Don't let gas prices put a crimp on your fishing

With fuel on the daily news and prices increasing it seems daily here are my favorite ways to reduce fuel consumption without giving up time fishing.

1. Got the right tow vehicle: Running a rig at its maximum towing-weight rating is almost never a good idea or near as efficient as towing at two-thirds of it.

2. Air Flow: Grated tailgates or bed covers on pickup trucks lower air resistance and improve mileage.

3. Tune-up Time: For your tow vehicle (injector cleaning — and oxygen sensors, if it's so equipped) can add several miles per gallon. Also look into adding cold air intake and bigger exhausts as they will improve mileage on our big tow rigs.

4. Tire inflation: Inflate to max specs can make a big difference. Don't neglect trailer tires, either.

5. Hull: A clean bottom or good bottom paint is more efficient than a dirty one.

6. Marina fuel: Is way more expensive. Gas up on the highway, a few miles from the launch ramp or you'll pay “big” at the marina for convenience.

7. New motors: Are more fuel-efficient than those with older technologies if doing an engine upgrade look at the four strokes.

8. Stay overnight: Instead of going for just one day fishing trips when possible. That way, you double your days per gallon on road trips.

9. Leave the “extra junk” at home: Don’t load the boat up with weight you don’t need. “This is my #1 offence” Clean out the stuff you don’t need and take just the gear you need for the fishery your currently conducting.

10. Water weight: At 8.33 pounds per gallon, why keep the water in the tank topped off if you are only going out for the day?

11. Tune your prop: If your boat goes 30 mph with a like-new prop and know that you have noticed a few dings and dents in it the boat only goes 27 mph. that’s a 10 percent loss in fuel economy, or figure you are wasting one out of every 10 gallons of gas you are putting into your tank.

12. Keep the boat trimmed: Using trim tabs or distributing the weight evenly will help move your boat through the water with less effort-and less fuel.

13. Go with the flow: Go with the tide whenever possible. Plan your long runs with the tides instead of fighting them will save gas.

14. Install a fuel flow meter: A fuel flow meter is like a heart monitor for marine engines. When consumption starts to rise, it’s an early warning system that something’s amiss. A fuel-flow meter will allow you to select a comfortable cruising speed to optimize the amount of fuel consumed. These meters cost between $65-$300, but you can calculate your fuel mileage by dividing distance traveled by gallons at fill-ups. By using your log-book, you can approximate fuel flow using average speeds and time under way.

15. Network: Have a good fishing network so you’re not wasting fuel fishing poor locations. Buddies, members of fishing clubs and reading the daily FF reports can save you travel time to the better producing fishing locations.

16. With gas currently at $$$a gallon and rising almost daily my top suggestion is to take buddies along fishing, splitting the cost of 50 gallons of gas is lot better when you divide by 3 or 4.