We had a few snowflakes last week that danced in on a frigid Canadian cold front that froze most of the USA. The sight of a few snowflakes in my backyard had me longing to head for the beach!  But since it’s still cold on most of the sandy shores in my area, I did the next best thing.  I went to a huge boat show last weekend and I took my wife; wanting to share something special with her.  Big mistake!

It is a fisherman’s dream to be surrounded by every type of fishing boat imaginable. Even if you’re not one who likes to put a hook in the water, take a friend with you and you will have a lot of fun, if for no other reason than to shake your head and grimace at the prices involved in some of the water craft on display.

If however, you are a real angler, and enjoy any kind of fresh water fishing, there is a boat for you no matter what your preference.   There are Bass boats, Jon boats, dinghies, flat bottom boats, inflatable boats, pontoon boats and boats that look so ridiculous that it questions why they should even be allowed on the water. 

Fishing is supposed to be fun.  It is always enjoyable for me because I don’t purposely make an effort to fish exclusively for bass; therefore I don’t really need a high tech, super powerful bass boat.    By nature I’m a lazy man and fishing for largemouth bass or even smallmouth bass seems too much like work, so I prefer a simpler kind of fishing vessel.  Recreational projects that require more than minimum effort and are expensive to pursue, are generally erased from my list of things I like to do.

I was really not in the market for a new boat, but the more I wandered down the aisles, enthralled by the latest in boating technology, the more my old boat seemed like a relic!  Unfortunately my wife was not experiencing the same vibrations that had me salivating as I saw a beautiful 21foot fishing craft with everything a fisherman could want.

My days of investing a lot of money is a boat are gone. I read somewhere that a boat is a hole in the water in which you throw your money.  I’ve had several boats and I know that statement to be true.  This one that I was drooling over only cost $48, 582.00.  My wife wasn’t nearly as cheerful after seeing that price tag.

If spending an enormous amount of money on something that will cart you around the river fast, then some of the big bass boats that have entered the market are just what you need to put a big dent in your wallet!  Some of the vessels that will take you up and down the river in search of the elusive bass hit the ceiling at well over $50,000.00!  At a dollar a pound for fish, I would have to catch 50,000 fish for that boat to be economically feasible!

Not really wanting a new boat, I decided to test the boat buying waters by trying to explain to my wife why that new bathroom was just going to have to wait for a few years.  Not overly impressed by my argument that a new fishing craft would greatly improve my mental health, she replied that after we complete her bathroom project, we could possibly consider a boat the whole family, including grandkids would enjoy; a pontoon boat.

A boat that will comfortably seat six or more people is not my idea of an ideal fishing craft.  You can’t zip down the river at 50 miles per hour on a houseboat wanna be!  It was a good thing that I wasn’t really serious about boat shopping.  No matter what style of boat that catches your eye, it’s not likely your spouse will understand its importance, especially after she recovers from sticker shock!

As boat shows go, this one was fantastic!  In addition to having just about every kind of boat known to man, this one had rows and rows of boating accessories that were designed to capture the heart of every red-blooded American boatman. 

Besides GPS systems, fish finders, radar, VHF radios, audio systems, there were fresh water fishing reels, fresh water rods, tackle, as well as salt water rods and reels of every brand.  This was a little confusing for me because the nearest salt water is 7 hours away.

Last weekend at the boat show was a welcomed relief from the stranglehold this winter has had on most of us.  When arenas and civic centers are packed with boats, we know that spring is fast approaching!