Fuel Prices and Today's Economy
February 14, 2009
With today’s economy the way it is, let’s face it; we’re all tightening our belts in one way or another! Whether it’s cutting back on the pre-fishing, fishing closer to the ramp or fishing fewer tournaments, most of us are cutting back in some way. While pondering my 2009 season plans I’ve thought long and hard about how to save money fishing without actually fishing less. None of us want to fish less, at least I don’t - I want to fish more!
Fuel prices have dropped drastically over the last couple of months but that’s still one of our major expenses. Whether we’re fishing a local tournament trail or a national tour, fuel is one of the larger investments in this sport. If we could cut our fuel expenses by even twenty or thirty percent, we would have more money for important stuff like lures, that new rod and reel or an upgraded depth finder. We might even enough to help out a little more with the bills! Let’s look at some ways that I think we can save some money without affecting our fishing too much.
In order to put this in perspective, you have to look at the big picture. You save a little here and a little there and at the end of the season you’ve saved a substantial amount by simply changing the way you do a few things. I won’t call him by name but we’ll use my tournament partner as an example in a couple of places (hope he doesn’t mind!). Some of this is so simple that you’ve probably already thought of it, it’s possible you’re just repressing it!
Put Your Boat On a Diet
Let’s first look at (or in) the boat. Ever open your dry storage box to get something out and have to sit on it to get it closed again? There’s stuff in there that we haven’t looked at or used in years but we keep it in the boat “just in case we need it”. When I fish out of my tournament partner’s boat I usually have to store whatever tackle bags I “can” bring on the floor between my feet because there isn’t enough storage area for me. That’s okay, it’s his boat, but I bet that he could easily cut a hundred pounds by reducing the amount of tackle he carries.
Try emptying your boat and categorizing tackle by a.) what is regularly used, b.) what is seldom used and c.) what hasn’t been used in a long time. Put what has not been used in a long time in a box marked “miscellaneous” and put it off to the side. Now go through the stuff that is seldom used and ask yourself why you rarely use it. Most times it’s something you thought you would use or someone told you to try but for one reason or another it never made it into your go-to line up. Keep a couple of these and put the rest in your box marked “miscellaneous”.
Now we’re getting to the good stuff. Separate your remaining stuff by brand, style, size and color. Keep what you need for a day’s fishing, maybe two and put the rest in a box marked “overstock”. Now put your miscellaneous boxes in the garage and the overstock box in the back of the truck. I’ll bet you find stuff you’ve forgotten you had, and have a lot more tackle than you thought. You also now know what you have, where it’s at and how many you have of what. More importantly you’ve just cut out a bunch of fuel mileage robbing weight. Winnowing down your bait will also make your time on the water more efficient because you don’t spend so much time digging through tons of tackle that you don’t use.
Who Gets Better Gas Mileage?
An easy way to cut weight and increase fuel mileage is to wait until you get to, or at least get close to, the lake before filling up your boat with gas and oil. That way you’re not dragging a full tank of fuel all the way there. My tournament partner used to fill his boat before he left home, tow his boat to the lake, fish a day or two and then he would fill up at the lake so we could split fuel costs. He was pulling it both ways full! Also, make sure that the live well plugs are in (or valves are closed). No use having the live wells full of water until you need them. Even a pound can make a difference.
In an effort to get more bang for my buck during pre-fish, I’ve started launching nearest where I’m going to fish start fishing that day. My truck gets better fuel mileage than my boat so I put in close to where I’m going to spend a lot of my time, if possible. I’m not opposed to putting the boat on the trailer and driving to another part of the lake to re-launch if I decide to move to another part of the lake that’s far away. Remember, this is during pre-fish. Obviously you can’t do that on tournament day.
Whenever possible, use your trolling motor more. Instead of firing up the big engine to idle across a cove or pocket, kick the trolling motor on high. Spending more time on the trolling motor might also result in more fish caught – bonus!
My wife has often asked, “Why do bass fishermen think they have to go as fast as they can everywhere they go? Why are they always in a hurry?” I often reply, “Because we can!” The truth of the matter is, if we’d slow down (at least during pre-fish) we’d save considerably on fuel. 50mph vs. 70mph can cut fuel consumption by nearly a third!
Keep Your Equipment Fuel Efficient
Walk around your boat. How’s your prop? A beat up, dull and dinged prop will cut into your engines performance as much as an engine that needs a tune-up! A dinged and beat up prop can decrease your fuel economy by as much as ten percent. That means that you’re wasting one out of every ten gallons you put in your boat. A yearly tune up on your boat and your tow vehicle can pay for itself over a summer’s fishing. How’s your tire pressure? Under inflated tires will cost you, too. Remember to check the tires on your tow vehicle as well.
Here’s a few more things to consider: Is your tow vehicle towing your boat level? Does the front of the boat need to come up more or go down more to be level? This is more important on a tandem axle trailer so that the weight is evenly distributed on both axles. Is the bottom of your boat clean and free of gouges? Any wind resistance will decrease efficiency. I recommend waxing the bottom of your boat but some guys talk this practice down, saying it makes it harder to trailer the boat because it slides off the bunks easier. Well, it will also winch on easier and I would rather save the money! Personal preference I guess!
One last tip: Try to keep the weight in your boat as evenly distributed as possible. The easier it is to get on plane and keep on plane, the less drag the engine has and the more fuel efficient it will be. Each of these tips will help a little, and a lot of “littles” add up to a lot!
Andy is sponsored by Dobyns Rods, Hobie Polarized, Lowrance Electronics, Sure Life Labs, Toray, Osprey Lures.