Comparing the cost of a boat to using a guide service

[DockShootinJack]

Having someone there is certainly a plus side

[Slabprowler]

I love to fish and do it as often as I can which is 3-5 times a week when possible! I work hard for what I got and I keep my priorities straight God , family, fun I am very blessed and I now fish out of a 2021 Phoenix 819 pro . Do I need a boat that nice to catch fish! Absolutely not. But I am only going to live once and I’m going to enjoy while I can I sure ant going to make it just for someone else to blow. .This boat will last me for the rest of my life . The enjoyment of being on the water whether with myself my wife or my friends is just so absolutely refreshing and enjoyable to me so I think it’s worth every penny I spend . Yes things are so expensive now but enjoy life to the fullest while you can as long as you do it wisely and stay within your means . If you only get to go a few times a year then the guide route would be the way to go.

[BobC]

A lot to be said to go the guide route. This is especially true for a salt water trip. Nice to shake hands when you come back and take your fish home.
Bob

[Ketchn]

salt water trips are a no brainer for me , not being near a coast I always take the easy route on that venue .
locally lots of my buds have boats and our "network" of advice on area lakes makes it not a great idea for me to use a guide , some of the folks we get our info. from are guides .
that said there are 2 or 3 guides I wish I could go ketch a few fish with here locally , just can't bring myself to drop the dollars that I could use elsewhere on a guided trip .
one thing for certain ,some of these local guide fellas can load a boat full of slabs really fast ....this is fact ...

[Charman03]

Yea fishing in a boat 4 trips a year isn’t going to cut it for me. Sometimes I go more than that in a single week.

additionally you can get a really nice crappie fishing boat for at least $50k less than your estimate

[DockShootinJack]

salt water trips are a no brainer for me , not being near a coast I always take the easy route on that venue .
locally lots of my buds have boats and our "network" of advice on area lakes makes it not a great idea for me to use a guide , some of the folks we get our info. from are guides .
that said there are 2 or 3 guides I wish I could go ketch a few fish with here locally , just can't bring myself to drop the dollars that I could use elsewhere on a guided trip .
one thing for certain ,some of these local guide fellas can load a boat full of slabs really fast ....this is fact ...

Definitely makes sense for the salt

[Ketchn]

Yea fishing in a boat 4 trips a year isn’t going to cut it for me. Sometimes I go more than that in a single week.

additionally you can get a really nice crappie fishing boat for at least $50k less than your estimate

i can put my hands on a super nice 2 person 14 foot loaded up wide bottom john ,with graphs and an electric start 25 and heavy duty trailer for well under 2 grand and to be sure it is a crappie slaying sled just sitting in the pasture at my friends ranch , no where to park it at home though .....darn the bad luck right ....

[jjue1979]

Definitely makes sense for the salt

It also makes sense for me to rent a boat or hire a guide for my 1-3 trips/year on the White River in Arkansas.

[Ketchn]

It also makes sense for me to rent a boat or hire a guide for my 1-3 trips/year on the White River in Arkansas.

this is true , nothing beats a good guide service if you are only visiting once in while , them fellas tend to stay on fish year round no matter the water or area of the world you are visiting

[J White]

Went fishing with Lowe 175 last Sunday and got the boat fever. So I crunched some numbers. Average boat that I like is $60000.00 with trailer and maxed out outboard. Electronics. Roughly $10 ,000.00. So that puts us at $70,000.00 with taxes and such figured in. I’m going to do this comparison with no fuel , insurance or upkeep of truck or boat figured in.


Attachment 462426
ok if we use 70000 at 10 percent for 120 months the payment is $925.00 a month. After payback that’s roughly $110,000.00 for full term. Then there’s associated cost of fishing not figured in and I’ll not try to guesstimate that. I can fish with a pro for 600.00 a trip on his boat using his fuel and gear with no upkeep of my own. Except transportation to ramp. He even cleans fish. So if I go four times a year that’s $2400.00 a year. $110,000.00 divided by $2400.00 is 46 years of guided trips. I’ve always limited out with this guide or very close to it. I don’t have &70,000.00 setting around so I booked a trip every three months all the way through 2024 with him. Probally not for everyone to go this route. But the numbers don’t lie for me. Granted you can buy a used boat much cheaper but upkeep is much higher. Just a thought guys if your looking at new boats. I usually end up with two gallons of fillets every trip cleaned bagged and loaded in my cooler. Ok I’ve opened a can of worms, let’s here the pros and cons. Any comments welcome.

I can’t fault your logic. I have also thought I would have been much better off, in the past at least, to apply that program to having a wife - I could have rented a lot cheaper

But as much as I gripe sometimes, I do enjoy rigging and maintaining a boat. And just my independent, rebellious personality, but I would much rather go fishing and catch 5 or so for supper my way than pay someone to catch a limit. On that thought, I’ve long realized that I treasure the memories of the times I overcame adverse weather and a tough bite to barely catch a mess, over the beautiful days I went and they were jumping in the boat and I limited in a few hours.


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