sharing expenses on fishing trips

[JEFF WHITE]

been folowwing a message over on the bfhp about sharing expenses on trips/tournaments and such.how do you all here do it?lodging on long trips,gas,oil,launch fees and such.if you invite someone do you expect them to pay something or do you eat everything?



the way we do it is we total everything up at the end of the trip,and whatever you paid in is weighed with whatever everyone else has paid in,and the costs are split between everyone.one guy pays another,this one pays some to him,and so on.it works for all of us.never any sqabble about money.



the other thing is loss of tackle,such as casting and loosing on snags and such.if it is yours and someone looses it,what do you do?how about equiptment on the boat like trolling motor or doenrigger balls,or things such as that.



just looking for some input on things.not looking to start any wars or such,just opinions and whatever you do that works.

 

[Staci Matheis]

First, the tackle. I just expect my stuff to get lost or broken - whether it's by me or someone I lend it to..... So, no, I don't expect someone to replace it.



Day trips. I expect someone to share in the expenses one way or another. I actually feel a bit awkward accepting cash; when possible, I feel more comfortable when the person contributes in some other way. Sunday, Greg Meyer and I went to Mark Twain - he took care of breakfast and made ham sandwiches for lunch! I was VERY pleased with his contribution! He also contributed his humor and technical knowledge.....



(I'm looking forward to and dreading Greg's posting of the events and pictures!) :^)



me!

 

[TrepMan]

I've been reading the same post Magna. For me it seems to realy depend on the person i'm taking. If it's one of my "regular" buddies who know the cost and effort to own a boat, they usual offer to pay for ice/soda/snack and/or gas at the end of the trip if we refil. Took a new guy fishing on Saturday night for Stripers (didn't catch a THING!) we both brought our own snacks/drinks, he bought the $8 in shiners and when we got back to the gas station where we left his car, I began filling up the boat and he just thru me his credit card and said "here let me pay". That's all I expect from a new person.



I personaly don't burn a lot of gas in the Tracker and LOVE to fish, so taking new folks and making new friends is more important than the 5 bucks in gas in my boat. Now if I had one of your big 200hp 20ft aircraft carier ships (Ha Scott!!!) It might be a different story knowing i'd burng 20-30 bucks in gas runing all over the lake!



On Friday I made Beka buy the worms since I left my wallet at home!!!



I usualy don't mind if the first trip they don't offer, but if they don't offer on the second trip that's the last one!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I try that with Buzz, but he is stubborn, and uncooperative! LOL That's why I always make sure I do work on his boat, and it's full when I return it, with extra oil in the back. Sometimes he lets me give him $20 for gas. On tourneys, I insist on paying my half. Hey, last time, he even let me pay for the luckycraft jerkbait I stole from him. hehehe! But alas, Buzz is the exception. For the most part you SHOULD split it down the middle with some exceptions. I took Doug out on Sunday, and since he was my guest, I don't expect and won't accept any money. We had a great time by the way. And Doug is a great guy, we caught about 20-25 LM and 1 SM. Most were in the 2-3 lb range. No lunkers.

 

[Texas Transplant]

I agree with most responses above. If someone comes along and offers to help with the gas, I'll take 'some'. However, it's usually not a requirement. Now, what my regular bass club does.



Non-boater fee is $15.00 for the tourney. That is supposed to be an equitable share of the normal expenses (operating) for the day. Usually, works out okay. If you travel with the boater (in his vehicle), it's another $10-15 on top of that to offset the towing costs. In short, you are paying for the ride.



However, I find this amount, which at the most is $15.00 to be way under actual expenses. Had a tourney this spring whereby I tow my boat about 3 1/2 hours from the house. No interstates, just 2 lane highways with many hills. Cost to get there, just about one good tank of gas. Same coming back. Since my non-boater rode on his own, with someone else, I got the standard $15.00 non-boater fee for a 2 day outing. Ouch!



When I'm a non-boater, I try to make sure that the boater has an equitable share from me. Been known to pitch in more than the 'advertised' fees. Also make sure that I put in at least my half of the work.



Tex

 

[Mark Hofman]

When I take trips, we almost always ante up a base amount before the trip. The amount is determined by what we think the total trip expense will be. If we overspend, then we each ante in another $20 or $50 or whatever we think will cover the costs. At the end of the trip, we review the receipts, calculate how much each person's share was, and then divide the remaining cash between us appropriately. The only thing that doesn't get added in is gas for the boat. The guys in each boat take care of that themselves.



If I invite someone to go fishing with me for the day, I pay for the gas and oil in both the truck and the boat. If the invitee wants to do something nice in return (like offer to bring or pay for a meal), I won't say no.



If I lose my own tackle, I pay to replace it. If equipment breaks on my boat, its is almost always because of something I do. Its my boat and I expect things to break, so I don't expect someone else to foot the bill for repairs.



I'd rather be accussed of being too gullible or too nice than too tight fisted.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Oh yes, the other part of the question. Once I loan/give a bait to someone else, I consider it gone. If he loses it, it's just considered the general price you pay. When I buy a bait, I'm hoping to get some useful use from it before I lose it.



Besides, I don't own anything (bait wise) that cost's over $5.00. I have to get a lot better, before I buy any Lucky Craft stuff!

 

[Greg Meyer]

Our BASS club does a few (2-3) two day tourneys about 4-6 hours away and the rest are 2-3 hour drives and one day trips. The boater is expected to "arrive" with his tow vehicle and boat filled with gas and oil (non-boater is strogly suggested to ride with boater on all two day trips and "should" on one day trips)... And, then the cost of all gass and oil, etc... travceling and fishing is "required" by the rules to be split 1/2 each. Lodging is the same 1/2 each... Food and drinks get a little loose. Baits, lower units, trolling motor props, etc are MY cost of doing business...



On social outings...I usually pick up the cost of everything for "one-time" or infrequent guests... My regular fishing partners always share expenses in some way that we are comfortable with doing... Big ticket items of lodging and long trip gas are sort of always understood to be split... However, I reserve the right to refuse cash contibutions whenever I feel like it...

 

[Marke Cicero]

Large expenses, for trips planned in advance, like hotels,entry fees and trips requiring more than one tank of gas in the truck get split 50/50.



For a fun day on the water, my boat/truck doesn't use any more gas simply because my buddy is sitting next to me. For local trips I wouldn't dream of asking for gas money. I'd let my buddies buy me a sandwich and a gatorade or something, but I would never hit them up for cash.



Remember:

"Pay checks only last a week, good fishin buddies last a life time."



Marke

 

[TrepMan]

Marke - I think i found my problem, if "Pay checks only last a week, good fishin buddies last a life time." the problem is I only get paid once a MONTH!!! LOL