The Cost of Sportfishing 2022 - Hardcore Game Fishing

(Published September 2022)

In comparison to 2021, 2022 was certainly the year of rising fuel prices, increasing inflation, a war in Ukraine and the Fed trying to design a soft landing by increasing the federal funds interest rates. As we can see from our latest audit of our selected sportfishing products, it’s no surprise that diesel has produced the largest percent increase of any one item on our year-over-year list.

Last year at this time, fuel from the Buccaneer Yacht Club on Singer Island was $3.35 compared to $5.25 today (January 5th, 2023), a whopping 56.7% increase. Most of the items on our list saw a modest increase in prices, except for a dozen live goggle eyes, which is back up to $100 bucks per dozen. Supply chain issues have mostly been resolved, as inventory levels are doing ok at most of the local tackle shops. One conclusion we can draw from this year’s sportfishing consumer price index is that price increases were common for the majority of the 22 products we researched.

The good news for our industry is that the majority of boat builders continue to see a robust demand, and from this we can conclude that our industry looks cautiously optimistic and that 2023 will be another great year for sportfishing—especially if fuel prices come back to 2021 levels. Oh yeah—we found Fireball for 7% less this year, so doing a shot per fish cost has decreased.

Note: Our prices are subject to change; we rely on our own research and vendors for the most accurate and published pricing we can find.