Sorry for missing a day or two on my posting. I have been having too much fun going fishing. For the last few days, I have been going out to this huge lake that is relatively close by. I have been trying to catch myself a nice largemouth bass. No luck so far, I didn’t really know what I was doing at first, luckily a few guys at the lake have been nice enough to give me a few tips on what I am doing wrong. It is kind of exciting trying to catch yourself a free meal. Well at least I thought it was free until I added up all of the expenses.
My expenses haven’t been as high as they could be for taking up a new hobby like this. I already had a rod, reel, bucket, cooler, and some tackle. I am kind of a beginner so I haven’t gone out and bought hundreds of lures like the professionals have. I am just hoping to catch some fish and have a little fun, not go pro. The expenses still can add up even if you are doing it for a hobby though. This doesn’t just apply to fishing, there are other hobbies that may seem cheap to do, but once you really add up all of your costs, sometimes it can become real expensive. Take gardening for example, many people spend lots on all the different tools, fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides.
(no unfortunately I didn’t catch this one, but a nice fisherman gave me one that was about this size! )
Expenses
Lures - $7
Line - $4
Hook - $4
Gas - $5-6/trip
Total for 3 trips: $30 - $33
I thought I had some lures from a long time ago, but when I went to my tackle box, it was practically empty. So I went out to the store and bought just a few to get me started. When I went fishing, some of the more experience fishermen told me that my line was too thick (too strong, the bass can see it) and that my hooks were too small. I had to go out and get some better ones. Then there is the gas that it takes to get to the lake. The lake is about 22 miles away so it adds up fast even though my car gets pretty good gas mileage.
How to Reduce these Expenses
Usually if you try hard enough, you can find ways to cut down on your expenses. This is probably true for all hobbies. What I could do is try to find some lakes or ponds closer to where I live. I know there are a lot, but most of them don’t have largemouth bass in them either. That would help cut down on the gas, which is probably the largest expense. All the equipment I am not as worried about because I can use it again and again. If I fish enough I will be getting good use of all of these and relatively they will become inexpensive. Earlier I wrote about how I was planning on raising my own worms to save money too.
I hope I catch a big fish soon b/c so far my expenses have been $30 so this fish will have to be pretty big to be cheaper than it would have been for me to just buy one from the grocery store(although it wouldn’t be nearly as fun).
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Filed under: Frugal, How to Save | 1 Comment →
