TYLER, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE -- the video attached was produced in March 2022.
As the weather gets warmer in East Texas, many residents are getting ready to get on their boats for a fun day at the lake.
Although in years past many boat owners look forward to the summer months for summer-long activities, many boat owners are dreading the approaching summer season because of the rapidly increasing gas prices.
Steve Walker, a local boat owner from the Tyler area, explained how in previous years he would get on the lake whenever could. After filling up his boat's tank before his latest lake trip, he realized he would have to cut that number down this summer.
"I put a little over 9 gallons of ethanol free gas in it, it was 48 dollars. That’s a 50 dollar trip already," said Walker. "Plus, the fuel for my truck to get it here. It’s tough to go and do every day.”
Walker has to fill his boat up with a premium gasoline and ensures it's ethanol-free to preserve the engine. As a result, he's seeing those premium numbers on the pump even more than before.
Gas prices are something that a lot more boat owners are watching as summer begins. Richard Flandera, a boat owner from Whitehouse, is mainly concerned that these high prices might start taking away the fun of a family summer day on the lake.
"People need their hobbies. And whenever gas prices go back up and people stop losing their ability to do the one thing that balances them, the one thing that they can enjoy," said Flandera. "Being able to bring their kids, their friends, their family out on the lake."