ND fishing lodge. Profit or bust?

[Vollmer]

I had a conversation with a buddy, about opening a fishing lodge/resort. He believes that it can be profitable. Buy land, build buildings, build clientele, etc. In ND! I have a hard time believing that this could produce an adequate income. If any.

I'd imagine it would have to be on DL or Sak. Is it even a possibility on Sak?

Anyone else have this dream? Believe it's doable?

 

[Mort]

Need lots of money....lots of mooooooooooooooney.......good luck

 

[DirtyMike]

If you give me a couple spaces to hang lures I'm for it.

In all seriousness, I think they would work but the amount of money made is very cyclical. You're at the behest of the body of water and weather. Two unpredictable things than can ruin you in a couple of seasons if not one really bad season. I think a Lodging/guide service/restaurant/bar in one locations is pretty unique to out east. You have woodlands, which seems to be busy all year. Either way, I'd probably stay considering that 1.5 hour drive home from sak really sucks some times.

 

[Vollmer]

I think it would be a dream job, for sure. Risky though.

Probably the lowest risk version is the seasonal campground setup.

 

[Taylorman55]

I think its a possibility on Sak, however, I don't think it will be quite as good on Sak as it would be on DL. The overall fishing is hotter, for a longer period of time on DL. On Sak, I think a smaller type resort on Sak could do very well. I think a lot of depends on exactly WHAT area of Sak you will be targeting. Certain areas will bring in bigger money depending on location. On DL, you could really target those sconi's and rape their pocket books at the same time. Win win. lol On another note, don't think just about the fishing resort. Lots of good public pheasant hunting ground around Sak. Something else to look into. If I was further along in life it would be something I'd think about getting in on or doing too. Good luck!

 

[Ericb]

Ive had the same idea. If you could find the right land have your house plus 2 cabins and a couple trailor hookups to start with. It would atleast offset the cost of the extra land and ideal location. Ive seen plenty of farmers that do a similar set up for hunting. You may not beable to quite your day job right away.

 

[NJL]

I think it's possible to make it work, but the person would have to be really dedicated to it. It definitely wouldn't be the kind of business where you could hire people to work for you, while you only work part time or do the books.

 

[powerman]

Yes, I have thought about this on sakakawea but lack any kind of funding to make it work. It would be like a woodland resort on sakakawea. Lodge,bar/restaurant,cabins, rv sites with a guide service for all 4 seasons.

Although there are a few places close to the lake with some of these amenities. Toten Trail and knights in Riverdale.

 

[fnznfwl]

The Corps land situation on Sak makes it alot more difficult/risky to make large capital investments in infrastructure etc. Most places if you are going to be on the water, you are simply a vendor on Govt owned land. Woodland and others on DL seem to do very well. I hate the place but you can hand it to the DL area they have marketed themselves well to the eastern MN and Sconnie markets. and I think the resorts really reap the benefits

I'm waiting for a few more large high end outfitters/ lodges to end up around here for waterfowl and pheasant hunting though.

 

[johnr]

The resort we stay at most on west sakakawea is busy during the weekends during the summer, busy all day on the weekend, unless shit weather, then during the week pretty dead. So she works her ass off for 16 hours a day Friday Saturday, and sunday. Then does nothing during the week.
Pretty big established place with beer, a bar, gas, groceries, a camp ground, and 2 boat ramps, and I know she still works an "intown" job in the off season.

seems fun, but I don't think the work is much fun, and the cash is little

 

[pluckem]

I had a conversation with a buddy, about opening a fishing lodge/resort. He believes that it can be profitable. Buy land, build buildings, build clientele, etc. In ND! I have a hard time believing that this could produce an adequate income. If any.

I'd imagine it would have to be on DL or Sak. Is it even a possibility on Sak?

Anyone else have this dream? Believe it's doable?

I think having to purchase the land and build the buildings would be the biggest hit to any potential profit and long term success. If you can do it all with no financing then you could stand a chance. If the bank or investors come calling every month, your ultimate job turned into a stressful endeavor.

You could say ND land (especially around a lake or lake shore) seems to be at or close to all time highs. Same could be said on building costs. You would have well over $1mil in debt before you even saw your first customer.

To me fishing results trump all. If the fishing isn't good people will look elsewhere. I think it would be a good idea to talk to some of the local guides who only offer fishing trips to see how much business they are getting. These guys are basically using their own boat and do this part time. However they have the benefit of being flexible on what waters they fish. The ones out of Bismarck can chase the bite or avoid the wind/storms on the MO River, Oahe, Sak.

 

[Allen]

There are a few, but not many, places on Sak that I know of where private land gets down to the shoreline. Mostly surveying errors, and none that I know of where the water is deep enough to install a durable (for water level swings) boat ramp.

I'd have to imagine the Corps would be a bugger, to put it nicely, to deal with on such a topic.

Problem I see with such an endeavor here in ND is the short open water season. Then again, plenty of MN resorts are making a go of it, as are places along DL (Eastbay, Woodlands, etc). Not something I would personally want to do though, shitty hours and all. Maybe talk to a few owners, like Indian Hills, the Woodland Resort people, etc to get an idea of the obstacles. Maybe offer to buy them dinner for a casual conversation.

 

[Davy Crockett]

It was a dream of mine once upon a time but now that I am getting older, Not so much. I still believe it would be doable with the right business plan but it would take a long time to pay back. Location is everything. For me it would have to be down south , I hate winter too much to buy myself another job up here. I have watched established businesses sell down south pretty cheap, There is definitely some risk involved and I don't think bankers like the idea. Now this topic will be stuck in my head like a song, It's been on the back burner for a long time.

- - - Updated - - -

Up here the seasons are too short in my opinion.

 

[Duckslayer100]

I think you could do it by starting at the most basic level: guiding. Build up a core of good guides who are personable (IMPORTANT) and can put even crappy 'Sconi fisherman on willing biters.

As your following grows, the need/desire for comfortable quarters will warrant building some nice cabins. Maybe even your own landing and docks.

Then as more and more people hear about your place, you can expand with a rec/dining/bar area, cleaning shack, bait station, etc.

By then, several years will have passed by and your core customers will be your bread and butter. Word of mouth will be key, but you'll also likely be advertising or promoting through local media personalities.

I think that's a more realistic plan than the "build it and they will come" mentality. At least, it's a SAFER plan. Probably not as fun, but if your guide business fails, well, you're not out millions for infrastructure and land purchases.

 

[guywhofishes]

Insanity.

Welcome and support sconi's and such as they greedily keep 11" walleyes, catch overlimits, yadda while you look the other way because they are paying your bills?

Insanity.

 

[bigv]

Ive guided on and off here in northeast SD. I'm thinking DL is similar to my area. The problem with the dream that we've all had...is that it's not just fishing everyday. You make decent money guiding each day but big money is in rentals. You would need to build some cabins and probably a diner of sorts to feed clientele and even the public who come for a peaceful meal.. To have a place to eat someone needs to work around the clock making meals. If you want to save money..you do it. To save money guiding...you do it etc. You can't imagine how hard and hours that the owners actually put it. Don't think about the rainbow dream of sun going down on lake and you are out in boat with super rich clients blah blah. I have the same dream but I also helped with an outfitter years ago on a hunting/fishing lodge and I saw how the money pours out. Loved it but very tiring because did most work ourselves to avoid having to pay someone. However...if done right and smart it can be not only doable but profitable.

 

[Account Deleted]

This is the place we used to go to in MN for a good idea on how things should be run: http://www.williamsnarrows.com/

 

[shorthairsrus]

Sak --- if you could place it directly off from 83 -- get the 83 traffic to the bar on stilts overlooking the lake and only you were allowed to use land all the way down to the water; you could do lodging, perm RV spots, marina -- all looking at that sunset when she dropps on big sakakroo. Cater to the ice fishermen during the winter. Maybe after this you could make some cash -- but it would take a while to get your capital back.

 

[Enslow]

There are a ton of these places on devils lake. I did get the resident and non resident list of guides in ND. The vast majority are operating on Devils Lake. The game and fish has no cap on guides for that lake.

 

[johnr]

Yes, and there are always those few "customers" that are asshats, and freak if they don't catch a limit, or the steak isn't cooked right, or the cabin has some fly's in it.

You would be turning a fun hobby into a damn nightmare job.