Are we out numbered????

Was giving this a thought the other day. When I go to the TFF, there are always tons of people there. Gave it some thought though,and it kind makes sense. It is cheaper to fish then hunt.....correct?? Most lakes are public so that makes sense. The other thing that bugs me though is all this talk about declining number of hunters, every yr. I don't know if that's PETA, or we have just lost interest in the sport. Well???

I don't know if we are outnumbered or not, but I know the economy seems to be keeping a lot of people from spending extra money on hunting leases. There are a couple leases I know of around here that very rarely have openings that have had people get off in the last couple years. And it seems like kids now aren't as interested in hunting either.

A cane pole is cheaper than a rifle, but then again some of them bass fisher men have bass boats that cost as much as a house!

I think there are many more fisher men than hunters. People like Rowel in Odessa make people want to stay out of the woods.

agree with twice70. the cost of hunting is high and the fun factor seems to be dwindling. i know my 2 boys are still anxious about going with me and hopefully it will continue. unless you have a .22 the cost of shooting is expensive also.

I fish a lot sometimes and we always have a good time on the water. to me, a boat is a very good investment for my family. i have a lot of great memories from fishing with the family and hope to build more of them while hunting too.

fishing has some advatanges. say you buy a boat, you've basically just given yourself access to thousands of square miles of "public" land.

compare that to a upper end deer lease, and even with a boat it's cheaper... mainly that you have something for the money you put in (a boat), compared to a lease payment, which you could lose at any time.

I enjoy both but will admit hunting/shooting is more expensive. I can fish the local stock tank and fry up a bunch later for literally no cost involved.

The dove we put on the grill........figure in the cost of your license, shotgun shells, gas money. Those lil birds definitely run more than the fish, but honestly I don't care.

Anytime spent outdoors with family/friends is worth it's weight in gold.

Good news!!! the biggest growing segment with in hunters are Women!!! i think thats awsome by the way...hurts my pocket book but awsome.


There ahs always been more draw to fishing then hunting... Easy to start.

economics 101... I think its access that keeps folks from hunting, as stated, there's alot of water out there thats free access

Along with the dwindling interest is the cost. As stated above, you can fish for almost nothing. Not everyone can afford to hunt but they can to fish. The whole family can make it an outing and participate, can you do that on a lease? For the most part, no. Hunting, and not just in Texas, has become a rich mans sport. I hunt in NM every year because at this time I can still afford it. The only way I can hunt here is to apply for the draws. There are numerous lakes, streams, and gulf shoreline that we can take advantage of and do. We live in a fishermans dream. I would love to be able to take my son hunting one day but I really don't know if that will happen. This is where the decline in hunting is occurring. In todays economic times, it's not easy to justify the cost when that same money can pay the mortgage and put food on the table. I see this and it really saddens me. I remember going on family hunting trips to Sonora in the 70's and it still being one of the best times ever. Besides the cost, kids have so much more to do that they don't have the time anymore. I could go on and on but we here seem to understand where we are heading and it's kind of scary.

It's a lot easier to be a self-proclaimed semi-pro bass angler than it is to say you are an expert deer managing ranch owner.

I love fishing, but it is against my religion to fish Oct-Jan.

I don't know if my style fishing is cheaper that hunting or not... I have a decent boat, decent truck and decent gear but none of them are great.

Boat=about 2k a year on payments
Fuel=around 1k
replacing or buying new gear= a t least $1500

So I would guess I spend every year 4k-5k a year chasing bass. I am probably on the low end of guys who fish a few tourneys a year and I am more of the weekend guy that a person who gets to go 4-5 times a week.

Both keep me pretty busy year around. Some people don't have the time or family that'll put up with both. I'd say you can spend equal amounts on fishing/hunting, depending on a number of things.

Time of year. Compare the fishing forum to hunting forum in mid October.

At one time almost all the private land around here was accessible. All you had to do was drive up to the owners' house, get out and talk awhile, ask for permission to hunt and it was a done deal.
Now, if you ask, you get replies anywhere from - "We don't need the trouble from insurance" - to - "The people that hunted last time left such a mess". Yeah - one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch...I reckon.

There are more Wussies in texas

There have always been more fisherman than hunters from what I've seen. I think some of it has to do with what you expect to get out of your hobby. I think that for those who have quit hunting, at the end of the day, when the only person asking and answering questions is YOURSELF, answers may begin to take the form of how much fun is this hobby really for me, or do I have the money to do this to the level I'd like to, what is my real motivation, etc. Let's face it, there are lots of hobbies that are cheaper and can be very rewarding in different ways. It's still a hobby in most folks eyes.

I know several who just got sick of having to pay so much money to hunt. It literally comes down to them being able to fish for very little at great lakes year round, or spend a lot of money to access one relatively small area and only be able to do certain, limited activities. Not so much that these folks DON'T hunt, they just don't hunt leases and pretty much tag along when invited. They have boats that cost about what one year on a really good lease would cost. The trucks..they'd have had those anyway, and the other expenses probably still come out cheaper.

Now me PERSONALLY, I have realized that my desire to be outdoors is about the adventure, not necessarily about catching or killing something. In that vein, I have pursuits that may seem 'pie in the sky' to some because of the goal(s) I pursue, but it's still the thrill of the hunt and being outdoors. I also discovered that I can't stand to hunt from a stand! For me personally the deer lease is the LAST place I'm gonna put myself-you can't move around much! Others like me have found Colorado and other places with vast amounts of public land to be more 'fun'. It's not necessarily about the money with me or them, but more the type of experience and style of hunting. Texas is just so private, and so many landowners either don't want the hassle, or want too much to make it worth it to some when you consider crowding and other factors.

Another factor to think about is how society has been pushed away from hunting. Look at all the Disney stuff with talking animals and stuff. Kids grow up thinking that animals have feelings and stuff and then THAT is compounded by the fact that they get everything they need from a grocery store anyway. An exaggerated example of somebody led astray by 'Disney logic' is that D.A. who went to Alaska and got himself eaten by a bear..what was that show on Discovery? The Bear hugger..or was it THE BEAR TURD, lol..can't remember.

So yes. We hunters are outnumbered.

Hunting requires a lot of research and time for newbies. Hunters Ed, specific licenses, zones, limits, species identification, public land restrictions/access. Unless your ushered into the sport, it could be overwhelming.

My wife loves to fish more than anyone I know of, man or woman, so we have a pretty decent boat. We go to the lake several times a week during the summer. If the fish aren't biting we ski and tube. We really enjoy the boat. But don't let anybody make you believe fishing is cheap, that is from the boat standpoint. Owning a boat can be pretty expensive when anything breaks.

If we coughed up the extra expense for a travel trailer she would enjoy just going with my son and I hunting and be content to stay at the trailer.

I guess what I am saying is hunting is just for my son and myself. Fishing is for all of us.

There are many more fisherman simply because like you said, it is cheaper and more easily accesible.

Hey, it doesn't bother me one bit. I'd rather there be less hunters so I never have to lose my hunting grounds.

Good observation BTW 7mag

My wife and two daughters, 9 and 11, fish and shoot with me at every opportunity. The wife hunts, and the girls are getting ready to. My 9 yr old asked me to take her squirrel hunting this year so that will be her first hunt. The 11 year old has sat in the deer stand with me, but not shot yet, she's working up to it. I believe that hunting is more expensive by far, at least for me, cuz I gotta outfit 3 people on one paycheck. As long as they want to go, I'll put in a little more overtime.

I imagine a lot of folks dream about that combination.

if hunters are outnumbered, I sure don't mind. It only increases my odds.

Besides, I'm a much better with firearms and a bow than I am a fishing pole.

Not wanting to start a ar thread but since they started i lost 2 hunters in my house because of that and the cost of taking em both somewhere else is something i just cant afford anymore.

I do both, and my time spent on certain forums is dictated by the season. However, I feel that a large portion of why hunters are outnumbered by anglers has to do with the production quality in terms of game which is accessible to the public. Aside from there being more public waterways available in terms of square mileage than public hunting land, I feel it is far easier to catch limits on these bodies of water than it is to shoot say a limit of ducks or kill a quality deer.

This kinda emphasizes why hunting is more expensive; you have to pay for quality.

Too me this has little to do with being a hunter.

was going at the "cost" aspect.

I think cost is a major factor.

I think it has to do with the fact that Texas FISHING forum has a MUCH better humpday thread than Texas HUNTING forum.

I agree with rifleman.

If it was easy everyone would do it. Hunting in general requires more effort. Regardless of hunting style one must put effort into the hunt before and after. I consider hunting a primitive art form.

Fishing is also a primitive art, but it seems like there is a considerable luck factor involved. Plus in the summer it is much nicer on the lake than on the ranch. Good topic.

There is a little bit of the work factor I think, plus some folks just can't stand the cleaning! With fishing you can just throw it back and wipe your hands on a towel! That one factor might be bigger than all the rest. I think it may also explain the EXPLOSION of predator hunting-it's about as close to 'shoot and release' as you can get..and you usually don't have to worry about a lease!

I spend about the same on both...Glad I don't have to choose which one I would do from now on. The cost of leases will go down when demand goes down. IMO There are more opportunities to fish than hunt for John Q Public.

Access to hunting land is one big problem. My buddy got so tired of trying to find land to lease he just went out and bought 100 acres and paid cash for it. There are very few people that can do that and not many more that can afford the monthly payments along with all the rest of the monthly bills.

The cost to hunt has went thru the roof. Lease,corn for feeders,food plot,hunting license,hunting equip,etc. I have two daughters that love to go to the lease with me when I go even if not going to hunt. My oldest daughter has been sitting in a stand with me since she was 2 (now 16 and a better shot than me) my 12 year old does not like to hunt just spend the time outdoors. I am really scared that they will not have the same chance to do it with there kids. Where we hunt in the last 12 years all the land has been high fenced all around us and we do not see near the game that we used to see. One thing is that there is more money in Game ranches than in ranching. In a few years most of the open land will be high fenced and no more open range. I just do not understand it if you have cull game turn it out give it back to the public. Oh yea there is no money in that.

I think those who cant legally possess firearms fish

when are we going fishing...

I enjoy participating in both activities.
I would compare fishing to tennis and hunting to golf.
The first one being less expensive and more forgiving on skill.
The second is going to cost more and require a greater skill level.

Just wait till the economy completely implodes and people are forced to the "extreme" to feed their families. There'll be fluorescent orange behind every tree in every inch of the national forests and other public lands.

Hehehehe.. It's already like that according to the last time I went!

lol, I figure I will hunt a little NF this year myself and I really hope I don't run into that problem.

I think a lot more people fish because of adverse views on guns and shooting animals they have. They think it's different than taking fish out of the water. I also think for families with kids they view fishing as a non-violent way to introduce kids to the outdoors without turning them into bloodthirsty killers as hunting would do in their mind. We all see the mini-van moms trying to raise little nobel laureates and fathers who sit all weekend and weekend in an office. Society spends a lot of time teaching us that we need to talk and cry more. One example is last year there were some hunting photos posted on the TFF and a couple members whined because they stated that they didn't want their kids to see blood. That's the best pithy answer I could come up with.

Cost doesn't really seem like a big deciding factor to me.

Yep..............but in Tx which most land is 95 percent privately owned, what does one do??? The average cost of most deer leases seems to be 2 gs, the days of the 500 dollar lease seem to be gone. I wonder how the counts are in Colorado or other states with more public hunting???

No Fishing Season, 24/7-365

You can fish from the bank and catch a variety of fish.

No boat actually needed. License, rod/reel, baits and public waters, either lakes or rivers.

Look at a general catfisher/person....Low maint...

still may be cheaper to get on a $2K lease if you don't already have the gear to go hunt CO.

Not knocking Colorado or any other place outside Texas but....consider the cost factor! How much will it cost you to hunt outside the state if you have all your equipment? This is saying your going to camp out on public land. The gasoline alone is enough to choke a horse much less all the grub and first-aid items you have to take in case of an emergency. Here again I'm an advocate of package hunting and I know its expensive for a lot of people but you can even compare the cost of a package hunt to a lease and the package hunt is going to come out on top! The only thing you don't have in package hunting is the comradre and that is probably 75% of hunting. My2cents.

X 2!!!!


i wont touch a rod and reel unless its at the lake at the ranch

It seems alot easier to take a kid fishing than hunting, but don't get me wrong my preference is hunting by far. The kids have spooked deer off before when in the stand with me, but in the end I hope its them takeing me hunting. Seems like its hard to keep a kids attention unless there is alot of activity. Over all I think we need to teach the kids at a young age to hunt and fish, and how to be responsable doing both. Granpa told me one time that most hunters also fish, but not all fishermen hunt.

I wish I knew. I certainly dont begrudge a rancher for trying to make a living.

great topic. i love both also. have a pretty nice boat so i fish alot feb thru june. cant afford the 2g lease so i really only hunt when invited... which is rare. the public land here is covered up with every jackassss in the county so i stay away. i have decided i like duck hunting on the public lake more than worrying about a lease or waiting for an invite. i agree that cost is a major factor. if more oppurtunity, aka more public land/cheaper leases, was available, there would def be more interest. im doing my best to get my kids involved in the sport...

Longhunter said "IMO There are more opportunities to fish than hunt for John Q Public."


I think Longhunter hit the nail on the head with this one. Opportunity is much better.

if it wasnt for me and my girls recycling this year we wouldnt be able to afford to be on a lease this year already started saving for next season

I spend more than is reasonable on both, in time and money. I think the time it takes is as big a factor. I can hook up to the boat and be on one of three lakes within 30 minutes of getting home from work for a few hours of feeding my addiction. To go to the lease I drive an hour and forty five minutes, have to prepare for food and drink, take all the tools I'll need to maintain the lease gear and usually have to work on something while there. If only a piece of downed fence or broken gate. The lease is a weekend commitment for each trip. Fishing is 2 to 4 hours here or there when it doesn't interfere with Boy Scouts, band, church etc. Time is valuable.

I think it really boils down to 2 things, access and cost. I've been lucky enough to be on our lease for 15 years. I won't say here how much I pay, but I can guess it's less than most of you spend on a truck payment in a month. But then again, I paid $400 for my boat and for less than another $400, fixed in up and put a trolling motor on it. If someone wants to hunt or fish, they'll find a way. Some day when all my luck is up, I may not be able (finacially) to hunt and fish like I do now. But I will find a way. We have game here on our home place. But where I'm at now is starting to introduce my Grandkids into hunting and fishing. I guess I will have to make a point of education for them so they can earn enough to enjoy both sports. But if I'm reduced to catchin Crawdads and just shootin Dove Deer and Turkeys here at home, I'm OK with that. I really can't see myself doin' this more than about another 15 years anyway. I just worry about the kiddo's.

Fishing is cheap my rear end, maybe if your at a farm pond somewhere. Boat,electronics, rods, reels, repairs, travel, entry fees, the list goes on. I have a not cheap lease on fishing costs every bit as much.

Your rear end is costing you money! Fishing is dirt cheap unless you MAKE it expensive... Hunting gets expensive as soon as you need access somewhere. Entry fees? You must be one of them fishin' celebrities I see choppin' it up at Ray Roberts!

I don't think fishing is cheap..some of my friends on the other hand feel it is...I wont supply their equipment, but its a nice getaway when you only see some of them every year or so.

For the price of one year on the average deer lease I can rig out for some killer fishing. That would likely include gear to loan my buddies!

Again I say, it's as cheap as you decide to make it. That is one reason why fishing is and will remain more popular than hunting. Heck, you can get a STICK and tie some line on it with a worm and a hook and catch something..LOL!

Big game is prohibitively expensive to hunt, I guarantee you I could hunt all the squirrels and birds I wanted to for $48 a year (or whatever the public land permit costs). I have tried to introduce several friends to deer hunting, but as soon as they figure out how much it costs, they go find something else to do. I think that we will continue to see fewer and fewer hunters as the cost excludes more and more people. Fishing has a little bit more latitude, you can spend as much as you want to. A boat helps, but I don't have one and have caught plenty of fish from the bank.

And fishing is JUST as bad with the SLOT limits and different lake rules. I go to a farm pond to fish. If I want to eat what I catch it is my business. Bass are great fresh from the frying pan! Almost as good as yearling deer backstrap!