Fishing for Money

Fishing is an amazing pastime and this has generated a huge interest and following internationally. It is no surprise that fishing is among the most preferred hobbies on the planet. In the U.S. alone, the interest in fishing seems to be insatiable and estimate puts it that around 12 million people acquire fishing licenses every year.

According to a new study by the ASA (American Sportfishing Association), despite the recent recession, the fishing industry grew five percent. The same study suggests that fishing supports more than 828,000 jobs, and it has an annual economic impact of $115 billion.

This sport is so popular that its even integrated into many video and online games, not to mention in some virtual world style games like World of Warcraft and Runescape, fishing is a way to make money. But there is a great imbalance in the expenses incurred in enjoying this favorite hobby. Figures indicate that for every dollar you spend on a fishing license, you probably spent sixteen dollars on equipment, these could range from fishing tackle to food, to clothing and to transportation.

Some venture that fishing is perhaps the most expensive hobby around. Naturally, this leads to people want to find out more information about this particular activity. Some people have this misconception that a boat is the only investment for you to get all your catches, but extra earnings can come in other ways as well.

Here are a few other ways you can make money fishing beside the usual fishing jobs:

1. Use Your Boat for Tours
There are tons of people doing this in states like Florida. Organize trips to get people out fishing. Some people would prefer fish on the water instead of on shore. There are actually some at Smith Mountain Lake too!

Obviously, you would charge a fee for such service, but make sure your boat is well equipped with bait, tackle and fishing lines, and don’t forget the life jackets!

2. Run a Fishing Camp
A fishing camp could be an excellent idea during fishing season. You can tailor trips that cater to adults, children or families, or simply a mixed bag crowd. In fact, you can conduct such camps all year long if there are sufficient facilities to ice fish. Better still, cook all the catches.

Conduct cooking classes as well as lure making and fly tying. You could show the kids how you make fishing rods from non-descript sticks. During rainy season, organize trips for some serious night crawler spotting.

3. Make & Sell Fishing Lures
For presentation, bait should be filled inside a container with dirt and night crawlers, and of course a little water. To keep bait alive, make sure the temperature is cool enough. Make and sell your own fishing lures and flies.

Fishing poles made of wood are not too bad an idea as well, and remember to make smaller ones to cater to the kids market. Consistent with our online life style, make sure you create a website for this, and old fashioned fliers and business cards won’t hurt either.

4. Teach People How to Fish
You can always make money teaching your skills and expertise to others. If you can, get involved in public education programs on all things about fishing. Get them out and demonstrate to them on the preparation of the fishing poles, the right way to cast a net and what circumstances you should let go of a fish, or not.

Show how the fish scale can be removed and how to gut the fish the right way. Show what sorts of cooking are possible. In short, get them to experience all of these.

5. Become a Pro Fisherman
Being a pro fisherman is exciting, and you get paid to fish. However, your chances of getting there is very slim. Not to mention it takes a lot of time and commitment.

Look at life stories of some of the Bassmaster Classic contenders and you’ll see what I mean. Many of them spent years participating in small tournaments, perfecting their skill on caching bass by learning their habits.
That said, if you have the commitment and don’t mind spending eight hours on a freezing cold day in a bass boat, the potential to making decent money is there.

6. Blog About Fishing
Blogs about hobbies are very popular and fishing is no exception. You could start a blog about fishing like this one, sharing your experience, thoughts and techniques with your readers. You could blog about anything related to this hobby.