Does fishing have a future - WSJ

[namfos]

Food for thought.

[velazquez]

Hm, interesting. I think a big chunk of it tbh is A) changing fashions(things are bound to move in and out of popularity) but I think the article is badly understating the disposable income and time component-not only do you have the cost of equipment but you have the time and energy cost of getting to where you go fishing(and a lot of younger people don't want or need a car, especially if you live in a major urban area with at least adequate public transit) or the time to find or go out to fishing spots/hire a guide depending on where you go. Most people don't know as much about fishing local spots, and the emphasis on destination fishing keeps people seeing it as something inaccessible to them.

On Sunday, August 18, 2019 at 10:03:50 AM UTC-4, namfos wrote:

Food for thought.

[Jamie Carracher]

^ Totally agree with this. I never fished growing up and only got into fly fishing when I was 30+. I remember being intrigued by it in my early 20s but never making time for it until a friend asked me to go to an Orvis 101 class with him. Years later, I'm still into it and he quit. 

I'm sure some might worry getting more people into it means more competition on the water, but it would also mean more advocates who could help fight for clean water and more access. A few months ago I was researching potential spots on Instagram and saw a teenager from DC who posted a photo of a brook trout he caught in Virginia on a trip with a school group and he mentioned in his comment he couldn't understand why people would want to fish for brookies because they are so small. Then once he went into the woods and did it for himself, his perspective completely changed. Really cool.

I think the way people talk about fishing could have an impact, too. I have a hard time imagining my wife, mom or sisters wanting to go out fishing with me if I said we'll be out there "ripping lips," for example. 

[Yambag Nelson]

I think the demographic has changed. I’m willing to bet the number of people flyfishing in higher than its ever been. Look at the rivers out west, there are so many people that they don’t know what to do with them.

[Deadbait]

I'd like to post to this thread the recent RBFF and OIA report on fishing. You can find it at this link below:

https://outdoorindustry.org/resource/2018-special-report-fishing/

Note - spin fishing is up (good). And fly fishing has somewhat stabilized from the decline due to more women entering the sport. However, every other racial demographic other than white is trending down or not grown over last 5 years. Not good given the demographic direction of the country. We need more fly anglers in the sport IMO. We are often protectors of the waters we cherish (CCA, Stripers Forever, TU, CalTrout, BHA, TRCP, etc.)

[velazquez]

Yea, I think part of this is the whole stereotype that fly-fishing is something affluent well-off white people do. Which may have a lot to do with the fact that most people aren't familiar with warmwater fly-fishing and you basically need a car and a good half-day or day's time to get to most trout streams and a lot of time. I do wonder if things like publicizing casting churches/fishing stuff/fly fishing club meetings outside of here in more general community locations would be good. Maybe events/meetings could be posted about in libraries for instance. 

Also, side thought-has there been much consideration to making more fishing spots accessible by bus or rail transit? That would not be half-bad.

[Andrew Chaney]

I'm a little late to the party here, but to throw in my two cents: 

I think kids get busier as they get older. I fished way more as a grade schooler (6-12) than I did as a teenager (13-17). After elementary school, things get busier, more homework, more sports, dating, etc. 

My heaviest fishing years were when I was single in my 20s, when I would get out on some kind of water a couple times a week. Now as a working stiff with a kid, I consider a couple outings a month as a success.

I think the point about changing disposable time/income across demographics is important. Younger generations have worse job prospects and higher student loan debt than previous generations, which forces young people to work longer hours to make ends meet. While fishing can be cheap or expensive as you want it to be, you can't fish if you have to work 70+ hours per week.