Comments on: More Room on the River? Fishing’s Decline Continues

By: Close but still not fair : Singlebarbed

Close but still not fair : Singlebarbed — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:50:23 +0000

[...] game department is funded largely by license revenue, which has been on the decline for some years (as reported by TC), so the department is looking to charge birdwatchers, kayakers, and anything else usage [...]

By: Kentucky Jim

Kentucky Jim — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:42:31 +0000

Boom goes London,
Boom Paree,
More fish for you,
More fish for me….

By: DaBeez

DaBeez — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:40:54 +0000

Items in fishing I have noticed: Careless people who have infested lakes and rivers, bringing “boom boxes”, leaving trash to decorate the bottoms and shorelines. I am a Californian headed your way Tom with my 74 year old father who is from the great lakes region, Buffalo N.Y., where I grew up. We have fished the Kern River area, Eastern Sierras and Oregon, Montana, and have noticed that many of the new crowd do not respect Nature. He still manages to fish streams around the Buffalo area but being that I have never known him to have a drivers license, he is dependant on others.
We will be fishing upper Sacramento with a guide the first day, can’t remember the name but I will post. Departure from Castaic June 27th. Wet line June 28th.

By: KW Morrow

KW Morrow — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:44:33 +0000

Looking for recruits among hunters is a losing proposition for much of anything nowadays. Hunting is shrinking WAY faster than all forms of fishing.

But out of sense of duty to bust the stereotypes, my first guide job was in backpacking and paddling. I grew up hunting and fishing, sure. But I also grew up hiking, camping, paddling, and so forth. So when I read phrases like “the other side of the fence” in regard to consumptive and non-consumptive outdoor recreation it doesn’t sit well with me. I’ve been into rapelling, mountain biking, white water, paddling, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountaineering, orienteering, hunting, and fishing since my early teens. No skiiing though. That’s just crazy.

By: josh

josh — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:06:31 +0000

My story: I’m 21, and I didn’t start fishing until two years ago. I’ve hiked, mountain biked, and played in the woods in other varieties my whole life, but have never been a hunter (although people in my family have). While I hated fishing as a kid (my brother always caught more fish than me), I started fly fishing after going to college. Don’t know exactly what got me going, but it definitely was helped by a professor of mine who taught me to fly fish.

By: kbarton10

kbarton10 — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:58:28 +0000

Where they have always come from – Xtreme atheletes whose bodies can no longer take the pounding of High Altitude Gutslammer Twinkie Stomping – and now must find a more pastoral sport for their dotage.

As the societal pendulum has swung right, with emphasis on “me-and-mine” – and will swing wildly back to the left, as it always does, we will return to Birkenstocks, Oat Bran, and Eule Gibbons…

“Love Mother Earth, Brother – can you spare some change?” will again be the refrain, as corporate excess gives way to ecosoundness and “Green” everything. We’ll get over handsomely as we invested heavily in fly fishing stocks, when they wuz cheap.

TC? You want to go in halfsies on a Donnie Beaver membership?

By: ethanopia

ethanopia — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:52:37 +0000

Provided that wasn’t a rhetorical question Tom, I might offer just a hint at a perhaps untapped resource of new fly anglers. Historically Fly fishing has been paired with wing shooting and other hunting/outdoors pursuits. Right?

But I think there is a population (perhaps because I am one) of folks who don’t come over from the hunting/fishing circles but are coming from the hiking / climbing / back country / kayaking side of things.

I used to go my local fly shop and think, “man why don’t they carry anything for backpacking or kayaking?”

But now I go the Hiking/Backpacking stores and think man I wish they carried some fly tackle… but I was never actually into hunting.

My point is that the skiing, snowboard riding, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, crowd is the new generation of fly anglers. Which is why I think the new generation of media is looking more like a skateboard mag. So perhaps the marketing of the big fly corps should focus on reaching out to non hunting outdoors crowd? Maybe then they could find new customers who aren’t just interested in fly fishing for a week because they saw Brad Pit “shadow casting.”

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:51:56 +0000

There have been a lot of interesting perspectives added to this thread (I love the commenting feature on blogs).

There is always that tension between those who believe environmental resources should be preserved for their own sake and those who want to preserve them because they have a stake in "exploiting" them (a loaded word).

And if the flood of novices into fly fishing truly is at a an end (I think the bulge is definitely gone), it'll be a double-whammy for the print magazines, who have seemingly hewed to a formula that focuses on recruiting new readers every few years.

Where are the new readers coming from this time?

By: Clay

Clay — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:42:07 +0000

On the Great Lakes decline in fishing one must consider the lack luster economy around here. If you do not have money it is difficult to pay a guide or stay in a cottage on the river. I believe some of the nostalgia of “A River Runs Through It” is now fading and fly fishing novices are on the decline. Fine with me because most of these people are unaware of “river etique” or even fishing regulations for that matter. Although local fly shops will suffer and I worry for my friends Bill (Thornapple Orvis) and Glen (Great Lakes flyfishin) as well as the lovely shops on the P.M. and Au Sable. I just wonder if the natural reproduction will get a boost from a reduction of all the spin casters with crawlers slaughtering the fish. Viva La Trout !!!

By: hawgdaddy

hawgdaddy — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:34:29 +0000

That’s some good news about the bass fishing crowd. Bass fishing orgs have taken some positive roles around here as well (fighting aquatic herbicide spraying and chemical dumping). Good water quality is good for them just like it is for fly fishermen. Unfortunately, many of the individuals I know are much more concerned about making a buck and out-competing their friends than with the quality of the fishery. Ah, but here I am stereotyping folks, and that’s not good. I know some fly fishermen who fit that bill as well. We could all, being Americans, do more to consume less resources, so I’ll stop fussing on the local bass fishermen. Take care,

hawgdaddy

By: KW Morrow

KW Morrow — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:21:06 +0000

Most of them…and deer hunters…are not around here, either. BUT a good amount of the $$$ generated goes to conservation anyway. And some of the leaders in that community know where their priorities need to be. Bass fishing leaders on Table Rock Lake started a good chunk of the water quality orgs and initiatives within the upper White River watershed. And while almost the entire bass boat crowd is running 4-stroke engines now, the vast majority of fly fishing guys are chugging along with old, nasty, dirty, inefficient 2-strokes while they grouse about water quality declines caused by “everybody else.”

By: hawgdaddy

hawgdaddy — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:45:26 +0000

The horrors of competitive bass angling are alive and well here in North Alabama. At one time, I was really into that stuff, and my father still is. Fortunately, it drove me away to seek more solitude and quiet. Bass fishing is definitely NOT on the decline here either. This would be a good thing in the whole legislation/power/money/influence sphere if most bass fishermen were active conservationists (because, believe me, they have lots of money and influence), but around here they’re not (conservationists that is). Luckily, my father is a rare exception to that statement. Take care,

hawgdaddy

By: KW Morrow

KW Morrow — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:09:58 +0000

Bass fishing and deer hunting are the juggernauts of the hunting/fishing industry. That is a FACT.

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:51:19 +0000

I could only speak to the fly fishing bit, which seems to be coming on pretty strong.

With all the money and hoopla surrounding professional bass fishing, I’d guess that sport’s not suffering a huge decline either.

By: KW Morrow

KW Morrow — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:35:17 +0000

Well, we do a lot of warm water fly fishing, too. So it isn’t just the tailwaters. But they are the big draw. Actually, the huge pressure on Ozarks waters comes from float trip canoe outfitters. That is wildly popular here. And then the lakes have tons of bass anglers swarming them for largemouth, smallies, stripers, and hybrids. This is the home of the goliath of angling, Bass Pro Shops. It’s very fertile ground for fishing businesses, sporting goods, and boat builders. By living around here, you would never have a clue that fishing is on the decline.