Bass Fishing: It's Never Been a Cheap Sport...

But who, especially among us old-time weekend warriors, could have ever predicted the eye-popping prices you find on bass boats today? 

According to one boat dealer, the current average price of a top-of-the-line "chariot" is $70,000 to $80,000. And if that's not good enough for you, consider that the most expensive models can take you to the cleaners for a cool $100,000...or more.

In case you haven't been keeping up with all the changes, consider that the average bass boat 25 years ago was an 18-footer, powered by a 150-hp outboard. The new boats are 22 feet or longer, and most are powered by a 250...or maybe even a 300-hp motor. The older boats, with two fishermen aboard, also had a peak speed of 60 mph, compared to the newer ones that can attain speeds of 95 mph or faster. Further, the older boat had basic fish finders that consisted of a graph, showing the water depth and with blips representing fish. Meanwhile, the electronics on the new bass boats have become so sophisticated that they, as described by some, "offer more information than was available aboard World War II battleships."

Granted, you now usually can arrange financing for 15 or so years, but that seems like a long time to be feeling a stinging sensation every month as you stroke a check to keep the debt collector off your front porch. That stinging is in no way helped by the simple fact that your new high-dollar boat loses a third of its value the moment you tow it off the lot. Yes...that's right...unlike homes, bass boats depreciate, rather than appreciate.

In the event your eyeballs aren't already rolling like the pictures on a slot machine, let's take a moment to discuss the thousands of bucks today's average bass fisherman spends on the assortment of fishing rods necessary to get the job done. We are all familiar with the fact we need rods for flipping, crankbaiting, split-shotting, jigging...you get the picture...in short, one for every special occasion. Some of these rods can cost as much as $700 apiece.

And, of course, we all know that every rod has to have a reel, which, for a serious angler, can run in the $250 to $500 range. Most bass fishermen have at least 10 rods rigged and ready to use at all times.

Then there is all the other gear...the lures and soft plastics, if you will. They also don't come cheap. Some crankbaits, for example, ring up for as much as $30 each, while popular swimbaits can run $70 a pop. Hard swimbaits, costing $250 apiece, also are available. As one retailer noted, "The old days of $3 lures are long past. Most bass fishermen today have several tackle boxes jammed with expensive lures and soft plastics."

Does all this mean you have to spend your life savings on fishing equipment to catch a bass? Not really. It's called marketing, and the industry knows how to market to the most gullible of all people--fishermen. As one fisherman noted, "The bass don't care if you're in a $70,000 bass boat or a $300 wooden rowboat."

I read just the other day that the best way for anglers to beat the marketers is developing a mindset just to look but not to pick up a single item when you walk into a tackle store. According to what I read, once you take an item off the shelf, there's like an 80 percent chance you're going to walk out of the store with it in your hand.