment.

Everyone has a "skill" and sometimes I think my only skill is Crappies. And I am not about to complain about that!

May 23, 2005

What I need, Hummmm? Got a boat and afew goodies to go with

it...things that make fishing more of an enjoyment then a labor....but all that stuff can become a labor in itself, hummm?

Got plenty of tackle, don't use 3/4 of it....adequate rods and reels, nothing fancy, nothing expensive, all of them very capable....Hummm?

I've got a fishing licence and a wife that understands that I have to go fishing now and then and even comes with me once in awhile. Hummm?

Got half a dozen buddies that like to fish when they have the time....Hummm?

I've got fair eye sight, can still tie a hook on without my glasses, although I need them to read the lake maps. I'm in excellent health...Hummm?

Augers, fish houses, an ATV soon, hummm, what do I need? Oh, I think I know what I need...why did'nt I think of this before? It just dawned on me...I need golf lessons! Cheez, who would have guessed? Thanks for reminding me!