Will gas prices stop you?

I have 8 fishing trips on the calendar for 2022 and will not let gas prices deter me.
 
Probably not. Though similar to others I may adjust other fishing trip related expenses/luxuries to compensate some for it. Camping in SF’s as opposed to popping for a hotel, or packing a sandwich for the ride home instead of making a fast food stop. I have a bit of a vice for fast food after fishing/hiking all day. Eating a home packed sandwich is probably better for me on several different fronts.

I’m working from home with Covid still, so I’m saving a lot on commuting right now. 60 miles a day, nearly all of it on the TPike with tolls too. So right now, gas for fishing even at current prices doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me. My company is looking at going back in the office this Summer though, and I reserve the right to adjust my feelings then. They’re already getting a lot of pushback from folks who don’t want to go back into the office period. I suspect that will only worsen if gas prices don’t improve.

All in all, fishing remains a relatively inexpensive hobby.
 
Swattie87 said:
Eating a home packed sandwich is probably better for me on several different fronts.
Click to expand...
Ever since I was a kid we have always packed lunches and carried them into the woods - building a fire at lunch time and toasting baloney sandwiches with my dad and cousins and uncles was one of the best things about deer hunting. I still carry a sandwich and fruit and always take time to sit, relax and have a bite while enjoying my surroundings and just watching the stream roll by.
 
I got tired of driving from SC to Central PA to fish so I just moved there in January. My fishing will increase. And I have never fished NC PA seriously. That's going to change as well. I get 42 mpg in a Chevy Sonic, 5 spd manual to soften the price hit.
 
kbobb said:
Ok - makes sense then - paying thousands of dollars per week in taxes, etc puts things in perspective and I can understand that at that level an extra few hundred bucks in gas costs is probably not a limiting factor.
Click to expand...
My bad, every other week between me and my wife. Although the tax man thinks so, Im not a rich man. Everybody should look at their overall tax burden and see how it pales in comparrison to the price of gallon of gas. I pay a local tax, a state tax, a federal tax, a school tax, a sales tax, an earned income tax, a head tax, an occupation tax, a SSN tax, a medicare tax, a gas tax, and numerous taxes cleverly disguised as licenses, registrations, permits and fees. You will see that most people pay thousands of dollars in tax every other week they just don’t know it. i can’t imagine how much better my fishing life would have been if they just let me keep 10% more of the money they confiscate from me. The price of a gallon of gas is just a diversion to lure your attention away from what they are stealing right out from under our noses.
 
In 2008, I bought a new Ford f450 dually and a large, heavy 5th wheel, and my wife and I headed to Montana to spend the summer. When we drove across South Dakota on interstate 90, and into a headwind, we were getting just over 4 miles per gallon after paying about $4 a gallon for diesel in Sioux Falls. That’s when I told my wife ”if it gets to where we’re paying $1 per mile for our fuel, I think we’ll just park this thing.”

I can’t remember if the headwind subsided farther on, or whether we made it to Wyoming where the gas was cheaper, but we never quite got to the $1 per mile stopping point. However, I kept that 5th wheel in Montana thereafter and never towed it back to PA again, and the following year I bought a new truck that got better gas mileage, so I’ve never again approached that $1 per mile limit.

Now, I‘m driving a Ford F150 on most of my fishing trips (with a new F150 hybrid on order) and get about 20 miles per gallon. So, if I keep that same $1 per mile criterion that I had back in 2008, I’ll consider stopping my fishing if gas gets to $20 a gallon. But I wouldn‘t count on doing that.
 
poopdeck said:
My bad, every other week between me and my wife. Although the tax man thinks so, Im not a rich man. Everybody should look at their overall tax burden and see how it pales in comparrison to the price of gallon of gas. I pay a local tax, a state tax, a federal tax, a school tax, a sales tax, an earned income tax, a head tax, an occupation tax, a SSN tax, a medicare tax, a gas tax, and numerous taxes cleverly disguised as licenses, registrations, permits and fees. You will see that most people pay thousands of dollars in tax every other week they just don’t know it. i can’t imagine how much better my fishing life would have been if they just let me keep 10% more of the money they confiscate from me. The price of a gallon of gas is just a diversion to lure your attention away from what they are stealing right out from under our noses.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on the tax thing - If I had back all the monies I paid in taxes, even just the federal, I be living in a house on a trout stream or bass lake and this whole gas thing would be a non-issue for me.
 
I won't curtail my fishing because of the price of gas, but I will cut down on the eating in a resturant. I will save alot by packing a lunch and I already packed my drinks.
 
Won't affect me much at all.
I always camp out when I fish. And bring my own food - only eating out if I'm with friends who want to do so. Been doing this from the get go.
So, I can certainly handle the gas increase.

I will probably try to make fewer, but longer trips.
And if the conditions are iffy, more apt to stay home and wait for things to get better.
 
I'll chime in with my take: probably not much. I live within 30 miles of a lot of good fishing. Franky, that's the least of my concerns regarding Russia invading Ukraine. As they say, cost to drive to and from fishing is a "first world problem".

Related: This issue will, like most economic problems, disproportionately impact those who are struggling financially. The immediate impact is at the pump. The more widespread impact will be greater inflation. The Federal Reserve can bump interest rates to slow inflation down. But, until they can lower the cost of transporting goods, oil prices will override interest rates. If you think groceries are expensive now, you'd better plant a garden and go on a diet!

It feels like our economy is, and has been for decades, a wobbly house of cards. I'm sure that won't change until a number of things that affect it change. For example, our gross addiction to oil.
 
I'll factor it in and do fewer long drives and/or take my Corolla instead of my Rav4 to save a bucks.
The sudden price hike is kind of a joke. The US gets less than 10% of its oil from Russia. Overnight jumps of 40 or 50 cents? Just another manipulation by an already corrupt industry.
 
Most of my fishing is within 10 miles, Occasionally i fish a stream 30 miles distant. At 20MPG, a round trip is 3 gallons. At $5/gal that $15. Last year those trips were about $10.
 
krayfish2 said:
In the past, I'd do a suicide run which means leaving by 4am, drive 3+ hours, float till dark and drive home. That trip will now cost $80 in gas, $20 meal, $40 shuttle and $50 gas for return drive. $200 per day will have me fishing to bluegills in a local farm pond. Yes, it will impact my fishing plans.
Click to expand...
You have drift boat now right? I'll pull it and cover gas, lol.
 
Fly-Swatter said:
This issue will, like most economic problems, disproportionately impact those who are struggling financially. The immediate impact is at the pump. The more widespread impact will be greater inflation.
Click to expand...
^^^ exactly. Not to generalize too much, but chances are if you're into fly fishing then you can probably afford an extra $20 or $30 at the pump each week. Folks in lower income demographics on the other hand are the ones who will suffer the most from higher gas prices. Imagine if you're a single mother or father of one or two (or more) kids working a minimum wage job to make ends meet. That extra $30 a week is gonna be a killer, and there are millions of those folks out there.
 
It will change where I go, favoring shorter hr from home type trips instead of waaayyy upstate to my cabin or Potter County.

But when I get a chance to get out, I'll still get out.
 
If I had asked myself this same question just a six months ago, I would have said it would keep my trips to the mountains to a minimum. I've since sold my house, so gas prices won't really hurt me too much. I'm retired now and will fish as often as stream/weather conditions allow.

I sometimes head north a couple times a week during the summer to fish, but I'll still be watching my money carefully, as it needs to outlast me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top