Fishing, Hunting Face Uncertain Future With Increased Prices
Steve Knight
TRICKHAM - It was a perfect evening to be sitting in a tripod. A gentle breeze by Central Texas standards kept the bugs away as I watched a buck in velvet and two doe feed on the edge of the Brown County wheat field.
I was there to listen for gobblers at dark, but I didn't mind the wait. Just before dark another deer skirted the far edge of the field. Then two owls got started in a hooting competition that went on for several minutes until one apparently called "calf rope" or found something else that attracted his attention.
And of course the coyotes sang their song as they prepared for a night of carousing.
I never did hear a turkey gobble, but that was OK. I figured I would catch up with them somewhere the next morning. It is not unusual for the birds to quietly go to roost. The landowner had a game camera set up on a feeder on the small ranch and just days earlier had gotten pictures of a large number of hens. The last time he was there at sundown he had heard toms gobbling from the hillside on the property next door.
After driving to town to spend the night, I was back on the ranch and in position by 6 the next morning. That gave me 30 minutes to settle down before legal shooting could commence.
I climbed under a monster of an old oak along the creek just on the edge of the wheat field and waited. After about 10 minutes I gave a soft yelp, but there was no reply. No gobble. No other hen yelp. No nothing.
After an hour or so I climbed back in the tripod where I sat the night before. It was a good place to think. Think about gasoline that was selling for $3.46 a gallon and what impact that was going to have on hunting and fishing in the near future.
It is something I have been talking to with friends quite a bit lately. Being the pessimists we are, it isn't a pretty picture.
I already have one friend who is considering not getting on a lease next year. He has never been on one and was looking forward to it this fall. But a recent spring turkey hunting trip set him back about $300 in fuel, and that drive wasn't as far as he would be going to his lease. He has already put his plans on hold while he reconciles the expense.
Before even thinking about the fall hunting seasons, fishermen are going to take it in the shorts first. This summer is going to be especially expensive for those who fill up on the water where prices on some lakes passed $4 a gallon already.
There are two schools of thought here. One is that boaters won't be on the lake that much and if they do they won't be running around that much. The other is that instead of going somewhere like Six Flags or wherever, they will spend time closer to home like the lake.
For hunters the pinch could hit as early as dove season, especially if gas prices peak at $4 and dove promotional load shotgun shells climb toward the $7 range that is predicted for this fall. Those are the same shells that just a couple of years ago were selling for $3.50.
It is all related. The cost of lead shot has skyrocketed because of demand for materials and the high cost of shipping. The price of plastic shell components is also up.
Even if you get 20 miles per gallon, a trip to Central Texas could cost $120 or more just for gas.
Deer hunters have an alternative that most discovered the first time gasoline prices climbed. Go fewer times and stay longer.
Some experts are predicting the gasoline situation could lead to a deer lease price correction much like the one seen in the 1980s during the state's now-famous real estate bust. There are two factors working here, the price of gasoline on everyone, and the slowdown in the home construction industry which is going to cut some players out of the game.
On the other hand the oil industry in Texas is flush in cash and those guys have never been shy about spending it on a hunting lease ... or two.
Before cashing in their chips, however, there is one other thing hunters and fishermen need to think about. It is something I heard on a radio program while on the road. They were discussing what makes people the happiest, and what researchers have discovered is that rich or poor, it is not necessarily the amount of money you make, but how you spend your time and money. Doing activities that they enjoyed and made them happy were very important to Americans. Giving up hunting and fishing could take a big bite out of that.
If the future follows the past, there will be a short-term dip in hunting and fishing followed by a steady rise as everyone figures out how to shuffle dollars. Unfortunately a few of those who can just barely afford to go now are going to be lost from the fraternity. It always happens.
Personally, I haven't measured the success or failure of a hunt on what I kill in years. That is also something I re-evaluate on the long drive home.
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