Inexpensive Fishing

[Thumper]

The newer folks here on Ifish must be convinced that we all drive around in $35,000 4X4 pickups towing $30,000 jet sleds. Each year I like to remind all the young guys and gals what a tremendous opportunity they have to fish in this area without re-mortgaging the house.

If you want to fish from a boat you can do about 95% of the fishing available in this area out of a basic 14-15 footer, preferably a stable one with high sides. The ideal combination might be a Smokercraft or Klamath with a 15-25 hp motor (though a 6 hp will do the job just fine). Every year I get outfished by these little boats at my favorite spots.

That little set-up will get you into fish on the Columbia and in many of its larger tributaries, on all of our lakes, even on many bays and estuaries. Think about it. Springers on the Columbia, up at the Wind, at the mouths of the tributaries, etc. It just doesn't take a big expensive boat.

Don't fail to partake in the tremendous fishing that we are now enjoying. Get that little boat, then come on out and enjoy the catching.

And don't forget to wear a PFD.

[TinyWonder]

Well said Thumper.

But all of the bells and whistles give the masses something to dream about.

Kind of like Christmas for us big kids.

To continue with the same theory, there are plenty of bank fishing opportunities out there.

And alot of them you don't even need a 4x4 to get to.

[img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] That will save you a lot of money for bait, lures, tackle, rods, reels etc.......

[Pickles]

Well said Thumper

Though I like my new boat alot, My old starcraft was a lot less expensive to run, and it was paid for.

[jr sherwood]

Thanks Thumper, I could not have said it better. I have a 15'Smoker with a 15hp Johnson. If i had a $$ for every good time that rig has given me then i could probably afford the $$$$$$$$ Jet.

[night stocker]

I agree Thumper.I always told my freinds that a good ol' drift boat would fill the bill as a cheap fishing tool.Virtually no maintenance(allum)and with a kicker I could fish for springers,winters,summers,falls in TW.A do it all (mostly, with a few exceptions) boat.I didn't pay very much for my DB so there are used bargains out there that have a lot of life left in them.25 years old and still going strong.It is not too pretty and it is not very fast.But if I was just starting out,that is what I would want. People ask me about my sled and i tell them about how cheap a used DB is and they kind of poo-poo that idea.Well, I guess you will have to really save your money if you like a sled.

[FishinMission]

Good post Jack...But I'll see what I can do about those guys outfishing you for springers, anyway.

Like I've always said.....It's not the boat that catches the fish. Most important thing is being out there, 'cause you can't catch 'em at home!

Mark

[ 01-03-2004, 07:57 AM: Message edited by: FishinMission ]

[pearl]

This post reminds me of my first boat. It was a 14' Alumacraft with high sides. I saw it sitting behind a business and went in and offered the guy $400.00 for the boat and trailer. He took it. Next I bought a used Mercury 9.9 hp of $250.00 from a friends Grandfather. Put a raised wood floor in the bottom of the boat and added a couple of rod holders and off I went. That little boat caught steelhead, salmon, sturgeon, trout, bass, crabs etc. This boat was excellent for springer fishing on the Willamette and tide water fishing over at the coast. One day that little boat landed a 53lb and a 42lb salmon at the Oyster House. THe boat I have now hasn't done that

This entry level boat helped me learn alot about the water ways and boating in general. If my first boat was a 20' jet with 200 hp I probably wouldn't be alive today.

I sure do miss that old Alumacraft and there are plenty of days that I wish I still had it especially in the fall in the tide waters of Tillamook County.

If I was looking for my first boat today I would look for a 15' to 17' Smokercraft. They're pretty darn versatile.

[Bait O' Eggs]

Thumper - I saw the title to this thread (Inexpensive Fishing) and thought you were talking about something mythical like a unicorn or something similiar

Inexpensive fishing in one thread, and somebody talking about how much money the sport caught fish generates in another thread Which is it gonna be? [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] :tongue: :tongue:



[ 01-03-2004, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: Bait O' Eggs ]

[flop eared mule]

It not how many fish you catch its how good you look !!!!!

[fishfinderswife]

I find that fishing from a bank is the most inexpensive way to fish. You still catch all the same fish as you would from a boat. :grin: It is fun being able to go fishing in a 4x4, because you can play in the mud.

[WaterDog]

Good post Jack. I remember my first boat. Cost me $500. It was an wood sled that I had to revive. Wish I never gave her up. :depressed:

[love2fish]

I recently sold an old 14' aluminum boat with a old Honda 7.5hp ($400). I know the motor needed a little work, but that boat caught a lot of fish. It got a little hairy at times when the wind kicked up to 35 mph fishing the Wind. It sure was a lot eaiser to launch and load by myself than my new boat. Hopefully the guy that bought it is enjoying it as much as I did.

love2fish

[glassblower]

I see allot of guys saying they are all for the higher fee's, and some of us are not. The ones who are all for it are the ones who have the bucks to afford it.

[ 01-18-2004, 11:43 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Day Late]

Great post! Reminds me of the time some years back when I observed a Calif Mom & Pop combo in a 12' cartopper with a smoking 6hp Johnson put 4 chinook in the boat (including a double) in the bay on the Rogue in less than 90 minutes while the rest of us (50+ boats) watched and tried to figure out what they were doing. (never did and told by others they came every year and were tight-lipped.) [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] Safety is the main issue when choosing and using - cost is a minor player.

Day Late

[TonTo]

1973 16ft' bayliner run-about $600
Rebuild on the 153chev $400
First sturgeon ,salmon ,and limit of crab on my own boat....priceless

[Flatfish]

******,

I am the fella in the red Alumaweld with black tires. There will be an abnormally large lab in the boat. But no fish. I don't catch fish.

Thumper got a Bazooba boat.

No pics needed.

Mark and the abnormally large dog.

[ 01-18-2004, 11:43 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[boater]

Originally posted by glassblower:
I see allot of guys saying they are all for the higher fee's, and some of us are not.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">i`m not for it

[King13fisher]

I've owned a 15' Smokercraft Kingfisher for the last 6 years...great starter boat, just recently upgraded to a 20'North River.
I've fished in the Columbia, with the Kingfisher, from the gorge down to the Astoria bridge. Been able to get into many fish, salmon and sturgeon.
Just remember to respect the river, stay off when the going is rough. But that goes for any boat no matter what the size.

[Silver Hilton]

And a little boat is easier to trailer, launch, and store than the bigger boats.

[Thumper]

You got tires on your boat? :shocked: That's your problem!

[Southfork]

2 foot itus.... Those that dream bigger limit themselves just those that. Bigger is not always better. A high/wide 16'er hands down is easier on the savings account. Ya don't need a new truck to pull them ether....

[fish-bones]

If you have to have tires on your boat,why not at least have WHITE-WALLS ?????


fish-bones



TE]Originally posted by Flatfish:
******,

I am the fella in the red Alumaweld with black tires


. There will be an abnormally large lab in the boat. But no fish. I don't catch fish.

Thumper got a Bazooba boat.

No pics needed.

Mark and the abnormally large dog. [/QUOTE]

[Bounty Hunter]

Hey don't laugh. I got tires on my boat. The kind that drop down so I can roll my 14 footer to the water if there isn't a ramp.

[Flatfish]

Could not afford white walls. After they replaced the muffler bearings in the jet, I was tapped out.

The tires are not too much of a problem. But it is slower to plane than some other boats. And it does not handle real well in shallow water.

Maybe I should get some low profile tires for summer steelies in super low flows. That's a thought.

Mark and the dog.

[ 01-18-2004, 11:43 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[dampainter]

I have a little boat...14er deep vee with a 15 hp on it, gets me "out there" pretty good. can use it at the lakes that don`t allow motors too, cheap to fish and really "portable" I go myself alot and it`s really easy to launch and load(gotta love those trailer boat bumpers, their great for loading in a crosswind and other) also, didn`t need to buy a bigger rig to haul it with.

[Grits]

Most of this post has concentrated on boats but there are countless other ways to make fishing affordable. I don't own a rod that I paid more that $50 for and most were less than $25. When you pick a reel find one that works for salmon and sturgeon or salmon and steelhead. Danielson crab rings for $7.50 at Sportsman Wharehouse in Salem work just fine and contrary to popular belief don't drift anymore than my protoco's.

BTW- I fish out of a 15' glass boat that I paid $800 for. It fishes the bays, the Columbia and most importantly Detroit with my son.

[Flatfish]

Of course Rick. The more the merrier!

They are a pack animal, right?

Purty puppy.

Mark and the does not photograph too well cause he is all black dog.

[PayDay]

I've got a 15 foot Sylvan with a 25 and an 8 kicker. It works great for most situations and I can pull it with my 4 banger Ranger and get 25mpg to boot. It does get a little dicey anchored up when a big wake hits, and a windshield and a top would be nice, but it's cheap and so am I!

[ampersat]

I was once told by someone on this very site that if you can't afford to throw away twice the money you spent on your boat you've got no place being on the water. Really.

For my money, there's no better fishing boat than a drifter with a kicker. It'll do pretty much every type of fishing you'd ever want to do. You can get 'em cheap, keep 'em cheap and tow 'em cheap. And the fish you catch in 'em around all the $20k boats are priceless.

[KingFisher85]

Thumper thumper thumper....didnt you just up grade to some 20K boat
Don't you hate it tho when your in your boat fishing a way, and the bankie on the bank out fish's ya :grin: Oh I love it...Priceless right there :grin:

[Thumper]

Yep, I did just upgrade, but I spent the prior 6 years in a 16 ft. jon boat with a little 30 hp jet. It is still catching fish on the lower Sandy for its new owner.

And I regularly get outfished by the bankies.