Unless fishing is your way of making a living, it's supposed to be fun. It's always enjoyable for me because I don't fish for bass, at least not on purpose! Bass fishing is a lot like work and by nature I'm a lazy man, who has never had the slightest interest in past times that require more than a minimum amount of effort. Besides, it can be an expensive hobby if you're going to be a serious bass fisherman.

Assuming that you do want to invest a small fortune in bass fishing, whether it's for small mouth or large mouth bass, your first priority is to buy a real genuine bass boat. Just any old boat won't do. You can't troll around the lake in an old boat with a minnow and hook, if you're going to be considered a real bass fisherman. You have to have a great looking boat that looks like it's going 60 miles an hour when it's still tied up to the dock!

Buying a new boat is always a very traumatic experience, especially if you take your wife along on your boat shopping expeditions. No matter what brand of bass boat catches your eye, it's an easy guess that she won't recognize the importance of such an investment, once she recovers from the sticker shock of new water crafts.

Marriages have been known to disintegrate almost over night when the spouse accompanies her husband on a boat purchasing venture. Most wives are simply unable to wrap their minds around the idea that their husbands could joyfully spend the equivalent of a year's salary on a bass boat! She immediately thinks of things she considers more important things on which to spend that money, like a new car, room additions and college for the kids!

In addition, wives have this notion that if you're on the lake all weekend fishing, you're not thinking of her all alone at home. For the most part she's right! It's very difficult to think of anything except that huge fish you're going to mount on the wall of your den. That's why you've spent thousands of dollars on a bass boat!

Some marriages though, are actually made in heaven! When both partners in this perfect union like to fish more than staying at home and cutting the grass on the weekend, then buying a boat is a no-brainer. The only question is how big a boat and how many amenities can they stuff into craft without it sinking!

No, purchasing a boat and motor is not an easy job, even when both spouses are in one accord about fishing. The cost of a new bass boat today is astonishing! Usually the wife is the conservative one in the boat purchasing negotiations, sometimes leaving the husband, feeling that he made a huge mistake in allowing her to share in his big adventure!

For instance, wives rarely see the necessity for having a different propeller than the one that came standard with the boat. They don't know that you have to buy a new one that fits your own individual specifications. I don't believe anyone really knows why you do this, but I've never bought a boat that worked well with the prop that came with the boat.

For three or four hundred dollars more, you can get a different one. The prop dealer won't take your old one in on trade most of the time, so you're stuck with one hanging from a nail in the garage.

There are other small expenditures. We're talking fish finders, state of the art sonar systems, global positioning units, short wave radios, anchors, rod holders and extra cushioned seats on the fishing craft of your choice. All in all, most new bass boats today cost more than my first house.

All these trials and tribulations are just a small part of being a bass fisherman. This is just the beginning. The boat is not even in the water yet!