how much do you spend monthly on fishing?

[bobber_down_1979]

I spent 500.00 tonight. That should bump my average ) Strikemaster Laser Pro!!!!!!

[deadeye]

Its tough for me to gauge that monthly.

I can go for months (especially in the summer) without spending anything. I can walk to the Mississippi and get nightcrawlers for free out of the yard.

In the winter its usually bait and gas to the lake. I can keep bait for quite a while so I suppose its maybe 50$ a month most of the time.

This winter has been expensive so far though. I upgraded the two most important parts of my ice fishing equipment with a new ICE-45 and new Strikemaster powerhead for my auger. Thankfully working on cars on the weekend payed for that stuff.

On occasion there have been some epic trips to the sporting goods stores and trips up north so its a hit or miss deal.

Overall I suppose if I were to average it out its somewhere around $100 a month. I don't ever feel bad about that though. Its money spent well. Being in nature having fun, relaxing, and staying out of trouble is totally worth it. I see people blow way more than that on ridiculous, stoopid and generally bad stuff that they have nothing to show for at the end of the day.

[croixflats]

I have no idea what the breakdown is i have no desire to know how much the breakdown is but i will say i need more money for the budget that i dont want to know about.

+1

[crappiekid]

this is a tough one to answer.. Many variables. Do you own a lake home? How far along the equipment journey are you??? How often do you fish? How far do you drive? Do you own a wheel house. The answer could be less than 50.00 / month if you keep it super simple or upwards of 500.00 a month on average. I would same an extreme outdoorsman with ALL the toys and best equipment is around 1,000 / month. Either option is priceless!!!!!!

[Genofish]

+1 but my wife seems to know how much $$, I remind her that I could be sitting in a Bar or other things, then she understands. Fishing is priceless!!

[dougger222]

Only one "big" purchase this year the FL22. Factor in the other 5 vex, few Lazers, 800 atv only used for ice fishing, LOW ski house, local wheeled house and it's a lot. Oh, and 4 portables. Work on roofs all Spring, Summer, and Fall so it's nice to relax this time of year. Been swamped this Winter though with work so not being able to spend much time on the ice...

My wife care? No, not really. She works and I'm the last person to question her purchases.

Don't ever budget or add up money spent on what I really like to do.

[Toba]

Being able to fish and hunt with friends and family is priceless. I really enjoy the catching, cleaning, and eating of fish.

[fishersofmen]

My wife said the other night "sure is nice when you catch all these fish its like we are getting free meals". All I could do is laugh...

[croixflats]

Variables <LOL only means justification or maybe excuses or whatever the means to acquire, all one in the same.

[popriveter]

My family and I have eaten at somewhere around 200 panfish this winter. I have spent $4.80 on bait. I bought 2 jigs in December for $1.98.

I spent more on cooking oil and breading than anything.

This has been a really cheap and productive ice season for me.

I usually buy most ice gear in spring while it is clearanced and pack it away unopened, then buy summer baits in winter when they are being cleared out and leave them unopened until spring. It keeps costs very low and makes for a fun time preparing the tackle box as the ice thaws, or the bucket while the water freezes.

[DeeJ]

I like to think that if I needed to do it for cheaper, I could. Maybe not.

I do have everything I need to fish for several years easily (Except Gas). But it sure is fun adding new toys and trying new baits and lures. My best purchase this year was a new ice auger - My knees and back thank me daily.

I probably spend $100/month for gear. Probably another $50-75/month for fuel. Probably another $100 a month in food, lodging and such for annual trips. $250-300/mo. I guess?

I doubt I keep even $50 worth of fish a month - On numbers alone, definitely not a winning investment!

[fishwater]

Fishing is really the only thing that I spend money on for myself. When it comes to ice fishing, I admit that I have a problem. I buy stuff just to play with that I seriously don't need and usually wind up buy multiples of almost everything that I do need. I picked up 3 thermocouples the other day for sunflower heaters even though both heaters are working fine..

I have been making an effort to cut back, I've recently sold a bunch of stuff I had no hope of using. I'm down to a hair over 20 TB ice rods now, was up over 30 for a bit

[MuskieJunkie]

That's not a fair question!

I say every man deserves at least one hobby he can spend a lot of money on, fishing definetly fits that bill for me.

Back before I had kids there was one month where my gas charges were over $800, mainly from driving all over the state muskie fishing. And that was back when gas was $2 a gallon.

I'd love to have the free time to spend $800 a month on gas now days.

[Tom7227]

Is there a way to lock this thread if my wife logs on?

[bikeoutback]

I say every man deserves at least one hobby he can spend a lot of money on, fishing definetly fits that bill for me.

If only I had just one hobby!! I see many here only fish but then in my case, like others, I've got ice fishing, summer fishing, camping, hiking, backpacking, hunting. I go in spurts but probably average around $100 per month combining all of them with occasional large $$ purchases added in. I've cut back this year on ice fishing as I'm still adjusting to paying a monthly mortgage so I'm staying local for now and have enough gear and lures to fish with for now. Fortunately I stocked up every visit to a sporting goods store or bait shop for the past 2 years when I didn't have a mortgage.

I saw once northern fillets in the gorcery store for $8/lb and pointed it out to my buddy with the comment "that's gotta be around 25% of what we pay for them"

[GotALunker]

my last trip with 4 buddies cost two of us about $80 while the other two didn't chip in at all...go figure

but I would say for the normal incidentals of fuel, bait, propane, lures etc...I would guess about $40-$50 a month give or take.

Most of what you have to buy in ice fishing are one time purchases...boots, bibs, rods, reels, augers, equipment...so once you've spent the first few years getting all the necessary gear, it can become very very affordable.

[Dothedew]

Spend alot this year fishing & hunting sporting goods...

$7000 used ranger boat

$7000 used suburban to pull the boat

$2800 AR15 6.8spc with EOtech&3X mag scopes

$500 8'lazerpro had my lazermag stolen in the fall

$1200 pse vendatta xs plus gears

$1100 parker tornado crossbow and gears

yeah! the wife is about to kill me... oh well as you get older you get into more expensive hobby's but the equipment will last forever if you take good care of it.

[ac777]

I noticed that the first year or 2 of doing something such as fishing, hunting, you seem to spend the most,after that you have your necessities. Then its just the basics and upgrades.

[g_anoka]

No kidding, if my wife knew what I spent on fishng she might have a heart attack. PLEASE make sure your wife/husband or significant other can not see this post.

[jBohmer]

Gas for the truck is my biggest expense. I go through about one and a half 20# propane tanks a season. Maybe a half dozen 1# tanks as well and I fish anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week. I have just about evrything that I need. I keep my bait alive for quite a while. I guess the only costs that bother me are things like repairing my buddies 6 man Eskimo Hubhouse that I snagged my auger blade on last weekend, $25. A new primer bulb for my auger, $3.99. Busted Clam light/fan combo, $25.

Tourny buy-ins are an expense as well, I could spend anywhere from $25-$150. I enjoy paying those fees as they tend to support some type of organization. Oh yeah, I forgot about beer. I am not going to mention what that costs me though.

Very few regrets with every dime I have spent on icefishing.