Guide/Pro Recommends Ways To Reduce Gas Use
By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer
Nobody has to be told the price of having fun costs more this year.
Outdoor Writer
Nobody has to be told the price of having fun costs more this year.
The group getting the message first is fishermen, who in recent years have seen tackle prices climb and now must deal with the rising cost of fuel, their biggest expense.
Gasoline is selling for more than $3.60 a gallon in the Tyler area. Experts predict that it will go higher. On the water, there are stories of gasoline costing more than $4.
Despite the cost, fishermen are going to fish. To get the most bang for their buck they are going to have to fish smarter.
Fishing guide David Vance is on Lake Fork more than 200 days a year, and when he isn't guiding he can often be found fishing in Wal-Mart FLW Tour tournaments around the country. He is feeling the pinch at the pump.
"My guiding gas for last month was $1,350," said Vance from Beaver Lake, Ark., where he was practicing for a tournament. "For this tournament, this is the third day I have practiced and I have spent $225 for gas. When we got here it was $3.54 and when we woke up this morning it was $3.61."
Bass boats may look sleek running on top of the water, but a 20-footer pushed by a 200-horsepower or larger motor is a gas-guzzler.
"When you get two to three miles a gallon, you don't get much gas for $50," the fisherman lamented.
Not surprisingly, Vance is planning out his fishing days much more than he has in the past. Instead of cove hopping back and forth, he methodically works his way from one cove to the next.
"I know where I am going to fish in the morning, the middle of the day and the evening. I am fortunate when we find fish in a small area," said Vance, adding that big runs back and forth on the lake, that were common with $2 gas, are gone.
While organization is good, whether working as a guide or fishing in a tournament, Vance still has to find the fish. Fishing a cove at a time may not get it, and that is where he has made the biggest change in how he fishes.
"It used to be that if I was fishing on the upper end of the lake and needed to make a run to the lower end I wouldn't think anything about making a run. Now I am trailering a lot. You get a lot better gas mileage from that truck than you do a boat. Relaunching the boat doesn't take that much time and it saves a lot of gas doing it," he explained.
That strategy has carried over to tournaments. Although he can't trailer during an event, nothing prevents him from doing so during practice. In preparation for this weekend's Arkansas tournament, Vance said few anglers were launching at the tournament's headquarters marina.
"I have been here three days and I have put in at three different places. Like today I drove probably 25 miles from the headquarters to launch," Vance said.
Another piece of advice Vance recommends is for fishermen to get confident in the water they are fishing.
"Put in more time in areas. Instead of running around a whole lot, get more confidence in the area you are fishing," he said.
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