What is the actual cost of catching a fish?
While the answer might seem easy if buying a fish from the grocery store, the answer to the true cost of catching a fish becomes more complex due to multiple factors. Fixed costs and variable expenses change from one fishing trip to another.
My most recent fishing adventure had me asking myself more questions about what catching a fish is worth to me and how much each fish actually cost. I took the scenic route to get to the lake and saw many deer, some of them bucks and a couple of moose. After seeing my second bull moose, I started thinking about how waking up at four in the morning was suddenly worth every lost minute of sleep. I then started validating my fishing adventure when an owl swooped down in front of the truck and glided just above my windshield while looking down. At this point, I was telling myself that the whole trip was worth it based on the countless wildlife encounters.
When I arrived at the lake I was surprised to see that there was cell service, because the last time I went there was no service. I had originally planned to bring Sarah’s new iPhone because of the satellite texting option they now come with, but I did not have time to learn how to use the satellite feature, so I brought my phone instead. I sent Sarah a text letting her know I arrived with my phone showing two to three bars of service. It then said service was only available for emergency calls only which I do not believe I have seen it display this way before, so my message did not go through.
We launched at the east rec site last time we went fishing at Batnuni lake. The launch is steep there and the water drops off right away, which makes launching a boat easy. The east site is also open with minimal trees which is great because the openness keeps the mosquitoes away when there is a slight breeze. This time, I launched my boat at the west rec site, and I knew from last time when we checked it out that the west site needs to be more open like the east site to help reduce the mosquito population. I stopped on the road before descending into the west rec site and dosed myself in bug spray. I was welcomed by at least a thousand mosquitoes bouncing off my windows, so I waited five minutes before jumping out of my truck which helped reduce the unwanted visitors.
Everyone who has travelled down gravel roads with a boat trailer knows how taxing the vibrations and bumps of the road can be on a boat motor, trailer, and the equipment you bring with you. For this reason, I was wondering if any damage had been done to my boat on my way to the lake on this trip. I slowly exited the cab of my truck to check for damage. The last time I travelled to Batnuni lake on the gravel forest service road, I found some of my boat seat screws came loose and were on the floor of my boat. My fuel tank and trolling motor battery had bounced all over the place as well. On top of that, we lost a wood block and a strap on our last trip due to the vibration and bumps along the way. Thankfully, we found a tree branch to prop up our motor and found the wood block on the way home.
This time, my initial inspection of my boat and motor showed that there was no visible damage from driving down the gravel roads. The road was well maintained and felt smooth on the way there. I loaded up my gear and prepared for a full day of fishing in a lake new to me, because the last time our trip was cut short due to wind and rain.
Launching at the west rec site was interesting. As always, I inspected the launch before backing down and into the water. I like to check for soft areas on the launch, obstructions in the water and the depth of the water so I know how far I need to go back into the water. The launch is initially steep then levels out. To get my boat off the trailer I had to back into the water. I do not like backing my truck into the lake as sometimes the ground in the lake can be soft which increases the risk of getting stuck. With my four-wheel drive engaged I had no issues with spinning tires and was able to get out quickly thanks to my quick launch process of tying the boat off to my boat trailer. For a visual example, check out my video here.
I was happy to have my Simms waders in the morning for two reasons. For mid-June, the air temperature was still five degrees Celsius, and I enjoyed being warmer after needing to be in the water to launch in shallow water. The tea-stained water made seeing the bottom difficult and so I waited until my Garmin Striker 4 depth finder was on before lowering my leg. Then, my boat motor had a hard time starting for some reason. I had recently done some work and upgrades to my fuel system, which I tested at home before this trip, and I was hoping that the gravel road did not cause some damage to my motor. Eventually my motor started, but there was hesitation in the throttle when trying to throttle up. It was like fuel was not getting to the carburetor. The question I had was, will I get stranded on the lake? How much is catching a fish going to cost then?
My plan was to jig for lake trout. While I brought my trolling gear with my Scotty downriggers just in case, I always prefer jigging for lake trout. I had decided before my trip to explore the west end of the lake, because I like the idea of fishing around all the islands the lake has to offer. My thoughts were that these islands created feeding grounds for bait fish which in turn can attract lake trout to feed. After trying to research Batnuni lake on Google search, I was coming up empty with helpful information, so I was fishing blind. I could not find any bathymetric maps for the lake both on the government website and on my Garmin Navionics app which I use all the time.
As I slowly made my way into the main lake over glass calm water, I noticed four-to-five-inch kokanee jumping everywhere. I suspect that they were getting chased by lake trout, because I was not marking a lot of fish on my fish finder. I resisted the urge to troll with my downriggers because I did not know the lake yet. I did not know if there were any abrupt shallow areas due to not having a map and not being able to see deeper in the water column.
This trip was a perfect opportunity to try out my new Penn Battle IV 4000 spinning reel that I bought at Cabelas and my new 13 Fishing Defy S spinning rod. I bought the Penn reel in the spring in anticipation of an upcoming fly in fishing trip and the rod was sent to me from Rapala to use on the water during my adventures. I look forward to using this rod this year and plan to make a product review this winter for my YouTube channel, Fougere Family Adventures. My spinning reel was spooled up with 30lb braided Tufline. For a leader, I used 30lb fluorocarbon Berkley line. My twelve-foot leader line was attached to my braided mainline with an Albright knot. I found this knot to be strong. Now, I have heard people using a 3ft fluorocarbon leader and others using a 20ft leader. I chose a leader length somewhere in between because I wanted to see how well the knot passed through the eyelets on my rod. Unfortunately, at first the knot was hanging up and I could not see where. I had two good tangles when trying to cast and freeing up braided line is not my favorite. After further investigation, I noticed that I left too long of a tagged end on the leader and it was hanging up on the eyelets of the rod. I trimmed the tag end as close as I could and most issues were resolved. I even ended up catching a lake trout on it and the knot held up well.
After numerous hours spent learning about the lake, I was ready and comfortable with trying to troll for lake trout. The wind had picked up which made jigging more difficult. Then I noticed that the kokanee were not jumping out of the water anymore. Had the lake trout finished feeding? Maybe I missed the main bite of the day? So, due to the lack of kokanee jumping I decided to eat my healthy lunch that I brought and then find some cover behind the bigger island to get out of the wind and jig some more for lake trout. While eating lunch, I noticed that the main screw holding the top of my electric trolling motor had come loose and the nut was missing. I found the nut on the floor of the boat and fixed the motor. I should have removed the electric motor on the way to the lake, so I made sure I put it in the truck at the end of the day.
After lunch, I managed to hook one lake trout while jigging in 35ft of water. My initial plan was to drift with the wind into the deeper drop off that was close by, but then a fish appeared unexpectedly and smashed my soft plastic jig I was using. As the relentless wind continued to blow, I kept looking up in the sky during the day. Rain was in the forecast for the afternoon and since the fishing was slow, I was debating on leaving early if the rain came. Watching the sky is something I always like to do when fishing. The clouds and wind can help me predict where I need to be so I can keep fishing or be close to the launch when it is time to leave.
As the afternoon went on and the lack of fish on my fish finder was decreasing, I was considering leaving and arriving home at a decent time. The wind was picking up and starting to push due west. The clouds and weather behind the wind seemed harmless, so I kept fishing. I fished the west bay closest to the rec site and drifted over some fish that looked active. Unfortunately, I hooked a fish only to discover that it was a northern pike minnow. From past experiences at different lakes, for whatever reason, I was expecting an afternoon bite time between 15:30 and 16:30. Once this time passed, I started heading back to the boat launch.
Suddenly, the wind slowed down, and I found myself turning around with the thought of, “just one more drop.” I motored up the channel and found a spot where earlier in the day held a couple of fish. I slowed down once over the area and quickly marked a lake trout and kokanee stacked above it. Then I marked another lake trout coming up on my fish finder to feed. Had I called it a day too soon? Was the threatening stormy weather pushing these fish into a feeding frenzy?
I dropped my new Rapala heavy hitter Crush City soft plastic and VMC boxer jig down. Within a matter of seconds, I watched the lake trout chasing my jig on the screen of my Garmin. Then before I had time to process it, my jig was crushed by this aggressive lake trout, no pun intended (well, maybe).
Suddenly, my energy levels boosted, and I was ready to fish until dark. I pushed back into the lake and was ready to take on the world. I dropped a couple more times, with no luck. Then, the wind changed direction. The waves came together and shifted eastward away from the boat launch. I looked up in the sky to assess the cloud situation. During the day, the rain clouds seemed to miss the lake. This time, with the changing wind direction I could see dark clouds on the horizon and feel the air change. It was time to go.
When I arrived back at the boat launch, I was greeted once again by swarms of mosquitoes. I grabbed my truck and backed my trailer into the water as quickly as I could. While trying to get the boat on the trailer I was getting attacked from every angle. Then, I looked up and noticed that out of habit I left my driver’s door open which would later turn into a catch the mosquito game on the way home. At least I won that battle. The mosquitoes were so bad that I had to reapply a healthy dose of bug spray to the point where my skin was wet and shiny before they would leave me alone. This was after I managed to get bit at least ten times, swallow a couple bugs and one even flew into my eye which took a while to get out.
As I started my ascent out of the rec site, the clouds started spitting on my truck. The view of the lake from the road proved that I left at the perfect time. The waves on the lake were starting to get bigger and closer to white capping. I settled in for the long drive home, turned on my windshield wipers and kept my speed down to help reduce any vibration damage to my boat and equipment.
Halfway home I did a walk around check of my boat trailer, including a strap check. I re-tightened one strap that was coming loose and then continued on my way. I crossed the blackwater river and started thinking about how I miss dry fly fishing. I saw multiple potential fishing spots and dreamed about going back there with a fly rod. As I climbed back up the other side of the valley after crossing the river I had to slow down due to increased wash board. When I got to the top the road smoothed out again and I was able to increase my speed a touch.
Further down the road I heard a pop and immediately looked out my side mirror. Did something hit my truck? I saw something flying behind the canopy. Then, I looked in my rearview mirror to confirm that the boat and motor were still tracking behind the truck. To my surprise I could see my motor clearly through a broken back window on my canopy. What happened? I have never heard of a window breaking when driving forward. I put on my four-way flashers and drove through the winding road until I found a safe straight stretch to pull over. Thankfully, I always have a pair of gloves in my truck and had to remove the remaining broken pieces of glass and hardware that was hanging on by a thread of shattered glass. I drove home knowing the work I had ahead of me. Glass was everywhere inside my canopy and dust from the dry roads ahead would inevitably cover everything.
As I drove home, I was thinking about a fun way to make light of a bad situation with my canopy, and I was thinking about how the cost of this trip just went up. Would a boat trailer protector have stopped my canopy glass from breaking? I will never know if a rock was kicked up or if the constant vibration over twelve years led to the failure of my canopy glass. I continued to try and calculate the cost of the one fish I caught based on all my expenses I incurred on this trip. I also considered the cost of practicing catch and release today. While keeping a fish can reduce my costs due to being able to eat it later, releasing a fish helps someone, including myself have an experience in the future. I released the fish I caught due to the low numbers of lake trout I marked to hopefully help the lake recover if the numbers of fish are low. I also released the lake trout because I will soon be eating fresh lake trout on an upcoming annual family vacation. When I arrived home, I called my family outside to see what happened but did not tell them what it was. While they thought I brought home a nice fish, I was impressed at how quickly my family noticed the broken window.
While this fishing trip was not as productive as I would have hoped, I enjoyed learning about a new lake. I wish I had a Garmin fish finder capable of recording the lake depths for later. Instead, I decided to print a map and record the approximate depths on a piece of paper for my records later. I also enjoyed trying some new gear and fishing in a peaceful place. It was so quiet. All I heard during the day was the birds singing and kokanee jumping when my motor was not running. Later in the morning I saw one other boat on the water, but he came around the island then left. I had the whole lake to myself, and I enjoyed the time alone. It was a perfect way to relax. I ran through all my batteries in my GoPro and could not capture my only lake trout catch in this lake. It will remain a memory only I will have and a memory that I will remember as the first lake trout to crush my new soft plastic jig from Rapala. I look forward to fishing these jigs again soon and hope that they get crushed often.
To read more of my fishing experiences, check out my website benfougere.com