Worth every penny

The cost of owning a hunting dog

By Craig Nyhus

Lone Star outdoor newS

You’re thinking about a dog for a hunting partner, and you’ve looked at several. The price of purchase is one thing, but what is the investment over the average life of the dog?

The purchase

First, there’s the purchase. For labs or pointing dogs with better-thanaverage pedigree, expect to pay at least $2,000, and often more. If the dog is “started,” beyond the puppy phase with basic bird dog training, the cost will be higher. If you train yourself, the cost is lower, but your time commitment isn’t.

Cost: $2,000

The tandem from Austin doesn’t share your typical fishing bond. No Father’s Day Hallmark card has ever tried to speak to a father and son who spend a month on a boat throwing jug lines and trot lines in the direction of giant catfish and gar while sidestepping the occasional alligator.

Alas, the two have continued defying norms since Paul was old enough to bait a hook, so his impending move to Utah was perhaps the strongest incentive they’d ever had to get on the water.

“Part of the deal with my new employer was that I get to take this month off to go fishing,” Paul said laughingly. “They knew I was going to be gone for a month.”

The extended agenda was made possible by a familyowned fishing cabin on the Nueces River just north of the lake.

Using a combination of their remaining 13/0 circle hooks and a handful of 20/0 shark hooks, they baited live tilapia on more than 20 jugs and placed them strategically throughout a large stretch of water.

When they came back around