Fishing... low cost and Fun!

I have recently been taking up an old favorite hobbie of mine, fishing. It's cheap which makes my wallet happy. Relaxing to get out into nature and enjoy the scenery which makes my mind happy. And if I catch something, free food which makes the stomach happy. The only thing not happy about it right now is the lack of funds for gas money to get to the fishing spots and no boat. I plan to one day own a Kayak (Hobie!) but until finances get better it will just have to sit in the dream category. I have been having fun relearning all those camping and fishing knowledge that has fallen to the wayside due to disuse. Pulled out a lot of fun old camping books that talk about hunting and survival. Also pulled out the old fishing books that talk about bait and tackle. I was fortunate in that while searching for some supplies at the local thrift/pawn stores I was able to come across some lovely local finds.

At the local pawn shop I got a nice salt water fishing rod for a good price. My current collection of fishing rods happen to be geared toward freshwater fishing and just was not strong enough on the previous fishing trip on the coast. Had a devil of a time reeling in a red drum that I caught. I had a heck of a time finding some crab traps, luckily one of the bait and tackle shops that I use had some and I was able to bring home some blue crab for dinner. While going over my fishing supplies and making a list of items that would be nice to have I thought about supplies I could make. I had a bait bucket but it was small and did not keep the bait alive long since it had no aerator to get oxygen in the water. I remember seeing a youtube video some time back about making a live well out of an old cooler. My landlady had a cooler out by the side of the house near the trash that looked like she was throwing away so I called her up and asked her if I could take it to try and make a live well out of it. I got the ok and within less than 30 minutes and $8 on an aerator I had myself a homemade cooler turned livewell. It worked great! The only downside I could see was that the cooler was not one of those wheeled versions so I had to carry it which was a little heavy when you add water and the catch. I'm thinking if I come across another cooler with wheels to try again but until then will look for a luggage carry rack at the local thrift stores. And last but not least, the prize find.. a late 60's Duel fuel coleman 2 burner camp stove mint in box with some camp cooking pots and pans which looked to have been never used all for $3.00, talk about a deal.

I was hoping to get out again before scallop season ends so I can do some scalloping. Unfortanately, cannot afford gas. Oh well there is always next year. Until then I will just have to keep an eye out for some more lovely old camp gear and wait for another opening to get out and fish.