Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations What would people pay for a trophy

bz,I would think you would have to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How much income would you earn on an annual basis versus and would it be worth it?

There are going to be extra costs associated with this venture from the get go. First I would suggest a telephone call with your insurance agent to find out what type of additional insurance would be necessary to properly protect you and your assets. I would also contact my attorney to find out what types of agreements would need to be drafted to facilitate such a venture. For example would the anglers be required to sign a "fish at your own risk" agreement or some similar thing. I have no experience with this type of business so I'm just tossing out ideas.

Even if you limit the number of people that you are going to allow to fish, this will change the character of your property and your pond experience IMHO. My experience has been that when people pay for something they feel some form of entitlement and generally you will feel some form of obligation. Will this change how you feel about your pond?

2. You indicate that you have 20 or 30 fish that would could as trophies, how would you sustain a fishery in order to keep the quality of the catch high? In other words what additional costs would be necessary in order to maintain a high quality fish population that would be a draw for anglers.

3. You probably already have, but read through the thread how much fishing is too much. There is some interesting information in that thread.

Provided you entered into this with a profit motive and took adequate steps to ensure that this would be viewed as a business rather than a hobby, this venture could make many of your pond costs tax deductible. Talk to your bean counter he/she will probably have some input.

These are just ramblings from a disorganized mind so feel free to disregard any and all information.