Five Kayak Fishing Money Saving Tips
written by The Lost Anchovy 2/1/2019
Kayak fishing is my life passion and sharing it with others is brings me great joy. However, like crack, sharing isn’t always caring, and like crack, kayak fishing can become extremely addicting and the cost can quickly start to pile up. Let’s break down way to reduce the cost to your addiction.
# 1 Make your own rigs
I’ll start with an easy one. If you are starting to get into fishing, learn to make your own rigs, rather than buying pre made rigs—period! This means learning to tie up basic knots and creating rigs from them.
For the occasional fisherman; by this I mean the fisherman that goes out once every 2 years, the cost is minimally and the convenience outweighs the cost, but for anglers who fish frequently the cost can quickly pile up. I think most season anglers will come to this conclusion pretty fast. Making your own rigs is a non brainer to save money and time.
#2 Purchasing Leader Line
Looking down the local fishing line isle can make many fisherman confused. Manufactures have entire marketing departments focused on getting the consumer to purchase their specific brand. They down right get creative with marketing terminology, brand placement, and design — All to make you buy their product.
Do we as consumers stand any real chance? Is there any difference between 1000ft of mono vs 25ft of fluorocarbon leader besides the price?
My truth, based on my experience is, don’t buy into the marketing. Buy into what works!!
I spent years buying Seaguar Blue Label leader 25 ft, at astronomical prices, because the “reviews” and Marketing dictated my decision making. Grrrr….
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In 2017, Bat Ray John, found the Seaguar STS fluorocarbon leaders for a fraction of the cost. This was a game changer!! We saved hundreds of dollars each year on leader line and equally caught as much fish. The only thing that changed was the money in our wallets— Score!!! Here is me catching Salmon on the leaders over two days on the STS leaders.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sryE1q4in8M[/embedyt]
#3 Catching and Brining your own bait
This third tip is up for debate. The trade off with saving money is convenience. Some people would simply pay for the convenience because their time is limited(I completely understand). To others catching bait is a great way to save money!
A green label herring tray can cost anywhere between 7-10 dollars a tray. During the annual herring run, I catch around $800-$1,000 worth of bait that can be used over the summer. I spend $120 buck in gas minus my time making bait and I still come out ahead.
I recommend getting these:
After the initial investment, it is savings from on out, minus the time spent fishing.
Pro Tip: Kill two birds with one stone! Make a fishing day a bait day as well. For example, after a good morning of fishing, I’ll swing back outside the SC harbor and load up on Sardines and Anchovies for next time! Or go in during the minus tide, make sand shrimp, and return to check my crab pots. Maximize your time.
#4 Name brand vs no name
Not every fishing trip needs to have gamakatsu high end hooks. There are comparable hooks like, the off-shore brand J hooks, found at Bass Pro shops that work well for Rock Fish and Halibut that cost a lot less.
However, when targeting White Sea Bass, I will pay of the premium 4x strength hooks because failure is not an option. White Sea Bass will bend out low quality hooks, and come off the line. I’ll pay the little extra for the piece of mind. For all other cases, using lesser brand name hooks will do just fine.
#5 Food Saver brand bags vs. Food Saver compatible bags
I have owned a Food Saver machine for years and bought their bags. Like the blue label leaders, this was cost me an arm and a leg over the years. In 2016, after a little research online, I found the FoodSaver compatible bags. Doing a side by side comparison, and having used both, the only difference I concluded was the price. In fact the FoodSaver compatible bags was a better value because of their commercial quality (3mm thick).
This has saved me a lot of money over the years, and it can for you too!
Conclusion
Regardless if you are season angler or a beginner, saving money, is saving money. The old saying, “ a dollar saved is a dollar earned”, is true today as the day it was coined. This article is from my own personal experience over nearly a decade of kayak fishing. I’m passing the value to you. Good Luck and Tight Lines — TLA