Gas prices stopping you?

[perch]

Since the price of gas has gone up I havent gone trout fishing this year since its a bit of a drive to get there for me and my truck doesnt get the best in milage.
I have been wondering how many folkes are Not going to their favorite fishing places due to the cost of fuel.
Who else is in my boat?
What are your stategies to fish?
I have started the shift toward ( shudder ) warm water fishing a.k.a ponds (I even got a little pontoon boat for ponds of all things!!!) and the like that areclose , available and affordable. I ran into a group of anglers today that have the same story as me .
Obviously the fellows that do the high end trips arent much affected (Im not taking shot at the folkes that listened when their Mom said to get a good education, I was not attentive to Mother).
Also has any one heard what impact non driving has had on the angling industry?

[Panfisha]

Not being able to get to water is the biggest problem!
My solution will be to buy one of those Honda FCX's that runs on just water. I mean, water is like 1$ for a jug at the grocery store. I could drive to the savage river and back in one day, and spend about 3$ on water LOL.
But for now, I'm putting ram air into my dakota to help increase the milage. Also try replacing your air filter, that always helps get a mile or 2.

[LadyFisher]

Inflating your tires to the max recommended by the manufacturer will also give you more miles to the gallon. Really.

[Ray]

Gas up a few bucks a gallon will make no difference to anything i do.

[dpenrod]

perch, anytime you feel like carpooling to some trout water, let me know. there are tons of warmwater spots within an hours drive of k.c. that are great fun. p.m. me sometime and we can get something worked out. time, and high water on the white river have kept me from trout fishing, not the gas prices.

[gzacckey]

I just figure the cost of fuel into the trip and plan accordingly.

For instance if you paid $300 for gas last year to travel to your typical spots then this year it's going to cost about $400 or you'll need to cut some trips out but you don't need to cut them all out. Of course it still hurts. I recently took a trip where rent and food was $170 for a five day trip and gas was about $60. That's a heck of a percentage of the overall expense. Still by selecting a trip where rent and food costs were low the overall costs for the trip were kept low. Another option is to share the ride and fuel costs with another angler.

Just something to think about. I'd hate to think that I work all week just to pay bills and not be able to do something I really enjoy.

[black_co]

When July 4th rolls around my family will have been trout fishing 3 times, all at Roaring River State Park. The water is not too high there because its all spring fed. Plus it's only about 30 miles(as the crow flies) north of Beaver lake. So no the gas prices are not stopping me from following my new found passion.

[Flyrodde]

I drive anywhere from 300-500 miles a week for work. I just seize the opportunity and stop to fish when I am near a river or stream. No special trips, just calling to say I'll be late about an hour 'cause "something came up." Gets me into a lot of new and fun water, and I've become a better fisher because I have to adapt to streams quickly or I don't catch anything. It is extremely gratifying to step out of the truck, look at the water, rig, catch a fish or 2 in 15 or 20 minutes and get back to work. I'm easier to deal with after these breaks, too.

[black_co]

Unfortunately the closest trout river to my home is 2.5 hrs away, so it has to be a special trip. But I have worked it into my summer schedule. Plus I just started working 3 12hr shifts on the weekends(Thursday night through Sunday morning) and that makes it easier to plan a camping\fishing trip without taking vacation during my 4 day "weekend" every week.

dpenrod and perch,

My family will be headed to Roaring River State Park(about 15 mins south of Cassville MO) on 6-29 or 6-30 for a 3 day trip. Unfortunately we have no carpool room, but if you have free time and are in the mood we'll be camping in the fly only area in a big hexagon camo tent.

[DG]

The last two days fishing, the gas set me back about 33 cents per fish. Good thing the fishing was spectacular, or I would have whined more.

Yes, at $4 a gallon and a 4wd truck, I am driving a lot less than last summer.