Fishing on a Budget: Saving Fuel

Although the national economic recession has shown a few signs of slowing down, many consumers are still wary about spending money on luxury items. Yesterday we discussed strategies for finding a solid, reliable boat on the used market. Now we’ll turn our attention to cost-cutting measures you can implement once a fishing trip has begun. All of the following tips will help you save money on two cycle outboard oil.

Try running the boat at different cruising speeds; make note of your fuel consumption at each time. Divide your speed in miles per hour by the gallons per hour of fuel that were consumed to derive fuel efficiency in miles per gallon. Since every fishing boat has what’s known as a “sweet spot” – the speed at which fuel efficiency is maximized – it’s just a matter of experimenting until you find the right speed.

If you have a marine GPS unit, use its fish-finder features to make educated guesses about the location of nearby schools of fish. You might be surprised at how much fuel is wasted just circling around a lake aimlessly in search of a bite. If your boat lacks a GPS unit, talk to some friends who have already fished that particular lake or other body of water. See if they have any tips about where the action might be.