wind weather and gas

[kodiak50]

Looks a little breezy and with the dirty water, GOOD LUCK.

[Island Runner]

I agree here with all said. Two summers ago I did the same calculation as rscotfish. I by no means am a great walleye fisherman and have never limited out. That year walleye were costing me over $170/lb. That was when gas was $2.89! That year my season was cut short when I threw a rod in the starboard engine. Had to have my boat transported 170 miles to my home two replace both engines. After a year and a half of work and two new big blocks and two new transmissions and re-rigging the entire boat, that price per pound is astronomical.
I launched April 9th and have fished every saturday and sunday since then and have boated two walleye. I filled up both tanks the day I launched and spent over $1200 just in gas. With two 195 gallon tanks and $5 a gallon gas that is sure to come, filling up will be almost $2000! Ridiculous!
I am by no means wealthy. I work a job I hate and had to take over a $10,000/year paycut just to keep it. Not just that, but to keep the company truck I had, I had to purchase it from the company and buy my own insurance for it. My boat took every single penny I had to maintain and operate. Now it takes more. I now cannot enjoy just the wife and me out fishing. I have to try to find friends to come to help offset the fuel costs. And honestly, I have a hard time convincing friends to pitch in a mere $50 for a day fishing! They're all broke to! Me and the wife eat one meal a day thru the week. We go nowhere and do nothing. We work our jobs and wait til fridays. We head north and eat good and drink beer and good island wines. We are then broke again all week, but we do what we love.
That all said, and we can ***** all we want, but we will still be out there doing it. Or at least I will. If all I can do is make it out the channel and shut down and drift for fish all day long, then thats what I'll do. I knew going into buying a big boat it would drain every penny I had. You know what, I was right! For the last 5 years it has. But I knew that from the start. I just don't care anymore. I boat and fish because I simply LOVE it. I grew up on Lake Erie with my Great Grandfather fishing every day of every week in the summers from the time I was 3 til he died when I was 12. I grew up on Erie and I'll die on Erie. Bankrupt or not!